I called Denon on the phone last week to ask the difference between the 888 and 889 and then another call to ask the difference bwteen the 889 and the 2309. I thought they were very good on the phone. Try calling them instead of email.
Wish I could have gone for a larger receiver. Funny thing is the guys over at Orb Audio and their website offers the Denon 889 as an upgrade for a package deal. Since doing all of this research (and it's been plenty believe me) I have totally and completely discarded the idea of Orb speakers.
