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A new receiver with a manual I can understand

post #1 of 7
7/21/09 at 12:29am
Thread Starter 
Last week I bought a Denon AVR 2809 HDMI receiver to go with my new Bluray player. I got everything wired up correctly and ran the room check and then... I stopped because I couldn't understand what to do next. The manual offered lots of instructions but no explanations. So my question is this: could anyone recommend a receiver - budget approx $1,000 - with a helpful manual?

I'm not really technically minded, but I do like spending time getting to understand new equipment and its capabilities, so I'm happy to put in the hours refining the performance. The trouble with the Denon was that I couldn't even get started. I took it back the next day and got a credit note.
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post #2 of 7
7/21/09 at 6:44am
Well, I think you'll find that all manuals are of roughly the same quality.  My constant complaint is that they explain the purpose of each and every widget, but fail to include step-by-step "here's how to get what you want"

Usually, reading the manual several times and then trying a few alternatives will do....  If you really get stuck, you can ask the fine folks here on this forum how to get past the sticking point.  There is almost certainly someone who has the same receiver, and can give a decent response within a day or two!
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post #3 of 7
7/26/09 at 3:45am
Thread Starter 
Apologies for not replying sooner. your suggestion to ask people in this forum is a good one: I'll remember for when I - one day - use my credit note to buy a new receiver.

I think what burns me up the most is that, as a former technical writer of instruction manuals, I know it's not impossible to write clear step-by-step instructions. Hard, perhaps, but not impossible.
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post #4 of 7
7/26/09 at 9:34am
I agree that all manuals are lacking. You probably won't find one that you like, for any brand of equipment. One thing to remember too, is that a lot of the manuals are translated from Japanese or Chinese, and stuff is probably lost in the translations.

I say to get equipment you like, and don't worry about it. Most setups are common sense, if you know that cables go from outputs to inputs. Some of the newer receivers do the automatic speaker calibrations, and do very well with it. I think one of the hardest things is assigning digital inputs, and the manuals are usually pretty good at walking you through that. People, for some reason, seem to be intimidated by HT equipment, and tend to make things harder than they actually are. As was mentioned, you can usually get help here, if something just doesn't click right.

Make sure the receiver you get has enough inputs for everything you want to hook up, and you should be ok. Stick with Onkyo, Denon, and Yamaha, and you should be ok there too. Some also like Pioneer receivers. I, personally, have no experience with them.
Good luck!
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post #5 of 7
7/27/09 at 5:02am
Thread Starter 
Appreciate the equipment tips. I've been thinking about Onkyo. Nice to hear someone endorse them.
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post #6 of 7
7/27/09 at 7:54am

The Onkyo's still run hotter than I'd like.

A gentleman has written an excellent Denon tutorial that is often recommended as THE Denon setup guide:

http://batpigworld.com/

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post #7 of 7
7/27/09 at 11:24am
Just don't close in an Onkyo, and there shouldn't be a problem. I have an Onkyo 805, and I even run 4 ohm speakers with it, and it doesn't get hot. It's not closed in.............

I also like Denon a lot. I've not messed with an HDMI Denon, but their 2803 and 3803 models were pretty simple to set up and use. The worst thing about Denons, are their remotes. I'd like to try setting up one of their HDMI receivers sometime, to see if it's much different from the ones I've done.
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