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My first thought when I first starting looking at a reciever was to go with the Onkyo TR606.  Then, throwing monetary caution to the wind I was taken with the look, reviews and specifications of the Yamaha AX863SE.  However, today I visited my local Audio-T dealer and sitting in the corner was this gorgeous Denon AVR1909.  The salesman advised me that the Denon was better musically (I enjoy my music too) than the Yamaha.  Also, although specced at 100watts per channel the Yamaha's actual output on a 5.1 system is nearer to 70 watts per channel.  The Denon however maintains the advertised output regardless of whether a 5 or 7.1 configure is being used.  I can only afford to make one purchase and I have to get it right.  Can anyone help.  Also, how does the Panasonic DMP BD55 compare against the Sony S550?  Thanks

jazzead:

My first thought when I first starting looking at a reciever was to go with the Onkyo TR606.  Then, throwing monetary caution to the wind I was taken with the look, reviews and specifications of the Yamaha AX863SE.  However, today I visited my local Audio-T dealer and sitting in the corner was this gorgeous Denon AVR1909.  The salesman advised me that the Denon was better musically (I enjoy my music too) than the Yamaha.  Also, although specced at 100watts per channel the Yamaha's actual output on a 5.1 system is nearer to 70 watts per channel.  The Denon however maintains the advertised output regardless of whether a 5 or 7.1 configure is being used.  I can only afford to make one purchase and I have to get it right.  Can anyone help.  Also, how does the Panasonic DMP BD55 compare against the Sony S550?  Thanks

What he meant was that he earns more money selling the Denon than the Yamaha. The Sony STR-DA2400es is better than the Denon. The Yamaha is supposed to be better than the Denon 28 range, let alone the 1909!

The Pana is supposed to be better but I can vouch that the Sony is superb.

We have a Supertest of AV receivers in our current issue, which includes the Yamaha (763 and 863, in fact), Denon, Sony and Onkyos mentioned, including rating them for musical as well as music abilities.

Re the Blu-ray players - we feel the Panasonic is just a smidge superior (mostly for sound), but you'd be happy with both: either is a noticeable step up from, say, the PS3 and many other budget Blu-ray players.

Go with whatever sounds better to you. [EDITED BY MODS].  The Yamaha is probably better than the Denon 1909 in regards to sound, but there are other features that the Yamaha is missing, like a Radio and Dynamic Volume.

 

oh I'm sorry, I meant to say you can definitely trust what most salesmen tell you and you should absolutely go by whatever magazine reviews say...

So the Sony STR-DA2400es is better than the Denon?  Are you sure each receiver was setup correctly during your testing?  I have found the Denon's need a little tweaking, even after the Audyssey setup...but I suppose the same can be said for other amps to some extent.  I don't think the Sony is better than the Denon and I've listened to both.  It's actually quite difficult to say either way.

In our opinion, the Sony offers better value than the Denon, yes. But the Denon remains an excellent option,  and should definitely be auditioned: personal opinion has to be the decisive factor, as you note above.

And yes, the receivers were correctly set-up. We always run auto set-up - to see how fast/easy/accurate the procedure is for each receiver, as we know this is what most users will rely on - then tweak manually afterwards using sound pressure meters, tape measures etc.

oh ok, in my opinion it is not, too close to call it either way and if I had to choose I'd probably go with the Denon myself.  I didn't realize the commenter "Gerrardasnails" was the one that reviewed it (since he said it was better in the post above)...sounds like you did setup exactly how I do it - I use a sound meter to to get the levels correct and sometimes need to change the speaker sizes/xover frequencies set by the auto-setup but generally the auto-setup on the newer AV receivers is quite good.  The Audyssey setup takes forever however.

Erm, Gerrardasnails did not review it - the WHF test team did.

However, I know G is a very happy Sony customer!

Clare Newsome:

Erm, Gerrardasnails did not review it - the WHF test team did.

However, I know G is a very happy Sony customer!

Or a sony shareholder.

marvsins:

Clare Newsome:

Erm, Gerrardasnails did not review it - the WHF test team did.

However, I know G is a very happy Sony customer!

Or a sony shareholder.

Nope. My first ever Sony purchase was 18 months ago. The recent receivers from them are very difficult to fault though. And I've had Denon stuff too. I would not just go on about one make because I have it.

Clare (and other contributors)

 Thank you for your comments.  I have decided to go with the Yamaha AX863, the Sony S550 and the B&W 685 theatre system (but will probably have the 610 sub instead of the 608)....and watch it all through my Sony Bravia 40X2000.

 Thanks again