Denon vs Yamaha (1 Viewer)

[MichaelJ]

I am looking into purchasing a new Receiver in the coming weeks and would appreciate your input. I like my music bright with plenty of bass.I am considering the Denon 3802-- Yamaha ? in the same price range I have not had a chance to hear the Yamaha's I have been told they are very musical.I heard the Denon but no stores in my area carry them both and I also heard that Yamaha has some new Receivers coming out now.I would really appreciate any who have demo'd them both to give their input.I just purchased the Diva's 4.1-2.1-C3 and the SVS 25-31PCi they will be here in the next couple of weeks.All recommendations are welcome Thanks for such a great forum and great group of people to have input from.Michael

 

[John Tompkins]

MichaelJ,
Yamaha makes some great jetskies, motorcycles and keyboards but if you want a reciever get the denon..wait..wait.. I've been dying to say that, just kidding
Really, if you like the bright sound with lots of bass, I think the choice would be yamaha. Denon is known to be warmer sounding. Keep in mind though what the characteristics of your speakers are, as too much of a good thing can go bad...(too bright or too warm)

 

[MichaelJ]

I hear you John But I don't know the characteristics of the speakers yet so any who know this please chime in

 

[Kevin C Brown]

My $0.02 for what it's (not) worth:
Had Yamaha for DPL through DD. (...RX-V793 receiver with outboard amplification.)
Now I have separates, but I looked into the current batch 'o receivers for pre/pro useage.
=> The Yamaha might be preferred because of its better DSP sound fields, in my opinion.
But, for overall sound, *and* its adjustable crossover, Denon wins. (Yammie: fixed 90 Hz crossover; Denon: adjustable from 60 Hz on up.)

 

[MatthewJ S]

I haver owned and sold many Yamahas and Denons and many of the comments here are also similiar to my experiances , except the new Yamahas ie; the rxv1200 ,2200, 3200 seem to have tamed any of the slightly bright sound of their predecessors and crude blind tests cunducted w /staff and customers seem to support a preferance over the comporably priced denons...Many of these test have been cunducted with Klipsch (both series) as we sell a good bit of Klipsch and the common perception was (up until now) that denon is a better match with them...For all of the problems denon has experianced of late ,I would give Yamaha a good listen .....but then again ,crossover points may be a concern...

 

[Matt_Sulli]

matthewjs, what problems has denon experienced lately? i'm just curious to know since i'm also looking between the 3802 and the rxv2200

 

[Evan M.]

i think that the problem that people talk about with the denon is the fact that it drops out during certain dts soundtracks. ie. jp3 and pearl harbor. denon sent and e-mail to all authorized dealers saying that there is a problem with the chip that decodes that information. kenwood and onkyo i believe have the same chip and thus is why they experience a similar problem. other than that the denon is built pretty well. i also tried out the denon 3802 vs' the yamaha rx-v2200. the denon sounds very good but to my ears sounded too warm. i missed a lot of the highs. the yamaha sound was so much fuller and dynamic. i like the 7 channels that the denon had and the adjustable crossover is nice as well but the yamaha just sounded way to good and has more digital inputs. the layout seemed to be done a little more logicaly as well but that is purely opinion. the remote also does macros and the unit has front inputs too for vidio or gaming. after i heard the yamaha and saw all of its options i couldn't see purchasing anything else. i also don't think you will here of a more reliable brand than yamaha. not only are they built solidly but they are built to last. something that in this day and age doesn't seem to exist anymore. at any rate, i'll stop rambling best of luck to you and let us know what you decide on.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

If your choice has unexpected problems and you end up dealing with the companies directly, you will find Yamaha’s customer service to be better. Denon’s U.S. headquarters has the largest assemblage of apathetic idiots on the East Coast.

Regards,

Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[joe logston]

go with yamaha i had one for 18 yrs and it still sounds good a rx 1100 yamaha. i got a rx-v1 gold i love it

 

[Bobby_N]

HEY...me too! I have an RX-V1 also, isnt' a damn shame they just came out with the RX-Z1... DOH! Oh well, still dig it though...

 

[Marty Lockstead]

MichealJ, I recommend the Yamaha RX-V2200 of the RX-V3200, the latter being the model I have. It performs very well for movies & music as far as I'm concerned. Nothing against Denon however, it took me a while to decide between the two back when I was first shopping around for a digital receiver. Speaking of the RX-V1, I was close to getting one myself but it was a little out of my price range. What are the differences between the RX-V1 and the RX-Z1 anyhow? I assume DPLII, DTS-ES discrete 6.1 and maybe more wattage with a fancier remote.

 

[SidH]

I also like Yamaha, having just purchased an RX-V3200 (that replaced a Yamaha DSP-A3090). Nothing to say against Denon, though, and having a variable crossover is an advantage that may or may not make a difference to you.

My own subjective impression of the Yamaha is that it is very clean and quiet, and it certainly has plenty of dynamic power for my needs.

I have also always been a fan of the Yamaha soundfield processing, and though some dismiss it as gimmickry. I don't! I am still playing around with the DPL II and DTS:Neo modes, but they sound much better once they are tweaked (they sound terrible out of the box).

Anyway, both Denon and Yamaha produce very fine products. I have the impression that Yamaha provides slightly better value for the money. But (speaking for myself), I doubt that I could hear any difference between their higher-end receivers in stereo mode, all other things being equal.

 

[Scott Holt]

I'm sure the people that own the yamaha's love the yamaha's but I just didn't. I auditioned many and the only ones that came close to my liking were b&k, onkyo and denon. I had owned the onkyo 919 for 6 years and loved it. I wanted to upgrade and decided I liked the sound of the denon 4802 the best, and also the options. I just liked it's sound better not that it is better mind you just my personal preference. You should audition it yourself and not listen to us. We have different tastes and rooms and our views may be biased.

 

[Scott_HL]

I just received and set up my RXV-3200, and I can't give it enough compliments. I think it sounds much better than the Denon, but it's just the same age old debate of brightness vs. warmth.

It should also be noted tha I did A/B the 3000 vs. 3200, and found no change in brightness.