Denon AVP-A1HDCI / POA-A1HDCI Review Support Thread

[Bradh]

There is a 6dB diff in input sensitivity but they only specify voltage gain once which we aren't sure if its for balanced or unbalanced. I believe they are following the 6dB convention I mentioned but you could always call them to ask.

They are out of business as far as I know, nobody has answered phone for a few weeks. I will run the test anyway and report back.

Brad

 

[gene]

They are out of business as far as I know, nobody has answered phone for a few weeks. I will run the test anyway and report back.

Brad

You are the 3rd person I've heard tell me this but I didn't want to say it publicly until I can confirm it. It's sad b/c B&K makes some nice amps. Too bad they never embraced online magazines and an online business model else things could have been much different for them. I remember years ago calling them and they flat out told me they don't work with online review sites. Oh well

 

[Bradh]

You are the 3rd person I've heard tell me this but I didn't want to say it publicly until I can confirm it. It's sad b/c B&K makes some nice amps. Too bad they never embraced online magazines and an online business model else things could have been much different for them. I remember years ago calling them and they flat out told me they don't work with online review sites. Oh well

It sad. Companies need to keep up with the time if they want to stay in business in todays market.

I really like the amp except for one of the channels have a bad hiss. I am sure glad the retailer is taking it back and letting me exchange it. I am sure the Parsound Halo's will make me very happy. I just would rather have a one box solution.

Brad

 

[gene]

I really like the amp except for one of the channels have a bad hiss. I am sure glad the retailer is taking it back and letting me exchange it. I am sure the Parsound Halo's will make me very happy. I just would rather have a one box solution.

Brad

Emotiva UPA-7

 

[Bradh]

Emotiva UPA-7

Great review again. Emotiva is putting out some great amps. It looks the
pro-emotiva stuff is going to be nice. Not much on the site yet but a 350 watt 7 channel monster.

I did the test and quess what they stayed the same level, balanced vs unbalanced with the B&K.

During the test I hooked up the bad channel and the balanced connect did quiet it down alot.

What happens with the unbalanced contection channel 7 has a hum-hiss that can be heard from a 3 or 4 feet away. I can change leads, speakers and the noise follows. I have everything turned off but the amp and its still there. Hooked up the balanced and its pretty much gone, can only be heard from a foot or so when its real quiet. Question should I keep it and us balanced. Send it back while I can and exchange it for the Halo's? Same price plus I would have a warranty.

Brad

 

[Bradh]

Gene

What the vertict. The levels stayed the same When I changed to balanced.

Brad

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Just for kicks I called Denon tech support and inquired about the lack of bass on SACD due to the latest firmware update.

The guy said he had never even heard of the issue.

He asked his supervisor and the "other" techs, and none of them have even heard of this issue.

I told him that a lot people have complained about this on Audioholics forum.

But he said he has never heard of such a complaint.

 

[gimp]

Just for kicks I called Denon tech support and inquired about the lack of bass on SACD due to the latest firmware update.

The guy said he had never even heard of the issue.

He asked his supervisor and the "other" techs, and none of them have even heard of this issue.

I told him that a lot people have complained about this on Audioholics forum.

But he said he has never heard of such a complaint.

I wonder if you called back again another if you would get the same exact story. Did you menton my reference number?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I wonder if you called back again another if you would get the same exact story. Did you menton my reference number?

No, I but did tell him that many people on the forum have called and complained. Even the president of Audioholics Gene has complained.

I am losing my faith in Denon more and more every day.

 

[Retrogamer]

Is the AVP-A1HDCI still leading edge?

I am finally upgrading my 10 year old home theater to HD. I'm looking to replace my Lexicon MC-1 with this unit. All the reviews I've read are very positive. I know this is still Denon's flagship high end receiver, but it has been out for over 2 years. Are there better options in the same price range, or is this still a leading edge component?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I am finally upgrading my 10 year old home theater to HD. I'm looking to replace my Lexicon MC-1 with this unit. All the reviews I've read are very positive. I know this is still Denon's flagship high end receiver, but it has been out for over 2 years. Are there better options in the same price range, or is this still a leading edge component?

I believe AVP-A1HDCI is still one of the best out there in any price range.

But there are other pre-pros that will also do an awesome job. They include Anthem, Cary Audio, Integra, and the new upcoming Marantz pre-pro.

 

[Retrogamer]

3D support?

In case 3D takes off (I have my doubts), I was wondering if the latest vesion of this receiver (AVP-A1HDCI(A)) supports the "pass-through" signal mentioned in this article from Best Buy:

"If you currently have an A/V receiver, it will almost certainly not have HDMI 3D pass-through technology (receivers with this technology will begin to be released this spring). So if you want to connect your 3D-ready Blu-ray player to an older receiver, the Blu-ray player will need to have multiple HDMI outputs, or have the ability for simultaneous HDMI and optical/coaxial outputs.

Why? You need to have HDMI 3D pass-through to get a full HD 3D picture, but the sound has no such requirement. So with multiple outputs, you can connect the Blu-ray player directly to the 3D-ready HDTV (HDMI 3D pass-through for the picture) and connect the Blu-ray player to your older A/V receiver (any HDMI/optical/coaxial output for the sound).

Unfortunately, there is still a possibility for handshake issues with this approach, as the picture and sound may not sync properly. There are manual adjustments you can make to your receiver to help reduce this issue, but you may not be able to find an acceptable adjustment."

Denon's website has nothing about 3D in the write-up for this unit.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yeah, the AVP-A1 does not have HDMI v1.4a, which is required for 3D video.

No one knows if Denon can issue a firmware to achieve this like Harman Kardon does with their upper end AVR models.

 

[Retrogamer]

HDMI 1.4a

According to hdmi.org, it isn't likely a firmware upgrade is possible to go to 1.4.

"Can older HDMI (v.1.0 - 1.3) devices be firmware-upgraded to take advantage of the new features introduced in HDMI 1.4?

Probably not. Most of the new features introduced in HDMI 1.4 will require a new HDMI chip to enable, and cannot be upgraded via firmware."

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

According to hdmi.org, it isn't likely a firmware upgrade is possible to go to 1.4.

"Can older HDMI (v.1.0 - 1.3) devices be firmware-upgraded to take advantage of the new features introduced in HDMI 1.4?

Probably not. Most of the new features introduced in HDMI 1.4 will require a new HDMI chip to enable, and cannot be upgraded via firmware."

Tell that to Harman Kardon. They have figured a way to upgrade from HDMI 1.3 to 1.4 via firmware.

 

[Retrogamer]

HDMI 1.4a

So I asked Denon, and here was the reply I got:

"This would be a hardware update and we are currently looking into the possibility of doing this. However, there is nothing set in stone presently. You can continue to check the News section of the website to see if anything is announced.

Thank you

Ean Levy
Customer Service Representative
D&M Holdings NA, Inc."

 

[gene]

Tell that to Harman Kardon. They have figured a way to upgrade from HDMI 1.3 to 1.4 via firmware.

The Harman products that support this are newer and have the newer HDMI chipsets.

 

[deputy dog]

New avp owner

I just purchased a refurb. AVP, unfortunately when I set it up and tried to program my harmony remote it worked up to actually getting video and audio, with the upshot after 3 hours with harmony and 2 hours with Denon it was determined I had a faulty AVP, but instead of returning it to where I got it I decided to turn it into a Denon super service center which is only a few miles from me so they could check the whole thing out while it is still in the warranty period instead of taking a chance and getting another AVP with some other problem that I might not discover until it was out of warranty. The electronics service center just advised me that the HDMI board was bad and a new one has been ordered. I have heard a lot of good things about the Denon AVP which is why I bought it however I don't have near the amount of money required to purchase it new which is why I got the refurb.
Has there been reliability problems with the AVP? Also is the AVP a fully balanced unit to make an actual audible difference in using the XLR cables versus RCA connections? I am currently using 3 stereo Nikko alpha 220 amplifiers from 1982, in conjunction with an Acurus 3 channel 200 watt amplifier. Should I consider upgrading the amplifiers to the POA or would it be better to save some money and use my current amps for surround sound and just get a real good stereo amp like McIntosh for front stereo sound. Also how good is the POA in relationship to other high end amplifiers? I know there are a lot of more expensive amplifiers such as CLASSE, McIntosh, etc...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Has there been reliability problems with the AVP?

Also is the AVP a fully balanced unit to make an actual audible difference in using the XLR cables versus RCA connections?

I am currently using 3 stereo Nikko alpha 220 amplifiers from 1982, in conjunction with an Acurus 3 channel 200 watt amplifier. Should I consider upgrading the amplifiers to the POA or would it be better to save some money and use my current amps for surround sound and just get a real good stereo amp like McIntosh for front stereo sound. Also how good is the POA in relationship to other high end amplifiers? I know there are a lot of more expensive amplifiers such as CLASSE, McIntosh, etc...

Both the Denon AVP-A1 & AVR-5308 are supposed to be extremely reliable.

However, my AVR-5308 also developed a faulty HDMI board, which has been replaced.

The AVP-A1 is a true fully balanced input-to-output pre-pro, which is one rare thing I like about it.

The fully balanced connection has a better noise floor - better SNR.

I don't think many people like the idea of a $7,500 150WPC x 10ch amp. In this price range, I think people expect 300WPC x 5ch or x 7ch.

If you can afford McIntosh or Classe, that is great.

I bought the ATI AT3005 300WPC x 5ch ("like-new" condition) w/ a full 7yr warranty for around $2K.

Here is an ATI 300WPC x 6ch amp:

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1290972844

(I would ask for $300 off the asking price)

I used to own 4 Acurus 200X3 amps, but sold them all when I heard they lack adequate speaker protection circuits!

 

[deputy dog]

ACU-DEF TECH: Thanks, but I have to save up for upgrading my amplifiers first, I just purchased the AVP and it destroyed my cash flow. It will probably be after Christmas and when the Christmas bills are all paid before I can become serious about upgrading anything else right now. I just like to do my homework first so that I can be dreaming of the day I can actually afford to get what I have researched.