Denon AVR-1912 7.1 Channel Network Streaming A/V Home Theater Receiver

by Denon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 15 x 17.1 x 6.4 inches ; 22.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 27 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B004U403XQ
• Item model number: AVR1912
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #484 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #8 in Electronics > Televisions & Video > AV Receivers & Amplifiers
  • #9 in Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Stereo Components > Receivers & Amplifiers > Component Receivers

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Supports AirPlay and Network Functions, and 3D Video, too. When connected to a TV and Blu-ray disc player that supports 3D video, the AVR-1912 7.1 channel HD-Audio receiver lets you enjoy a 3D theater environment with exciting video images and dynamic surround sound. This receiver is equipped with network functions that let you enjoy a wide variety of online digital content or your favorite genres of music at any time. It also supports AirPlay so that you can stream music from your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, or from the iTunes music library. With the Denon Remote App installed on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, you can also perform basic operations such as turn the AVR-1912’s power on or off, adjust the volume, and switch sources.

Product Description

Supports AirPlay and Network Functions, and 3D Video, too. When connected to a TV and Blu-ray disc player that supports 3D video, the AVR-1912 7.1 channel HD-Audio receiver lets you enjoy a 3D theater environment with exciting video images and dynamic surround sound. This receiver is equipped with network functions that let you enjoy a wide variety of online digital content or your favorite genres of music at any time. It also supports AirPlay so that you can stream music from your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, or from the iTunes music library. With the Denon Remote App installed on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, you can also perform basic operations such as turn the AVR-1912’s power on or off, adjust the volume, and switch sources.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful sound!, July 16, 2011

By 

kalistoga (CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Denon AVR-1912 7.1 Channel Network Streaming A/V Home Theater Receiver (Electronics)

After returning 2 failed (video problems) Onkyo TX NR609 receivers, I gave this Denon a try and am happy I did. It has gorgeous sound and was easy to set up and calibrate and has a wide array of features, including Apple Airplay.

Pros:

1) Beautiful sound! Dolby ProLogic IIz; 7 discrete amps!
2) 6 HDMI ports
3) 2 year warranty
3) Ease of setup; Audyssey automatic calibration of speakers with included microphone
4) "Airplay" for use with Apple products--this is very cool.
5) No need to buy expensive Wifi adapater. This will use any wireless bridge to allow you to connect to internet (I bought one for $50).
6) Pandora, Rhapsody, and Napster!
7) Attractive looking with rounded corners and matte black finish
8) On-screen menus and volume control (Pioneer does not have this feature)
9) USB port on front of receiver for Iphone or Ipod connection (using the Apple USB cord)

Cons:

1) Difficult to use remote control (note: You have to press the AMP button on the remote first THEN Menu button before you can access the Setup Wizard). Confusing instructions on setting up remote to work with other devices. I still cannot get the "Quick Select" buttons to work, and will have to contact technical support for advice. Will update this post with instructions when/if I obtain them.
2) No manual! Instead they give you a CD with PDF of the manual. I found this annoying since my PC is in a different room than the receiver and going back and forth to follow step-by-steps was frustrating. You can print pages out of course, but a hard copy of the manual would have been my preference. On the up side...no bulky manual to file away, and I have the CD smartly stored away and a saved PDF of the manual on my computer for future reference.
3) Front USB port is not compatible with the IPad. (Airplay does, however, work with Ipad)

The unit does not seem to run hot, and from what I have read, Denon receivers enjoy a long and stable life. Based on what I have experienced so far, I highly recommend this unit over the Onkyo TX NR609 and even the Pioneer VSX-1021-K, which I also tried. I could not tell the difference in sound between the Denon and Pioneer, but the Pioneer does not have on-screen menus or volume, which I found very annoying. Pioneer also wants an outrageous $150 for their Wifi adapter. Both the Pioneer and Denon sound better than the Onkyo.

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Caveat Emptor, Non-Wireheads!, November 26, 2011

By 

Twystof8 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Denon AVR-1912 7.1 Channel Network Streaming A/V Home Theater Receiver (Electronics)

This is a little long, but I urge you to take the time and enjoy the journey. I have owned the Denon AVR-1912 for two months now and these are my reactions to using it on a daily basis: combined with an Energy Take Classic surround-sound system, it produces a full and nuanced spectrum of sound that represents solid value for the quality level. I especially enjoy the ability to play music through the amp from my networked MacBook Pro or my iPhone (although it occasionally cuts off a tune mid-song, particularly when I'm playing classical and the song has a natural orchestral pause, and the Denon sometimes has difficulty recognizing the computer or cell at all).

That said, the equally priced competitor that I considered, a Pioneer rated its peer by CNET, dropped by $200 at Amazon three weeks after I bought the Denon, and I strongly considered going through the hassle of a return but didn't. And why not? Because the set-up of this product was mind-bogglingly confusing and I didn't expect the Pioneer's set-up to be any easier, so once was more than enough.

Some of the set-up was as simple as 1-2-3; pinging the surround-sound speakers was straightforward and intuitive, for example. But other aspects of the set-up left me wondering which alternative from the on-screen choices or the pdf user's manual to select. When I followed the guidance of the on-screen choices that Denon highlighted as the recommended setting in several instances, the amplifier was unable to produce sound from my HDTV; I was only able to resolve this through trial and error, because the user's manual is pathetically disorganized and unhelpful.

Here's what you can expect in the 129-page manual, starting with a seemingly simple, 1-page Setup Wizard. Each of six elements on the Wizard page refers you to sub-elements on an ensuing page (or more) that provide further instructions, and when you jump to those pages, they in turn refer you even deeper into the instruction manual. If you take the bait and proceed, you have entered the Instruction Manual Labyrinth to Hell (too bad the Setup Wizard doesn't include a footnote to forewarn that YOU must be a Wizard).

Example 1: "Source Setup" tells you to "Set the connecting terminals for each device to be set, and connect to the terminals." (The obtuseness of that sentence should be ample warning of what you're getting into.) It then says "These settings can be changed in the following menu..." and points you with a fickle-finger illustration to "page 97 - Input Setup" - "Input Assign." When you reach p. 97, you're indeed at "Input Assign," where you'll read about three different types of input connectors "that are assigned to the input sources in default settings." Under setting details, you'll find six bulleted items, among them instructions that send you scurrying to p. 86 to deal with the possibility that "When `HDMI Control' is set to `On,' HDMI input connector cannot be assigned to `TV'." Damn the luck! So you go to p. 86 and you will find another instruction to refer to p. 58. And so on and so on. Stick with it and you'll have read all 129 pages and finished a quart of scotch in short order, after which you'll need a nap to clear your mind before starting over.

Example 2: p. 6 describes "Connecting an HDMI-compatible device." Here you will learn that "This unit supports the following HDMI functions" (I'll only list a few):
"Deep Color (fingered to page 119)" -- as opposed to superficially inadequate color?
"Auto Lip Synch (fingered to pages 86 and 119)" -- apparently offering you the opportunity to entertain yourself with, say, Marley speaking the words of his insipidly sensitive owner, the better to make the movie tolerable?
And my personal favorite: "`x.v.Color', sYCC601 color, Adobe RGB color, Adobe YCC601 color (fingered to pages 119, 120 and 121)" -- which left me in wont of "the color my TV uses."

Bottom line: this product deserves two ratings:
4.5 for its capabilities and quality
-9.9999 for the pain its user manual puts you through.

If you are more than 50 years old, invite your grandchild over to set it up for you by handing him or her the remote and leaving the child alone with the amp for about 30 minutes; you'll thereafter be quite pleased with the product you selected. If you don't have grandchildren, buy another product.

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Upgrade from Denon AVR 591, June 9, 2011

By 

D. Nielson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Denon AVR-1912 7.1 Channel Network Streaming A/V Home Theater Receiver (Electronics)

I purchased this amp as it was time to upgrade based on the new speakers I recently ordered from Amazon. First of all I am running this receiver in a 7.1 configuration with my main speakers (FL, C, FR, SL, SR, and LFE) being the BIC Formula Line; the SBL and SBR are a pair of Bose 161's which will be replaced with BIC satellite speakers shortly...

This AVR I am replacing is a Denon AVR 591 which didn't quite push the BIC speakers where I needed them to be. The 591 uses preouts for adding SB or FH speakers in a 7.1 setup. To me, this just adds more clutter to a component rack which I really wanted to consolidate into a cleaner looking area.

The Denon AVR 1912 is definitely a decent upgrade for the money. I did not purchase this off amazon as Best Buy had it for the same price and with my rewards my price broke me right at MSRP This worked out for me as I get it have it today, instead of waiting a week to get it. Here are some thoughts I had on the amps itself...

PROS:

The amp itself is very nice looking, does not overheat (like it was aforementioned), and has some nice features which some may find useful. You will find the setup of this amp to be a breeze, it's very straightforward and you wont be scratching your head wondering what to do. That's not to say you cant get spergy over the amp and calibrate it to your liking, if you're really nutty about this stuff!

The sound quality is actually a very noticeable difference from the AVR 591 which surprised me, to be honest. I already thought the BIC Formula speakers sounded great but now I find them to be much more defined and not quite as bright as they were on the AVR 591, which is a good thing!

CONS:

The remote feels very clunky to me... It has the same general layout as the AVR 591 remote but they removed and changed the placement of buttons and added a few too. More specifically - you cannot change the turn on/off Dynamic Volume from the remote or adjust from day/evening/midnight. To adjust this, you have to go into the menus of the receiver. Some may not care about that but I kind of do. I will say, if you don't like the remote you can always try the Denon remote app for Android/iPhone. I have not tried it so I cannot comment on how it is.

This amp has the ability to steam pandora and other internet radio but it requires a hard line connection to do so - why not add wifi? This would have made me much happier.

The Audyssesy MutlEQ used with this amp seems to have a problem properly calculating LFE because it is not calculating my sub correctly and placing it to -12.0 db each time which is not accurate based on how I have the dials set on my SUB. I am very well aware of how to set the sub for proper calibration and I never had this problem on my AVR 591 but this amp seems to be buggy.

(EDIT - 10/01/2011)

Audyssey works just fine... the -12 DB per audyssey calibration was strictly user error by having the gain too high.

VERDICT:

If you're looking to upgrade from one of the older Denon amps (or any older AMP) to this mid-end amp I would suggest doing so. You'll be happy with the purchase and the sound quality. Easy setup, better sound, decent price.