Denon AVR-1908 A/V Dolby Digital Surround Receiver w/ HDMI Switching

After 3 months I can say the Denon receiver 1908 is a great product. Matched well with my Athena speakers. The sound is warm and pleasant compared to the Yamaha receiver its replacing. You can listen for hours and not tire. Setup was easy for me. First I used the automatic setup with the provided audyssey mic. This discovers the distance & sizes of your speakers and sets up the sounds. Next I fine tuned the sound via the manual setup. My only gripe is that the remote is front and back. I've hooked up my laptop via optical and external soundcard as "CD" so every time I need to listen to music I have to turn over the remote, open the back and select "CD". Not a big deal but seems like a hassle. I've seen a few complaints against the manual. Personally, it was very easy to follow. Its logically designed - manual or auto setup? If auto, insert mic, place in 6 different listening positions...If manual, 'setup one item at a time as you go step by step' in logical sequence. The English is easy to follow. Its similar stuff to that in my Yamaha receiver. Not that complicated, really.

Now for the bad part - the receiver 'broke' after 3 months of use. The problem - within 5min of use, it automatically turns off and puts itself in protection mode. Took it to a Denon repair shop, they changed some parts, brought it home and nope, it ain't fixed. Took it to another Denon repair shop a week ago, awaiting their response. Given how great quality of the sound is, I'm standing by my Denon! You can never go wrong with this. I love the remote, it has a heavy quality feel to it. Biggest surprise: The 1907 was selling for over $500 last year. I got the 1908 for a little over $300 brand new on Amazon!

I have been using this receiver for a few weeks now, and it is everything I hoped it would be. The surround sound is just great, and I am making good use of all the options for inputs and outputs that this fantastic box offers. The HDMI 1.3 switching is just what I needed for my HD-DVD player and my HDTV. They all work great together for a superb audio and visual experience. The price of this unit is very reasonable considering the great technology and performance that you get for your money.

I was excited to hook this up with my 5.1 system and worked patiently with Denon customer service. After all the trials, it turned out the receiver was faulty and Denon guys asked me to return it. I'm going to buy the same receiver (since I have heard raving reviews about this particular one) and try if that will work out. Keeping fingers crossed!

Worst manual I've ever seen in an electronics product. Tells you all sorts of details of how to alter the crossover frequencies, and such. Doesn't actually tell you how to use the product. The user interface is, if anything, slightly worse. For example, there is a button called "analog". No idea what it does, but after you press it, you can never turn it off.
These guys need to get lessons from Apple.

Unless you are very experienced with these types of components you can forget about setting this receiver up yourself. The manual instructions are terrible. The menu system is like something from 1990. That being said the sound is great once set up. Better call in the Geek Squad on this one.