Should I upgrade to a Denon AVR2310?

[scene]

OK, I have an Arcam AVR250 powering my AV speakers. Richer Sounds now have the five star Denon AVR2310 at £449 (for VIP members).

Question is, should I upgrade to the Denon and ebay my Arcam? Should I wait and get a newer 3D (well HDMI 1.4 compatible) amp down the line (even though, at the moment, I have no plans to get a 3D TV or BDP)? Will I find the Denon less musical than my Arcam, or will the fact that I could use the front pair pre-outs to connect up my Arcam A85 for stereo sound compensate for this? Will the surround sound decoding of the Denon be a vast improvement over my current set up, where I'm using a Sony BDP-S760 to decode and feeding my amp via multi-channel analogue?

Will my wife forgive me, having spent £250 getting the Arcam repaired earlier this year? (You don't have to answer this one [🙂] )

Your thoughts greatly appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

1 Have you tried the denon, how does it compare to the Arcam?

2 if not how much do you like/dislike the arcam, and how much are you willing to change it?

3 Are you sure it is an upgrade after all?

Hope these questions help you find answers

 

[scene]

xon501: 1 Have you tried the denon, how does it compare to the Arcam?

I've heard the Denon 2310, but not with my Speakers, I'll be honest - and for 5.1 it did sound pretty good.

2 if not how much do you like/dislike the arcam, and how much are you willing to change it?

I do like my Arcam, but it's been a troublesome relationship (witness the £250 repair bill) and it is musical, and controlled, but in this era of HD sound, it is sadly lacking

3 Are you sure it is an upgrade after all?

I see it as an upgrade for the AV / HD Surround Sound, not for music

Hope these questions help you find answers

All good points - and hopefully my answers show why I'm a little undecided. I do worry that I have a case of upgrade-itis mixed with the "too good a bargain to resist" factor...

Hmm.

 

[scene]

Anyone else got any thoughts on this? Just worried that RS will run out of AVR2310s if I take too long making a decision...

 

[Anonymous]

scene , im confused , do you use the kefs for home cinema and the MA,s for music ? are they in the same room ?

 

[Frank Harvey]

The Denon won't stand up to the Arcam as far as quality is concerned, but you'll have HD audio. Some people would probably prefer better quality DD/DTS to a lesser amp with HD audio.

 

[scene]

maxflinn:scene , im confused , do you use the kefs for home cinema and the MA,s for music ? are they in the same room ?

So is my system at the moment... I was using the MA Silver 8is for Hi Fi and the KEF 2005.2s for surround. Then I got an MA RS-LCR for the centre, as Mrs. Scene thought the dialogue sounded a bit muffled... In the new house, have been toying with using the 8is + LCR for surround, mixed with some of the KEFs for surround - maybe upping to 7.1 - or getting some RS-FXs... And yes, they're in the same room...

 

[Anonymous]

flog the kefs ? get the rs-fx rears ? the denon then connected to your a85 from its preouts ? simpler ? better movie sound ?

 

[The_Lhc]

scene:Just worried that RS will run out of AVR2310s if I take too long making a decision...

Well there's one less in Bristol now, they got two today and m'colleague has had one of them already.

 

[The Lawnmower Man]

I would agree with Frank.

Bar the HD audio side of things, the Denon won't be an upgrade over the Arcam.

You'd need to be looking at the Yamaha RXV3900 or a similar receiver in that class for it to be considered an all-round upgrade over a 250.

 

[brendonw]

I got the 2310 from RS in Bristol today. Its going to be replacing the AVR300 I have.

I'll post back and let you know

 

[scene]

the_lhc:scene:Just worried that RS will run
out of AVR2310s if I take too long making a decision...
Well there's one less in Bristol now, they got two today and
m'colleague has had one of them already.

brendonw:I got the 2310 from RS in Bristol today. Its going to be replacing the AVR300 I have.

I'll post back and let you know

Thanks for that brendonw I look forward to reading your thoughts presently - BTW are you lhc's colleague?

 

[The_Lhc]

BTW are you lhc's colleague?

Well worded, I thought you'd say "do you work together?". To which the answer is clearly, "no"...

 

[brendonw]

the_lhc: BTW are you lhc's colleague?

Well worded, I thought you'd say "do you work together?". To which the answer is clearly, "no"...

clearly because only one of us works and its not him........... and he should be done under the trade descriptions act as he is no longer the_lhc anymore........

 

[The_Lhc]

brendonw:
the_lhc: BTW are you lhc's colleague?

Well worded, I thought you'd say "do you work together?". To which the answer is clearly, "no"...
clearly because only one of us works and its not him.....

Yes, one of us does, but it isn't you either, the guilty party sits to your left...

and he should be done under the trade descriptions act as he is no longer the_lhc anymore........

I just changed what it stands for that's all.

 

[brendonw]

the letter C is definately still right tho

 

[scene]

What have I started?

 

[The_Lhc]

It's a dog and pony show!

 

[brendonw]

scene:What have I started?

glad to see you've accepted responsibility

 

[scene]

brendonw: scene:What have I started?

glad to see you've accepted responsibility

Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.