Denon AVR1909 Christmas Deals!
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Denon AVR1909 Christmas Deals!.
Product: Denon AVR1909 Amazon Price: Too low to display Availability: In Stock |
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I spent several months researching my modern receiver for my home theater. I spent countless hours hanging out on the avsforum, read everything I could about receivers. I was looking for a receiver that would have the following features:
- at least 2 HDMI inputs
- vast sound quality for music as well as movies
- HD audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA) support
- would cost $650 MSRP or less
The choice was simple:
- Onkyo 606 or 705
- Yamaha 663
- Sony 820 or 920
- HK 254
- Pioneer 1018
- Denon 1909 or 988
I didn't even try the Onkyos, because I was fearful of the overheating problems and the humming noise reported on many units. Plus, they are downright terrifying. The Yamaha had only 2 HDMI, and did not pass BTB/WTW, the Sonys are celebrated for having the worst sound quality (unless you tap into the really high slay models) across the board, so I didn't judge those either.
I was then left with the HK, Pioneer and Denon receivers.
I first bought the HK 254. All the users on avsforum swore by the HK sound. Well, they were accurate. The sound is nothing short of outstanding. The GUI is light-years ahead of the competition too. And finally, it is by far the slickest looking receiver of all. Now, on to the negative. HK is famed for releasing products that haven't been thoroughly tested, and that don't work properly until the firmware update is released, and even at that point, it doesn't always work fair. Well, they got that accurate too...I don't want to go into the details of all these bugs, but they completely extinguish all the enjoyment you could salvage from the unit (loud and pulsating fan noise, complete sound dropouts, etc.) . I finally returned the unit, disgusted with HK's quality control.
I then tried the Pioneer 1018, the Denon 1909 and the Denon 988. All 3 of them performed flawlessly, without a single hickup.
The Pioneer worked huge but sounded a minute stale, lacked punch and attack compared to the HK. It also had a very annoying shining blue LED that you can't turn off, and the worst remote I've ever seen.
The Denon 1909 and 988 are similar in many ways. The 988 is from last year, but cost $1200 at the time, and can now be found around $600. Its sound quality, for music in converse mode, was the closest to the HK sound, in other words, it sounded grand. However, it only has 2 HDMI inputs, and lacks the novel Audyssey features.
The 1909 was VERY stop to the 988 in terms of musical SQ in say mode (read: it sounds awesome, and brought a mountainous smile to my face the first time I played music on it) . But where it really shines is with movies. The 1909 was the only receiver I tried that could hold the surround field perfect at any time and any given volume. Thanks to the Audyssey setup, my speakers were configured spot-on (none of the other receivers, besides the 988, offered such a perfect calibration) . And thanks to the Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume, the surround field is constantly adjusted to provide you with the most convincing immersion in sound, at all volumes, and always optimized for your room acoustics.
What it translates to in terms of movie watching, is that you are constantly enveloped with the surround sound, and it is all perfectly balanced. The bass is also perfectly calibrated so that you subwoofer gives you the perfect rumble when it's needed, without overpowering the sound either. In short, it sounds better than at the movie theater.
I ended up keeping the 1909, because of its mammoth sound quality and of its grand handling of surround field, thanks to the Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Volume. It might not be a $1,200 receiver like the 988, but it is newer and for once, those bells and whistles really get a worthy incompatibility.
I'll echo what the other reviewers have said -- the sound quality of the Denon 1909 is wonderful!
After using a Harman/Kardan 245 for the last year, and being frustrated by its inability to handle audio over HDMI and therefore play the latest lossless audio codecs, I decided to peer for a replacement.
I had narrowed my choices to the Harman 254 or 354, the Onkyo 606 or 706, and the Denon 988 (on sale at Amazon for a unbelievable tag now) or 1909/789, when --iIn a stroke of pleasant fortune -- I chanced across an originate box 1909 in perfect condition at Best Engage for $200 below list. Couldn't resist temptation, even though I hadn't been able to pre-audition it.
Wow, was it worth it! My home theater system finally lives up to expectations. I don't know whether to credit Audyssey, Denon, or the lossless audio from Blu-Ray discs via my PS3, but I am blown away by the sound I've been getting, even though I have only impartial begun to tweak the settings.
Yes, the manual for the 1909 is ludicrously poor, and it will be frustrating to space up such a complicated receiver for someone without a minute prior experience in this residence, but it is actually easier and more intuitive than my H/K, I found.
Aside from the manual, my only gripe with this receiver is the onscreen menu display/user interface... it looks like something from the stone age, with jagged blocky white capital letters on a dim background. (To accept Denon's nice fresh GUI you need to upgrade to pricier models.)
But any frustration with the quirkiness of the setup menus melts away when I hear a soundtrack from a blu-ray movie in elephantine lossless glory. In short, I am contented I didn't win a chance on the modern Harmans -- while they gape nice and sound gigantic, they are composed rife with technical issues and have problems playing nice with the PS3.
The Denon fair works. No HDMI handshake issues, no problems whatsoever... unbiased aesthetic 7.1 surround sound. Recommended.
After sending relieve a Yamaha 663 because it would not pass thru my cable DVR, I decided to try the Denon AVR-1909. It is pricey compared to the Onkyo 606 (heat problems) and the Yamaha 663.
However, after two days of pouring over the cryptic owners manual and figuring out the 2-sided remote, it is working perfectly. The sound is astounding. The speaker auto-set up using the Audyssey mike is large, then you can objective tweak the settings for your absorb taste.
Be warned, and this is why the 4 stars instead of 5, when the unit arrives you must attach the inputs using the on-screen menus immediately. Otherwise it does nothing at all, it doesn't even explore it's enjoy built in FM receiver until you do an imput assignment. The Owner's Manual doesn't give you straight forward instructions regarding this. Everything is there but not written clearly.
This unit is worth the extra bucks and if you are patient with setting it up you won't be disappointed.
