Belzebutt

I'm replacing an old one and trying to decide between these two, and I can get them both for about $300:

Denon AVR-688
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...69&catid=20313

Sony STR-DG720
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...17&catid=20313

I'm planning on using it in the living room with some smallish Bose speakers + sub (I'll have a different higher-power system in the basement).

I have a 50" DLP TV with one HDMI and one DVI, and I mainly use the system to watch HDTV (HDMI), Media Center (DVI) and occasionally DVD (currently component, soon HDMI). I also have a second set of "B" speakers that go to 3 different locations around the house from this receiver.

I already got the Sony because it has 3 HDMI inputs where the Denon only has 2, that was my tie-breaker. I was going to run all three devices through the receiver and just have one HDMI cable going to the TV, but I realized that because of length issues I have to keep using my DVI cable for now. I'm thinking now that I can live with only 2 HDMI inputs, I don't expect to plug more stuff into the receiver in the near future.

What disappointed me about the Sony was that you can't run the A and B speakers simultaneously, and when I have a party at my house I always want to have the main speakers going at the same time as the ones around the house. I solved this problem by hooking both sets of speakers to the heavy-duty "A" speaker input. It's ugly but it works, I just manually turn down the volume knob in the three rooms around the house.

Other than that the Sony has pretty much all the features I need.

I just ordered the Denon with store pickup so that I can try it at home as well. It seems like it has less power (75W vs 100W) but I know power numbers are often misleading and I have small spakers in that room anyway. It may be an issue if I start driving the other speakers around the house, but I won't use more than one location at a time anyway so even than I don't think it's a huge deal.

The Denon seems to have more Dolby features but I don't watch DVD movies very often, just Media Center, as well as HDTV shows. I think either receiver is overkill for that. Like I said, it only has 2 HDMI inputs but I can live with that.

Both boxes seem to have an optional iPod input, the Sony requires a $70 dock, and the Denon I'm not sure. It's a nice to have, not essential. I'm really hoping the Denon can do A and B at the same time.

So it seems like the tie-breaker might be something I haven't thought of yet... help me out. I know Denon is a good brand, and the list price is way more than the Sony, what do you think?

LKLD

I don't know, but seems to me you already your choice.

Moog-Type-S

Why not Yamaha?

I love my new Yamaha receiver.

SupaRookie

Denon build quality is great. You can feel it when you pick up the receiver. As far as power rating, the 75W is all channel driven. I dont think the Sony can do 100W with all channels driven.

doopstr

Denon>Sony

csmeance

You feel it when you fall over, expecting it to be light... With my onkyo 875, It took me a few minutes to figure out how to pick up a receiver that weighed almost 100 pounds...

SupaRookie

csmeance

Picture some brown dude standing infront of his house trying to get his hands around this huge box in the middle of the day for like 10 minutes... I finally gave up and just slid it in...

Sarlacc

The onkyo 875 weighs 50lbs you wuss!

csmeance

55 pounds + the accessories...DUH...

yes 45 pounds in accesories including cables and a sub...

Sarlacc

all in the same box

2001AudiS4

Why do you want to connect your multizone speakers to the B terminal speakers? You would be better off going with a receiver with multizone functions, so you can watch tv or dvd in one room, while listening to a different source in the other. It doesn't make much sense to me to use the same source in the other rooms all the time. Also, be careful hooking up 3 sets of speakers on the same channel without a speaker selector. You can overload the system and cause damage. It is not common, but I've seen it happen.

2001AudiS4

Just took a look at the links for both receivers you posted and both say that they are multi room capable. That doesn't necessarily mean that you can listen to different sources at the same time, and I am not familiar enough with either to tell you if that is the case or not. If they do, definitely hook them up on the multizone or zone2 terminals (typically on the rear surround terminal and then shut off the rear surround speakers in the menu). Would be a far better solution then using B terminal speaker IMHO

csmeance

Yes, crutchfield decided to put it together in this huge box that was 4 feet tall and about 2.5 feet wide...

2001AudiS4

It never occurred to you to open the box outside and carry in the sepearte components?

csmeance

nope...

2001AudiS4

Sucks, would have been a lot easier on your back. I guess you live and learn. Next time I am sure you'll be opening the box

csmeance

Next time I'll give the guy some money to bring it inside... duh