[ndurantz]

Hi Fellow Shackers,

I am in a bit of a quandary on changes to my home theater set-up. I currently have an Onkyo receiver that is a couple of years old. I bought it right before HDMI audio processing, so to get DTS MA and DD HD I have to run 7.1 analog. Otherwise, it is a great receiver and I am perfectly happy with it, despite having to run a bunch of cables.

My brother is moving to China for two years and has offered to let me purchase his Denon AVR 1909 for around $200. Obviously, this would be a step up in capabilities, but with the rate at which HT tech is changing, I am wondering if I should wait until this whole 3D thing shakes out and keep my $ for a later date.

Buying the receiver from my brother would essentially wipe out my "fun" account (where I stash cash for audio/tech toys), so that is a consideration to.

What are your thoughts?

 

[tonyvdb]

The Denon is a good receiver and for $200 is not a bad deal (not great but not bad either) I would not worry about HDMI 1.4 (3D) as that is not really necessary given the cost. 3D is very expensive to get into and in my opinion a waist of money.

 

[ndurantz]

Thanks for the reply and thoughts!

After doing some more research, it looks like the Denon also has dynamic volume EQ and dynamic cinema EQ, which would be a plus as we pull in our TV OTA and the commercials are LOUD and listen to a lot of movies late at night and don't want to wake the kids. Onkyo doesn't have that.

I was considering purchasing a Marantz HT Receiver in a couple of years, which was the hesitation on the Denon. Denon vs. Marantz?

 

[tonyvdb]

Onkyo still offers allot more bang for buck these days Marantz is always late with coming out with new features sometimes even two years behind. Most Onkyo's have Audyssey Dynamic EQ
and Audyssey Dynamic Volume so thats not an issue. Personally Onkyo is my first recommendation.

 

[ndurantz]

Personally Onkyo is my first recommendation.

Did you mean Denon? I already have an Onkyo.

 

[tonyvdb]

Sorry, What I meant is if your going to buy new Onkyo would be my first choice. The Denon that you can buy for 200 is what I would do for now.

 

[ndurantz]

Sorry, What I meant is if your going to buy new Onkyo would be my first choice. The Denon that you can buy for 200 is what I would do for now.

Thanks for the clarification. I really appreciate the input!

 

[tcarcio]

Well here's my take on this. I would wait and save up some more money and then when you have enough you can buy something that has all the bells and whistles whether it be an Onkyo or Pioneer or anything but I don't think buying your brothers is a big step up, soundwise, and it will more than likely make you happier to have a more futureproof,if there is such a thing, reciever to add to your HT. :T

 

[laser188139]

I would certainly consider Audyssey MultEQ with Dynamic EQ a significant upgrade. It sounds as if you would find Dynamic Volume useful, too.

The early Denon 1909s had a firmware bug where Dolby Digital had a decode bug in the bass. If this particular unit suffers this problem, it can be avoided with PCM or by sending the unit in for a firmware upgrade.

 

[bambino]

I'm a Denon fan but i'd say save your cash and get a new Onkyo.:bigsmile:

 

[lsiberian]

I'm partial to trying out the Denon. Onkyo is a great brand, but in my experience less reliable. It's splitting hairs, but Onkyos seem to be breaking more these days than Denons. You really can't go wrong here as Denon and Onkyo are the kings of the industry.

 

[bambino]

I'm partial to trying out the Denon. Onkyo is a great brand, but in my experience less reliable. It's splitting hairs, but Onkyos seem to be breaking more these days than Denons. You really can't go wrong here as Denon and Onkyo are the kings of the industry.

OK, now i'm back to Denon, i wasn't aware of the problems the the Onkyo's were giving as it seems i've heard all good news about them.:innocent:

 

[mdrake]

I'm partial to trying out the Denon. Onkyo is a great brand, but in my experience less reliable. It's splitting hairs, but Onkyos seem to be breaking more these days than Denons. You really can't go wrong here as Denon and Onkyo are the kings of the industry.

Read more: Home Theater Forum and Systems - HomeTheaterShack.com - Reply to Topic

I know some reported the 805 and 875 running hot but I was not aware of other issues?

Matt

 

[ndurantz]

The early Denon 1909s had a firmware bug where Dolby Digital had a decode bug in the bass. If this particular unit suffers this problem, it can be avoided with PCM or by sending the unit in for a firmware upgrade.

How would I know if this issue affects my brother's receiver? He doesn't pay too close of attention to that stuff and may well have gotten a notification from Denon, but not done anything about it.

 

[tonyvdb]

I'm partial to trying out the Denon. Onkyo is a great brand, but in my experience less reliable. It's splitting hairs, but Onkyos seem to be breaking more these days than Denons. You really can't go wrong here as Denon and Onkyo are the kings of the industry.

Can you please stop spreading false information lsiberian, This is simply not facts at all. I have read of many people who own Denons who have issues as well. Pioneers, Sony, & Yamaha also have issues and so does HK and Marantz. When you sell tens of thousands of receivers a year there are bound to be issues with quality, Onkyo is a very popular brand and is not any more unreliable than the others.

 

[ndurantz]

I know some reported the 805 and 875 running hot but I was not aware of other issues?

Matt

My Onkyo is older than those two models and can attest to the sucker running quite hot - not hot to the touch, but it kicks out a lot of heat! Otherwise, I have had good luck with the thing.

I appreciate all the input. Haven't decided just what to do yet, but am leaning toward buying the Denon off my brother. I have an older (in perfect condition) Yamaha reciever, a pair of Klipsch iFi speakers and a Yamaha sub I could peddle on ebay to help pay for it. The stuff is just sitting around not in use, so why not?

And I just found out the other day that we have our third kiddo on the way :rubeyes:, so I am thinking I won't be doing much upgrading for awhile after he/she shows up.

 

[lsiberian]

It's not a matter of major difference I'm talking here. I'd certainly not steer people away from Onkyo, but I've seen more issues personally with them. It's hair splitting at best and probably bad luck. Many folks here have Onkyo's with no issues so I'd not make it a primary criteria, but I think the deal is decent for the Denon in this case. My standard receiver recommendation is normally the Onkyo 707 so don't read too much into the previous comment.

 

[lsiberian]

Can you please stop spreading false information lsiberian, This is simply not facts at all.

It is a fact that I've encountered more problems with Onkyo receivers than Denon ones. And I'm not talking just about the firmware issues your 805 series Onkyo had or the fire safety concerns which IMO were vastly overstated. I've got a couple of friends who have had issues with inputs failing on their 05 series Onkyo's. I've never had a friend encounter a Denon issue. I realize some day I probably will, but the fact remains that I haven't. I wasn't speaking in statistics I was speaking in experience.

You have what I consider the greatest receiver ever made by Onkyo so I understand your love for the company and their products. I am in no way saying that they aren't still the best choice for many situations. My standard recommendation is still the 707 for it's feature/price value. However in this case my goal was to reassure the OP that he had a reliable receiver in the long term in the 1909 based on my experience with the various brands.

I conclude by saying that I'm by no means the sole source of experience. There are many experiences including Tony's that I value equally or more in these discussions.

 

[laser188139]

How would I know if this issue affects my brother's receiver? He doesn't pay too close of attention to that stuff and may well have gotten a notification from Denon, but not done anything about it.

Looking back in the 1909 thread, it appears the later firmware version is 00.90. This was initially published as fixing the iPod docking station issue. I found a note describing how to display the firmware versions here.

 

[ndurantz]

I found a note describing how to display the firmware versions here.

Awesome! Thanks for that research!! :T