VRavichandar
Well-Known Member
I have purchased a new Denon X1200W AVR from Flipkart. This was primarily to replace my basic SC-XH 175 Panasonic HTib. This is going to be a long post as it covers my experience, but also has some questions that I would like you to answer for me.
I bought the panasonic HTib a few years back as an interim measure. Though not great in fidelity, it was easy on the ears, worked well with my Panasonic LED. I used to connect my portable drive to the TV and play downloaded content off it. The HT supported only Dolby Digital and could not handle other surround sound formats. With more and more HEVC content I had to use an old Vaio laptop and VLC. Laptop -> TV -> HT. Obviously this was not suitable for any surround sound. With Dolby prologix there was some simulated surround, but was not happy with that.
Further I had a pair of Sony SSD 950 AV 6ohm 200W speakers from a 26 year old HiFi system (LBT905) lying idle as the amplifier conked out. So decided to take the jump and bought the Denon as I felt it fulfills my requirements. I auditioned a 2200 in ProFx Chennai but procrastinated buying as I had too many doubts!
Joined this forum went through a lot of posts that gave me some clarity on taking a decision. Unfortunately I don't have deep pockets to invest in many fine speakers, AVRs talked about here. Further my hearing is not all that great either! (Blame it on hours and hours spent on listening at high volume to walkmans, hi end audio systems, ipod and phones for three+ decades)
There was a compelling reason to buy from Flipkart and I paid 48K. It was delivered yesterday after much follow up - don't want to bore you with the details.
Set up was a breeze. Sony speakers are the front speakers now. The speakers from Panasonic HTiB are rated at 160W @ 3ohms per channel. Denon output is rated at 120W @ 6ohms. Took a calculated risk after capping volume at 70%. Connected the front speakers of Panasonic as surround and the centre as centre. The surround speakers are the front B at present. Request members here to suggest if these speakers can be put to better use as atmos. I know these are low fidelity speakers, but they have to do for the time being as I cant invest anything more at present. Further the system is at present set up in our 16 x 14 living room.
There is no subwoofer at present. Panasonics sub was passive. Denon requires active sub. I am trying to set the Front speaker to handle the bass. The Sony speakers used to give thumping bass with my original amp.
I have tried these settings. In the speaker selection menu, I have selected no subwoofer. In the crossover menu the least option is 80Hz. When playing music, I believe the bass punch is missing. I hate using equalizer. I can hear the bass in certain songs, but it is underwhelming. Any suggestions?
It was fun assembling the tripod for Audyssey set up. Worked extremely well and was a breeze again. Tried watching a few minutes of Avatar amazing surround effects.
That brings me to a doubt I had prior to buying this. Will my 7 year old Vaio (with hdmi) decode all surround formats? Seems it does. Used VLC. Avatar has DTS. But, Denon display says multichannel in + Dolby surround and not DTS. Is there something else I need to do?
I had no issues with my Airtel HD. I was using optical with my Panasonic. So I set my STB HDMI audio to Dolby Digital Plus. Denon displays it correctly and the sound effects were amazing again.
Had to use an Ethernet cable for the initial network setup as I have to allow the mac address in my router. There was a firmware update and it went through without any hassles. After ascertaining the mac address I set up my router, it works on wifi. Except a few internet radio stations, there is nothing much of interest for me there. No spotify! May have to set up a proxy at a later time. Tested Bluetooth streaming, works well, but some lag was noticeable.
A major issue initially was that I had to crank up the volume >50% for a decent sound. Later I adjusted the source level to +12db. Seems I have to do this for each selected source. Now I can get decent sound at about 40%. Is there something else I need to do?
Overall it is a very decent receiver. Excellent clarity on mids and highs. The surround effects even with my low end surrounds and centre speaker are worth mentioning. Combined with Audyssey it is definitely recommended. Delta: not so good for listening to music as it gives a spatial effect and lacks bass.
I will write more in the coming days. Thanks for reading!
I bought the panasonic HTib a few years back as an interim measure. Though not great in fidelity, it was easy on the ears, worked well with my Panasonic LED. I used to connect my portable drive to the TV and play downloaded content off it. The HT supported only Dolby Digital and could not handle other surround sound formats. With more and more HEVC content I had to use an old Vaio laptop and VLC. Laptop -> TV -> HT. Obviously this was not suitable for any surround sound. With Dolby prologix there was some simulated surround, but was not happy with that.
Further I had a pair of Sony SSD 950 AV 6ohm 200W speakers from a 26 year old HiFi system (LBT905) lying idle as the amplifier conked out. So decided to take the jump and bought the Denon as I felt it fulfills my requirements. I auditioned a 2200 in ProFx Chennai but procrastinated buying as I had too many doubts!
Joined this forum went through a lot of posts that gave me some clarity on taking a decision. Unfortunately I don't have deep pockets to invest in many fine speakers, AVRs talked about here. Further my hearing is not all that great either! (Blame it on hours and hours spent on listening at high volume to walkmans, hi end audio systems, ipod and phones for three+ decades)
There was a compelling reason to buy from Flipkart and I paid 48K. It was delivered yesterday after much follow up - don't want to bore you with the details.
Set up was a breeze. Sony speakers are the front speakers now. The speakers from Panasonic HTiB are rated at 160W @ 3ohms per channel. Denon output is rated at 120W @ 6ohms. Took a calculated risk after capping volume at 70%. Connected the front speakers of Panasonic as surround and the centre as centre. The surround speakers are the front B at present. Request members here to suggest if these speakers can be put to better use as atmos. I know these are low fidelity speakers, but they have to do for the time being as I cant invest anything more at present. Further the system is at present set up in our 16 x 14 living room.
There is no subwoofer at present. Panasonics sub was passive. Denon requires active sub. I am trying to set the Front speaker to handle the bass. The Sony speakers used to give thumping bass with my original amp.
I have tried these settings. In the speaker selection menu, I have selected no subwoofer. In the crossover menu the least option is 80Hz. When playing music, I believe the bass punch is missing. I hate using equalizer. I can hear the bass in certain songs, but it is underwhelming. Any suggestions?
It was fun assembling the tripod for Audyssey set up. Worked extremely well and was a breeze again. Tried watching a few minutes of Avatar amazing surround effects.
That brings me to a doubt I had prior to buying this. Will my 7 year old Vaio (with hdmi) decode all surround formats? Seems it does. Used VLC. Avatar has DTS. But, Denon display says multichannel in + Dolby surround and not DTS. Is there something else I need to do?
I had no issues with my Airtel HD. I was using optical with my Panasonic. So I set my STB HDMI audio to Dolby Digital Plus. Denon displays it correctly and the sound effects were amazing again.
Had to use an Ethernet cable for the initial network setup as I have to allow the mac address in my router. There was a firmware update and it went through without any hassles. After ascertaining the mac address I set up my router, it works on wifi. Except a few internet radio stations, there is nothing much of interest for me there. No spotify! May have to set up a proxy at a later time. Tested Bluetooth streaming, works well, but some lag was noticeable.
A major issue initially was that I had to crank up the volume >50% for a decent sound. Later I adjusted the source level to +12db. Seems I have to do this for each selected source. Now I can get decent sound at about 40%. Is there something else I need to do?
Overall it is a very decent receiver. Excellent clarity on mids and highs. The surround effects even with my low end surrounds and centre speaker are worth mentioning. Combined with Audyssey it is definitely recommended. Delta: not so good for listening to music as it gives a spatial effect and lacks bass.
I will write more in the coming days. Thanks for reading!