Home > Consumer Reviews > Denon AVR-789 630-Watt 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver

I've done tons of research on a receiver in this price range. I can tell you that this unit is the best for the money. I've research the yammy 663, onkyo 606, and the 789/1909. The 789 and the 1909 are the same unit just made for different retailers. The four digit receivers from denon are for local retailers and the 789 is manufactured for higher volume retailers like BB or CC. I tried two 606s before spending the extra $150 on this model. The first 606 i had suffered from the humm/buzz problem that's all over the avsforum. The second unit i had dropped the video signal after a couple minutes of switching sources or powering the unit on and off. So i went with the 789 and couldn't be happier. My new 7.1 sounds amazing and the Audessey features are the best. i wouldn't attempt to set up a 7.1 with out it. The remote kinda sucks, but i got a Harmony 890, so all remotes go into storage anyway. I have it hooked up to a ps3, 360, comcast cable box, denon dvd, vcr, and ipod. All the SD signals get pushed to 1080p. The upscaling is so much better than the 606 it's not even funny. i would recommend anyone looking for a hdmi receiver that upscales to get this model.

I recently upgraded from a Onkyo TX-SR601 to the Denon 789, WOW how things have changed, Audyssey MultEQ, Dynamic EQ, and Dynamic Volume are unbelievable!! Don't get me wrong my Onkyo served me well but there is a huge difference, compared to the Denon on a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate the Onkyos sound quality a 3, and this is from a guy who liked Onkyo. I almost bought the Onkyo 606 but the reviews continued to concern me: heat, noise, and poor video up scaling. Then I stumbled on the new line from Denon with Audyssey MultEQ, Dynamic EQ, and Dynamic Volume, again it's unbelievable!! My room layout is difficult to work with (corner setup) and Audyssey got it perfect. A friend bought the Onkyo 606 we have similar speakers and he is pissed. There is a BIG difference between the Onkyo 606 with Audyssey 2EQ (2EQ measures 2 room positions, uses a basic resolution filter for the satellites and does not apply a filter to the subwoofers) and Denon with MultEQ (MultEQ takes up to 6 room position measurements, and uses mid-level resolution filters for satellites and subwoofers). We each have the same Sub Velodyne DLS-4000R and my sub sounds A LOT cleaner with the Audyssey adjustments. The Denon also remembers all my listening preferences and automatically make the changes. Dynamic Volume Works as advertised. You will not be disappointed with the Denon, took me about 2 hours to have everything Rocking. Exceeded all my expatiations.

HI.
I already own a Denon AVR-4308CI which I use for my main home theater.....now I needed a receiver for my family room because our LCD tv sound was horrific. I decided to try a bunch of Home Theater in a box and a sony receiver...but NO can Do....I had to get a Denon. I decided on the 789 which is similar to the 1909 ( the 1909 has some extra capabilities for multiroom remote controls etc...which I dont need).

The 789 is a great 7.1 Channel Receiver with Audessey setup and Dynamic EQ/Dynamic Volume. For those that know what this is, GREAT...for those of you that do not know what it is...I will quickly explain.

Audessey simply runs a program on the receiver with the included calibration microphone...u plug it in and off you go. The microphone tests and measures all of your speakers and then adjusts them according to your room, speaker type, distances etc... It does the work so you dont have to.

Dynamic EQ is like above....it controls the sound - bass/treble/etc dynamically based on the content that is being fed in to the receiver.

Dynamic Volume - AWESOME - this is that feature that we all have been waiting for. Ever watched a football game in Hi Def and had great sound...then a commercial comes on and its either too LOUD or too LOW.....you keep having to fiddle with volume buttons....NO MORE. Dynamic volume adjusts the volume (based on day/evening/night) for the source. Its pretty amazing.

Pros:
7.1 Receiver with plenty of power.
3 HDMI Inputs
1 HDMI output
Up conversion of all analog video to HDMI.
Audessey - all 3 features.
Denon Quality and Build....
Ethernet connectivity for future upgrades.

Cons:
1 - REMOTE

I cant stand the remote - Its very functional on the main side...but if you need to adjust menu's etc...you have to flip it over, open the door, and go at it....this annoys me....but its a personal preference.

Apart from that I cant say enough good things about this receiver and so it will still get a 5/5.

ps. If you are a dish network vip hd dvr user....your remote will control the power and volume on the Denon without issue....another reason I chose Denon.

Enjoy!

I bought this receiver about a week ago and got it all connected and functioning in no time. However, like other reviewers have said, the operations manual is poorly organized and hard to follow.

In parts it lacks explanation and assumes the reader knows why or why he would not want a particular setting instead of explaining why he would or wouldn't want it. That is my biggest problem with the manual, because I can figure out how it works after studying the manual a bit, but still don't know what a few settings actually do.

Also, I am disappointed with the remote control. I love the shape, which reminds me of Luke Skywalker's speeder on Tatooine. I also love the weight; it is somewhat heavy, balanced, and solid. I don't mind the back door of the remote with hidden buttons, but I use some of those buttons every time I use the remote and wish they had been located on the front. As for the front, I think they hired an abstract artist to design it. I'm not impressed. Also, mine is somewhat defective; the volume buttons stick.

But everything else about this receiver is excellent. Using Boston Acoustics MCS-100 5.1, the sound is great. I use the DTS Neo: Cinema setting and Dynamic EQ for gaming and movies, which sounds great. I like that switching between Tuner, PS2, Wii, DVD, TV the receiver remembers the settings I last used with that source. I have used the dynamic volume one time and it worked well to keep the quiet and loud moments closer together in volume - less dynamic.

On the display of the receiver there is a small indicator on each side of the source display which tells what the inbound audio is capable of (stereo vs. surround) and what the outbound audio is transmitting. A lot of the time I have stereo in from a game and surround out to the speakers.

I love the reconstruction of mp3 and avi. I use a usb flash drive into my DVD player to play mp3s and watch movies sometimes, and those usually have reduced quality. The AVR 789 "reconstructs" the missing parts of the mp3 and makes even 128k sound much much better. With the adapted surround sound it sounds good.

I routed all my video through the receiver and connect to the TV with HDMI. The picture looks great. All audio and video ports are easily assignable, meaning if you stick your audio into Coaxial 2 port and your video into HDMI 1 port, you can assign them to one source in the receiver - they will both play together on that source. But I followed defaults and did not need to assign anything.

Recommendation: Harmony Remote. I had the $25 Sony remote but was not happy with it. We bought a 510 last night and has made life so much sweeter. Once the receiver is configured you don't need it's remote much. Plus the Harmony can add every button you think you need. A very nice addition to and solution for this receiver.

Overall, the cons cannot touch the pros for this one. 5 stars.

I have the Denon 1909 which is virtually identical to this unit.

Pros:

1. Listening at low volumes (like at midnight) while trying not to wake a child up is MUCH better with the included Audyssey Dynamic Volume! Great feature! Because of this, I like and use this much more than my older and more expensive (but higher end series 3803 receiver) that didn't have these features.

2. Audyssey system is general seems to work well.

3. I like the visual display and the feature that lets you choose what volume level it starts with when you first turn it on. It also has a max volume setting to help prevent you from setting the volume too loud.

4. General Denon quality and reputation.

5. Supports HD audio formats for watching movies.

Cons:

1. Would be nice if it had 4 HDMI inputs instead of 3.

2. Menu system is ugly and can be difficult to navigate.

3. Remote seems cheap and not well designed.

4. A bit of a pain getting some remote commands into my Harmony (I consider this a Logitech AND Denon issue). But now my Harmony has buttons to easily switch to day, evening, amd midnight modes.

5. Made in China.

Other:

1. If you have a Harmony remote and want some commands to change Dynamic Volume then email Harmony tech support and ask to copy these commands from account name "batpigworld" to the Denon AVR-789 receiver on your account: RoomEQ, DynEQVolToggle, DynEQVol All OFF, DynEQ ON Volume OFF, DynEQVol ON,DynamicEQVol DAY, DynamicEQVol EVENING, DynamicEQVol MIDNIGHT