Home > Consumer Reviews > Denon AVR-1909 7.1-Channel Multizone Home Theater Receiver

I'm using this receiver on a really large personal theater project (http://polarsoft.net/partybarn/) and I must say it's doing just fine. I'm still learning all it can do (there's a little bit of a learning curve), but it really kicks butt. As others have stated, the manual isn't all that great, but it DOES have all the information you need, it's just not organized very well. Between the manual and fiddling with everything, I got all the basics ironed out in a couple hours. The auto calibration feature is pretty nifty too. The manual DOES walk you through this part adequately enough though. I'd also mention that I set everything up WITHOUT any on screen displays (I haven't installed my projector yet) and had no big problems. The display on the receiver tells you what you need to know to get by. I'm running 6 Infinity P152's, an Infinity PC350 center, and a Mackie (American Audio) 1801 monster sub. This receiver handles it all like a champ!

I bought a Panasonic 58" 1080p plasma TV and PS3 for my big family room (23'x18') two months ago. I know it is time for me to upgrade my AV receiver. After some research, I planned to buy a Denon AVR-2309 or AVR-2809. However, I found that the depth of my entertainment center is 16 inches. Only a lower-end model AVR-1909 can be fit in. Since the main differences between 2309 and 1909, to my concern are a little bit more power (100Wx7 instead of 90Wx7) and one more HDMI input, I finally purchased the AVR-1909. After I connected TV, PS3, and 5.1 surround sound speakers, what a difference it makes! Now, the whole family enjoys blu-ray movies every weekend at home.

The 1909 has actually plenty of power. Although it is rated at 90W, I am only using about half of the volume for my big family room. Through the flawless HDMI interface, both sound and video quality are superb. I believe once you see the blu-ray movies through these AV gears, you will not go back to DVD again.

People have been complaining this unit is difficult to set up. So I read the tips from AVS Forum website http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1050097 beforehand. It turned out that I only spent 90 minutes to finish the setup. Most of the time was spent on input assignment part, which was a little bit tricky.

I bought the AVR-1909 after a lot of review reading, etc. It was actually fairly easy to install (despite some comments about the manual being indecipherable). Right now I haven't even tapped all of its features (I only have 2 speakers so far, and haven't tried the Audeyessy feature), but the up-sampling to my HDTV works really nicely, and the sound from my speakers with my turntable (I had to buy a pre-amp, since the 1909 doesn't have one) and CD players is really excellent.

I purchased a refurbished Denon AVR-1909. It works perfectly. The only issue is that the knobs on the front are scuffed up. It appears that they were rubbing the packaging when originally shipped, this rubbed the black off of the rim of them (surprisingly since they are black plastic and not black anodized aluminum). This is unnoticeable in a darkened room. In fact it is difficult to see in normal room light without close inspection. This was mentioned on the outside of Denon's packaging's as the reason it was returned. Since there was no issue with the way it worked, they sold it as refurbished without fixing the knobs. I would say that this minor cosmetic issue is worth the discount for a refurbished unit. As I said, the unit functions perfectly. Dakdepot (same as Dakmart) shipped quickly.

In short, I have had THE MOST negative experience of my life with both DENON customer service representative D&M HOLDINGS, as well as my brand new AVR-1909. After purchasing my unit in Sacramento (no local DENON dealers), more than 5 hours away from my home I hooked everything up and everything worked for 20 minutes tops. I attempted to return the unit to the store (BEST BUY) but they have no means to accept shipping returns, so I turned to DENON corporate, relying on their reputation to take care of this situation. I would have to drive 10+ hours, get a hotel room, and pay for gas to return an item that worked for less than 1/2 hour.

I contacted D&M Holdings, who are the corporate headquarters for DENON as well as other high quality audio equipment. I spoke with Mary St. John about the problem, and suggested that since the unit was BRAND NEW and obviously failed as a result of a faulty part that they send out a new unit instead of making me wait for a repair. I was told the turn around for repairs was approximately 1 month. I informed her that waiting 1 month for something that has only worked for 20 minutes was unreasonalbe. When I asked to speak to her supervisor, she told me that she was the supervisor and there was no one else for me to talk to... However, she did offer to place my unit to the front of the repair queue upon arrival and return it to me via next day air. This occured 5/1/2009. I was just informed today after I called that my unit had shipped out July 1...and not even overnight as promised. Lets see...average time is 30 days, but being placed in front of other repairs should get things out a little quicker than that...however over 9 weeks later I still do not have the unit. Needless to say, the item wasn't even shipped overnight, and I doubt it was placed in the front of the queue. What a worthless company with no regard for people spending their hard earned money during tough economic times.

I would suggest to those of you considering buying a DENON product, that you buy an alternative... I know Yamaha has great products and service, among manny other offerings. I would stongly advise that purchases of DENON, McIntosh, Marantz, Snell, Escent, and Allen&Heath be avoided at all costs as their US service center representatives D&M HOLDINGS misleads consumers and offer the POORSET customer service I have recieved during my 36 years on this earth.

I plan on selling this receiver...most likely at a loss, and I personally will never own another DENON product in my life.

MARY ST. JOHN
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