Denon AVR-2105 A/V Receivers
Denon AVR-2105 A/V Receivers
USER REVIEWS
[Mar 17, 2006]
pcholakov
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
- Excellent build quality and great looks, weighty receiver = generous heatsinks = cool running temperatures.
Weakness:
- No HDMI audio input. Future universal or High-Def DVD players might not have analogue outputs from their decoders like the current crop of universal players.
Great receiver - supports all the current audio formats. No fancy bells & whistles like video up-conversion, it just gets the job done. It has more than enough power even for largish rooms, I've never felt the need to push it to extreme levels - and I've never heard distortion from it.
Similar Products Used: Auditioned similarly priced offerings from Yamaha, Pioneer and Cambridge Audio before I bought the Denon. To my ears all the equipment I listened to sounded the same, though some of the really cheap Yamaha and Pioneer offerings lacked power when pushed. |
[Jan 08, 2006]
tellerto
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Easy to set-up to the room configuration. Heaps of headroom at 90w/channel. Switchable stereo output to A/B speakers. Great sound in stereo and for movies, and heaps of surround sound options. Terrific performance and value for money
Weakness:
Instruction manual is in tiny font, and doesn't contain enough info on exploring the unit's settings and features. Front panel a bit hard to read (on the black version) due to small/faint lettering. Same for remote control. I spent ages checking out magazine reviews and dealers' showrooms before settling on the Denon AVR-2105 (over similarly-specced Yamaha, NAD and Sony units in the same price bracket). Ultimately it came down to the fact that the Denon got great reviews, included the whizzy automatic room setup microphone, and was available in black. I also purchased new Wharfedale Diamond 9 series front, rear, centre and sub speakers, plus 14 gauge biwired cable to hook it all up. The new system replaced a pretty good sounding NAD 2-channel receiver driving Tannoy DC200 speakers. However I was not disappointed in the Denon's stereo performance, especially in 'direct' mode, and discovered new music detail hiding in my old favourite CD's. Of course watching a DVD in 5.1 was just sensational by comparison. But a couple of weeks later the thing just stopped. It would not boot up on power-up, just like described in a couple of user forums. However the Australian Denon distributor replaced it with a brand new unit which hasn't skipped a beat. I have cranked it up a few times to loud party levels and it just sounds great. At high levels I tend to leave it in 5 channel stereo mode now that I've had a taste of filling the room with rock and roll. Who cares about precise L-R imaging in parties? It has taken a while to get to know all of the features of this amplifier. Some of the surround modes (eg jazz room, rock concert etc) are interesting but perhaps a bit gimmicky. Watching movies in DTS and DD are fine, but to be honest I reckon the dialogue and sound effects in movies sounds best when processed in "matrix" mode. Having a good quality subwoofer connected helps too. Overall, I am really happy with this purcase. |
[Jun 20, 2005]
JimPurdy
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Clean sound. Many sound adjustment options.
Weakness:
Documentation. There are many pages describing the setup but not enough on actual usage. I would also like an english description of what each audio mode will produce. Ability to assign multiple names to a single input. I was looking for a receiver that would sound like a Sunfire without the cost. I listened to Marantz and Harmon Kardon receivers in addition to the Denon. The sound of the Denon AVR2105 is far superior to the Outlaw 1050 it replaced. My main speakers are B&W 602S3s which sounded very good with the Outlaw, now sound great. The 90 watts per channel is more than enough power to to drive the B&Ws. The setup with the microphone was easier than I had anticipated. The distances and DB adjustments calculated were so accurate that it detected that the mike was not perfectly centered in the sitting area and showed the distances to be 1 foot apart. I manually adjusted the distances to be the same. I was pleasantly surprised by the remote. I didn't see the issues other reviewers have noted. I was disapointed that I could not assign one input to both CD and DVD. I second the request to be able to configure the names of the inputs - I too would like to use the name "Dish". Similar Products Used: Outlook 1050. |
[Apr 12, 2005]
visiter555
AudioPhile
Strength:
Assignable inputs Clean sound Good two year warranty Solid construction
Weakness:
The remote (as usual) SUCKS! The device names should be user configurable (I dislike using "VCR2" for my Dish network 3100!!!!). This unit was for my Family Room. I use Rotel equip in my HT room. I needed a unit with selectable audio and video inputs. I have two Satellite IRDs, two DVDs and a VCR in this room. Yamaha's would not allow me to select the inputs for each device. The speakers are all B&W 600 series. The video upconversion is a convenience if you have someone who can never select the correct input on your TV. The config with the mic is nice, but could be much simpler to navigate. The sound on DTS/DD movies is superb. The sound on the non digital inputs is also superb. Listening to a simple CD of baroque or Queen...GREAT. The remote could have been way better and those stupid slide switches are crap. Come on Denon...buy a decent remote like the MX500. Overall...this is a superb value for the price. Performance is outstanding. $730 Cdn ($600 Usd) Similar Products Used: Rotel RSP1066 Yamaha 5450 Yamaha 450 Rotel RSX1065 |
[Jan 16, 2005]
steve1169
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Great Value, Can turn off display when watching movie. Great sound. So many features I can't list them all. Comes with microphone to set up speakers.
Weakness:
So many features you really need to read the operation instructions to get everything working a top proformance My audio system is a mid-fi Adcom seperate set up. I was a little worried about a recever that has 90watts x 7.1, plus all the digital surround processing in such a small package. Not to worry I hooked my adcom amp up to the denon for a listen and found that the adcom had a little beter bass that the over all sound was 99% as good. The Denon runs cool never giving any hint of over heating I paid over twice as much for my adcom two chanel amp as the Denon recever that does so much more. When using a subwoofer the little extra bass is a non-issue. Yes I feel you need a powered-sub for home theater. Similar Products Used: My friend's ROTEL this is great but very expensive. Listened to Yahama that sounded very nice. |
[Jan 10, 2005]
Space1999!
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Very clean and detailed sounding with excellent separation and imaging for music and movies. Also, it is whisper quiet, no hum or hiss coming from the speakers at all. Even at a rated 90 watts per channel it sounds more powerful than my 7 year old Marantz that was rated for 100 wpc and easily handles everything thrown its way. Also, having a phono input was a real bonus as the wife and I plan on adding a turntable in the near future. The AVR-2105 is simply an OUTSTANDING value and the wait to upgrade was well worth it.
Weakness:
There is almost nothing I don't like. The only tiny annoyance was in programming the vcr. For some bizarre reason it only allows channel up/down... you can't directly enter in a channel #. Also, having only one coaxial input is a bit of a pain for the future. For a couple of years now I was looking to update my AV receiver from the Marantz SR-880 unit I owned. After closely listening to the Yamaha RXV-1500 and Pioneer Elite 52TX I then knew what I was and wasn't looking for. The Yamaha was awesome for movies and had superb spatial and dimensional qualities. However, on music it was lacking... almost too crisp and etched sounding. The Pioneer was rich detailed but came across sounding flat to me. What I was looking for was the best of both these receivers and I definitely found it with the Denon AVR-2105. Hands-down this was the best receiver for the money that I heard and after a couple of weeks of testing and tweaking at home I'm even more impressed. I really wasn't even considering Denon as I found previous models lacked a bit of imaging and the kind of deep bass punch I enjoy. This new line has amazing sound quality for both movies and music. There are no compromises I can find. Similar Products Used: Yamaha RXV-1500 Pioneer Elite 52TX Marantz SR-880 The price I paid for the Denon is in Canadian dollars after taxes |