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Receiver Help: Denon AVR-1611 or AVR-1911??

post #1 of 12
3/15/11 at 9:48am
Thread Starter 
Hi everyone,

I just want to start by saying you are all the reason I still don't have a HTIB and am striving for a great quality system for the money. I am building a "budget" theater system and am able to get a discount from my brother who works at Best Buy (otherwise I would buy everything online.) I have decided to go with:

Speakers: 4x Energy CB-5
Center: Definitive Technology ProCenter 1000
Subwoofer: BIC F12
TV: Already own a 52" Sony XBR9

I am now trying to decide on a receiver. At first I did not want 7.1 as my room is big enough for only 5.1 in my opinion. I was trying to stay away from Onkyo due to heat issues and really like Denon, Pioneer, and Yamaha. I think I have narrowed it down to Denon as my brother does get a good discount on them. Now I am trying to figure which one would suit my needs.

1) The Denon AVR1611 only has 75 watts per channel where the 1911 has 90 watts per channel. With the Energy speakers handling up to 100 watts, would I be "underloading" (if thats a word) the speakers by going with only 75 watts of power?

2) Other than the watts per channel, I see that the 1911 has "HD Radio". I don't know how useful that would be for me. Does it have any other main differences worth noting. I have a PS3 for Bluray and movies. I also have a HDMI cable box and a Wii hooked up.

3) the Denon website states that the 1611 has a "5 channel stereo" mode where the 1911 doesn't. What is the use of that and why wouldn't the 1911 have that?

4) Lastly, does the 1911 "upconvert" or "upscale" better than the 1611? I have a 52" Sony XBR9 so I am not sure if that would end up upscaling better than either.

Thanks in advance for all of your help. If anyone has any other suggestions as far as components I am open to them. I am excited about being able to rub my system in my friend's face (he has a Bose)
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post #2 of 12
3/15/11 at 10:00am
Get the one that has the features you want. The power specs between these would not be enough to notice. Be sure to think of what features and connectivity you will use now and in the near future. Good luck and enjoy whichever one you choose. Either should serve you well for a long time. Welcome to the forum, plenty of very helpful people here for the Denon's.
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post #3 of 12
3/15/11 at 10:29am
1. The 1911 has a little more power but it will probably be insignificant with your CB-5s. What is the size of your room? You failed to mention that.

3. The 1911 has multichannel stereo too. It could be called 5 channel stereo or 7 channel stereo or multichannel stereo but all the Denons have it. What it does is takes 2 channel stereo and spreads it out to all 5 or 7 speakers. Great for parties and background music. Like I said earlier all the Denons do it.

4. The 1911 has the ABT upscaling chip which converts/upscales incoming sources to 1080p. The 1611 doesn't do anything to the incoming signal, just converts analog to HDMI but no scaling.

Why are you getting the def tech center instead of the Energy CC-5 or CC-10 center? The Def Tech doesn't match your Energy speakers.
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post #4 of 12
3/15/11 at 10:29am
You would be much better served with an Energy center speaker to match the front sound stage with the same mfr.

1. You won't notice the difference.
2. Review post #1 in the Denon 1611 Owner's thread.
3. The Denon stats pages have been hosed up since last summer. All Denon AVRs have this feature which is best used during a party when you want the same "stereo" audio sent to the surround speakers as well as the front speakers.
4. Yes, but only because the 1611 doesn't have a video chip and therefore does no upscaling at all. The HD cable box, PS3, and Sony TV can all upscale so not really a required feature for you.
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post #5 of 12
3/15/11 at 10:58am
Thread Starter 
My room is 20 feet by 10 feet= 200 sq feet.

I went to the Best Buy and listened to the Energy CC-10 (since they didn't have the CC-5) and the DefTech 1000. I could not tell a difference when switching the two on the fly, even though the DefTech was much smaller. I was initially looking for the CC-5 but if the CC-10 sounds the exact same as the Def Tech 1000 center, then I imagine the CC-5 would obviously not measure up either. I am not the type of person who needs to have all things matching, and I couldn't tell much difference between them when the grills were on.

The best buy employee really loved the Def Tech and wanted to show it off. It has also gotten very good reviews online. Other than the "matching" factor, does it seem ok?
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post #6 of 12
3/15/11 at 11:07am
It has nothing to do with the same physical appearance of the center speaker, rather the timbre matching of it to the front speakers is important. The CC-10 would be your better choice.
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post #7 of 12
3/15/11 at 11:17am
Thread Starter 
I know I would be taking a chance on the speakers not matching sounds right, but when I was able to hear them with the same setup in store, they sounded perfectly matched to me. Also, Best Buy doesn't carry the CC-5 and the CC-10 would put it out of my price range.
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post #8 of 12
3/15/11 at 12:24pm
Aren't you getting an employee discount? The price difference probably isn't $70 like MSRP after discounts.

The CC-10 and CC-5 are the matching centers for the CB-5 bookshelf speakers.

But it's your money so do what you want.
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post #9 of 12
3/15/11 at 1:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by afrogt View Post

Aren't you getting an employee discount? The price difference probably isn't $70 like MSRP after discounts.

The CC-10 and CC-5 are the matching centers for the CB-5 bookshelf speakers.

But it's your money so do what you want.

I am not sure of the price of the CB-10. I do know that the deftech1000 would only cost me $110. I have a feeling the CB-10 will be much more than that but I will check on that.

When you are talking about timbre matching, is that most important for movies like when a car drives across the screen so it is seamless? Does it not matter for music listening? I couldn't test the set up with a movie but like I said it sounded perfect playing Pink Floyds "money".

I appreciate all the advice you guys are giving me. Unfortunately, i still need to be within budget. Gotta keep the wife happy too
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post #10 of 12
3/15/11 at 1:42pm
I would get the Denon 590 in your case unless you have to have the upscaling ability of the 1911 or need 7.1.
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post #11 of 12
3/15/11 at 1:44pm
As afrogt notes, the CB-10 retails for only $70 more and likely only $55 more with your discount. Yes, the difference would be more noticeable with movies passing from L->R or R->L. In the end though, a budget is generally the final limitation, so if you end up with the pro-center 1000 then enjoy. Although don't do what I did and go in thinking I wanted the PC 1000 and then after comparing it to the Def Tech C/L/R 2002 and heard how much more defined the audio was (compared to the squeaky sound from the little PC-1000) realized the upgrade was worth it, especially for movies where the center speaker is arguably the most important speaker in the setup.
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post #12 of 12
3/20/11 at 2:45pm
Thread Starter 
Turns out the 1911 would cost me $370 where the 1611 will only be $255.

I don't need HD radio and the extra wattage won't matter too much. The lack of USB is not a killer since I can just use my PS3 to stream music.

Thank you for helping me make my decision. Can't wait to be a part of the Denon family
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