@@Videobeard silver looks great no fingerprints on the case. Great sound and you can a just the sound with Bass en Trible also in the remote and App. Big text Display you can also put this out true dimmer.
A few months in it has been great. The built-in WiFi has been more useful than I thought. If you select the Denon as the airplay source, the receiver will automatically power up and select the correct input. Ready to go. You can even control the volume form the iPhone or iPad, although it is not a fine adjustment. Very convenient for the non-audiophile members of the household. No technical issues. Only drawback was that I have the B speaker outs running into another room where I’d like to turn the volume down to balance it between the two rooms during a party, etc. Unfortunately there is no separate volume control for the A and B speaker outs. I could use the zone 2, but I then would need another amplifier for that additional zone. Enjoying the sound profile, but still curious about the more expensive Marantz NR1200. Marantz and Denon are corporate cousins with Denon supposedly geared toward cinema and Marantz being more “musical”. It has been stated that the you can achieve the sound profile of the other brand by adjusting the EQ settings manually. Also curious about the even more pricey Yamaha R-N803, but I have a feeling the Denon will be the heart of my system for a long time to come.
@@Videobeard Thanks, that’s a great informative help. I will probably go with the Marantz NR1200 because it has pre-outs, allowing for an external amp down the road. I’m planning to use Airplay too. I may add an Apple TV 4K for higher resolution music.
Good call on the Marantz. Overall height is shorter as well. Sound United has posted some training videos that delve into the differences between the two brands. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BG9Be5xVxHU.html
Thoughtful review. Question - if you do onboard streaming, would either unit actually show the sample rate on the screen? I assume no, but I thought I'd ask. I'm considering this class of receiver for a certain need. Thanks.
Unfortunately it does not, but I agreed that would be a great feature. When streaming over AirPlay2 both the built-in display and the Denon AVR Remote App only show “PCM” under format. I checked the HEOS app as well. The remote app has a spot for “Rate/Output” that is blank when using AirPlay, just as the “video resolution” is blank for obvious reasons. This info may be filled in when connecting through the USB directly or another digital input. I do know that AirPlay 2 tops out at 16-bit/44.1kHz (CD-quality), so the higher tier streaming options would be reduced anyway.
I'm looking at getting the Denon, but I don't have a lot of experience with receivers. Is the zone 2 output a pure source signal? Could I record a vinyl lp while listening to it if I connected the zone 2 output to a preamp and my computer?
I believe you are correct. The Zone 2 is a pre-out and controlled independently from Zone 1. It is easy to control the separate zones with the Denon AVR Remote App. You can even have different audio sources for each zone simultaneously. I have used the Zone 2 once to run sound outdoors for an event. I ran the Zone 2 into a mixer connected a PA speaker system. I could adjust the volume for zone 2 outdoors as needed with the app on my iPhone. My iPhone was also the audio source at the time via Airplay.
I use the Denon DRA-800H exclusively for music. It does have tone controls to adjust the sound to your taste, but I never used them. I do change the Sound Mode setting between Stereo, Direct and Pure Direct. Pure Direct for acoustic and jazz records and Stereo for more modern pop, hip/hop and electronic music. There is also a Subwoofer Level Adjust that I will play with sometimes.
I believe it is by Mark Mothersbaugh. I am a huge fan of his work in Devo and the many soundtracks he has composed for. It was included in the iMovie app where I edited the video.
Denon is terribly chaotic. May be only for young people. Just to listen music similar as driving airplane. My main purpase was to use my valve amplifier with it but I cannot unfortunatelly.