Quote Originally Posted by PeruvianSkies
Well, for one Denon is a better manufacturer than Yamaha when it comes to their equipment and they probably put a little more effort into their power supply.
They probably put more effort in? What do you mean effort? That makes it sound like Yamaha doesn't try...Better? Better how? Lots of people (even on this website) have owned both and have a different opinion. How does a company with inferior products and no pricing advantage stay in business in such a competitive market?

Denon makes some nicer CD and DVD players at higher price points - but Yamaha just doesn't seem interested in entering that market. I don't blame them, at $500 and above for a source player, there's too many better manufacturers than either of these brands. As for receivers, personal preferences aside, there's probably as many people that demo Denons and Yammies and choose Yammie for sound quality reasons. Any Denon's I've ever heard didn't stand out from any other a/v receiver of comparable features and price. And I've owned most brands, H/K, Marantz, NAD, Yamaha, Onkyo, even crappy Technics and Sony. For whatever reason, every time I've shopped, Denon's just haven't finished better on my shortlist than 2nd (to H/K and Marantz in those cases). Though I suspect someday one will finally find a way into my home. They and Pioneer are the only ones I still haven't bought.

As for power supplies - Vague blanket statements don't make a Denon power supply better than a Yamaha. I own a Yamaha right now, but I don't go around claiming it's larger, heavier, more powerful power supply than the slightly more expensive Denon counterpart makes it better (just going by posted specs). I'm sure there's another price-point where the roles are reversed, but in all honesty, differences of 10-20% PSU size will mean nothing in practical terms. Might as well round to the nearest 100 watts consumption...or more as the size increases. 50 watts spread over 5 channels isn't going to add even 1 dB of volume at the top end. Is there some fancy product technology that gives a competitive advantage to Denon? Doubtful. PSU's are pretty straightforward. I wouldn't be shocked if they both buy their PSU's from the same 3rd party. There's size, efficiency, and build quality. That's it - not much to a PSU. And in the build quality department for a/v receivers below $1000 , few match Yamaha's consistent track record. Even fewer argue that point.

Differences between modern, entry/mid level a/v receivers are so small these days that shoot-out will inevitably come down to the secondary and tertiary features like auto-setup, connections, and even DSP's. Even the ease of use. Some still build in their characteristic sound traits like Harman Kardon - but most Asian manufacturers aim for flat line response shaping. It may not agree with the speakers you use, but it's the best way to build an amp in my opinion, let other components add colorations to the sound, amps should be neutral. Otherwise building a system is becomes a game of compensation and compromise.

Most people here recommend a handful of receivers because at any given price-range in any given year there just seems to be a different manufacturer that stands out. Sometimes it's Denon and Yamaha, sometimes not. The last 2 years, Pioneer of all brands has been making some legend killers.