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Denon 3312 or Onkyo 709 as a Preamp?

2K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  pokekevin 
#1 ·
I've read the similar threads on this question, but none focused specifically on my question. I will be using the receiver principally as a pre-pro, driving an Outlaw 750 5-channel amp. Given the similar feature set of the Denon 3312CI and the Onkyo 709 (including the same implementation of Audyssey), which has the better pre-amp section? Is the Denon worth the approximate $200 price differential?

Thanks,

Ken
 
#3 ·
Not directly, but I ended up buying the Onkyo 709 and absolutely love it. I also own a Denon 2112 in my living room system, so I'm familiar with both. (the 3312 is similar to a 2112 with pre-outs) I prefer the Onkyo's GUI, relatively straightfoward menu system, and ability to tweak settings while watching movies or listening to music.


It's hard to compare the sound to my old Denon 2307CI, however, because the Onkyo's Audyssey implementation made such a huge improvement over the older Denon's non-Audyssey room correction. I can't think of any feature of the Denon that is not available in the Onkyo and the Onkyo was significantly cheaper than the Denon 3312. I'd still go with the Onkyo I had to decide again!


Ken
 
#7 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by DAB /forum/post/21930817


K- would you say the same thing if you were using the AVR's amps?

Or maybe just used a 2ch to power the fronts>PRE-OUTS, with the AVR being powerful enough to power the three others. C/SL/RS? 5.1 MCA or HDMI?

I'm not sure. I used the Denon 2307CI in my condo to drive my ACI speakers (ACI Sapphire 25th Annivesary for the L & R and an ACI Protege for the center) and I always felt like it was underpowered. Adding the Outlaw 5-channel amp and using the Denon 2307 as a pre-amp made a big difference.


That said, I did not have an opportunity to compare the Denon's internal amplifiers to the Onkyo's, because I've only used the Onkyo with outboard amplification. I may try to hook up my speakers to the Onkyo directly to see how it sounds just as an experiment. If I do, I'll let you know!
 
#8 ·
709. Cheaper and has about the same features
 
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