Home > Consumer Reviews > Denon AVR-888 7.1-Channel/5.1+2-Channel Independent Zone Home Theater Receiver with HDMI I/O and Serial I/R Control (Black)

This is one incredible sounding receiver. I have owned Onkyo and Marantz (AVR-6200), both of which I highly valued. The Marantz was used with my Mirage Omni speakers, which is still utilized on the Denon. However, nothing has the dynamics and punch that this receiver is capable of.
The overall sound quality, in my opinion, is very flat, very dynamic. It sounds great at all volumes, something that my Onkyo and Marantz receivers could not match. I rate the highs as a tiny bit bright, but very acceptable. The mids are sweet, especially with acoustic instruments and vocals. The bass is very good as well. I love the quality of movies and music equally.
The HDMI upconversion is great as well. Unfortunately, I have an older Sony Tube HD TV which squishes any HDMI signal so the image is smaller. So, I use the component video switching abilities. I would say that is the only detriment to this receiver. It is not any where near as clear as the HDMI. But it is acceptable. There is a little flicker on some of my DirecTV channels, but the colors and resolution are great.
Some people have complained about setting this receiver up. I found it very easy to use. It has a lot of menus and options, which makes this receiver very customizable. It even has a 9-band EQ for all channels on all sources, which is awesome!!! I did not use autoEQ yet, but I think that me using the manual setup did the job right!

Pros:
* Quality of sound over all frequencies. Tight bass, sweet mids and crystal clear treble.
* Great video switching. Upconverts to 1080p with ease!
* Quality build, dual power transformers, top notch electronic components.
* Looks good too!
* Runs really cool even at loud levels.

Cons:
* Remote is lackluster. No learning abilities. But the IR sensor on the unit itself is very sensitive, making placement easier.
* Slight flicker using component switching upconversion. Not an issue with HDMI.

Overall, I rate this receiver as an incredible deal. Highly recommended.
Plus, Denon is known for their quality. My Marantz, which used to be great, died in only 4 years. My previous Onkyo is still working 10 years later at my friends house. My cousin and uncles all have various Denons, from 30 years old, to the newer generation, all work, all beloved!!!

After several years of using older but high quality stereo separates for music, my spouse finally got tired of the lack of convenience, i.e., no remote controls for all components, and lack of integration with video sources. She was ready to buy a cheapo home theatre package from Sears, but I said no way ... we buy higher quality, do it once, do it right.

My CD source is an older Denon DCD-1290 CD player that is a great player from the early 90s. It is built like a tank and still going strong. Knowing the quality of most Denon products, I thought of Denon when researching AV receivers. The model I had originally considered was superseded by the AVR-888, with the latter being a bit cheaper anyway.

But it is not cheap construction. I tend to buy serious electronics "by the pound", i.e., the heavier the better. Weight usually means larger transformers, better shielding and better longevity. This approach has never let me down.

Like the other reviewers, the remote is not really a serious piece of kit. It is useful for turning the receiver on and off, selecting between sources, and set-up. If you are lucky, you can have minimal control of a non-Denon source component that happens to be in the code list. But even then, as has been stated, the remote's two-sided layout (obviously a design to keep the remote small and sleek,) makes it clunky to use. I have an older One-for-All unified remote, and I will be sending it off to be updated with the codes for all my components, including the AVR-888.

As for the manual, I don't find it as bad as some others. It isn't the best I have seen, but some of the reviews here make it appear to be next to useless. The key with this manual is to read CAREFULLY. I think lots of people want to rush through setup and think a manual should make up for a hurried, sloppy approach. (Think about it: you purchase such a piece of equipment partially on its flexibility and options; getting everything "right" isn't going to be simple!)

That said, I did have some difficulty getting a cable box to pass audio using DVI and digital audio, even though my Bell TV receiver connected fine on the first attempt with the same types of connections. For this I called Denon support and they were able to help me. (The AVR-888 processor had gotten a bit "confused" and needed to be re-set.)

The only major drawback with this unit is that you cannot record onto a DVD recorder unless the DVD recorder unit uses the same type of video cable that the AVR-888 uses to feed your TV/monitor. If you have an older DVD recorder that does not use, say, HDMI (or HDMI to DVI, in my case), then you have to find another way to pass signal directly to the recorder, or upgrade your recorder. For now I took the first approach, but in the future I will upgrade the DVD recorder.

So far both the video and audio performance have been outstanding, which I expected from Denon, so it's not really a surprise. I am only using two speakers, so can't comment on the surround sound modes, but surround is not that important to me. What is important is audio quality, and at this price point, the Denon is more than adequate.

I expect this unit to last a long time and can highly recommend it. I knocked it one star for the issues of recording setup and the remote. The purchase experience with Amazon was perfect, including Super Saver delivery that was much quicker than I expected.

EDIT/UPDATE: Several months in, I enjoy this receiver even more. Why? Well, my speakers are old. They are Ängstrom 202 bookshelf speakers. They were made in the early 90s (or maybe before!), and the company is completely different today. I finally got around replacing the foam surrounds on the mid/woofers, as the surrounds had rotted. Now the sound is even better! Does that make the AVR-888 better? No. Did it make the sound reproduction better and give me a better appreciation of this unit's capabilities? You bet! Even though these little speakers have "only" 6-1/2 drivers for the mid/bass, they are a ported design and what bass is there is clean and accurate. The Denon doesn't do anything to mess that up.

Wow, this product SOUNDS great. I found it easy to set up and the switching on the unit made putting my system together a BREEZE. I changed out an old av receiver I had from several years ago and I was astounded at what a difference the AVR888 made in how my system sounded. I also noticed a major improvement in my video signal. This was a great buy for me and my family!



Denon AVR-888 7.1-Channel/5.1+2-Channel Independent Zone Home Theater Receiver with HDMI I/O and Serial I/R Control (Black)

I've researched AVRs for months. Started with Onkyo, looked at Yamaha and Denon. Finally decided on the 2309/889 because of it's features and acknowledged Denon superiority in stereo sound and was waiting for reviews. Then I saw the 888 for $350 and did some more research. Discovered that the fancy new DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD wouldn't work with my PS3 as it doesn't bitstream that format. But, more importantly, it DOESN'T MATTER and it's better not to do it that way. The PS3 can decode all the current formats into LPCM which it sends to the AVR for the digital to analog conversion. It's better that way because of sound mixing on certain BD titles that can only be done by the player anyway. So these new formats are just selling points for a new amp that are essentially useless. The 888 has all channels rated at .05%THD as opposed to .08% on the 2309/889. Why it's worse in a new model I can't figure out. Cheaper components? The 888 doesn't have a 12v trigger nor RS232 so you can't hit a button and have the shades lower and light go out. But if you had those systems you've be looking at a much better amp to begin with. Both have Audyssey Mult EQ. It boiled down to is their Dynamic Volume function worth $400?? I didn't think so. I bought the 888 and am thrilled to get it at such a good price and still have the warranty as I bought it from Amazon which is an authorized Denon retailer. (see Denon's site about this.) If you need more power or pre-out I just saw the 988 on Amazon for $540. WOW!
ps- yea, the manual sucks (no explanations) and the GUI could be better. Much much better.
pps- if you want you can bi-amp your speakers if they are capable. Make sure you hook them up properly using the Front A or B + the Surround/Assignable wire posts and select it in the setup.

Well, I was a bit nervous after reading a lot of the bad reviews of this receiver on Amazon. Customers' problems seemed to range from not understanding the manual at all, not being able to get the rear surround speakers working, and having problems with Denon customer service.
First, I went to Denon's site and downloaded a PDF of the manual. Honestly, I'm not a computer programmer or anything like that but I really didn't understand where all the confusion was coming from. Yes, it is a complex receiver, but if you want a cheap, plug-it-in-and-turn-it-on receiver then buy one of those surround systems in a box and your done.
I even understood why it was only putting out 5.1 and not 7.1 from looking right at the PDF manual without yet having the unit in my hands (look on page 30 where it says "define how the amplifier for the surround back speaker channels is used.").
So I decided to get it...and am I glad I didn't take heed of the negative reviews. It is a great receiver. Some folks here complained about how the volume was read in -db (so when you turned up the volume the digits decreased closer to ONE (+1) db. EVERY receiver I have ever owned has read the volume this way (a Yamaha and a Sony). Deal with it.
The one annoying aspect of the unit is its remote control. Most of the operating functions are located on the front of the control, but there are more set up buttons on the bottom of the remote in a flip open compartment. A little annoying at first, but many of these buttons are used for entering menus and setting the unit up. Not to mention that you are probably going to buy a universal remote to handle all your devices any way (if you're not, and you're happy using 3 or 4 remotes, good for you) and you'll end up putting the Denon remote away.

Overall, I have no problems with this unit, the manual didn't confuse me (so maybe I should apply for that rocket scientist position) and I had everything set up and was watching Blu-ray's with full surround sound in no time. So if you understand how high end receivers function, don't be scared off by the reviews from users who prefer a Fisher Price brand receiver.