Home > Consumer Reviews > Denon AVR-988 7.1-Channel Multizone Home Theater Receiver

This was a strong performing receiver at $1200. Now it is an amazing value. Why?
Pros
1) Clean high current power- in the end, the most important thing. Strip away all the bells and whistles and "features" and listen to it. Many receivers brag about 100 watts of power and yet sound thin. Denon is known for amplifier quality. This Denon receiver was designed for the $1200 instead of the $500 price point and has the parts quality that reflects it (good power supply, shielding, and separate circuit boards for Digital, Analog Video and Analog Audio) The receiver has 110 watts for 7 channels and will drive your speakers for better bass and clarity.

2) 1080P Upconversion- there is two types of upconversion. In other words, what are you doing to a VCR or other analog video signal to make it HDMI? Some receivers "Transcode", which means they convert from regular composite video, S-Video, or Component video to HDMI. This is done for convenience. You get all of your sources on one HDMI cable going into the TV, but don't expect any improvement in video quality. The other way of conversion is called upconversion or "scaling." Now you are taking a 480i signal and converting it to 1080i or 1080P. The quality of that process varies widely. Some upconverters make the image look horrible. Some only upconvert to 1080i. Denon uses a Faroudja FLi2310 video processor that provides video scaling up to 1080p resolution. On other words, it makes your old stuff look good. Not as good as true HD source material, but it is a significant improvement.

3) Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio- decodes them both.

4) Multi-Zone/Multi-Source: Use 5 of the channels for home theater and the 2 other channels to power a second zone (like speakers for an outdoor deck) with a different source. So you can watch movies in the family room and still have a CD playing outside. The second zone can be fed from the coax digital or optical digital input (rather than only analog), something that many other multi-source receivers can't do.

5) Auto Setup: Many people buy a receiver and never bother to set it up to compensate for their room and speakers. I prefer to set up a receiver manually for inputs, speaker size and distance and it can make a huge difference in sound quality. Denon makes setup easy. Once you plug in the microphone, the receiver automatically detects and enters in auto-setup mode. The Audyssey Multi EQ XT can be setup for 8 favorite listening setups...you can calibrate it for a couple watching movies vs a group watching a football game. There is a large difference among auto EQs, and Audyssey does a good job.

6) Auto Lipsync- Have you noticed the image not match up with the sound? Rather than put up with that movie experience, the Denon receiver will allow you to correct for the delays between the video and audio processing.

7) Shh...don't tell anyone, but this receiver is very, very close in performance to Denon's AVR 2808. Just less expensive!
8) Yes, it even still has a phono input.
9) Music restorer- Playing an iPod? Use this to make compressed audio sources sound less worse.

Drawback
Although it will convert other inputs to HDMI, it only has two HDMI inputs. For those who want more HDMI inputs, add a HDMI switcher box. One of the best reviewed ones is the Oppo. It works with Tivo, Comcast cable boxes, and with Denon receivers.
OPPO HM-31 Certified HDMI 1.3 and 1080p Switch

Excellent music and video capabilities including the latest HD formats, and 1080p conversion is real (works well).
Denon is known for faithful reproduction of music and usually the cornerstone of low end /budget audiophile systems. I tried these with Martin Logan Aeon i Speakers and they sound fine (considering Martin Logans require amps to drive large currents at 2 to 4 ohms, but still not enough - while the sound quality is fine - no additional noises/artifacts, the volume tends to be low with martin logans); so I am forced to use other (Polk) speakers with these too for the most part (in 5 channel mode instead of stereo for classical music) in most situations (that and the bad docs/remote/gui setup is why I am giving 4 stars!)
Pros: 1. analog conversion all the way to HDMI 1080p
2. downward conversion to svhs/analog for multizones
3. Excellent connectivity to networked music (ASD-1r/3w/3n docs - optional) and ipods
4. easy setup for room
5. Preamp output available
Cons:
1. Still bad/complicated remote! (and bad documentation too).
2. Only 2 HDMI inputs?

Didn't test on screen menu feature on this yet (one year old Denon 588 didn't have that)
Overall it is a good product especially compared to the similar 2808 that sells for $1000 upwards. Both are similar featured (except that 2808 supports 3 zone/3 source compared to 2 zone/2 source for 988 model; and 2808 also has a simple second remote that is good; the rest of the amp is exactly the same as 988, just costs more!).Considering the price and features, this model is a steal right now!
Update/Caveat: If your speakers are 6 ohms or higher, then this receiver is great! So decide carefully taking all the components in to consideration. For my case, I am adding a good stereo amp (Class D) to drive the martin logans using the pre out for zone 2 as the input for the stereo amp.
UPDATE: Looks like Denon has introduced new models AVR-989 and 2809Cl with just 2 differences (115W instead of 110W per ch. and 4 HDMI inputs - they listened to the reviewers/users and increased the number of HDMI inputs)! That's the reason that these are getting discounted right now; if you don't care about more than 2 HDMI inputs, this is the best sale ever.
I have used Marantz, harmon kardon and sony in the past (never used Onkyo but reading reviews I stayed away from it because of power/burn out issues) and all of them have had troubles with power - usually gets heated a lot more than denons, sometimes protection circuit kicks in and turns off those receivers in my setup (goes to power efficiency of Denons, that they are able to give better wattage without wasting extra power).

I have been using the Denon AVR-988 for a month now. Excellent sound, build quality and aesthetics. Reviewers before have covered many points, so I'll just address the following:

- Shipping experience: I had opted for next-day delivery. The receiver arrived as promised in original factory packaging. There were a couple of nicks and dents in the box, but nothing significant.

- Hook up: Didn't take too long to set up the system. I see many comments on the user manual being complicated etc, but if you have dealt with any A/V receiver before, there isn't a whole lot different here. In fact, you probably don't need the manual at all to hook up your components.

- Audessey set up: The first time you need to consult the manual is to figure out how to start the Audessey auto set up. Specifically, you just need to know how to get your On-Screen menu display going, and after this, you can just follow the instructions. The system can take up to 8 measurements, but I needed only 3. This took a few minutes.

- Remote: As with most receivers today, the remote is cryptic and requires some figuring out. Especially, the 988 remote has a hidden set of buttons in the back, where some of the useful functions are kept (why put it in the back?) Also, it has a weird slider switch mechanism to select components to control other components like CD, which is odd. The remote could have been better, but this is no big deal considering many other positives.

Overall, I'd suggest that people don't get put off by prior comments on set up and complexity. Even if you're not familiar with A/V receivers, this is just a one-time effort.

- Build: Solid build quality in terms of weight of the unit, and the feel of it as you lift it and operate it. Note that this unit is made in Japan, not in China or Malaysia (unusual nowadays to find such products).

- Aesthetics: Very nice to look at, buttons are hidden under a flap, and the display is clear and functional (no jazzy colored lights). Of course, like all receivers, you have to go up close to read the volume level, active channels, but looks good overall.

- Sound: I have a 3.1 set up (don't like to run wires for rear speakers), and the sound quality from both stereo and 5.1 sources is crystal clear, nuanced, with tight bass. You don't have to jack up the volume too much (I mostly listen at -40 DB, the receiver goes up to +18DB). Some DVDs require me to raise the volume to about -25DB, that's the max I have gone so far in a medium sized room. Receiver automatically determines the type of source (Stereo, digital, etc), and plays it accordingly. Audessey automatically sets the tone controls, but there is also bass and treble settings you can manually adjust (plus levels of all 7.1 channels). Overall, extremely pleased with the sound. Pleasure to watch movies like Matrix with both great instrumental sound and effects, or listen to music.

- Running it for hours: I sometimes have it on for several hours, and the unit just barely gets warm. Compare this to Onkyo heating/flaming issues, and this is another reason to consider buying this unit.

In summary, as someone said before, this is a $1200 unit selling for less than half the price. It's not much different from the new 989 or 2809, at half the price! Great value, IMO, and I recommend 988 whole-heartedly.

This receiver is fully customizable to my media room. This thing lets you assign the HDMI inputs to your devices and Label them on the display. (I also setup the XBox and labeled the HDP2 inputs XBox 360. Just don't forget to select, in the setup,analog sound.) Plus this Denon has a mic that you plug in the front to set up your speakers. It will decode most sound codecs and transmit them to your speakers with class. The video, analog to digital 1080p, scaling works great. If you are smart enough to hook up the wires in the back, you are smart enough to customize the setup features. :) I love it.

This Av receiver is really an incredible piece of engineering. Sophisticated is a good word for it. The Audessey calibration did a great job of setting my speakers in my HT. I'm running with Mirage FRX7 fronts, FRXc Center, FRX5 surrounds, and FRXs8 subwoofer. The Denon powers these with great detail and tons of headroom.
After shopping round for quite awhile now, the discovery of the Denon at half price, free shipping, was too good to pass up and boy am I glad I didn't.
The manual is a bit daunting. For someone relatively new to HT it will take some time to get a handle on, but one could just use the auto setup and be on their way.
Also noteworthy is that after being on for probably 6 or so hours I noticed the unit was barely warm. This is a good thing as I know heat is the biggest culprit in electronics failures.
Buy this unit, you will not regret it!!!