Denon 1200W Vs Yamaha RXV 581: Which One?

[pranjandas]

Requirement: 90% Movies; 10% Music

Current Set Up: Yamaha HTR 3066, Taga Harmony 506, Yamaha Sub woofer, Himedia Q10 Pro, Optoma HD141x Projector

Thinking to upgrade AVR for Dolby Atmos & DTX Support.

Please help with choosing the right AVR.

Budget: 50K Max for AVR.

 

[alekhp]

Hi,
I suggest Denon AVR for movies. In my case Denon X1200 and Polk speakers. Satisfied with current setup.

 

[efernand1]

Hi

You can look at Pioneer VSX 800 onwards models also.....

 

[Bizi05]

Requirement: 90% Movies; 10% Music

Current Set Up: Yamaha HTR 3066, Taga Harmony 506, Yamaha Sub woofer, Himedia Q10 Pro, Optoma HD141x Projector

Thinking to upgrade AVR for Dolby Atmos & DTX Support.

Please help with choosing the right AVR.

Budget: 50K Max for AVR.

Hi,

I have done side by side comparison between Yamaha RX-V581 and Denon 1200. For me Yamaha was the winner.

As three of my Friends ordered Yamaha RX-V 581, Denon 1200 and 2200 the receivers. All these receivers got delivered to my friends office. So I got the chance to setup these 3 receiver in my friends office and compare all these model side by side. And below are my observation:

Player I have used to test them are Sony 3D Bluray player 4200(For Playing ATMOS Content), Raspberry Pi3 with LibreElec and HiMedia H8.

Speaker Set1 used to Test Them : Dali Zensor 7 Tower, Dali Vocal(Center), Zensor 1 for surround, SVS PB1000 Subwoofer and Sonodyne Sonus 3140 Atmos Height Speaker.

Speaker Set2 : Sonodyne Sonus 2605 Tower, Sonus 3160 Center, Sonus 1501 for Surround, And Roarr 210 Subwoofer.

DTS Movies I played are Deadpool, Dark Knights, Jack Reacher.
Atmos Conents : Shattered Demo Video, Bailando ATMOS Video songs
Some FLAC and MP3.

Below was my Experience :

Denon 2200 - Mid Frequency i.e Vocals are better than Denon 1200 and Yamaha RX-V581.
High Frequency(Treble) is better than Denon 1200 but less than Yamaha 581.
Low Frequency(Bass) is weakest part of Denon 2200. It is lesser than 1200 as well as Yamaha 581.

Denon 1200 - Mid Frequency i.e Vocals are better than Yamaha RX-V581 but slightly lesser than 2200.
High Frequency(Treble) is lesser than Denon 1200 as well as lesser than Yamaha 581.
Low Frequency(Bass) is better than Denon 2200. But lesser than Yamaha 581.

Yamaha 581 - Mid Frequency i.e Vocals are lesser than Denon 1200 as well as than Denon 2200.
High Frequency(Treble) is better than Denon 1200 as well as than Denon 2200.
Low Frequency(Bass) is better than Denon 2200 as well as than Denon 2200.

Even while testing the surround effect I like the sound signature of Yamaha over Denon as Yamaha provided much smoother transition between all the speakers.

Initially I was expecting some great sound from Denon 2200 as it is a award winning receiver and heard lot about this receiver. But after personally comparing these 3 models. I was disappointed with Denon. Again it is my personal taste. It may vary from person to person.

But my suggestion would be if you can extend your budget by another 2k then go for Yamaha RX-V681. Yamaha RX-V681 will cost you Rs.51600 after 18% discount. It sounds better than 581.
And if you can extend your budget by another 5k -7k or Onkyo TX-NR 646 as 646 low frequency of Onkyo 646 is slightly better and undistorted than Yamaha 681.

Or if you can get one receiver from outside India i.e Yamaha RX-V781. I will say this is the best mid range receiver. It has 2 HDMI Out, 7.2 pre out which you can connect to Active speakers which none of these mid range receiver has. But unfortunately it is not available in India. You can get it from Singapore, Malaysia, UK or US.

Thanks and Regards
Sujit

 

[pranjandas]

Thanks a ton Mr. Sujit for your detailed review. It is really helpful for many confused buyers like me. I am currently weighing various options to get one imported from other countries through sites like ebay, amazon, newegg etc. Onkyo receiver you mentioned is the clear winner at present. Lets see, what's in store. Thanks again.

 

[guddu478]

pranjandas, seems like you already have preferred AVR but do audition Pioneer 9xx (ATMOS/DTX) if possible.

 

[pranjandas]

pranjandas, seems like you already have preferred AVR but do audition Pioneer 9xx (ATMOS/DTX) if possible.

The AVRs suggested by Mr. Sujit was already in the line of consideration after reading various reviews. Denon X1200W price slashed now comes in around 49k, other considerations are Yamaha 581, 681. Pioneer I am not getting convinced as I have auditioned one of the top model at Reliance Digital in Ambience Mall in Vasant Kunj, Delhi, it lacked punch as well as clarity. Denon ruled out now as better features available in similar price.

Zeroing in on Onkyo 646, Yamaha 681/781. In the process of ordering where get a better deal.

Thanks everyone.

 

[VRavichandar]

I am using a Denon 1200 with Panasonic HTiB speakers for surround and Sony hifi speakers for front (no sub at present). For movies Denon works very well even with weak surround speakers.

 

[Bizi05]

The AVRs suggested by Mr. Sujit was already in the line of consideration after reading various reviews. Denon X1200W price slashed now comes in around 49k, other considerations are Yamaha 581, 681. Pioneer I am not getting convinced as I have auditioned one of the top model at Reliance Digital in Ambience Mall in Vasant Kunj, Delhi, it lacked punch as well as clarity. Denon ruled out now as better features available in similar price.

Zeroing in on Onkyo 646, Yamaha 681/781. In the process of ordering where get a better deal.

Thanks everyone.

Hi Pranjandas,

If you can get Yamaha RX-V781 from other Asian Country such as Singapore, then it would be the best thing. No other AV Receiver in this price segment is a match. On top of that one thing I have noticed in Yamaha Receiver is, if there are 3 continuous Voltage fluctuation then Yamaha Receiver locks itself from being damgaed. I don't know whether Denon has this feature. My Onkyo 646 does not have this feature.

Apart from 781, I would say for other models such as Denon 1200, 1300, 2200, 2300 Yamaha RX-V681 go for audition before you buy. Based on your experience you decide what to buy.

PRO-Fx keeps both Yamaha and Denon. So you can do a side by side comparison while auditioning there. Use the same speaker set while comparing. But I will not recommend you to buy from them as you won't get good Discount(Max 15% you will get from them).

Denon - You will get around 20-25 % discount.

Yamaha - you will get around 18% discount.

Onkyo - Max you can get 10 - 15%.

As suggested by "efernand1" if you can get a chance to audition Pioneer model then do audition. Personally I have never audition Pioneer so can't tell. Even if the Parent company of Pioneer is Onkyo. I have not found them at any Onkyo showroom in Bangalore nor any other dealers keep it here.

Onkyo 747(THX Certified) is the best receiver. Then comes 646. But do not go for new series from Onkyo such as 555 or 656. They are very good in bass but lacks in mid, highs. Due to this they perform really bad compare to 1 yr older model (747 or 646)

Thanks and Regards
Sujit

 

[pranjandas]

Hi Pranjandas,

If you can get Yamaha RX-V781 from other Asian Country such as Singapore, then it would be the best thing. No other AV Receiver in this price segment is a match. On top of that one thing I have noticed in Yamaha Receiver is, if there are 3 continuous Voltage fluctuation then Yamaha Receiver locks itself from being damgaed. I don't know whether Denon has this feature. My Onkyo 646 does not have this feature.

Apart from 781, I would say for other models such as Denon 1200, 1300, 2200, 2300 Yamaha RX-V681 go for audition before you buy. Based on your experience you decide what to buy.

PRO-Fx keeps both Yamaha and Denon. So you can do a side by side comparison while auditioning there. Use the same speaker set while comparing. But I will not recommend you to buy from them as you won't get good Discount(Max 15% you will get from them).

Denon - You will get around 20-25 % discount.

Yamaha - you will get around 18% discount.

Onkyo - Max you can get 10 - 15%.

As suggested by "efernand1" if you can get a chance to audition Pioneer model then do audition. Personally I have never audition Pioneer so can't tell. Even if the Parent company of Pioneer is Onkyo. I have not found them at any Onkyo showroom in Bangalore nor any other dealers keep it here.

Onkyo 747(THX Certified) is the best receiver. Then comes 646. But do not go for new series from Onkyo such as 555 or 656. They are very good in bass but lacks in mid, highs. Due to this they perform really bad compare to 1 yr older model (747 or 646)

Thanks and Regards
Sujit

Mr. Sujit will you recommend Onkyo 757 (THX certified), comes in around 63k (Including Shipping + Import Duty for delivery in India) on Amazon USA. Onkyo 747 is not internationally shipped.

 

[Rockfella]

I feel your reason for upgrade is not worthy!

 

[pranjandas]

I feel your reason for upgrade is not worthy!

My line of thinking, (may not be correct):

1. Yamaha YHT 299 AVR 3066 has limited capabilities. In fact fall under most basic in today's parlance.

2. My current AV area is around 280 Sq Ft. There is no partition between Living Area + Dining Area + Kitchen. A powerful Receiver seems imminent to fill the sound in the combined area.

3. There should be more or less compatibility between various units of AV Set Up. For example if your media player is 4K HDCP2.2 compatible your AV receiver must support that.

4. I am looking forward to utilize Bi-Amping feature on the new upgraded AVR for different frequencies, in case I am not able to sell Yamaha 3066 off at a reasonable price.

 

[siddhu5692]

Hai frnds. Im a newbie. First im interested in buying htib.thn after visiting hifivision, i changed my opinion. So I have decided to buy an entry level reciever.. i have shortlisted 3 receivers. Pioneer vsx 531, denon 520bt and marantz 1506. For front speakers i go with wharfedale diamond 220 speakers. Does it makes a good combo?? Please help me frnds.. initially i hav a budjet of 50k. But after reading lot of threads in our site, i decided to build my system in step by step process. Thnk u frnds..

 

[dr_rocket]

Hai frnds. Im a newbie. First im interested in buying htib.thn after visiting hifivision, i changed my opinion. So I have decided to buy an entry level reciever.. i have shortlisted 3 receivers. Pioneer vsx 531, denon 520bt and marantz 1506. For front speakers i go with wharfedale diamond 220 speakers. Does it makes a good combo?? Please help me frnds.. initially i hav a budjet of 50k. But after reading lot of threads in our site, i decided to build my system in step by step process. Thnk u frnds..

I think you are on the right track. Among the receivers the marantz one has more features including wifi and airplay, but any of those should be good. Wharfedale diamonds are also good speakers. If possible, try to demo them and few other options before finalizing

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

 

[drkrack]

My line of thinking, (may not be correct):

1. Yamaha YHT 299 AVR 3066 has limited capabilities. In fact fall under most basic in today's parlance.

2. My current AV area is around 280 Sq Ft. There is no partition between Living Area + Dining Area + Kitchen. A powerful Receiver seems imminent to fill the sound in the combined area.

3. There should be more or less compatibility between various units of AV Set Up. For example if your media player is 4K HDCP2.2 compatible your AV receiver must support that.

4. I am looking forward to utilize Bi-Amping feature on the new upgraded AVR for different frequencies, in case I am not able to sell Yamaha 3066 off at a reasonable price.

Upgrade bug is more than enough for upgrading IMHO.

The moment you upgrade to the any midrange AVR with latest capabilities, say x2200w, x2300w or v781 etc you'd still need to upgrade your center speaker and subwoofer to get the results you are looking for.

Your yamaha sub (I think its a basic one) and the Taga center channel will need to be upgraded to get a optimum results. Consider upgrading the subwoofer to SVS pb 1000 etc and a better center channel if you want to upgrade your AVR. I would have upgraded to a better subwoofer and waited for a while for AVR upgrade. The price of 2016 models will fall considerably (especially in the Grey market) once the 2017 models are announced. (GST might hike the price of electronics by 20 - 30% so buy before that).

BTW I have used pioneer 524, yamaha vx 477 and denon x2200w models and I'm happy with x2200w for movies. Denon is a very neutral sounding AVR compared to brighter yamaha or pioneer (brighter and harsher with Polk to be precise). The neutral signature works very well for movies, but for music its not the best. With 90% movies usage you can hardly go wrong with Denon. Audition and decide. Get yamaha if your movie and music usage is 50:50. Onkyo has service issues currently in India, better avoided. Otherwise onkyo 747 is a very good AVR compared to all others mentioned.

Hopefully this helps

 

[siddhu5692]

Thank you sir.. thn will go with any of these avrs. Thn for speakers, if i buy wharfedale 220 means,then for sub and surrounds,if i add any other brand speaker means,does it makes any difference or it is good to go with the same brands of speakers. Kindly guide me sir..

 

[siddhu5692]

I think you are on the right track. Among the receivers the marantz one has more features including wifi and airplay, but any of those should be good. Wharfedale diamonds are also good speakers. If possible, try to demo them and few other options before finalizing

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

Thank you sir.. thn will go with any of these avrs. Thn for speakers, if i buy wharfedale 220 means,then for sub and surrounds,if i add any other brand speaker means,does it makes any difference or it is good to go with the same brands of speakers. Kindly guide me sir

 

[pranjandas]

Upgrade bug is more than enough for upgrading IMHO.

The moment you upgrade to the any midrange AVR with latest capabilities, say x2200w, x2300w or v781 etc you'd still need to upgrade your center speaker and subwoofer to get the results you are looking for.

Your yamaha sub (I think its a basic one) and the Taga center channel will need to be upgraded to get a optimum results. Consider upgrading the subwoofer to SVS pb 1000 etc and a better center channel if you want to upgrade your AVR. I would have upgraded to a better subwoofer and waited for a while for AVR upgrade. The price of 2016 models will fall considerably (especially in the Grey market) once the 2017 models are announced. (GST might hike the price of electronics by 20 - 30% so buy before that).

BTW I have used pioneer 524, yamaha vx 477 and denon x2200w models and I'm happy with x2200w for movies. Denon is a very neutral sounding AVR compared to brighter yamaha or pioneer (brighter and harsher with Polk to be precise). The neutral signature works very well for movies, but for music its not the best. With 90% movies usage you can hardly go wrong with Denon. Audition and decide. Get yamaha if your movie and music usage is 50:50. Onkyo has service issues currently in India, better avoided. Otherwise onkyo 747 is a very good AVR compared to all others mentioned.

Hopefully this helps

Yes, Center Channel speaker as well as sub is also on upgradation line, might be the chronology you are suggesting is just oppositehyeah:

Once AVR is upgraded, 'demand' will push through purchasing speakers as well. Blame my mindset!

None of the sellers on Amazon.com shipping Onkyo 747 to India. 757 is available in around 63k. Prices do come down but I have seen stabilization in prices after a particular price drop and more so when the model is popular and hugely successful.

Ordered Onkyo 757 finally today! Hope to get it delivered in 10 days max.:yahoo:

 

[dr_rocket]

Ordered Onkyo 757 finally today! Hope to get it delivered in 10 days max.:yahoo:

Onkyo India proudly says on its website that no warranty and no service for products purchased abroad[emoji45]

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

 

[sanloyn]

Thank you sir.. thn will go with any of these avrs. Thn for speakers, if i buy wharfedale 220 means,then for sub and surrounds,if i add any other brand speaker means,does it makes any difference or it is good to go with the same brands of speakers. Kindly guide me sir

The sub and surrounds are independent of brands. But make sure the Fronts and the Center channel is always off the same brand.

For example:-
Fronts: Wharfedale 220/225 Center Channel: Wharedale 220C
Fronts: Dali Zensor 1/3 Center Channel: Dali Zensor Vokal

Be it any other brand, ensure to go for the same brand center channel and also off the same series.
I would advice to read more in this forum and do not forget to take a demo before deciding to make the purchase.
Carry your kind off movies and music, listen with different speakers and avr combo and decide.
All the best.