Denon vs Pioneer vs Onkyo

[brw2011]

All,

Firstly, this is my first post within AV Forums, so I apologise in advance if this has already been talked about - please be kind

So, I am looking at getting a 'Home Cinema' experience, and looking to do it the best way I can for a mid range price. The AV Receivers I have in mind so far are:

1st Choice: Denon AVR-1912 (Denon AVR-1912 review from the experts at whathifi.com)

2nd Choice: Pioneer VSX-1021 (Pioneer VSX-1021-K Review - Watch CNET's Video Review)

3rd Choice: Onkyo TX-NR609 (Onkyo TX-NR609 review from the experts at whathifi.com)

Now, what do you guys think? After looking at all of the reviews, and from what I understand around receivers etc, the Denon one looks absolutely spot on for what I need, i.e. 6 inputs, Air Play (which is very good for me as I have a few Apple products), streaming, able to use 3D TV through it etc...but is there more to it than that? Does anyone also know if this Denon amp has radio streaming too?

So all in all, this seems the best option, do people agree?

Now where I come a bit undone and a little clueless, is around speakers. Now the amp already is roughly £450, so I don't mind spending up to, hopefully, £200 on a speaker set if need be. To be honest, I love the look of the tallboys, so maybe a speaker set with two front tallboys, and 2 satellites at the rear, what do people think? Can anyone recommend any speaker sets that they know are great, even if they are a complete set of satellites?

I did have a recommendation from Richer Sounds with these, but not too sure if it was just because they sell them?

- Boston Accoustics: Boston SOUNDWARE XS Black | 5.1 Speaker Package | Richer Sounds

Also, looking on CNet, the reviews for the Energy Speakers look incredible, but cannot seem to find them over here in the UK to buy!?!?

- Energy 5.1: Energy Take Classic 5.1 Review - Watch CNET's Video Review


Looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks - Many thanks in advance

 

[brw2011]

All,

Just found this as well, and it seems like a bit of a bargain....

Denon AVR-1912 7.1 network receiver + Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 5.1 SE speakers + £110 cable bundle

The Denon Amp & the Boston Special Edition speakers!? Thoughts...

 

[Member 569079]

The Denon AVR-1912 is £349 pretty much everywhere now (down from £499 after getting 'just' 4/5 stars in What Hifi's group test review - Onkyo 609 was the overall group test winner).
If you can, I would try to stretch the budget for speakers, as the Soundware may offer a fair stab with movies or TV soundtracks, but will miss the mark on music. Think £399 + for a decent 5.1 surround package such as the Wharfedale DX-1 Moviestar 5.1 .

 

[brw2011]

Many thanks for the quick reply.

Indeed, after posting that link above for an all in one deal for Amp, Speakers, and Cable (to which I would probably upgrade te 30m cable to the QED stuff) for £650, I did find a deal with those speakers you mentioned above, as follows:

Denon AVR-1912 7.1 network receiver + Wharfedale DX-1 HCP 5.1 speakers + £110 cable bundle

You think the extra £100 is worth spending then on that speaker set?? Also, noticed they had the Tannoys too, for only £125 on top of the Bostons :s

Denon AVR-1912 7.1 network receiver + Tannoy HTS-101 5.1 speakers + £110 cable bundle

 

[KUBBY]

Have you heard any of these combinations?





K.

 

[brw2011]

Sorry, what do you mean, 'Have you heard any of these combinations?'??

 

[KUBBY]

Are you basing your comparisons on reviews or have you Auditioned any of the Speaker/AVR combinations for yourself ?

Many Reviewers will talk about how certain speakers have a "Warm" sound while others are more "Clinical".Therefore the AVRs that they are connected to,should be in opposition,eg. don't attach "Warm" speakers to a "Warm" AVR.
Many Members here feel the same.

My point is,what sounds "Warm" to me may sound different to you and some of the recommended combinations may sound absolutely awful to you. The reviewers don't have your ears or your room set up.

K.

 

[brw2011]

I see, many thanks for that response there Kubby.

Indeed though, I haven't yet looked at the speakers themselves, planning on doing so tomorrow hopefully. I think I may have heard a couple of reviews describing the Amp as 'Warm' - now im not too sure what the 'warm' sounds like, but hopefully if i get a listen to the amp tomorrow then it will clear things up.

One thing though, I've had this discussion with quite a few people now, and all of them seem to be saying the same things, that the pioneer/yamaha/onkyo have slightly better sounds, but for the money, the Denon one wins hands down (at £349 at the moment) - especially as there is radio, online streaming, and Air Play.

Would you all agree?

Also, with the speakers, I may just take that advance and go for maybe the Wharfedales, or the Tannoys