Customer Reviews

Denon DCM-290 CD/CD-R/RW 5 Disc Changer

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I'm being critical here- this is a good-sounding player. My critique would be that the sound isn't balanced- it's weighted toward the highs. Not much lows or low mids. Bright-sounding (I'm sensitive to this) but not harsh.
Nice amount of detail- I can understand lyrics on some songs that I never could before (our previous changer was a JVC). Changer is less "clunky" sounding than our JVC.

As a long time purchaser of Denon products I would not buy another Denon product. I purchased a Denon DCM - 290 Cd changer. It stopped working after 13 months. I contacted Denon, they said I could send it to one of their authorized repair places, but it would not be repaired free of charge since it was over the one year warranty period. I just received a call from the repair shop. They told me that the disk table and much of the inside had to be replaced and would cost $258 which is more than the $249 I paid for it new. Unfortunately Denon no longer makes reliable products.

This player makes my old Sony look like a clumsy tank. I enjoy it except for one problem. Scratched cds won't play. But they play fine on the boom box in the kitchen! I thought that a garage sale boom box wouldn't be able to read cds better than the Denon, but I was wrong.

I haven't been happy with this changer. It's not consistent with Denon's past history as a maker of quality components. The ability to play MP3 CDRW discs is nice. It's also nice to be able to change the other 4 discs while 1 disc continues to play.

However, a few points make this an annoying choice. Firstly, the unit is slow to operate. The disc changing motor is slow. And you cannot cue up multiple "next disc" commands to cycle through the discs, which again makes cycling through your discs slow as you wait for each individual disc.

But even more annoying is that the "Disc Sequential Random Play" operation (listed on page 10 of the manual) doesn't even work! I've spent hours trying to convince Denon's technical support that there's a problem with their firmware, but to no avail. They only insist that it's a problem with my particular unit. This being after they admit that they don't even have a DCM-290 unit at their site to test! Last time I was at Best Buy, I tested the DCM-290 they had on display -- guess what? -- same problem. Basically, this unit has bug in its software, and Denon refuses to fix it. But of course, Denon cheerfully continues to sell it!

So, if you don't mind a slow changer that won't cue commands, and a player that only performs some of the functions listed in its manual... Well, maybe this is the product for you. But if you're truly looking for a quality CD changer, you're better off looking elsewhere.

Here's what i learned. I picked this up refurbished and it did not work out of book and sent for repair.It came back and i played a couple of cd's .Next Time i went to use it made noise and was jamming the cd's.

Turns out this was a common issue for this brand.In the garbage and got a SONY, no Issues.

Lesson: If they only offer a 30 day Guarantee and not a same as new one.Then they are not standing behind the Product because they know it's going to go down Again & again.

Bought this thing locally, given the bad reviews, figuring that having my local dealer to stand behind it might help. Well, during the first year of operation, it ALMOST worked all the time. I judged that it wasn't worth my time to have the dealer send it back to chase an intermittent problem that DENON would almost certainly deny existed.

I'm now in the second year, and it is getting more unreliable. It just flat refuses find disks and/or tracks unless it is in the right mood. I don't use it much, which is why I haven't done anything about it. I just hate the fact that DENON sells such a flawed product now; why won't they make a reliable unit?

I bought this unit in September of '08. I immediatly noticed that it had some issues, but it played well enough not to be much of a bother. It had a real problem playing mp3s / burned cds which later developed into it not playing at all. As a past lover of all things Denon, this changer changed my mind. Though many of the older models (I have 2 others) are true workhorses and have the greatest sound and functionality, this unit is entirely lacking. As of today, I am looking for a replacement (this unit is out of warranty), but I doubt it will be from this manufacturer.

I bought this Denon dcm-290 5 disc CD changer a few years ago after my 10 yr old Yamaha single player died. I relied on the Denon name and reputation for being quality electonics. The sound is great. But I have really been disappointed with the operation of the unit. My problems mirror those that others have written about; mainly random playing, unable to find discs, and jamming. It looks to me that all these carousel changers come out of the same factory with a different label on them.

Firstly, the seller, Dahmart, is first rate. I received the item promptly. However, within a few weeks, the player (I purchase a used Denon DCM 290) started to fail and not work properly. With two days left on the Dahmart warrantee I contacted them with the problems. They had me do several remedies (clean the heads, etc.) to resolve the problem. This worked temporarily for a while (two weeks) but then the problems resurfaced. Even though the warrantee had expired, Dahmart had me ship the unit for repair to their repair service. It was repaired and returned to me within a few weeks. The unit is now working fine. I applaud Dahmart for handling the problem without any hassles and living up to their service warrentees and their reputation for excellent service.

As far as the Denon DCM290 unit, it works fine and performs all the basic tasks that a 5 CD changer should do. I purchased this unit because I had an earlier version of that model for about 15 years before it finally gave up the ghost. I would prefer faster switching between songs when the player is on random (my old unit was, in fact, faster.) However, since it's exactly like my older unit, except for the shape of the buttons (even the old remote works on the new unit), I didn't have to re-learn how to operate it. Having purchased the unit used for about $70.00 I am definitely satisfied with the purchase.

I am very impressed with the quality of the system. I have tried playing CDs and MP3 disks and it works very well. The first player amazon.com shipped had a mechanical fault, but amazon.com promptly replaced it.