Originally Posted by
jp_stargazer 
Alright, here are the highlights of my weekend with the 01.
Likes:
1. Aesthetics - I really like the look of the receiver (because I liked the look of the old 8 and 9 series Elites) and the remote looks pretty fancy with the faux brushed metal, silver circle navigation pad, and blue lit buttons.
2. Improved MCACC - Additional features such as Sound Wave and Acoustic EQ made speaker setup take a little longer, but the sound field sounded more precise. I didn't do an A/B comparison, but after listening to a VSX80 for the last 8 months, the 01 sounded like it better calibrated my speakers. Also, multiple MCACC calibrations for different listening modes/positions can be stored in memory.
3. New "sub" menus - The Audio and Video Parameter buttons allow you to make little adjustments to commonly used features are helpful. It took a little while to get used to when you can or cannot access them though ("cannot select" message).
4. Direct/Pure Direct modes - Pretty simple function really, eliminating DSP (direct) or DSP and MCACC (pure direct), is helpful for CD listening or anything that you want with a "true" signal.
5. HDMI 1.3 - This is obvious and not really a feature, but I'm so glad I have the ability to listen to the lossless Blu-ray codecs over HDMI now. Also, my 80 only had passthrough, so my wiring setup was simplified significantly.
Dislikes:
1. Remote functionality - Overall, I feel the remote is a good one but I have two issues. First, there is no learning function like my 80, so since my Samsung TV doesn't work with any of the codes listed in the manual, I can't teach the remote to control my TV. Frustrating. Second, I don't think there is a way to turn on/off Multi Ch from the remote. I'd like to be able to go back and forth from 5.1 analog and HDMI audio for DVD's with 6.1 tracks without having to physically push the button on my receiver.
2. No HDMI scaling - I knew this going in and it's a moot point since I have a DVDO VP50, but I wish on behalf of other owners that this would scale 480i/p, 720p, and 1080i over HDMI to 1080p. (Side query, does the Denon 988 or any Denon with Faroudja DCDi scale HDMI signals?)
Not tested:
1. Video scaling - See Dislike #2...no personal need.
2. TrueHD and DTS-HD - I only have a PS3 so I can't bitstream these codecs, only decode to PCM. Still, the audio is awesome for Blu-ray (especially John Mayer - Where the Light Is with 96 kHz PCM).
3. XM, Sirius, iPod/USB interface - I don't have either satellite radio carrier or an iPod. I will try my Zune to see what it does, but I'm not hopeful.
Overall, I'm very pleased with this receiver. I hope all the other 01 owners are enjoying theirs. To anyone on the fence, I highly recommend picking one of these up.
