One of my clients wants to replace the TV in their family room, partly because her hubby (the one who thought a mouse chewed a network cable inside of a wall, but it stopped working because he inserted the cable feeding the switch and the rest of the house in the fallback port of the router). That means the Denon AVR-991 (distribution version of the four digit model) may need to be replaced. I'm using the 2nd zone and the assignable 12V triggers but the assignment is less important because I also installed Niles muting VCs but one of the most important details has to do with the family room and kitchen being open to each other, so synch problems can't happen. I have been inactive in this work because of a knee injury, so I'm not as familiar with the new models that have come out in the last few years- I have seen posts on an AV forum about reliability issues and I usually chalk them up to the fact that they were set up by people who didn't RTFM and don't know how to use them.

I may go with Yamaha, partly because they seem to be better than average WRT reliability and having used a Yamaha WXC-50 for >5 years, I can say that it has worked flawlessly and sounds good.

This is a system that was installed in about 2011 and was set up as 5.1- it's not going to be reconfigured for more speakers because it would mean tearing the room apart. Cabling to the TV from the rest of the system is easy because I installed conduit and have access to the underside of the floor. I might keep the Denon in the system for Zone 2, but that leaves the possibility that synch issues may be harder to correct.

What say ye?

I have always liked Denon and Marantz. Marantz has a compact amp although limited connections on it (NR1510 is 5.2 and Cinema 70s is 7.2). If the Denon was working and is programmed into a control system, putting in another Denon would be the easiest as there would be very little programming required (if any) the X1700 would be a close comparison to the AVR-991 or if you are wanting/needing the latest and greatest the X2800 would be your next option.

Thinking brand is irrelevant when it comes to adjacent room delays...

Main room stereo and zone 2 sound may sync but as soon as you go surround, you get delay.

That is my understanding.

I am an Integra guy FWIW.

Yamaha Aventage. (If you can get past the ridiculous redesigned face.)

In the current system, I added a command that sets the family room to Party Mode when the music is playing since watching TV and even thinking that the sound won't be in conflict shoudn't happen and it has worked well for this. I added to an existing kitchen system in the adjacent dining room for another client and he already had a Yamaha AVR, so I used MusicCast for the Dining Room- the delay is imperceptible to anyone but me, so that has worked well, to.

I'm not too worried about it, really- if the AVR needs to go, it's not a case of being unaffordable and after 12 years, it should be understandable if it needs to be replaced since technology has changed so much.

They'll never control it by using the controls on the face, only the remote.

We use Anthem and Yamaha and both have been very good and reliable. We used to use Marantz and Denon but had a number of problems most I think have been corrected as that was a number of years ago. Sony ES receivers have also been good. Only occasional experience with Onkyo/Integra/ Pioneer but we were never the seller so can't comment on service or any other dealer problems.

Marantz and Audio Control

In the rare occasion we’ve needed support, Yamaha has been very good.

AVRX1800H now. !700s are disco and, my disty anyway, is sold out. That's my entry level. Most of the same features as the 2800 with a little less power.

One feature that I really like in the AVR-991 is IP control and setup, as well as being able to save the configuration using the IP control. Well, assuming the network card is still working. If it's not, it will be manual config.

I'm still not happy that Denon killed this feature. It can still be done with Yamaha and I'm leaning toward one of their AVRs because of it.

I also moved over to the Yamaha Aventage, but have been curious to try the new Sony ES equipment. Customers don't usually care too much about the faceplates, just that it will do its job and have some longevity.

Yamaha has been our go to for 30 years. Rare failures. Excellent warranty and out of warranty service from TAP Electronics. Solid IP control. Only complaint I have is that they removed the option for 6.1 setups with the latest gen receivers, which are probably rare, but they are out there and now Yamaha has obsoleted them.

I always liked Marantz. I worked at a Denon/Marantz dealer before and Marantz always did well. Denon depended on the model year. Some were junk. We switched to Integra and got bit by that bad run of HDMI boards/DSP failures. I still liked them though. Easy setup from the front panel was my favorite feature.

i love the sony es series.. great tech guys. big power like old marantz.