Denon AVR-1912 vs Pioneer VSX-1021? Airplay differences? Discrete amp. channels? (1 Viewer)

[KenY]

Are the "7 discrete amp. channels" of the Denon better than the Pioneer 1021, or does it have them also? Does it sound better that way? (is it a feature that should affect my decision?) Also, is the Audyssey calibration program better than the Pioneer's? We have lots of Apple products (iPhones, iPods, Macbook Air, and iMac) and we all deal with our iTunes quite a bit, so the Airplay thing will be cool for us. It sounds like the Pioneer has a little more interaction with Apple, so that may be something for me to keep in mind. But both units have Airplay, so I'm not too sure what the differences with their Airplay functions might be, if any...right now the Denon can be found for $500, and the Pioneer for $350. So, is there any reasons to spend the extra $150 for the Denon? I WAS looking at the Pioneer 1121, but it doesn't have Standby HDMI Passthrough!! I think that sucks, cuz the wife and kids don't wanna mess with surround sound every time they watch TV... Anyone have any ideas or info? Thank you all for your time!

 

[gene c]

I wouldn't worry too much about the amp sections or "Discreet Amp Sections". Both would be more than capable unless you have very in-efficient speakers or a very large room. . I always thougth Pioneer had the upper hand in Apple Apps. But it not my area of expertise. Hard to believe the 1121 doesn't have HDMI pass-through if it's included on the 1021 but I couldn't find anything that suggested it did . Very strange. The 1121 does have a slightly stronger amp section and a better video processor if that's important to you. And it weights quite a bit more. The Denon has Audyssey which seems to be preferred over MCACC and the Pioneer only allows a single crossover setting rather than different settings for each speaker group. But it's hard to say if the 1912 is worth $150 more than the 1021. I don't think it is but we all have our opinions. BTW, if you aren't affraid to buy a factory refurbished model Ac4l.com carries Denon's (and Onkyo, Marantz) and has the 1912 for $399 (not a great deal) and last years 1911 for $299 (nnot a bad deal). They all come with a one year factory warranty. $349 for the 1021 is pretty good too.

 

[KenY]

I also thought it strange that the 1121 doesn't have pass-through standby hdmi...why not have it in the "flagship" pioneer model?? Thanks for the good info!

 

[gene c]

I wonder if it does have it. Looking on the Product Sheet off Pioneers website it shows "HDMI Standby Through for Low Power Consumption". I think that's the pass-through thing you were looking for. But they really don't make finding out what a receiver is capable of doing very easy to find out. http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/ephox/StaticFiles/PUSA/Files/VSX-1121-K%20Single%20Sheet.pdf The items in BOLD are upgrades from the 1021.

 

[KenY]

It sure does...now I'm officially confused...Crutchfield says no...the Pioneer comparison chart between the 1021 and 1121 says no, at least there's no check mark for it on the 1121...maybe I'll call Pioneer tomorrow just to end my misery...

 

[KenY]

Ok, after some more research, I found some posts on AVS forum that mentioned pass-through on the 1121, but it has to be set-up, and HDMI Control has to be on. In the owners manual, pgs. 45-47 it's explained, but I'm not sure I have a complete handle on it...My Panny TV and Panny BD player both have Viera Connect, or whatever Panny calls their HDMI control, so it will most likely work. It looks like, at the very end of the section in the book, pg 47, that if it's turned on, when it's passing through the power light will come on, and the HDMI light will come on...sorta complicated, but I suppose I can figure it out with some messing around. I like the 1121, and they're going on Newegg for $450... so I may keep it in mind. That section in the book is a little hard for me to get my head around...

 

[pfar]

What does stand by hdmi pass through do?

 

[gene c]

What does stand by hdmi pass through do?

Itallows you to listen to the tv's speakers with the receiver turned off. Sometimes the wife and kids don't want to be bothered with turning the whole system on just to watch cartoons or the news. So it passes the signal from the source comonent through the receiver and to the display with the receiver in Standby mode.

 

[MarkSchro]

Not sure about the Pioneer but I have the Denon AVR 3312 and use an apple extreme for my wireless and an express sending cat5 to my Denon. The airplay works great and I have the app for my iphone that is a simple remote for the Denon. So my whole family can choose from there phone or itouch to send the sound out of the Denon. The Denon see's the entire itunes library and shows the album art work. It is nice to be able to use the iphone and control volume on the Denon choose internet radio or itunes library all from my phone. Not sure if this helps in you or not.

 

[KenY]

Sounds cool! What do you mean by Apple Extreme and an express sending cat5-I'm not familiar with that-Can you elaborate? I also found out that the Denon 1912's HDMI Passthrough function is exactly like the Pioneer-it is set up in the HDMI Control area, in other words, HDMI Control has to be set to ON. It's on pg 58 in the 1912 manual. Maybe they're all this way, I'm just now finding out how this passthrough thing works...Anyway, now I just need to decide between the Pioneer 1021 for $350, the 1121 for $450, or the Denon 1912 for $500. I'm thinking the Pion. 1121. Here's betting I'll be very happy with any of them!! They're all awesome, and most likely way more receiver than I'll ever need. I think I can't lose with any of them...I love AV technology!!

 

[MarkSchro]

The apple extreme is my wireless router and the apple express is a small plug that has an ethernet port and a small mini jack that plugs in any ac socket and can extend your wifi to anywhere and send itunes form the small 1.3mm jack via an opitcal or regular cable. Me Denon needed a ethernet cable and my wireless router is upstairs so I plug in the express into an ac outlet by my Denon and run an ethernet cable from it to the Denon so its on my wifi network. and then airplay will work. I just downloaded the Denon app for my iphone and the itunes app and you can run it all from your iphone. If you need any help on the set up just let me know.

 

[KenY]

Sounds cool-thanks!

 

[Gary Seven]

Discrete amplifier means that each amplifier has it's own transistors and circuits. However they do share the power supply (that's another issue). I would pay attention to this if music is your priority over movies. Based on my observation here, people here seem to care more about the movies than the music so people's advice tends to be skewed that way. Personally, I would rather have discrete amplification than not. A bonus about discrete amplification it allows you to bi-amp your speakers if you have unused amplifiers.

 

[KenY]

Makes sense-thanks!

 

[jim09]

i changed from pioneer to denon a few years ago and i always seem to be wishing i still had the pioneer remote even though the denon avr is great , the remote is hell