The time has come to buy my first AV Amp (it would have been a Pioneer 301 but Superfi told me to go away and return once I had moved house!). I have read a lot about both, my concern is the Denon is getting some bad press regarding quality (yet to read anything about Yamaha build quality). It will be used solely for DVD and TV use, music is not something I am considering. Finally, the reference to the Yamaha being HDCP compliant, how does that work?, it is my intention to buy a HD LCD TV so should it be a consideration?. All opinions greatly appreciated. Cheers
Yamaha amps are built like tanks My remote takes plenty of abuse and has not had a problem either I woudl recommend the Yamaha 650 over the denon if the best home cinema performance is wanted with the ocaisional music posibility. It qute good with music as well. Im afraid I dont know about HDCD except its another format with higher resolution for normal cd's. My old Nad 541i cdp had it. The only compatible cd I had did sound good with it. Read more here: http://www.hdcd.com/ Do you realise that if your willing to import from Germany you can get the Yamaha ax750SE/rxv-750 for the same price as the 650 over here (approx £300)
I own both an old school Yamaha stereo receiver and a brand new Denon AVR3805. Go with the Yamaha for sound quality. The Denon is great for just about everything else, but I had to spend an arm and a leg to get what I wanted. I think Yamaha has and always will do a great job with nailing the sound we are all looking for. You don't have to spend a fortune on audio/video, especially on surround sound. Pick your sub and speakers carefully, but going with Yamaha is a win win situation.
Go for Yamaha if you plan to buy a digital TV (LCD, plasma etc.) because of the audio-delay for lip-sync. It's a necessity! I have mine set to about 30 ms (+ delay in surround-processor). Even if you have a ordinary CRT-TV some DVDs need audio-delay. The cheaper Denons don't have this feature.