Denon AVR2113 or alternative?

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Having hijacked a few other threads with my questions, I thought it best to start a brand new thread.

I've decided (after a lot contemplation) to buy a new av receiver, and I think I've found a decent one at a great price (£279.95), but I need to check a few details.

1. There is no designated phono input, but I need to connect my record deck. Can I use a something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-PP400-Microphono-Compact-Preamp/dp/B000H2BC4E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358079307&sr=8-2 and then connect to the cd input?

2. Soundwise, will the 2113 be as good, or preferably better than my 2400es?

3. There only seems to be one optical input on the 2113. I'm currently using 2, one from my Sky HD box, which is essential for HD sound, and one from the tv to the amp to play music from my WD My Book Live. Will the 2113 connect wirelessly to the WD My Book Live like my tv does, therefore removing the need for a optical connection from the tv to the amp?

4. If any of you are 2113 owners, are there any known problems with it, are you happy with it's performance?

5. Are there any alternatives to the 2113, with all of the features, and within £100 of it's price?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

 

[f1only]

Hi BBB

It is a good price though it was £249.95 a week or so ago at RS, I thought you were considering a Yamaha.

Anyway I have had a look around some forums & there are a couple of little moans about Denon problems.

1. The internet & Pandora Radio

2. Audessy set up lying about the speakers being wired the wrong way round with Denon saying to ignore it, this looks like it may have been sorted now with a firmware update.

I found the following released at the end of November 2012 on another forum.

This memo was put out by Denon, it applies to ALL brands of AVRs that feature Pandora

Dear Denon customer,

Please be advised that Pandora Internet Radio has recently altered certain connection requirements which have temporarily blocked our products from connecting to the Pandora service. Our engineers are currently working hard and will have a firmware update available as soon as possible via the internet to resolve this issue. This should not affect your product’s ability to receive other music streaming services. Please visit our website for firmware update schedule information after 12/6.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that Pandora’s alteration has caused.

AV Receivers:-

AVR-1613, AVR-1713, AVR-1913, AVR-2113CI, AVR-2313, AVR-3313CI, AVR-4520CI, AVR-1920, AVR2112CI, AVR-2312CI, AVR-3312CI, AVR-3311CI, AVR-991, AVR-4311CI, AVR-A100

Best Regards ... Paul

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Useful information, thanks for your reply Paul.

There doesn't seem to be any major faults with the Denon, which is good news, and the sound seems decent according to the few reviews I've seen too.

Yeah, was looking at a Yammy, still might go for one, but the spec of the Denon for the price seems almost too good to be true.

Hopefully I can get the other answers I need to make the decision, any more help is welcomed.

 

[bretty]

Hey buddy,

If you do decide to go the Denon route, can you let me know how you find it in comparison to the Sony? I've got a Sony, with another on the way as an interim measure, while I get the dosh together for my next proper reciever and i'm thinking about Denon for that upgrade. Cheers, mate!

 

[rjb70stoke]

I got a 2113 from RS at £249 and it is a bargain.

The feature set, build quality and sound at this price should make it a 5 star product. When WHF tested it at £500, it still got 4 stars, which says a lot for its abilities.

As for your questions...

1) Im also after a phono stage for mine, I have looked at the Behringer, and its positive reviews encourage me.

2)The sound of the 2113 compared to my Sony STR-DB925 is light years different, stereo is much much better in every way, and in 5.1, Pro Logic II or DTS Neo, the steering effects of this amp make my old Sony sound (for want of a better word) cr@p.

3)If you cant get ethernet into the amp, then I'd stick to your optical from your TV, or if your TV supports it, you can use the Audio Return Channel through the HDMI. Sky HD could then be connected by either the optical or Digital Coax. Ive got ethernet, and the Denon streams from my NAS drive perfectly. Its very easy to navigate through the OSD.

4) Overall, Im absolutely delighted with the 2113, the Spotify update was the cherry on the top when I got it over the Yamaha. We now use the surround system on a daily basis, and with the ARC feature, the family doesnt even know the amp is providing the sound. Im yet to encounter any issues with my unit and would heartedly recommend it to anyone.

5) I was very close to buying the Yamaha RXV-473, but when the Denon dropped in price, the Spotify update swung the deal for me. I think you would need to spend £400+ on the Yamaha RXV-673 to compete with this amp. RS are offering the Sony 1030, at a very good price too, which has wifi, but for me the Spotify and enhanced OSD, still makes the Denon the better bargain.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Thanks for the info, very helpful, and it's given me plenty of food for thought.

 

[strapped for cash]

I've just had the 810 delivered. If you're interested I'll post a mini-review once I've had a chance to hear it in action.

The price on the Denon is great, but in principle you'd be going up a level again with the 810 (which is close to half RRP at Richer Sounds right now). I'm keen to hear it at home with both films and music (I know performance with both is important to you).

Before that, I've got the irritation of wiring up the new receiver (probably my least favourite job on the AV front, trying to thread thick speaker cable through fiddly binding posts).

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

If you could Strapped, that would be good. I must admit though, I'm leaning towards the Denon or the Sony 1030.

It would be good to hear what you think though.

 

[strapped for cash]

Fair enough. If you're drawn toward the Denon, I wouldn't want to sway you decision.

So far I've only watched two Blu-rays and listened to a couple of CDs, but I definitely made the right decision, in terms of going the receiver (rather than BDP) route, and choosing the Yamaha.

It's so nice to be able to say that I'm really impressed and have no reservations about my choice. It's a lot of receiver for £450 and a clear upgrade. The 810 majors on detail and I'm hearing things in soundtracks I never noticed before.

The sound field is massive and cohesive. My speakers seem to disappear. Effects swirl around the room seamlessly, without any noticeable transition from speaker to speaker. It's also more articulate in terms of bass. If I've one very minor niggle, it's that the bass produced could have slightly more bite. However, this is me really being picky. The receiver is also new, so it will hopefully sound even better a few weeks down the line.

I thought I might consider the receiver a sideways step, but it took me about five minutes to realise I'd picked a winner. There's a small part of me wondering if the 1010 would sound even better, but it would have cost me another £150. And it would have stuck out of the back of my cabinet (so not ideal in terms of size).

Stereo-wise, the 810 actually does a much better job than I thought, again dragging up huge amounts of detail. It sounds nuanced and refined for a receiver. Tonally it produces quite a neutral sound, perhaps leaning slightly toward the warm. The music DSP modes are rubbish, but if you stick with straight, stereo, or pure direct, the results are very pleasing.

I do my fair share of complaining on this forum and I'm a hard man to please. It's quite a while since I sat down and thought "I'm really happy with my latest AV upgrade."

If you can stretch to the current price, I'd highly recommend auditioning the 810. I think you'd be really impressed.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Thanks Strapped. Looks like an excellent amp, so I'm back to not knowing which to get.

I apologise for the briefness of my replies, but I'm working away and only have my phone, so everything's a bit difficult.

I think I just accidentally flagged your last post as offensive, oops.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

Fair enough. If you're drawn toward the Denon, I wouldn't want to sway you decision.

So far I've only watched two Blu-rays and listened to a couple of CDs, but I definitely made the right decision, in terms of going the receiver (rather than BDP) route, and choosing the Yamaha.

It's so nice to be able to say that I'm really impressed and have no reservations about my choice. It's a lot of receiver for £450 and a clear upgrade. The 810 majors on detail and I'm hearing things in soundtracks I never noticed before.

The sound field is massive and cohesive. My speakers seem to disappear. Effects swirl around the room seamlessly, without any noticeable transition from speaker to speaker. It's also more articulate in terms of bass. If I've one very minor niggle, it's that the bass produced could have slightly more bite. However, this is me really being picky. The receiver is also new, so it will hopefully sound even better a few weeks down the line.

I thought I might consider the receiver a sideways step, but it took me about five minutes to realise I'd picked a winner. There's a small part of me wondering if the 1010 would sound even better, but it would have cost me another £150. And it would have stuck out of the back of my cabinet (so not ideal in terms of size).

Stereo-wise, the 810 actually does a much better job than I thought, again dragging up huge amounts of detail. It sounds nuanced and refined for a receiver. Tonally it produces quite a neutral sound, perhaps leaning slightly toward the warm. The music DSP modes are rubbish, but if you stick with straight, stereo, or pure direct, the results are very pleasing.

I do my fair share of complaining on this forum and I'm a hard man to please. It's quite a while since I sat down and thought "I'm really happy with my latest AV upgrade."

If you can stretch to the current price, I'd highly recommend auditioning the 810. I think you'd be really impressed.

I'd only add that when playing Blu-Rays, experiment with the "Movie Spectacular" mode, rather than "Straight" or "Movie Standard". I certainly prefer Movie Spectacular through my Yamaha receivers in the kitchen and bedroom, but of course it's very much down to personal preference.

 

[strapped for cash]

Thanks Strapped. Looks like an excellent amp, so I'm back to not knowing which to get.

I apologise for the briefness of my replies, but I'm working away and only have my phone, so everything's a bit difficult.

I think I just accidentally flagged your last post as offensive, oops.

I've probably posted a few comments in my time that have offended forum members, but I thought that was among my most innocuous!

Sorry if that throws a spanner in the works. I certainly wouldn't suggest buying an 810 without audition, but remember that it originally retailed at £850, so is in a different price bracket to the Denon and Sony receivers you're considering.

I guess we all contemplate how much our systems would have benefitted from spending a little more. In this case (and I looked carefully), I think the 810 represents one of the best AV deals around at the moment. Then again, I'm not the first forum member to extol the virtues of their new kit...

 

[strapped for cash]

I'd only add that when playing Blu-Rays, experiment with the "Movie Spectacular" mode, rather than "Straight" or "Movie Standard". I certainly prefer Movie Spectacular through my Yamaha receivers in the kitchen and bedroom, but of course it's very much down to personal preference.

I think I'm right in saying that all Yamaha Aventage receivers prevent users from engaging DSP modes when bitstreaming DTS-HDMA and Dolby TrueHD soundtracks. The obvious workaround is to output audio from your BDP as PCM; but in my case, the receiver does a better decoding job than my BDP.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

I can engage Movie Spectacular mode when using an HDMI cable between Blu-Ray player and Yamaha receiver, yes. That option does not exist when I use the 7.1 analogue outputs from the Blu-Ray players to the receivers - a correct observation, strapped for cash!

(Actually I think that I can also get Movie Spectacular when using digital coaxial or optical cables between Blu-Ray player and receiver.)

 

[strapped for cash]

Your 1067 allows users to engage DSP modes, but Aventage (RX-A rather than RX-V) receivers don't allow user manipulation of bitstreamed HD audio (well, apart from volume control).

According to Yamaha's promotional rhetoric, access to DSP modes is disabled with HD audio to preserve the integrity of the soundtrack. I'm not sure I buy that (how many audio products are sold on impossible claims of perfect fidelity), but the receiver sounds great, without my feeling a need to make adjustments.

 

[bigboss]

Fair enough. If you're drawn toward the Denon, I wouldn't want to sway you decision.

So far I've only watched two Blu-rays and listened to a couple of CDs, but I definitely made the right decision, in terms of going the receiver (rather than BDP) route, and choosing the Yamaha.

It's so nice to be able to say that I'm really impressed and have no reservations about my choice. It's a lot of receiver for £450 and a clear upgrade. The 810 majors on detail and I'm hearing things in soundtracks I never noticed before.

The sound field is massive and cohesive. My speakers seem to disappear. Effects swirl around the room seamlessly, without any noticeable transition from speaker to speaker. It's also more articulate in terms of bass. If I've one very minor niggle, it's that the bass produced could have slightly more bite. However, this is me really being picky. The receiver is also new, so it will hopefully sound even better a few weeks down the line.

I thought I might consider the receiver a sideways step, but it took me about five minutes to realise I'd picked a winner. There's a small part of me wondering if the 1010 would sound even better, but it would have cost me another £150. And it would have stuck out of the back of my cabinet (so not ideal in terms of size).

Stereo-wise, the 810 actually does a much better job than I thought, again dragging up huge amounts of detail. It sounds nuanced and refined for a receiver. Tonally it produces quite a neutral sound, perhaps leaning slightly toward the warm. The music DSP modes are rubbish, but if you stick with straight, stereo, or pure direct, the results are very pleasing.

I do my fair share of complaining on this forum and I'm a hard man to please. It's quite a while since I sat down and thought "I'm really happy with my latest AV upgrade."

If you can stretch to the current price, I'd highly recommend auditioning the 810. I think you'd be really impressed.

:cheers:

Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[strapped for cash]

And thanks for pointing me toward the 810!

 

[MrBangle]

Hi rjb70stoke

I also have a 2113. Max volume does not seem very high, am I missing something?

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

This is a very old post Mr Bangle, it might be worth you starting your own with your specific problem.