Review on Denon AVR-2113CI Networking Home Theater Receiver: AirPlay, Powered Zone 2 | Discontinued by Manufacturer by Alvaro Delic

I've loved sound since I was a child. I loved my Harman Kardon 435 AVR, but over the years it has been surpassed by the technology. After hearing many rave reviews about the previous 2012 model, I decided to try the new 2013 Denon 2113CI. now and here are my thoughts on it. - The sound is comparable to my old Harman Kardon, which I'm happy with, and the settings and menus are much easier to navigate than the old receiver menus, plus it has the newest ones. Modes such as DTS-HD Master Audio for Blu-Ray and most other conceivable modes (with the exception of THX). Positive sides: 1) Great sound 2) Easy to use remote control (even my wife can control it) 3) Can be controlled via iPhone/iPad (Tip: if you need this function buy the DeRemote app, the free Denon app is rubbish .) 4 ) Apple Airplay5) Reinforcement of 2 zones6) Powerful sound. Cons: 1) Apple Airplay is buggy 1a) If you turn off Airplay in the main zone, you can't go back without stopping and restarting the song in the Apple Remote app. 1b) ERROR: The manual says your receiver uses the volume in the Apple Remote app, that's true, but it's an error! If Zone 1 is on something else, such as a Blu-Ray, and Zone 2 is on Airplay, the Apple Remote app will be muted in Zone 1, causing you to try Enable Airplay in Zone 2 and Blu-Ray in the zone instead. 1. Hope Denon fixes this, this should only control zone volume via airplay. (I have the latest firmware as of 05/25/2012) Also be careful when powering up, if you last heard your iTunes at a high level you may blow out the speaker as your amp will now be at that level. 1c) There is no dedicated Airplay button, so there is no way to return to it when you change zones, even if Airplay is still playing in your iTunes. The network button works for zone 2 when airplay is playing in zone 1, but the network button doesn't work for zone 1, you have to restart everything to play again. 1d) You cannot immediately go to Airplay in Zone 2. You need to capture zone 1 and then it will play in zone 2, then you can return zone 1 to what you saw/heard. Annoying if, for example, you want to watch a movie in the living room in zone 1 and listen to music in the rest of the house in zone 2. 1e) Very primitive airplay control via the receiver, this is really a joke. Basically, you need to use Apple's remote app for it to work properly. 2) The Denon iPad/iPhone app is a complete joke and full of bugs. 3) HDMI You CANNOT use an HDMI source in Zone 2. I didn't realize that before I bought it. I found a workaround: you connect HDMI and RCA cables to the source and it works fine, but here's what happens. 3a) Zone 2 is slightly ahead of the HDMI source, even if you turn off all processing and go straight. Stereo (the above helps but doesn't fix the problem). 3b) Not all things have RCA and HDMI like my Blu-Ray. It only has HDMI so you CANNOT hear it in other zones. This may or may not be a deal killer for you. Would I buy it again? I'm up in the air about it and only time will tell. Hopefully Denon will release future firmware updates that fix the issues I mentioned. Overall I'd say it's a very good receiver, but make sure you can live with 1) buggy Apple Airplay and 2) HDMI sources not being playable in Zone 2 (see workaround above). 3b) Not all things have RCA and HDMI like my Blu-Ray. It only has HDMI so you CANNOT hear it in other zones. This may or may not be a deal killer for you. Would I buy it again? I'm up in the air about it and only time will tell. Hopefully Denon will release future firmware updates that fix the issues I mentioned. Overall I'd say it's a very good receiver, but make sure you can live with 1) buggy Apple Airplay and 2) HDMI sources not being playable in Zone 2 (see workaround above). 3b) Not all things have RCA and HDMI like my Blu-Ray. It only has HDMI so you CANNOT hear it in other zones. This may or may not be a deal killer for you. Would I buy it again? I'm up in the air about it and only time will tell. Hopefully Denon will release future firmware updates that fix the issues I mentioned. Overall I'd say it's a very good receiver, but make sure you can live with 1) buggy Apple Airplay and 2) HDMI sources not being playable in Zone 2 (see workaround above). Would I buy it again? I'm up in the air about it and only time will tell. Hopefully Denon will release future firmware updates that fix the issues I mentioned. Overall I'd say it's a very good receiver, but make sure you can live with 1) buggy Apple Airplay and 2) HDMI sources not being playable in Zone 2 (see workaround above). Would I buy it again? I'm up in the air about it and only time will tell. Hopefully Denon will release future firmware updates that fix the issues I mentioned. Overall I'd say it's a very good receiver, but make sure you can live with 1) buggy Apple Airplay and 2) HDMI sources not being playable in Zone 2 (see workaround above).