Which Amplifier...Denon or Onkyo?

Phantom

Phantom

Phantom

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Which of these 2 is best:
  • Onkyo TX-SR606 (£400)
  • Denon AVR-1909 (£450)

I'm getting mixed comments about these. I went into a shop with the intention of buying the Denon but ended up with the Onkyo. sales assistant said it was practically the same but I got more with the Onkyo. To be honest when I got it home I wasnt impressed.. I'm having to use S-video to connect my topfield box to the onkyo but it doesnt seem to work.. or rather it did for all of 3 mins. I tried the various other S-Video inputs on the amp but now I get a no signal blue screen :( (ps3 via hdmi through to tv via amp works fine).

s video cable is fine when connect direct from topfield box to tv.

I'll be ringing them tomorrow as I am seriously not impressed... should I get my money back or is the Denon better?
 
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I've had the TX-SR606 for a month now and to be frank my experience was quite the opposite. So far, everyone's been impressed by the sound quality (paired with a Q Acoustics 1010i set) and it hasn't really caused any trouble as such. Admittedly I haven't really used S-Video at all. All of my equipment are plugged in via HDMI to the amp and the single output HDMI to the TV.

Anyone else with the same Topfield box and the same amp suffering the same problem? If not, I might be tempted to try another TX-SR606.

For the record I got mine for £399 from a fairly well known group of stores.
 
my mistake, I got the prices mixed up....Denon AVR-1909 is £450; Onkyo TX-SR606 is £400

Right now the only way I have got it to work is Topfield to TV via scart and sound via optical out from Topfield to amp. The sales guy sold me the onkyo on the basis that it could upscale the topfield signal to 1080p... I find out earlier tonight is that at most it only does 1080i (??) - most annoyed. Anyone else had S-video problems with the 606?
 
Phantom said:
my mistake, I got the prices mixed up....Denon AVR-1909 is £450; Onkyo TX-SR606 is £400

Right now the only way I have got it to work is Topfield to TV via scart and sound via optical out from Topfield to amp. The sales guy sold me the onkyo on the basis that it could upscale the topfield signal to 1080p... I find out earlier tonight is that at most it only does 1080i (??) - most annoyed. Anyone else had S-video problems with the 606?
Click to expand...

upscaling as far as i know in lower range amps only does 1080i anyway. should have researched this further before buying. and why dont you get a scart to rca cable and have the video going through the amp too?

StevenG
 
straight to the tv is going to give you the best picture anyway, especially if your using an RGB scart instead of svideo. even if that onkyo could upscale the svideo input to 1080p, it wont make it look any batter at all. certainly, it wouldnt be a patch on an RGB scart straight to the tele.

the salesman was wrong about that, yes. but you arent going to find an av amp in that price range that can do it. even then, again, its really a waste of time. id personally go for the best quality connections over the conveniance of video switching on the amp using an inferior video connection :)
 
As above really... As far as scart devices are concerned, having the video going through the amp is pretty pointless as you'll get a much better quality picture by plugging directly in to the TV.

Make sure you test your amp with another s-video device (laptop, DVD player etc) to make sure there is not a fault.
 
I can't comment on Denon, but I have an Onkyo 605 (model before 606) and I am VERY impressed with it when paired up to some Q Acoustic 1010's.

Music was a little flat but since I moved to a new flat it seems much better (perhaps speaker placement or room acoustics? I'm not sure)

I would certainly vouch for Onkyo, although as mentioned I cannot comment on the Denon.
 
As James stated the 805 is a completely different class (absolutely incredible amp from my own experience if you can afford it though)

Ive heard great things of last year's and this years Onkyo ranges from the 5's upwards - so I would personally go for the 606 even without any personal experience of this exact model
 
Turned out the Onkyo was faulty. Instead of accepting a replacement I opted for the Denon. Looks wise, it sits so much better with all the other bits I have. All I need to do is now deciper the menu system... looks to be 100x more complex than the onkyo so I hope it sounds better too!! :o
 
With regards to sound, for best quality it is usually the simpler the better. ;)
 
Stag said:
With regards to sound, for best quality it is usually the simpler the better. ;)
Click to expand...

argh... i hope not.

Finally got my head round the menu system and worked out how to work the hidden remote on the underside. not a bad unit actually. all i need now is to work out how this surround sound business works and the fact that the base does not seem to be in sync with the speakers :|
 
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