Denon's range of A/V receivers covers everything from entry-level to state-of-the-art models--all of which are expertly designed and capable of consistently impressive sound performance.
The Denon AVR-1908 is one of the company's most fully featured budget models, although the S$899 (US$634.66) price is still comparably expensive at this level. For your money, you do get exceptional build quality, a full range of previously high-end features and Denon's trademark smooth sound quality--but is it worth the extra expense?
The onscreen menu system has been graphically enhanced and is simple to use, while there is also a decent automatic calibration setup supported by the latest Audyssey MultEQ system, which takes slightly longer than some rival systems but is enviably accurate.
As with many receivers at this price level, there is no integrated decoding for the latest HD surround sound formats carried on some Blu-ray discs. But since Onkyo's TX-SR605 is the only budget model we've seen that offers this feature and there are very few compatible HD players to support it, it only matters if you want to wait for the promise of HD audio to arrive.
The Denon AVR-1908 is one of the company's most fully featured budget models, although the S$899 (US$634.66) price is still comparably expensive at this level. For your money, you do get exceptional build quality, a full range of previously high-end features and Denon's trademark smooth sound quality--but is it worth the extra expense?
Editors' note:
This review is based on evaluations conducted by our sister site CNET.co.uk. Review ratings on similar products may differ due to differences in regional market trends and competing product lineups.Design
Denon is renowned for the tank-like construction of its components and the AVR-1908 continues the tradition with an extremely solid build. The contoured aluminum design could easily be mistaken for a receiver costing twice the price. It also has one of the more user-friendly remotes we've come across, with a sensible arrangement of spacious keys that make it easy to use even when the lights are dimmed.The onscreen menu system has been graphically enhanced and is simple to use, while there is also a decent automatic calibration setup supported by the latest Audyssey MultEQ system, which takes slightly longer than some rival systems but is enviably accurate.
Features
The range of features compares favorably with the best receivers in this class including Onkyo's TX-SR605 and Sony's STR-DA1200ES. There are seven channels with 85W of audio amplification, video upconversion and comprehensive connectivity, including the latest HDMI inputs with 1080i video switching (one in, two out). The HDMI 1.3a connections will also be able to support Deep Color picture enhancements and HD audio formats carried on Blu-ray discs.As with many receivers at this price level, there is no integrated decoding for the latest HD surround sound formats carried on some Blu-ray discs. But since Onkyo's TX-SR605 is the only budget model we've seen that offers this feature and there are very few compatible HD players to support it, it only matters if you want to wait for the promise of HD audio to arrive.
User Discussion
icewharf:
Anyone got some good/bad words to say about this AV Amp?
