What Hi Fi team, advice on A/V receiver choice, please

[strapped for cash]

Hi WHF team

I posted the same question a while back for forum members but didn't get much of a response.

I can get the Sony STR-DA2400ES and the Denon AVR-1910 for the same price. As the Sony was originally the more expensive model, but the Denon is the current product of the year, which would opt for if you were buying? Of course forum members opinions are also welcomed...

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

wouldnt know about choices , but i believe there are some big reductions on some highly specced yamaha amps at the moment ...

heres one , i dont know about the seller , but that amp is very cheap ...

 

[bigboss]

strapped for cash:

Hi WHF team

I posted the same question a while back for forum members but didn't get much of a response.

I can get the Sony STR-DA2400ES and the Denon AVR-1910 for the same price. As the Sony was originally the more expensive model, but the Denon is the current product of the year, which would opt for if you were buying? Of course forum members opinions are also welcomed...

Thanks!

I would go for the Denon....certainly more musical than the Sony. Actually.......it's not that straightforward. It really depends on which speakers you have, & what your personal preferences are. All receivers sound very different to one another. The Denon, being a warm receiver, would pair nicely with relatively bright speakers. Demo them & check them yourself, don't blindly go by what other members suggest without you personally listening to them.

 

[Anonymous]

what about the yamaha rxv1065 bb ? would that be worth the £65 premium over the denon ? im not too clued up about amps , but isnt the yam more similar to the denon 2310 ?

 

[bigboss]

Yes, the Yamaha RX-V1065 is more in the league of the Denon 2310 max. I personally love the Yamahas more than the Denon. The Denon 1910 is quite impressive with music & really competes with & beats higher Sony receivers when I compared it with Sony 5400 (to my ears). I haven't compared the Denon 1910 directly with the Yamaha RX-V1065, but the Yamaha should definitely be on the shortlist of receivers to demo when making a purchase.

 

[Anonymous]

ta bb , maybe one to consider at the price strapped ?

 

[bigboss]

Yes, definitely.

 

[strapped for cash]

Hmmm, the Yamaha RXV1065 is an interesting contender to throw into the mix... now I'm really confused, though the suggestion is much appreciated Maxflinn and co.

It's a lot cheaper than the WHF listed price, and five stars, too. I'm also a Yamaha fan -- my previous receiver was a Yamaha and I loved it, that was until it blew at high volume at a party after 7 years of thorough use. My only concern is that the WHF review mentioned that the 1065 doesn't present dialogue particularly clearly.

Just in case this influences the advice offered, I have a B&W 600 series centre, main speakers and surrounds.

I guess it's now a three-way shoot-out. As ever, the problem is that I can't audition any of these with my own speaker set up, so it's difficult to get a good idea of how they would compliment each other. Hence, more opinions are welcomed.

 

[ear]

you can spot a few videos on youtube with the denon and the bw...they sound great there.search!

 

[Anonymous]

normally at this time of year , with new models appearing all the time , the decisions are often , go for the higher specced model from last year , or the new model at around the same price ..

but in this case , theyre all last years models , that yamaha was given 5 stars at £700 , the dialogue thing wasnt enough to cost it a star , even at that price , its nothing if not fantastic value , and you got on with a yamaha before , which they say is a good sign , maybe some of the techies will give their views on your choices strapped , and on the retailer ..

 

[strapped for cash]

Was the retailer Richer Sounds? That's where I looked online and they had it for £450.

The annoying thing is that I was just measuring up and I don't think I have room for the Yamaha at 37.5 cm high (assuming the height listed on the RS website is correct). Might be a two-horse race after all, which is a shame because I'd just begun to get excited about the Yamaha option.

 

[Anonymous]

theres a link to the retailer on my first post where i say "heres" ..

shame about the size thing...

 

[bigboss]

strapped for cash:

Was the retailer Richer Sounds? That's where I looked online and they had it for £450.

The annoying thing is that I was just measuring up and I don't think I have room for the Yamaha at 37.5 cm high (assuming the height listed on the RS website is correct). Might be a two-horse race after all, which is a shame because I'd just begun to get excited about the Yamaha option.

The height mentioned is obviously wrong. It's actually 17.1cm

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=5036142&CTID=5000300&ATRID=1020&DETYP=ATTRIBUTE

http://www.sightandsounduk.com/catalogue/p7697/s2_c102/Home-Cinema/Yamaha-RX-V1065/AV-Amps/Receivers.aspx

 

[strapped for cash]

Good call Big Boss. I checked on a few other websites last night and they all reported that the height is 17.1cm. Looks like RS mixed up the height and depth, which is good news, because it means the Yamaha is back in the race!

WHF team, assume you would go for Yamaha here as it was originally in a different price bracket to the Sony and Denon?

Thanks.

 

[bigboss]

As far as I can remember, some members of the WHF Team preferred the Denon & some preferred the Yamaha. Honestly, you should personally listen to them to make a choice. All receivers sound different to one another & it really depends on what you personally prefer.

Try to audition them with any B&W 600 series speakers. Some shops allow home demo (you can take the receiver home for a few days & try out with your own speaker setup). If you like the Yamaha, start with the RX-V1065, then swap for the Denon 1910 if you don't like it.

 

[Anonymous]

i would have thought the 1065 was a no brainer at the price ? given that it got 5 stars in the same league as the 2310 ? they are both warm amps are they not ?

 

[bigboss]

Yes, the Yamaha is an absolute bargain at that price. But, despite Denon's ridiculous pricing policy for UK, some people prefer Denon's sound to Yamaha. Both are warm amps, but still sound different to one another.

 

[Anonymous]

Def get the Denon.I 'had' the 2065 and found it bright. Under powered and YPAO is stupidly rubbish.
Audyssey any day. Other than the silly Denon remote you'll love the power / sound and reliability of the denon.

 

[bigboss]

Mattrix:Def get the Denon.
I 'had' the 2065 and found it bright. Under powered and YPAO is stupidly rubbish.

Audyssey any day. Other than the silly Denon remote you'll love the power / sound and reliability of the denon.

See, exactly as I said. Some people prefer the Denon to the Yamaha.......although the Yamaha being a 'bright' receiver is a new one on me. I have the 2065's predecessor, the 1900 & it's anything but bright. Dunno about the 2065 though.....

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

The team says YPAO is really good. Thats one reason I was leaning towards the Yamaha over the Denon. It difficult and I know I should demo. But, I wont have time to do a home test of both and find that I need an extended period of time with products to really get a feel.

It would be nice if the team would pass comment on previously rated products / opinions when the price paid has dropped.

is the diologue on the 1065 no proble at £450? is the Denon a better amp at £370?

 

[strapped for cash]

Nick_Shepherd:
The team says YPAO is really good. Thats one reason I was leaning towards the Yamaha over the Denon. It difficult and I know I should demo. But, I wont have time to do a home test of both and find that I need an extended period of time with products to really get a feel.

It would be nice if the team would pass comment on previously rated products / opinions when the price paid has dropped.

is the diologue on the 1065 no proble at £450? is the Denon a better amp at £370?

Ditto! WHF team, any comments/advice here would be very welcome. Thanks for the additional posts guys, haven't been able to check the forum for a few days so pleased to see some constructive responses!

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Not sure were going to get a reply from the team......maybe its difficult for them to comment on products after they have reviewed them..........

......is it political, or just difficult, or just up to us to decide.....?

should the diologue on the Yamaha 1065 be a smidgen clearer at £450?, or, Is the Denon 1910 even more of a steal at £370?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Nick_Shepherd:Not sure were going to get a reply from the team......maybe its difficult for them to comment on products after they have reviewed them..........

......is it political, or just difficult, or just up to us to decide.....?

No, not political, but difficult for me to comment on the matter as I don't have much experience of the products in question. But yes, to a great extent it is up to the buyer to decide, simply because there's no substitute for a proper audition to ensure the product suits your needs and tastes.

 

[strapped for cash]

Many thanks Andrew & Nick.

I appreciate "there's no substitute for a proper audition" and it's probably a close call between the products in question. The real difficulty, as a consumer, is testing a home cinema amplifier in store with kit that you already own. For example, whichever amp I purchase would be partnered with a 5.1 set up I'm certain no retailer would have in store now, meaning it's impossible to know how well either amplifier would integrate with the other components of my system. In such circumstances we turn to experts, like yourselves, for considered opinion. I completely understand that this may not be your specific area of expertise, however...

Given that the Yamaha was originally £250 more expensive than the Denon yet still a five star product, and both products can now be purchased at a similar price, logic would dictate that the Yamaha is a better deal (but I'm aware things are not always that straighforward). Using the usual WHF review criteria, if both amps were judged in the same price band, could you say which would be the preferred product?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Indeed, given that the Yamaha was a five-star product at a higher price, I'd say it's an excellent buy at the reduced price. I haven't tested the Yamaha or Denon myself, but I have heard both in action and think you'll have no complaints about the Yamaha.

Mind you, I have tested the Sony 2400ES, and would have no problem recommending it to anyone. It was, and is, a very fine AV receiver.