Denon AVR aka piece of crap

[baijuxavior]

It is out of warranty. I had sent it three times for servicing before. It is working but with some starting trouble sometimes, so I don't bother about sending it for servicing.

 

[Viren007]

sorry to hear this...i know your pain as i gone through the same situation month back which i have shared in the forum as well.
my denon 1713 was having a problem of tripping some time, during my testing i observed that it happens only when i use HDMI features however through analogue or optical it works fine.
however it was working fine once the HDMI card was replaced by service center but within week time i sold it locally.
http://www.hifivision.com/amplifiers/45388-avr-keep-shutting-down.html

now yesterday i bought second hand 11 month old denon AVR 1912 for 31k from one of my friend who has upgraded to Pioneer LX-56.

 

[baijuxavior]

Vinod, did you send a mail to profx requesting for servicing the avr? because I got a mail from profx banglore today evening that they have received a request for servicing the avr and they will service it for a fee and suggested me to contact the Cochin profx dealer. Thanks for your help, but I'm going to wait some more days to see if the avr malfunctions again or not.

 

[Goamit10]

Going to buy an AVR? Think twice if you are into Denon AVRs. I will summarize my experience with Denon 1612 AVR.

I bought the avr in September 2011. Paid 27.5K. My usage is very moderate. One or two movies a week. The AVR started showing red led blinking problem within a few months. When it happens, I will turn off the avr then turn it on again and it will continue to work after a few attempts.

Somewhat in the middle of March 2012 the AVR hdmi out stopped displaying altogether. Sent the avr to KEI service center Chennai, they replaced the hdmi board and everything seemed to be working for a few months. Then it again started the dreaded red led blinking.

In December 2012, the AVR started malfunctioning again. One of the channel went kaput. You can read it here http://www.hifivision.com/surround-amplifiers-receivers/32758-denon-1612-shutting-down-problem.html. Sent it to KEI and they charged me Rs.3500/- for the servicing. When I received it back in the last week of February 2013, it won't start. So I again sent it to Chennai. This part I didn't post in the above mentioned thread. In March 2013 I got it back. This time they didn't charge me for the servicing. Connected the avr to the power and same problem. This time I opened the case and removed a few cables and reinserted and it started working.

July 2013 - I was watching a movie in the night. After an hour when I felt the volume is high I pressed the volume down button and instantly there is no sound at all. All other functions were working but no volume. Resetting the microprocessor didn't help. I could hear crackling and hissing sound the speakers. Frustrated I turned off the avr. Next morning when I tested it started working again.

Today the avr again stopped audio after one hour of movie watching. I switched it off hoping the problem will be solved. When I started it again the avr started hissing and crackling. Removed the power supply, opened the case and did the cable remove-reinsert trick, but the avr now will not start. It simply flashes red light. I feel like I would throw this crap out of the window.

A few other forum members have also reported this shutting down/ no audio problem with Denon AVR.

So my advice to avr buyers is to think twice before you put your hard earned money in Denon AVR.

Good god!! This is really trajic and I sympathize with you for this unfortunate suffering. It's a pity that one places their trust in such reputed brands and buying trauma at a premium price.

I in near future plan to upgrade my HT and had zeroed in on Denon 1713/2113. Your experience makes me explore other options. I hope that this screaming agony ceases for you. :annoyed:

Regards

 

[push]

Thanks for sharing the same, not only you there are other members also who were so against denon.
I was thinking to go for x2000 but opted for yamaha 675.

 

[Vinod.R]

Vinod, did you send a mail to profx requesting for servicing the avr? because I got a mail from profx banglore today evening that they have received a request for servicing the avr and they will service it for a fee and suggested me to contact the Cochin profx dealer. Thanks for your help, but I'm going to wait some more days to see if the avr malfunctions again or not.

Hi Baiju, I did not. But I think someone there is watching this thread!!!.

I had told them during my visits to their showroom about this forum, so that might be it.

Anyways, how is your AVR for the now?

 

[baijuxavior]

The avr is working now. Sometimes it shows problems. This is the message I received from profx:

I am subin from PROFX Bangalore, Denon authorised service centre ,approved your repair request on chargeable basis so please contact our cochin branch manager Mr. Ajithan mob.9xxxxxxxx.

Thanks & Regards

I didn't request them for repair.

 

[lifewater]

@baiju, good to know your AVR is working now. I too am using a DENON AVR1707 regularly since 2006 without any problems. It is used everyday for movies, TV etc but it is a no frills one with a sound quality to die for in today's AVRs

Regards,

Lifewater

 

[Kittu]

The problem sounds like with new technology , specially the faulty HDMI boards.

 

[matbhuvi]

Wow..so many issues with AVR. You guys sure it is not overheating issue? Our weather, room temperature and the tendency of the AVR to get really hot can affect the performance. Earlier lot of Onkyo receivers had the overheating issue. Many did a custom fan install over the AVR to overcome it. You can read about that in avsforum. Hope you guys are using good quality power or online UPS. I used my receiver for 3 years in US and then brought the same here when i returned. I got so frustrated by the noise of online UPS and frequent power cuts, i just packed my receiver and speakers and shelved them

 

[baijuxavior]

There is no overheating issue in Denon AVR. It is super cool even after 5 hours of continuous use. The problem is mainly with the hdmi board which fails to initialize the avr properly when powered on. I am using online ups, so power supply is not a problem. I have the problem even if connected directly to mains.

 

[shanmune]

There is no overheating issue in Denon AVR. It is super cool even after 5 hours of continuous use. The problem is mainly with the hdmi board which fails to initialize the avr properly when powered on. I am using online ups, so power supply is not a problem. I have the problem even if connected directly to mains.

Some AVRs have the HDMI board getting shutdown due to overheating. In your case, is that a firmware issue ? I am hearing lots of issues with 1.4 standard related to handshake.

 

[baijuxavior]

I don't know if it is a firmware issue. I am not the only one facing this issue. Definitely it is not an overheating issue, because the problem starts when you power it on.

 

[matbhuvi]

Hmm..i was thinking about selling my Pioneer VS21TXH Elite. Now, i need to reconsider.

 

[Kittu]

Hmm..i was thinking about selling my Pioneer VS21TXH Elite. Now, i need to reconsider.

I'd definitely not sell it. Elite receivers are keepers.

 

[navin119]

I am also having some problems with denon avr 1612. Just doesnt switch ON,and goes to standby mode in 2 seconds and flickers between ON and standby mode every 2 seconds. Is not even 10 months old.

I bought it in Jodhpur and the dealer gave me just a bill, and said no warranty is given on DENON products.And he will help me if required,
The package had Pro Fx courier tags.

However i have shifted to chennai!!

:sad:

 

[Rupam]

Really feel sorry for you baijuxavior. This is really unacceptable as Denon is a reputed brand. After reading your posts I stated having nightmares.

 

[tanmayj]

Okay, firstly, Biju - feel your pain buddy, feel sorry for you! Please don't take what I'm posting below personally.

I saw quite a few posts of folks rethinking Denon as the result of this thread. I'm sharing my thought process while I bought my Onkyo.

This is the first time I'm hearing such stuff about Denons. This post has run into 6 pages as of now. On AVSFORUM, there's a 21 pager thread about Onkyo 616 issues. To such an extent at one point if you'd google Onkyo 616, this would come up first, instead of the Amazon/ Onkyo pages.

I was faced with this terrible dilemma when I bought my Onkyo.

1) There was this MAJOR NOISE on the internet about the 2012 products (515/ 616/ 717) being pieces of shit etc. They did indeed have quite a few issues which were fixed through firmware upgrades in the first half of 2012.
2) I liked the Onkyo sound. Better than Denon and certainly better than Yammies.

So where did that leave me?

1) On the one hand, you had a receiver (Onkyo) which was TRASHED on the net, but heavily discounted, feature packed and great sounding.
2) On the other hand you had a receiver (Denon) which was supposed to be stable, but about 10K-15K more expensive if you'd compare the 616 to the 2113/ 2313 Amazon prices.
3) I wasnt considering Yammies because (and this is an intensely personal opinion so please dont bite my brains out over this), their sound quality SUCKED! I listened to one in Vijay Sales in Mumbai, in their dedicated HT room et. al. It was quite some time ago, so I dont remember the model but it was pretty high end, and it SUCKED! Decided then and there that Yammies were out!

So the race was between a Denon and an Onkyo. I decided that I didnt want to pay more for a stable receiver whose sound quality I didnt like as much as the Onkyo. I'd rather take my chances with the cheaper but better sounding receiver. Sound quality made the decision for me!

So I prayed to God and got an Onkyo 616. It's been 9 months and (I'm touching wood as I type this), it's working like a charm! Day after day in my life is filled with quality music!

So advice to prospectives:
1) Dont go too much by the forum posts. I'm not trying to belittle Biju's issue - I'm sure he has a genuine issue. However the point is that negativity always gets reported. For eg: If you have 10 users with issues in Denon, each and every one of them will report it in some or the other forum. But for those 10 users, you might have 1000 users whose AVRs are working perfectly fine, but they will never go to forums and start threads saying 'my AVR works like a dream'. So you wont hear about them and keep fixating on the issues.
2) Go by what your ear likes. At the end of the day (for me at-least) it's all about satisfaction. A stable AVR with a less than decent SQ is going to leave me as unsatisfied as an unstable AVR with phenomenal SQ while it's working fine!

Hope this helped, cheers!!!

 

[Rupam]

Okay, firstly, Biju - feel your pain buddy, feel sorry for you! Please don't take what I'm posting below personally.

I saw quite a few posts of folks rethinking Denon as the result of this thread. I'm sharing my thought process while I bought my Onkyo.

This is the first time I'm hearing such stuff about Denons. This post has run into 6 pages as of now. On AVSFORUM, there's a 21 pager thread about Onkyo 616 issues. To such an extent at one point if you'd google Onkyo 616, this would come up first, instead of the Amazon/ Onkyo pages.

I was faced with this terrible dilemma when I bought my Onkyo.

1) There was this MAJOR NOISE on the internet about the 2012 products (515/ 616/ 717) being pieces of shit etc. They did indeed have quite a few issues which were fixed through firmware upgrades in the first half of 2012.
2) I liked the Onkyo sound. Better than Denon and certainly better than Yammies.

So where did that leave me?

1) On the one hand, you had a receiver (Onkyo) which was TRASHED on the net, but heavily discounted, feature packed and great sounding.
2) On the other hand you had a receiver (Denon) which was supposed to be stable, but about 10K-15K more expensive if you'd compare the 616 to the 2113/ 2313 Amazon prices.
3) I wasnt considering Yammies because (and this is an intensely personal opinion so please dont bite my brains out over this), their sound quality SUCKED! I listened to one in Vijay Sales in Mumbai, in their dedicated HT room et. al. It was quite some time ago, so I dont remember the model but it was pretty high end, and it SUCKED! Decided then and there that Yammies were out!

So the race was between a Denon and an Onkyo. I decided that I didnt want to pay more for a stable receiver whose sound quality I didnt like as much as the Onkyo. I'd rather take my chances with the cheaper but better sounding receiver. Sound quality made the decision for me!

So I prayed to God and got an Onkyo 616. It's been 9 months and (I'm touching wood as I type this), it's working like a charm! Day after day in my life is filled with quality music!

So advice to prospectives:
1) Dont go too much by the forum posts. I'm not trying to belittle Biju's issue - I'm sure he has a genuine issue. However the point is that negativity always gets reported. For eg: If you have 10 users with issues in Denon, each and every one of them will report it in some or the other forum. But for those 10 users, you might have 1000 users whose AVRs are working perfectly fine, but they will never go to forums and start threads saying 'my AVR works like a dream'. So you wont hear about them and keep fixating on the issues.
2) Go by what your ear likes. At the end of the day (for me at-least) it's all about satisfaction. A stable AVR with a less than decent SQ is going to leave me as unsatisfied as an unstable AVR with phenomenal SQ while it's working fine!

Hope this helped, cheers!!!

I don't agree. Forum posts do hold more value than stand alone reviews, because forum users are often using the product under real world situation for more time than reviewers using them in AC studios.
And for Onkyo 616, according to you that Onkyo fixed all the problems upon subsequent firmware updates. So the companies do take note of the problems users are posting in forums.
It turns out that you are lucky whereas Baiju has been the unlucky. If you were in Baiju's situation, you would have done the same thing.
Aftersales is also a important point in satisfaction measure. You don't realize it because you don't need to use ASS till now (and I prey that you never need). Why do you think companies with robust ASS gets the customer confidence.

 

[tanmayj]

Of course forum posts hold more value than reviews. I am not denying it. All I'm saying is that often negativity gets more forum coverage than positivity. That's all...