I have a really great rep at my dist . I switched over almost everything to him since he is so good. But my last hold out is Denon. So they are the only thing I order for this one place.

Is Yamaha equal or better than Denon so I can drop the line and only order from one place.

Switch to Yamaha and you won't regret it. I've had very little problems with them in the last few years.

MRI or ADI?

Me too, after working for a company that just ignored Denon and sold Yamaha with great success. I once had two DOA units in a row around 1996 and the rep was freaked out because he had never seen that happen. I've never seen it since. It's the real deal.

In my experience, Denon sounds better.

As far as control, they are equal. Both have plenty of IR, 232 and IP drivers around and will give you very few problems, if any.

I used to use a lot of NAD and Denon, but have recently switched to Yamaha and Pioneer due to supply/availability through my supppliers.

Yamaha USED to sound really hard compared to NAD/Denon, but they seemed to have improved on that in the last few years.

Their warranty is solid and their range is good. I'm unable to get my hands directly on the Aventage range as they're only sold to preferred distributors, but if I really want one I can source it. Either that or I go with a top line Pioneer.

In my experience, Yamaha stands behind their product. In the rare case that there is an issue, they will take care of you. And, if you want to dig into it, the Yamaha network control interface is very feature rich.

Zero problems in the last 3 years, 20+ Aventage receivers installed in the field.

We switched to Yamaha Aventage after we had a Denon unit repaired three times. Never looked back.

We are almost exclusively Yamaha for AVRs. Starting to use some Sony ES. We have had very few issues in the 5+ years I have been here. We even use the rx-v models with great results when the budget does not allow the A series.

yamaha wont break on you, however the setup will make you want to break it. On top of that they are a very "Cold" Sounding AVR.

Sony ES FTW!!!!

Mri

3P,

The SONY's have some nice installer features, such as an embedded network switch, and SONOS integration, but I don't find the network interface to be as "rich" (or they can't get the full documentation to me).

I understand your "cold" comment, but none of my customers have brought this up. While I have my own preferences as to what sounds "best", I try not to force my opinion on customers. I let the customers lead the "best" sound discussion. If they say 'A' sounds better than 'B', I'll explore that and guide them, but I never attempt to tell them what sounds "best".

If you want to try one out before filling out the paperwork, let me know. I'm happy to have Marty send you one on my account [you pay of course :-)]

You don't say whether you think that's accurate, though.


Sony not ES FTF!!!!

(At least that's what I've heard since the first time I replaced a non-ES Sony with a Yamaha. Not ES For The Fail!)

thanks Golden, I already filled out the paper work.

I wont used sony AVRS again . I worked for a ci company that went direct with sony and had to sell X amount per year. Every job we had them on the installers complained and had quirks compared to Denon.