DENON Owners thread

[sidvee]

The unit was repaired - 3500 - works well now.
Enjoying it.
Cheers,
Sid

Yes, the board can be repaired but many don't do component level repair as it hurts business and also takes more time than simply replacing the board. But since you know the dealer very well, he should be able to get the board repaired at much less cost. I repaired my Yamaha myself. There is another user in our forum who repaired his Marantz by replacing the IC.

EDIT: I happen to know another user in our forum (from Pakistan) who had the same problem. He gave his AVR to a repairer who fixed it innovatively. He fitted a phone charger inside the AVR to replace the 5v output which these standby SMPS supplies. Yes. These SMPS inside AVR are nothing but a cell phone charger of better quaility.

I really appreciate @mbhangui's inputs - very practical, logical and informative. We are fortunate to have him on the forum.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[sidvee]

Planning to get a X580bt as a back up unit, if my 3700h fails again.
Cheers,
Sid

Any x580bt owners here? Feedback please - sound quality for movies.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[Saiganesh]

Recently bought a 4800 after a decade of pioneer lx series. Highly disapointed with in built amp. No lo's or hi's. No refinement. Feel cheated. No way to audition them and lately checked on a pioneer in a showroom and it too had similar sound...guess avr's pushing separates...

 

[sidvee]

The way these avr's work is like this. They have two power supplies.

One is the massive one which uses the transformer. This is the inefficient power supply, but this is the workhorse. This powers all the amps inside your avr. Keeping this on always even when not playing music will waste electricity. So to avoid this and to adhere to Euro norms, manufacturers came up with the idea of a second power supply that is efficient and can switch on the main supply at the click of a button.

So we have a second power supply - an efficient SMPS which powers all your digital boards. Since SMPS are efficient this is used as as the standby power supply which powers the remote control circuit that gets operated through your remote. In standby mode your AVR will consume very very little power because the main transformer based supply is off. When you press the power button on remote or on the front unit, this standby supply switches on the relay to turn on the transformer based supply. SMPS based supplies are not as rugged as the heavy duty transformer based supply as there are so many components that go into building the SMPS. In contrast the heavy duty transformer based supply has the transformer, diodes for rectification and few capacitor to act as reservoirs of electric charge.

IME experince most SMPS give away mostly because of the controller IC or a small capacitor. You can do a visual examination of components on this board. This is the board to which the power supply cable connects to. This will the board just in front of the power supply cable. Also in most cases I see this board fitted vertically inside the chasis, while all other boards are placed horizontally.

If your standby led is not turning on it means the cheap SMPS supply is not powering on. Mostly likely it is the IC. It is usually some TOP254, TOP258, etc in Yamaha, Denon and Marantz. Cost of the IC is less han 100 bucks. If you give it to authorized service center, they will replace the entire board which will cost north of Rs 20k

One more question - I am running only 5 channels with the 3700h. If I use the pre-out for the rear channels with an external stereo amplifier, will it help the longevity of the receiver, as now only 3 channels will be powered by the internal amps? The amplifier section of the receiver will be loaded less in this scenario.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[mbhangui]

One more question - I am running only 5 channels with the 3700h. If I use the pre-out for the rear channels with an external stereo amplifier, will it help the longevity of the receiver, as now only 3 channels will be powered by the internal amps? The amplifier section of the receiver will be loaded less in this scenario.
Cheers,

If there are design issues with handing and dissipating heat, the avr will last longer because less heat will be generated as few of the internal amps are not producing output. Also er.capacitors in the signal path of the unused amps will no longer be used and may last long.

What I have said is just theoretical without any scientific data. The avr may have a good thermal design, in which case there will be a neglible to none impact on using or not using all the channels. The only thing which is certain is that the avr will get less heated.

 

[caspian1985]

Any x580bt owners here? Feedback please - sound quality for movies.
Cheers,
Sid

I heard the 580BT at a friends place - seemed a bit underpowered. Checkout the Onkyo 3100 their entry level 8K 5-channel, I’m considering that for a second setup launched this year. Way more power than the 580BT, Atmos, and calibration, all of which the 580 doesn’t have

 

[Vinod.R]

Most of the AVRs of today, irrespective of brand are of a quality much lower than AVRs of yester-years.

Just a recent example, I got the opportunity to compare my old Denon AVR 3803 with a comparatively new Marantz 6005. Power ratings are the same.

Not that the Marantz is bad or something, but in tonality, depth of sound and build the Denon easily beat it.

The Marantz has all the new fangled features, HDMI, cows, buffaloes, crows etc., but is obviously compromised in its power section, output stages, transistors etc. My Denon can only do up to DTS at 7.1. No auto calibration and the new features etc.

So my take is, that if you want your AVR to last long, buy a Flagship Ole Model, company does not matter, though I have a personal preference for the Yamaha Z9, my dream AVR which I think I am never going to get.

 

[sidvee]

So my take is, that if you want your AVR to last long, buy a Flagship Ole Model, company does not matter, though I have a personal preference for the Yamaha Z9, my dream AVR which I think I am never going to get.

I understand this, but in my case this won't work for me, simply because I connect all my video sources via hdmi to my receiver which in turn connects to my projector and none of these older models will support latest hdmi standards (yes there is the option of connecting directly from source to display, but then one has to figure out audio connection, which is messy and may not provide the latest codecs). Not only that, newer audio codecs, in many cases, sound significantly better than plain old dolby digital or dts - with better use of surround channels, better subwoofer management, better dialogue intelligibility etc. Currently in India, there are options such as Arcam and Anthem receivers (which have better build quality and will last longer) at higher price points around 2.5 lacs plus, but again in this obsolesence driven reciever market, it makes these a poorer value imo. For now, I am going to stick to the 60-70k price point and if necessary upgrade every 3-4 years.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[Nitin K]

but again in this obsolesence driven reciever market, it makes these a poorer value imo. For now, I am going to stick to the 60-70k price point and if necessary upgrade every 3-4 years.
Cheers,
Sid

I too realised this a bit late. We need the latest formats, hdmi etc to make the avr compatible with the improvements in formats involving sound and picture. Besides mainstream avrs nowadays are not made to last long unlike the earlier ones and have become more like mobile phones where usage is concerned.

As you have rightly pointed out, obsolesence will make the more expensive ones less vfm in a matter of few years unlike an integrated amp.
Makes more sense imo buying a mid level one if room size is not that big and requirements are not too much.

 

[Vinod.R]

Then the next thing to do is go PRE-POWER. Buy an old AVR with a good power section. Buy a pre and when the pre gets old in terms of codecs, sell it and buy the next PRE. In the interim of the selling and buying of the new PRE, use the old AVR as the primary till the new PRE comes in.

 

[sidvee]

Then the next thing to do is go PRE-POWER. Buy an old AVR with a good power section. Buy a pre and when the pre gets old in terms of codecs, sell it and buy the next PRE. In the interim of the selling and buying of the new PRE, use the old AVR as the primary till the new PRE comes in.

I think multichannel pre/processors are more expensive than mid level receivers. They cost as much as higher end receivers, at-least in India.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[Vinod.R]

I think multichannel pre/processors are more expensive than mid level receivers. They cost as much as higher end receivers, at-least in India.
Cheers,
Sid

True Sid. That is why I said old AVRs and (a budget) PRE.

 

[sidvee]

True Sid. That is why I said old AVRs and (a budget) PRE.

Can you give me some options of a good budget multichannel pre/processor? I am interested in this option, but could not locate any in India. Emotiva has one basx mc1 at $1200, not sure what the India price will be.
EDIT - google search shows India price of the above at 1.8lac.
If that is the case better to buy a denon 3800h receiver for 1.4 lac, and use the pre-outs of that. In my case I can use my 3700H pre-outs.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[[email protected]]

Hello Guys,
I'm interested in Denon A1H. Can someone please share the experience with it?

 

[Rockfella]

I am going to get a Yamaha next time.

 

[Vinod.R]

I am not saying the pre-power route is cheap. It definitely can be had on a budget. The trick according to me is to compromise on certain codecs. For example everyone wants Atmos and DTS-X now. A slight compromise might net us a good used pro. The question is how many movies and other content is on Atmos ? Counted few. So the question arises should we premium prices for a few Atmos based content? The rest are any way going to be DTS-HD-MA or Stereo or DD or DTS flaours for most folk. Just an idea that's all Sid.

 

[Spinekar]

I am not saying the pre-power route is cheap. It definitely can be had on a budget. The trick according to me is to compromise on certain codecs. For example everyone wants Atmos and DTS-X now. A slight compromise might net us a good used pro. The question is how many movies and other content is on Atmos ? Counted few. So the question arises should we premium prices for a few Atmos based content? The rest are any way going to be DTS-HD-MA or Stereo or DD or DTS flaours for most folk. Just an idea that's all Sid.

It's more about FOMO, what if this was an amazing experience in Atmos, what am i missing feeling every time you watch it on 5.1
Atmos itself is not great in all the movies but when it is good it is really good and a great experience. although there are very few movies like that so far, but going forward i think every movie will be in Atmos or the equivalent or something better so makes sense to pick a pre with atmos/DTS-X

 

[Vinod.R]

Agree. However remember that there is always a new girl in the market. Processor is something that gets obsolete very fast. Today it's atmos tomorrow it's BTMOS ! Then upgrades become expensive.

 

[rwnano]

My old AVR has 8 eight pre outs including one subwoofer pre out. How do I use the AVR as a pre amplifier? Thank you

 

[yuvaraja]

Need Advice on Matching Speakers and Subwoofer for Denon AVR-X1800H

Hello HiFiVision members,

I'm setting up a home theatre system and need advice on matching speakers and a subwoofer for my Denon AVR-X1800H. Here are some details about my setup and requirements:

• Budget: ₹1.2 lakhs (excluding the AV receiver)
• Setup Plan: Starting with a center, left, right, and subwoofer within this budget and planning to expand to surround speakers later.
• Room Details: Not planning a dedicated room or soundproofing at this point.

Speakers I'm Considering:

1. Q Acoustics 3020i + 3090i
2. Mission QX-2 + Mission QC (Concerned about compatibility with Denon AVR-X1800H as these speakers have 4-ohm impedance (8 ohm compatible) while the receiver supports 6-8 ohm)

Questions:

1. Are the Q Acoustics 3020i and 3090i a good match for the Denon AVR-X1800H?
2. Can the Mission QX-2 and Mission QC be safely paired with the Denon AVR-X1800H given their impedance ratings?
3. Are there any other speaker and subwoofer recommendations within my budget that would pair well with the Denon AVR-X1800H?
4. I'm based in Bangalore. Are there any good options to audition the recommended speakers locally?

I appreciate any advice and recommendations!

Thank you!