Final call - Prices for Onkyo 608/ Denon 1611/ 1911 - Which one to buy now ?

[snorkel4u]

Now is the time to hear you veterans golden advice.

You must have seen my posts in the hunt for an HT/HTiB ranging from buying an Onkyo 3300 and then to Onkyo 3400 and then to making a custom HT, opting for Onkyo 608 v/s Yamaha 667 v/s Denon 1611/ 1911.....

interests - 60% Movies, 40% Music

Very evidently torn between different options in the market and getting confused.

I finally have a friend who can bring me the AVR to India.

The best prices I have got them in the US (incl shipping) are as follows [INR]


Onkyo 608 - 320$[15,000] (refurbished Ac4L with warranty) - 399$[18,500](New, Amazon)
Denon 1611 - 310$[14,500] (New, ebay) - 400$[18,500](New, Amazon)
Denon 1911 - 400$[18,500] (New, crutchfield)

However, the caveat is the known factor of No Warranty, and extra step down isolation transformer. As of now, I am assuming it will pass thru customs easily w/o any hassels. If at all, there are any, I am ready to set aside 4K as Duty!

Now my budget for speakers. As of now I am not interested for Floor standers etc. I will option for a 5.1 Speaker set. Kittu suggested, Energy Take Classic,
Klipsch HD300/500 or Polk RM6750. Which one these would be the best to be paired with Denon 1911?

US prices for the speakers (Pardon my over optimism that I hope I can procure the speakers also from US)

Klipsch HD 500 - 400$ ~ [18500]
Klipsch HD 300 - 285$ ~ [13000]
Energy Classic - 400$ ~ [18500]

Even if I get them via Aramex/ Borderlinx, thats okay. For now I can afford only these speakers.
Another reason being, I have an Old Sony Hi Fi component system, one with the 3 CD changer etc etc. I like the sound of it and can live with it, I also have a SoundDock.

So, my question is shall I go for any of the above Receivers, if its a good deal and VFM?

or else shall I stick to a generic Onkyo 3400 from India, complete HTiB package with warranty and no extra coiled box(transformer) to add to the setup?

I guess I can go with reviews about Denon 1911 being justified towards Music and Movies equally where, Onkyo was to Movies and Yamaha to Music? Correct?

Also the sound quality of the Denon 1911 should be lot better than the Onkyo 3400? Thats my only comparision competitor. Because, if I were to buy in India,

Onkyo 3400 is what I would (can) go for. .

I can imagine your basic question/ suggestion would be - Have you listened to the speakers + AVR combo and satisfied yourself with the demo?
Answer - Honestly NO!, I didnt get a lot of demos and what ever I got, I wasn't super impressed by them.

* I did get a demo of the Onkyo 3300 and it was decent. Also of the Denon 1611 with Polk RM6750 and BA MC100 speaker set. Polk lacked the punch and the base

and BA sounded lot better than the Polks, neither of them were caliberated. The seller asked us to visit in a few days by when, he would have caliberated
both the speakers.

But now I need to place the order soon, so that the AVR reaches my friend in US, in time. So not much time for Demo.

Sorry for the lengthy post, you inputs will be helpful in making my decision.


Some Info I found over here

http://www.hifivision.com/surround-amplifiers-receivers/11985-help-needed-denon-1611-vs-1911-a.html

 

[hemant0285]

Yamaha V667 for 400$

 

[alexanish]

For AVR Denon 1911 may be a safe bet since it promises equal justice to movies and music. Choose 608 if you think you need more cinema experience, becuase it's just simply better than 1911 in cinema expereince. But choosing any of these won't let you down much in both cases. Don't ever go for refubished. Try to get it from amazon as they have a better satisfied customer base and reputation.

Now speakers: As Kittu said Energy take is again a safer bet compared to both the Klipsch models. I have heard both Klipsch models and I didn't find it that great. But look for these two models also which are highly regarded,

Defenitve Procinema 600 47.5K

Paradigm cinema series - 70 - Rs. 30+K

 

[Kittu]

Go with Denon 1911 with Energy Classic take 5.1 speakers.

 

[snorkel4u]

Thanks for the replies,

One question, Initially I was also planning to play future safe, and go for 1911, even though I wont be using 7.1 for sure. Video Upscaling -Yes, though I have the PlayON HD but that doesn't do much upscaling/ unconverting.

But recently a thought has been put in my head that 1911 paired with Polk RM6750 or Energy Classic (now extinct in India) is an Over kill?

is it true? Are 90W too much power for Polk and Energy classic?

If yes, then I can scale down to 1611 (US version is 7 channels) for 300$ and use the remaining 5K in the transformer?

What do you guys say?

 

[alexanish]

So you are back to square one ;-)

There's a thread which talks about 1611 and 1911. Read that and you may get a better idea.

 

[angynagpal]

So you are back to square one ;-)

There's a thread which talks about 1611 and 1911. Read that and you may get a better idea.

Yeah...but I think that thread more or less talks about the 1611 available in India which is 5.1 (with pre-outs for making it 7.1), while the US version, which Snorkel is planning to buy, is 7.1.

Here are my 2 cents, firstly 75w power is more than enough for a small or midsized room, and if you have a small/midsized room, you anyways wont be going for higher powered speakers, so, go for 1611 if you have a small room and invest the moolah you save in buying good speakers.

However, if you have a big room or are planning to move into a bigger room within the next 4-5 years then go for 1911. Why I say 5 years is because, with the way the technology is getting better and cheaper, in 6-7 years there would surely be a different technology available which would be 100 times better than the current one, so it would make sense to buy the new avr rather than upgrading the current one.

As for the other features, like upscaling etc, you only need upscaling of SD content right? Now what all SD content is available currently:

1) Cable TV : Its already upscalable with the new HD Settop boxes, and it makes sense to upgrade to HD Settop box because along with SD content you would get HD content as well.....so this gets crossed out!!

2) CD/ DVD : You would be playing them on DVD or Bluray players anyways. Bluray players already upscale, and DVD players, well if your current one doesnt upscale, its only a matter of time that you would anyways wanna move upto bluray and anyways it makes more sense to invest in a bluray player rather than paying the same amount for upscaling feature in AVR., so we can safely cross this one out too !

3) Downloaded SD resolution videos: Well, since now you have already bought a bluray player in point 2 :lol:, these can be played through bluray players, so they would be upscaled by these bluray players.

So basically, the upscaling feature in the AVR is more or less not very important, atleast not for me, as most of the content would already be upscaled by the 'source' itself before it even reaches he AVR. I think many TVs also upscale these days, not sure on that though.

There are other features in 1911 as well, though you need to see if they are of any use to you or not !

All the best bro!!!

 

[dillihifi]

I think you should go with the Onkyo 608. It is pretty value for money if it involves 0 shipping charges. It is also THX select certified and seeing that you want to primarily use it for movies it is more of a all rounder. The step down trfr should cost around 2.5k. There are many satisfied owners of the 608 in the forum. Check out their feedbacks too. I have listened to the onkyos and as everybody will point out the onkyo wins hands down for the movies.

 

[snorkel4u]

Thanks for the detailed responses people.

I agree with angy on quite some points above, and I am getting more n more inclined towards the 1611.

Pros -
- 7.1 as compared to Indian version of 1611 with has 5.1
- Analog Upscaling present already, only HDMI to HDMI upscaling missing. But since PS3 is next on the cards, and I have a POHD already, I think I can let go of this.
- 75W being enough for a medium sized room of 225 - 275 sqft. You can't afford to play louder than this in Apaprtments, where I reside currently.
- I can save the amount by not going for Denon 1911 and instead use it for transformer/ PS3 etc.

Cons
- losing out on the front USB port for iPOD, iPhone etc. But that gets cumbersome to play with the black and white squared OSD. Pioneer and yamaha have must better OSDs.
- HD radio (I dont think we get HD Radio in India, do we)?

So looks like it is almost Denon 1611?

 

[snorkel4u]

Thanks for your inputs.

I finally decided to go with Denon 1611, but there were some problem in getting it.
Crutchfiled is selling both the 1611 and 1911 for the same price of 400$.

The only place i was getting the 1611 cheaper than 400$ was eBay but I wasn't getting the warranty from Denon there. It was the eBay seller who was giving the warranty, so I decided to play safe and go for the 1911 for 400$ itself.

And then luckily found a Coupon which got me another 20$ off on 400$.

So the final WINNER is Denon 1911!

Sold! for 380$ with Cable labels free! Worth 5$ lol


Phew....!


Thanks again for your inputs, will bug you again when I get the money to buy the speakers... lol

 

[Kittu]

^

Good deal buddy. Denon 1911 has front usb port :licklips: .

 

[snorkel4u]

Thanks Kittu.

Yes, Although am little bummed about the OSD white and black Square block display. I just plan to build a nice playlist and keep shuffling to a Minimum.

 

[jsanand]

Denon 1911 as per my original vote in your last thread! BTW when do I get to demo it at your place...?

 

[vasishta.sushant]

Hey nmind sharing the coupon ? I am myself willing to buy the Denon 1911. (The step down converter thing still haunts me).

Additionally the Onkyo 609 looks terrific. Available for 488 on amazon.

 

[snorkel4u]

@jsanand,

yesssir you were the one who suggested it as a good buy, w/o shipping and customs @ US price. And eventually thats where I landed.

Had I been getting a 1611 for cheaper I would have surely opted that, but I wasn't getting that for cheap from genuine sources. So landed with 1911.

I will have my hands on the loot on 5th may, along with an iPhone as well 3Gs 32 GB

@Shushant - I havent started pondering about the step down invertor. All i know is that it has to be a Step down transformer, of the isolation type.

if you're okay we can have a group buy and buy the transformers together, once excuse to catch up and chew your brains a bit about the next in my list. PS3.

Let me know.

 

[vprasad84]

Snorkel,

Onkyo 6300 is showing today for 31254 Rs. only on ebay.in (ebay global easy Buy) price is valid for 1 day only.

Yesterday when i checked it, it was for 39.5K & hence i booked the Denon1611+Polk6750 yesterday & made the payment

 

[snorkel4u]

Well, I am not sure if your red smiley is appropriate or not....

I have demoed the 6300, the Subwoofer is HUGE and the satellites are as goos as Bookshelf speakers. But the sound is nice, much better than the 3300 variant.

I have also demoed the 1611+RM6750 combo with angynagpal @ gurgaon. We both were disappointed with the demo, when compared with the demo of 1611 + BA MC100.

RM6750 lacked the bass totally, the satellites were at times screaming for life, but without SQ. Someone later suggested, 6750 aren't to be paired with 1611 or 1911 or even Onkyo 608/ Yamama 667 variants. All these are overkill for these 5.1 systems.

These AVRs deserve a proper power thirsty floorstanders or even a 5.1 like infinity tsi 1200 or the likes. Again, this is all coming from the grapevine, I haven't heard them personally.

A close friend who is also coming from US to India just bought the Infinity TSi1200 for 300$. They're running on a sale on new Egg. he is impressed with them over the Klipsch HD500.

HTH

 

[vprasad84]

hi,

i got my system denon1611+polk6750. On initial setup it did gave the kind of output you mentioned when you demoed it with with angy & i got upset too...was upset for few days even.. but remembering the experience i had during its audition i was confindent that it would output good but needs to reset it properly. in a weeks time again i ran the audessey & all & now it is working quite well. Just need to invest quite of time in understanding the whole new system & tweaking it as per what you hear & suit the best for you. The bass is very good viz speakers as well as the sub. The speakers are clear & with crisp sound. May be you need to demo it again which is pre calibrated very well. I am very happy with it now.

I have my roomsize as 12x12 & it is filling it pretty well. May be it may not good for larger room size. Anyways good to know that you are getting denon 1911. following your threads to check for your speakers & then for your ultimate review of your final system once it is build

 

[snorkel4u]

great, nice to know you are finall satisfied with your purchase. Thats what matters finally, ain't it?

I am still waiting for my AVR on 5th, and then will need o hunt for the step down transformer. Till then I cant even plug it what a shame!

About the speakers I am getting increasingly interested in the TSI 1200 by Infinity. I mean, if I can get them here for 500+100$ = 600$ = 30000, they're still a better buy then Polk, I think..... Even better than Energy Take and Klipsch?
Its actually much expensive than Klipsch but still selling lot cheaper than Klipsch. I don't think it will be a gimmick to price a 5.1 composite system at 1200$. They're almost beating BOSE.

Plus I read some more about the architecture of the speakers and the wave guides etc etc.... and it did impress me a lot. Plus the 12" woofer which is 20 kgs alone. Satellites each 2kg almost.


I am not trying my best to get them to India in the least cost... if you have any tips let me know...

Can't wait to blow them speakers out with the Denon

 

[sunyapu]

Prasad,

From where did u brought the 1611 & Polk ?

hi,

i got my system denon1611+polk6750. On initial setup it did gave the kind of output you mentioned when you demoed it with with angy & i got upset too...was upset for few days even.. but remembering the experience i had during its audition i was confindent that it would output good but needs to reset it properly. in a weeks time again i ran the audessey & all & now it is working quite well. Just need to invest quite of time in understanding the whole new system & tweaking it as per what you hear & suit the best for you. The bass is very good viz speakers as well as the sub. The speakers are clear & with crisp sound. May be you need to demo it again which is pre calibrated very well. I am very happy with it now.

I have my roomsize as 12x12 & it is filling it pretty well. May be it may not good for larger room size. Anyways good to know that you are getting denon 1911. following your threads to check for your speakers & then for your ultimate review of your final system once it is build