Denon 110 Year Anniversary

[Foxbat]

A PSA: Denon is celebrating their 110th year in business with a 25% off sale on their current products plus their factory refurbished equipment. I took advantage of this to get a refurbished Denon AVR to replace the 10 year old AVR-E400 model I mentioned in the DirecTV forum. Hopefully it works with the DirecTV DVR for longer than the last receiver did. At least I was able to save an additional 25% off the replacement!

Denon™ Home Theater | Enhance the Entertainment Experience

Denon

www.denon.com

I guess it’s also a Labor Day and Back to School sale as well…

 

[harshness]

Hopefully Sound United can get back out from under Masimo. The pricing for factory-fresh gear is insane.

 

[Foxbat]

Unfortunately, I had to return the AVR-S760H receiver I picked up to replace the AVR-E400. It had two stuck buttons on the front panel. It was missing the Denon logo from the upper left front panel, but the worse was the receiver spontaneously shutdown a couple of times while I was checking it out. It also seemed to have some settings that weren’t cleared out.

Fortunately, the return process couldn’t be easier. I dropped the re-boxed receiver and all its accessories into the box they came in, removed the shipping labels, and dropped it off at a Walgreens.

 

[harshness]

If you're hardwired to Denon and need something on the cheap, Costco is offering the AVR-X1700H (last year's 80WPC model) NIB and delivered for $399.

The AVR-S760H was the Denon model that Costco offered previously. They couldn't give them away and blew them out at $250.

 

[Foxbat]

If you're hardwired to Denon and need something on the cheap, Costco is offering the AVR-X1700H (last year's 80WPC model) NIB and delivered for $399.

I keep on saying that this will be the year we join Costco.

Really, my friend’s needs would probably be better served with a good soundbar with sub. That’s my next project, replacing the Bose subwoofer and L-C-R speakers with something from the last decade. Her Ex was deep into the Bose mythology and left this four piece set for her to use. The Sub doesn’t connect via RCA, it’s part of the L-R pair. I know the Denon can do fantastic things with Dolby, but until I can convince her to throw these old speakers out, that’s what she’s got.

The AVR-X1700H would work if it mirrors the replacement AVR-X1800H receiver. But we have had the AVR-S760H for two years at our vacation home and it works great for our needs there. Being familiar with it and seeing a $299 refurbished price on Denon’s website, I thought it was worth the price. But since I had to send it back, I ended up ordering the S660H instead as she won’t need the extra two amplifiers. Saved a little bit more with the 25% sale. that this one comes soon and is inspected before it leaves their facility. I didn’t see a “Inspected by #” tag in the box.

 

[harshness]

I keep on saying that this will be the year we join Costco.

I use my membership mostly for groceries and gasoline. My VISA rebate so far this year is $159.

Really, my friend’s needs would probably be better served with a good soundbar with sub.

I generally concur but whether or not a separate sub is necessary must be evaluated based on the site.

That’s my next project, replacing the Bose subwoofer and L-C-R speakers with something from the last decade. Her Ex was deep into the Bose mythology and left this four piece set for her to use.

She should offer to return the whole shebang to the ex. It may be of substantial value on the Bose vintage market -- inclined as they are.

The Sub doesn’t connect via RCA, it’s part of the L-R pair.

Was there such a thing as a 3.1 Acoustimas system?

I know the Denon can do fantastic things with Dolby, but until I can convince her to throw these old speakers out, that’s what she’s got.

Being able to do AC4 seems an absolute minimum these days. I chose the Onkyo 6050 from Costco (over the cheaper Denon 760H) and haven't regretted it. Costco does most of its returns through the storefront.

 

[Foxbat]

…I ended up ordering the S660H instead as she won’t need the extra two amplifiers. Saved a little bit more with the 25% sale. that this one comes soon and is inspected before it leaves their facility. I didn’t see a “Inspected by #” tag in the box.

This one had two inspection cards, and two inspectors. The AVR-S660H has all its parts and the controls all function properly. I ran it for three hours straight and it didn’t even break a sweat. No spontaneous shutdowns.

So I will just need to get our friend set up with the Denon AVR App on her phone, just because it’s easier to make adjustments to the settings this way instead of using the video prompts on the TV or front screen. I’m sure she won’t be happy about that!

 

[Foxbat]

I was impressed, Google allows you to skip tying a Credit Card to your Gmail account for the Play Store (although I shouldn’t be, I had to use my Gmail account for the the Play Store when I got the Volvo with Android Automotive OS and I don’t think it required a CC at that time.) Loaded up the Denon AVR app as well as the HEOS app and got to work making tweaks.

She did seem impressed at the wealth of Oldies and Celtic music available from around the World via the TuneIn App on her receiver. We’re slowly working on getting her into the 21st Century and streaming.

One weird thing happened while configuring the new Sony DVD player - it was not recognizing the Power On IR signal from the Harmony 700 remote. But, once the DVD player was on, it would react to the other IR codes being sent from the Harmony. She seems okay with powering on the Sony to play movies, since she needs to open it up and put the disc in the tray.

But I was able to update the devices programmed into the Harmony 700 remote. It is a pain to lose all the Activities when Removing the old device, especially the AVR at the center of it all.

 

[harshness]

It is a pain to lose all the Activities when Removing the old device, especially the AVR at the center of it all.

It is a pain that will only last as long as the remote holds out. Imagine the pain and suffering that will come when migrating to a new remocon paradigm entirely!

 

[Foxbat]

I’m keeping an eye out for a tablet that can take the place of the 700 remote. She did seem to accept the apps running on her phone, but she is not tied to her phone like most of us.

 

[harshness]

I’m keeping an eye out for a tablet that can take the place of the 700 remote.

In what way would this tablet replace the Harmony?

 

[navychop]

I’m keeping an eye out for a tablet that can take the place of the 700 remote. She did seem to accept the apps running on her phone, but she is not tied to her phone like most of us.

Amazon has 9th gen iPad on sale, as well as other tablets.

But I don’t see them replacing a Harmony.

 

[Foxbat]

I’m probably best off abandoning the Harmony remote system altogether. I thought about the Harmony Hub with smart device App but realize that Logitech has buried it on their site. Even trying to look for a Harmony device online, you’re not getting new stock, but “remanufactured” or refurbed.

I’m leary of the Sofabaton and being able to configure one-button Activities that the Harmony excelled at. It looks like the screen scrolls between devices, so the mission of eliminating multitudes of remotes on your end table can be achieved, but you’re back to knowing which input on which device needs to used to perform the Entertainment activity you want.

 

[navychop]

I’m probably best off abandoning the Harmony remote system altogether.

THIS IS A HANGING OFFENSE!!!

 

[harshness]

I’m probably best off abandoning the Harmony remote system altogether.

There is no future -- there is only hanging on until it dies.

There's a reason it has come down to the Sofa Baton and a couple of expensive players.