Denon AVR-1912 user reviews

Pros Sound quality of Audyssey EQ calibration
Full-featured (though not perfect) Android App
Highly customizable (thanks to Audyssey EQ)
Respected brand with 2 year warranty
Best sounding AV receiver around $500 (it is widely sold for $550 today)

Cons Interface is crap
Streaming is buggy (very slow and unresponsive...and the Android app doesn't help)
Airplay is buggy and absolutely requires an Apple device (no Android or Windows workaround)
Cheap built (made in China) and Denons are known to break

Summary Okay, so I set out to make my home theater for for the first time. I am a technology geek (work as an network admin) and do my research before settling on purchases.

I tried all of the popular AV receivers and was able to hear the sound difference. All the middle-class receivers I tried were able to produce great, but they sounded different when they did their processing. Using "(pure) direct" sound made all of the receivers sound VERY similar. Thus, it really boiled down to what receiver was able to do its magic to make my speakers sound better in my home theater room. Audyssey EQ hands down did the best job.

My grip with this review is that they fail to mention you are able to get the Denon AVR-2112CI for $440 (you have been able to get this price since it came out and still can) and AVR-1712 for $400 and BOTH of them have a better Audyssey EQ (XT) that will make the receiver exponentially better at making your speakers sound good.

CNET is for some reason obsessed with AirPlay. which the 1712 doesn't have, but 2112ci does. I have tried using this fear on the 1912 and found it did not work flawlessly for my Ipad. Sound quality was better plugging in my Galaxy SII via MLA convert to HDMI...so much so that I think it is silly to use Airplay. Also, Sonos CONNECT has much better sound quality and features if you want to use your phone as remote to play music.

Thus I don't give the 1912 5 stars because it does not have Audyssey EQ XT (it has Audyssey EQ). This techology is the single thing that makes the receiver great and having better makes it even better, but CNET seems to think dropping XT and getting Airplay is worth it (that or playing more to not have XT and Airplay). Ironically, if you do a little research, you can get XT AND Airplay on the 2112ci for $100 less than the 1912!

Either way, Denon is making the best AV receivers hands down but be mindful of the cons I list. Yamaha deals with the cons, but their EQ technology is far worse than Audyssey EQ and it sounds worse (different maybe a better way to put it). Some claim Yamaha makes music sound better (less tiring because sounds don't jump out at you), but I would counter this the flexibility of the Denon can make music sound the same or better with manual tuning.

The difference in Yamaha and Denon sound can be described that Yamaha sounds 'loud and wide' and Denon sounds 'localized and fine tuned,' which is what I want from a 5.1/7.1 system.

Denon isn't a perfect brand and there is a lot I don't like about them, but for under $500, the sound quality they produce is hard to argue against when looking at the competition,

Pros READ FEATURES ON MANUFACTURERS SPECS

Cons NONE KNOWN

Summary THERE ARE SEVERAL NEGATIVE ONE STARS, SPEAKING ON OTHER PRODUCTS OR SLAMMING THEIR VIEWS ON CNET'S APPROACH TO A REVIEW. IT ONLY DRAGS DOWN A PRODUCTS SCORE FOR NO REASON, POINTLESS WHEN YOU DON'T OWN THE PRODUCT AND WASTEFUL OF THE TIME FOR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO LOOK TO REVIEWS FROM ACTUAL OWNER'S.. THE CONSUMERS ONLY SOURCE FROM CORPORATE PAID TO TOUT A MANUFACTURERS PRODUCT.

Pros Tech support at Denon was superb. Quick to get in contact, and very knowledgeable.

Cons NO PRE-Amp out!
After using older Denon equipment for 30 years, I am dissapointed in the amplification section of Denon and the direction they are going with lack luster sound.

Summary I purchased the AVR1912 based upon CNET review. However when building out my basement for the Home Theater, I only wanted to listen to 2 channel stereo. Compared to my 30 year old Marantz 2252b (only 50 watts) and Denon 1025, the AVR1912 sounds like a tin-can. It is very thin, almost no low end, and the quality of the sound is nothing like my Dennon DRA-1025RA. I worked with a Denon tech person (who was very helpful), and together we determined the receiver was working fine. Unfortunately, in today's world of Receivers, too much of the revenue of the Receiver's is taken up from all the Logos on the front (Airplay, THX, Dolby, etc.) Each one of these companies want a cut of the profit, and hence, the quality of the amplifier must suffer. I am saddened that younger people have not had the opportunity to listen to good quality Class A/B amplified music either from movies, LP, or CD. I think society has accepted compressed, MP3, head phoned, ear budded quality as today's norm.

Pros Excellent sound, 6 HDMI outputs, Airplay.

Cons None that affect me, but I could see where some would need Wi-fi.

Summary This is why you should always read reviews, rather than just go by the average rating. I don't know why some people feel the need to give a low rating for reasons that have nothing to do with the product...get a life. Bottom line: This is a great receiver, it sounds awesome and has everything I need!