Last system I will ever need to own

[AcuDefTechGuy]

We couldn't wait to move out. I started moving out when I was 15.

That's a bit advanced there.

I probably could have moved out when I was 18YR or 19YR in college, but not as a 15YR high-school sophomore.

I actually moved out after I got my bachelor and doctorate degree.

 

[MrBoat]

That's a bit advanced there.

I probably could have moved out when I was 18YR or 19YR in college, but not as a 15YR high-school sophomore.

I actually moved out after I got my bachelor and doctorate degree.

By the time I was 18, I had moved up to hanging sheetrock and paid to go to electronics school at night. Earned a minor degree, got a job in the electronics field and hated it, the sick buildings it was housed in, and the pasty white folks who never saw the light of day that worked there. Ended up back on the wallboard tour for the better part of 20 years. Somewhere in my later 20's, I enrolled in welding school for a 2 yr course and never looked back. There was about a 10 year overlap there where I did both wallboards and welding. One at night and one in the day time. 2006 was my last year for double shifts/7 day work weeks.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Well, my intention was to keep my Denon AVP-A1HDCI for as long as it works. But unfortunately it has failed and cannot be repaired by the Main Denon Repair Factory in New Jersey.

So I had no choice but to buy a new pre-pro - the Yamaha CX-A5100.

 

[snakeeyes]

Well, my intention was to keep my Denon AVP-A1HDCI for as long as it works. But unfortunately it has failed and cannot be repaired by the Main Denon Repair Factory in New Jersey.

So I had no choice but to buy a new pre-pro - the Yamaha CX-A5100.

Nice rack!

 

[DIY Junky]

Nice.. Yamaha has better build quality lately from what I have been seeing ..

 

[Cos]

Well, my intention was to keep my Denon AVP-A1HDCI for as long as it works. But unfortunately it has failed and cannot be repaired by the Main Denon Repair Factory in New Jersey.

So I had no choice but to buy a new pre-pro - the Yamaha CX-A5100.

Have to say, I am a little in shock, I love the Yamaha unit, but you have always been a Denon person, would have thought you would go with Marantz for Pre/Pro since you are a dealer and probably could have got decent pricing.

My next upgrade is going to be Emotiva RMC-1 if they ever release it.

 

[KEW]

Have to say, I am a little in shock, I love the Yamaha unit, but you have always been a Denon person, would have thought you would go with Marantz for Pre/Pro since you are a dealer and probably could have got decent pricing.

My next upgrade is going to be Emotiva RMC-1 if they ever release it.

Let someone else Guinea Pig it for you!
Emotiva's pre-pros have been a bit sketchy in the past!
Hopefully they are taking their time and will have a finished product when they release the RMC-1!

 

[Cos]

Let someone else Guinea Pig it for you!
Emotiva's pre-pros have been a bit sketchy in the past!
Hopefully they are taking their time and will have a finished product when they release the RMC-1!

I am in no hurry at this point to be honest the AV8802A I have now works perfectly, does ATMOS has all the features I need and sounds great. I am not going to be an early adopter.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I am in no hurry at this point to be honest the AV8802A I have now works perfectly, does ATMOS has all the features I need and sounds great. I am not going to be an early adopter.

Would you ever replace the AV8802A if it still worked perfectly?

The only reason I got a new pre-pro was because my AVP-A1HDCI broke.

I would have gotten the new AV8805, but recent Denon experience led me elsewhere.

The CX-A5100 was meant to be an experiment. I thought I would hate it and come crawling back to Denon/Marantz.

But I was astonished. The more I use it, it seems the more I actually prefer the CX-A5100 over the Denon AVP-A1 - better dialogue clarity and much better remote app on iPad and Android phone.

It is a new chapter!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Got some Before (Denon AVP-A1HDCI) vs. After (Yamaha CX-A5100) images of my rack wiring.

Before:

After:

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

Nice. Balanced connections. Are your balanced cables Pro or Consumer grade?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Nice. Balanced connections. Are your balanced cables Pro or Consumer grade?

They are "Professional Series" Heavy-Duty.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

They are "Professional Series" Heavy-Duty.

Nice. As beautiful as your system is, do you still prefer separates over an all-in-one AVR?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Nice. As beautiful as your system is, do you still prefer separates over an all-in-one AVR?

For my main system, I prefer the aesthetics and pride of ownership/bragging rights of owning separates.

But I know they don't sound any better.

For the rest of the house, I prefer just a simple AVR.

 

[slipperybidness]

@AcuDefTechGuy
What happened to the Denon AVP-A1HDCI ???

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

@AcuDefTechGuy
What happened to the Denon AVP-A1HDCI ???

It croaked after 8 years.

Probably about 6 or 7 months ago, the volume output started failing. I had to crank the master volume way beyond the normal. I even had to crank all the speaker channel levels to max of +12.0 and still couldn't get high enough volume. The volume would increase on it's own if I left the Denon on for more than 3 hours - at first.

As time went by, I had to leave the AVP-A1 on for 6 hours to get high enough volume. Then I had to keep it on 24/7 to get adequate volume. But eventually, it finally failed. No volume output at all.

This was the exact same issue I had 8 years ago when I bought a refurbished AVP-A1HDCI - no volume output at all.

Anyway, long story short (I mentioned this is the Separates vs AVR thread), I sent the AVP-A1 to the main Denon repair factory in New Jersey twice! At first, they replaced the Audio-Video Circuit Board. They actually told me it worked!

Bunch of Liars!

So under the Best Buy Warranty per the local BB store GM, we sent my AVP-A1 back to the main factory for a second time. This time they said they couldn't fix it.

So the bad news was that my AVP-A1 died after only 8 years and those Denon repair tech idiots couldn't fix it.

The good news is that Best Buy didn't charge me anything for this fiasco. Not only that, but the nice store GM gave me a good discount on a new Yamaha CX-A5100. Plus I put purchase on the 24-month interest-free plan so I don't fee so guilty paying $75 per month.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

I think Denon has changed quite a bit since the old days when it was a part of Nippon Columbia.

 

[snakeeyes]

The spell check keeps changing Denon to Demon so maybe that is a hint.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I think Denon has changed quite a bit since the old days when it was a part of Nippon Columbia.

I think for something like $600-$800, I can live with a Denon or Marantz. But no way I'm paying $2-4K on a Denon/Marantz after my experience.

BTW, my AVR-3312 is not acting nice with my ATI amps either. I was testing it the other day, and it caused distortion - loud static noise through all the speakers. I only paid about $500 for it back then, though. So not as painful.

No distortion when using the AVR-3312's internal amps.

This might not be my lucky year.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

That's not good. I'm wondering if some of these AVRs out there really do function with external power amps connected. It's not like it's a 'handshake' issue since its RCAs and not HDMI. I haven't tried connecting any external amps to my X4400H yet, maybe I should. The only external amp I have right now is the 2-channel Crown XLS 2502.