*Official* Denon AVR 1909/789 Thread - Page 2

+1 on thanks for the thread, the 1909 has gone to the top of my list (over the 1018) despite no pre-outs. My current receiver is over 10 years old so I'm really looking forward to an AVR that can tackle calibrating my tough room. Can anyone comment on the SQ between the 1909 and the comparable Harman Kardon offering? I keep reading the raving over there from owners and it's got me tempted, despite that ugly two-tone finish.

I can't find any info on the 789, where are you seeing pics?

Thanks,
Aaron

I am wondering this as well.

Thanks! I never thought to check their website. I did go to the Denon website and compared the difference between the 1709 and 689 and it seems be a similar difference. 1909 for me, and I just found two in stock locally. It should be a good weekend for me!

It would be nice to know for sure, but since they offered the same video processing in last years models that don't clip, I would think these would be fine too.

I am putting my Onkyo 705 on eBay. I just bought it last fall but it's died twice now because, apparently, my speakers put too much load on it. It replaced my Denon 2802, which drove the same speakers like a champ.

Anyway, I took a chance and swung by a Best Buy/Magnolia on 101 in the Bay Area and they had two 1909's in stock. They now have one in stock. They didn't have them on the floor, but when I asked they said the policy is to keep the new stuff in the back until the old stuff has sold. So, ask....

I have an old 1802 and it works just like the day I bought it 5-6 years ago. I tried out an HK 745 and right out of the gates, issues with popping noises on one of my speakers. I did like the sound of the HK but decided against keeping it and dealing with HK on it and will remain Denon faithful. Keeping an eye on this 1909 as well as the higher models to be released.

I currently have an Onkyo 606, that I will be boxing up this weekend to send back. The amount of heat this gives off will not work in my entertainment center, plus all the new reports of buzzing/humming have me a little on the cautious side. I almost ordered from amazon while they had the page up that they were taking orders for it, but I waited. I am sure our little Best Buy here will not get these in, I have never had much luck before, but I do have about $50 in best buy bucks I would like to spend on it if they did. But from you other 606 guys, how much of an improvement is this Denon 1909 from the 606. What draws you to it. Of course the price is cheaper on the 606, and the 1909 offers the other audessy features, but is their anything else that is really really different. I have not had any experience with anything other than the Onkyo brand. From what I read LOTS of people like denon. Thanks for any info.

Joe

It's the same thing that Yamaha does with their RX-V vs. HTR models, a lot of companies have similar things. They are identical units essentially, generally the four-digit models look slightly different and have a couple of tiny inconsequential things likes RS-232 port or a different remote.

Bottom line is it allows them to sell at both circuit city and best buy and they don't have to price match.

as an fyi (denon has been doing this for years):

58x = 150x
68x = 170x
78x = 190x
88x = 230x (or 210X a couple of years ago)
98x = 280x

There are no three-digit equivalents for the higher end models starting with the 38xx models.

Well I returned my 606 for reasons similar to yours. I haven't bought the new denon yet partly because I'm curious to see what the 2309/2909 have to offer. I'm glad I got rid of the 606.

HDMI_13 curious does the 1909 have the newer fancy GUI or the plain jane one? Seen pics of the newer one and am hoping it has the slicker one. Also do you have a PS3 and if so any issues with humming due to Audyssey eq enabled as the Onkyo does? Thanks for any info deciding between the 1909 and the Pioneer 1018..

So today I go into Magnolia/Best Buy and ask the guy about the 1909. He looks it up, says they have 2 in stock. I said I want to buy one and he says "Nope, can't sell it as the street date isn't until the 27th of July".

What the heck is that?

Sounds like BS to me since other Magnolias are selling them early. Was the guy the manager?

Thats baloney, two south SF Bay stores already selling 1909's to customers. It does make me wonder if thats the day that BB will list the new Denon line online for sale?

The 789 looks great for what I need, but how does it compare to the Yamaha RX-V663?

One big difference, in my opinion, is the implementation of Audessy Volume...which the V663 doesn't offer. At least I think will be a big difference, if it works as advertised (early reviews on this forum suggest that it does).

Is the Audessey something that can be turned off? I'm still not 100% sure about it, and would like the option to have it, or turn it off to a regular setting.

The other is an issue with connecting to a pc. There is a seperate thread on this.

Could some more of you lucky early 1909 owners post some impressions. Your comments on heat, lip sync, HDMI video quality with conversion turned off and, of course, the quality of the receiver's sound with the various audio codecs would be greatly appreciated while I wait for mine.

That was one of my concerns, I hear great things about the Audessey, but not much on Yamaha's YPAO. I wish the 1909 was available now to demo.

Millerville or Mall of Louisiana?

Anyone have any thoughts about the pros and cons of the 1909 v. the Sony STR-DG920 other than the Audyssey ?

ymarker
I can't find the separate thread on connecting with a pc you refer to. Could you steer me towards that. Thanks! I have the 663 and seriously considering purchasing the 1909. I use my macbook pro and airtunes for wireless tunes lot with the 663. Also digital optical input from the computer. Wondering if this will work well with the Denon.

Played around with the 1909 this weekend and generally I'm very pleased. While I was a bit disappointed to get the old setup UI, once you get used to it there are a ton of useful options (renaming and deleting inputs, adjusting individual inputs, etc). Some impressions and a couple of questions:

- most importantly, it sounds great. I just plugged everything in and listened to music in Stereo and Direct to get a taste before running Audyssey. Of course, the real difference is after Audyessy. After running that and then making a few adjustments with a sound meter the system sounds terrific. I used Stereo, Direct, DD, and 7 channel stereo. No HD sound yet....more on Audyssey in a moment.

- to answer the questions above. No noticeable lip sync problems with either DirecTV or my Samsung Blu-ray DVD player. I have lip sync "on" and didn't have to go into the input menus to change the settings. Which is good, because while it looks like you have very fine control it also looks like it would be a pain in the ass to get it right if you do have to adjust the delay.

- I watched about an hour of TV followed by an hour of Slings and Arrows (great Canadian series) on DVD followed by another movie. So, about 4 hours in a row. None had blockbuster sound so I didn't have the levels terribly high. That said, no apparent heat issues.

It did take a couple of months for my Onkyo to manifest its heat problems so it's hard to say no problems yet. That said, my old Denon 2802 never had a problem so I'm cautiously optimistic this won't either. I have electrostatics running at 6ohm so I'm putting a bit of a load out there. I hope I won't be sorry for not waiting for the 2309.

- running Audyssey yielded some odd results. So I ran it again and it came up with more odd, but different results. The second time I ran the six locations in a different order. Does anyone know if that makes a difference?

Both times it pumped up the output on virtually all of my speakers, except the Sub and a back speaker that runs at 8ohms and is close to the main listening position (so, much louder than it should be before adjustments). While the Audyssey on the Onkyo knocked the back speaker way down and kept the other speakers at about 0db, the Denon pumped the other speakers up and only turned down the back speaker slightly.

I also found that the distance measurements the first time I ran Audyssey were pretty much right on; while the second time they were off on one side of the room by about 10%. So, I fixed those and then used a sound meter to makes some additional adjustments. The biggest adjustment was turning down the bass, which was running about 8db hot; changing both what Audyssey did and the default LFE uplift from +15db to +10db.

All that said, at reference (0) it seems way louder than it should. I had to measure the test tones at around 85db, while I measured the Onkyo tones at 75db. I'm guessing this is because Audyssey pumped up my volumes. Anyone know if the test tones run at a constant volume or are relative to the underlying EQ?

Not sure if this detail is helpful but I did find it interesting. I'll probably run Audyssey again this weekend, just for grins.

I ruled out the 663 because of the 2 hdmi inputs and that it doesnt pass btb/wtw and that i already have a yammie and want to try something new. The Onk 606 was out after hearing/reading about all the probs (and the sudden severe price drop). Im on the fence with the 1909 and the Pio.

I had a Pio receiver b4, and I liked it. It remembered all the different speaker level settings for EACH input, which was great, it saved me from adjusting my center and sub every time I switched from music to movies. It has a usb port, pre-outs. Does not have any Audessey, outlets.

I remember reading the OSD stated it was icon-based, so it might be one of the better looking ones.

never heard of a street date for electrical equipment.

just got off the phone with BB. He confirmed that he wasn't able to Customer fulfill it because the street date is July 27th, hence, the system couldn't allow him to do it, the product is currently unavailable.

Yea, the same thing happened to me as noted earlier in the thread. Even funnier was they had TWO of them in the back of the store.

I'm in the market to buy a new Denon A/V receiver, but I am having a difficult time on deciding which model to buy. Even Denon's website comparison feature shows that many of their models are very similar. I was wondering if I could get your opinion to help me decide. Basically the main feature that I want is the Analog-HDMI upscaling to 1080P.
Do you guys think I should go with the AVR-888 which is nearing it's end of life, or go with the newer AVR-1909, even though I think it's a slightly lesser model. Has Denon set a release date for the AVR-889 model?

Thanks

anyone know what the 1909 is expected to sell for online? I mean from a no name store where I wouldn't get the warranty.

I would say 499