Denon AVR-791 90-Watt 7.1 Channel A/V Home Theater Multi-Source / Multi-Zone Receiver with HDMI 1.4a supporting 1080p and 3D (Black) Reviews
Denon AVR-791 90-Watt 7.1 Channel A/V Home Theater Multi-Source / Multi-Zone Receiver with HDMI 1.4a supporting 1080p and 3D (Black)
- Denon AVR-791 7.1 surround sound receiver delivers 90 watts x 7 channels
- Decodes Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital Surround EX, Dolby Pro Logic IIz, DTS-HD Master Audio
- HDMI 1.4a Repeater Inputs (4) and Output (1) support 1080p/24, 3D (All formats), 7.1 Uncompressed Audio, DVD-Audio, Deep Color
- Anchor Bay VRS advanced analog and digital video upconversion and deinterlacing with 1080p 24Hz/60Hz pass-through
- Audyssey MultEQ automatic room acoustic measuring and correction system, Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ audio processing
The new AVR-791 is packed with technology and features making it the clear choice for value oriented consumers looking for exceptional performance. Each of its 7-amplifier channels produce 90-watts of power, delivering detail and dynamics to music an
Rating: 
(out of 9 reviews)
List Price: $ 499.99
Price: $ 498.00
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Review by Sphinx for Denon AVR-791 90-Watt 7.1 Channel A/V Home Theater Multi-Source / Multi-Zone Receiver with HDMI 1.4a supporting 1080p and 3D (Black)
Rating:
There are three $500 receivers to consider, if you’re buying one in 2010 – Onkyo TX-SR608, Pioneer VSX-1020-K and this one. All three feature the latest HDMI 1.4, which is necessary for 3D signals. Here’s how they compare:
-The Onkyo is the most powerful in terms of real world performance, followed by the Denon and finally the Pioneer. All three perform at par for normal listening volumes, but the Onkyo can handle very high volumes the best, while the Pioneer runs out of breath
-The Denon has Audyssey Multi-Eq, which automatically calibrates the receiver for use in your room (a mic is provided). The Onkyo has a similar but less versatile Audyssey 2EQ. Pioneer has its own system called MCACC which also works well, but Audyssey may be slightly better.
-All three can upconvert analog sources via HDMI – hence you’ll only need one HDMI cable to connect to the TV. The 1.4 spec supports an audio return channel, so the TV’s sound can be output to the receiver without extra cables. The Pioneer and Denon use the excellent Anchor Bay chipset, while the Onkyo uses the slightly inferior Faroudja DCDi chipset for video processing.
-The Pioneer and the Denon have a front USB input where you can connect your iPod directly. You can browse playlists etc using the receiver’s remote via the onscreen display. Since this is a digital connection, the sound quality is excellent – while the iPod can be connected to the Onkyo via an analog cable, it does not sound as good and cannot be navigated using the remote.
-The Denon offers an equal variety of inputs as the other two, but has fewer of them – eg, one optical input vs 2 for Pioneer and Onkyo
- The Pioneer’s iPhone app is just a gimmick and of limited utility – I would prefer using the main remote.
Overall, I decided to purchase the Denon since it has Audyssey MultiEQ and adequate power (unlike the Pioneer) as well as excellent video processing and iPod connectivity (unlike the Onkyo). I have been using it for about a week and am very pleased with the level of performance offered.
Review by San Jose Reviewer for Denon AVR-791 90-Watt 7.1 Channel A/V Home Theater Multi-Source / Multi-Zone Receiver with HDMI 1.4a supporting 1080p and 3D (Black)
Rating:
This works much better than my old Yamaha RX-V661 receiver. The key features I liked were:
* Audyssey Dynamic Volume for automatically turning the volume down for commercials and up for quiet scenes so that you don’t have to keep your finger on the remote when trying to keep the TV commercial volume below a certain level. This is a key selling point in my opinion! You can configure it to 4 settings depending on how dynamic you want it. Just like the Starbucks style of sizing, instead of small, medium and large, you have Off, Day, Evening and Night in the menu. Day compensates the volume the least, and the Night compensates the volume the most. The Evening setting seems fine to me.
* When you first configure it, it configures the sound levels specific to your room configuration for up to 6 listening points with an included microphone. It detects the frequency cross over for your speakers and speaker specific volume levels for optimal listening. It can also detect miswired speakers.
* 4 HDMI input ports and 1 HDMI output port.
* iPod USB connection. You can use the remote to control the song selection.
* Delete unused inputs for easily skipping over unused inputs.
* Analog video conversion to HDMI. This is good for playing the Wii or other older cable inputs without switching TV inputs.
* It doesn’t have an excess abundance of inputs. So it’s a little easier to wire up.
* You can rename the inputs to make it easier for everyone in the family to remember.
* You can configure which inputs are used for each video/sound combination. This is probably why there are fewer inputs. For simple configurations, the defaults will be good enough.
* If you don’t like the default brightness on the display, you can turn it down in the menu. This is good for adjusting the display appropriate for the normal room light level.
* Standby mode is 0.1 watts, but I wonder why it doesn’t have the Energy Star logo on it.
* Total harmonic distortion is 0.08%.
Here are the things I disliked:
* If you have a standard universal remote, the typical power button won’t work because it uses discrete off and on buttons instead instead of a single power button. Using a Harmony universal remote from Logitech will solve that problem.
* The volume button is a little sensitive. The speed for changing the volume is a little fast for me, but with Audyssey Dynamic Volume, you don’t need to change it as much.
* When I first started to use it, it really messed with the TV’s black levels. It seems that changing the video mode from auto or game to movie resolved that problem.
* For a little less money I could have bought the less powerful Denon AVR-591 for most of the same functionality. I’m undecided on whether the price difference was worth it, but I’m still very happy with the new AVR-791 receiver.
Review by C. Miles for Denon AVR-791 90-Watt 7.1 Channel A/V Home Theater Multi-Source / Multi-Zone Receiver with HDMI 1.4a supporting 1080p and 3D (Black)
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The Denon AVR-791 AVR works great with DirecTV and Mitsubishi’s new 3DC-1000 3D Adapter. Passes through the HDMI 1.4 signals like a champ! I had previously purchased a Yamaha RX-V667 AVR but it would not work in this configuration.
The Denon also sounds great although I haven’t made it through all of the setups yet. BatPig’s web site is VERY helpful.
Chris M.
Review by RedPhillips for Denon AVR-791 90-Watt 7.1 Channel A/V Home Theater Multi-Source / Multi-Zone Receiver with HDMI 1.4a supporting 1080p and 3D (Black)
Rating:
After a long debate between several different options, I ended up going with this model. For the price it offers just about anything anyone would want from a mid range receiver. HDMI 1.4 is great and the upscaling is surprisingly better than I expected(good job anchor bay). It has all the lossless formats making the surround experience lifted. The most important thing is the sound quality, and this receiver excels at that. When I finished hooking it up I couldnt believe how good it sounded(I upgraded from a Harman Kardon AVR-154 and the sound quality is much better on the Denon). My only issue with this unit is the GUI and a terrible remote. Maybe thats just me, but it makes no sense at all. The manual isnt much of a help either. These are minor issues, but still bother me. Other than that, this receiver is very good. I doubt there is better sound quality on a comparable mid range receiver.
Review by Christopher Deweese for Denon AVR-791 90-Watt 7.1 Channel A/V Home Theater Multi-Source / Multi-Zone Receiver with HDMI 1.4a supporting 1080p and 3D (Black)
Rating:
The Denon AVR-791 is an incredible receiver at a reasonable price. I recently upgraded from an Onkyo TX-SR604, which I was pretty happy with until I bought a new TV that was not compatible with the HDMI. My new TV (Samsung UN46C6500 LED) only supports HDMI 1.3 and up. It is not backward compatible (the old receiver was HDMI 1.1). I was a little angry about the incompatibility issue, but as soon as I fired up the Denon all my frustrations turned to bliss.
First, the unit is very elegant with a very nice remote. The controls on both the unit and remote seem pretty intuitive. If you’ve operated receivers before, you’ll find a lot that’s familiar. There are few connections on the back, which I was a little surprised by. However, this receiver is totally meant for HDMI. 1080p upconversion, 3D ready with HDMI 1.4, it’s all there. Supports DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD (and pretty much every other audio codec you can think of). A USB plug on the front allows for iPod playback and charging (controlled by the Denon remote). The on screen menus aren’t anything to write home about, but they are pretty easy to navigate.
The audio quality of this receiver is amazing. I have a Definitive 5.1 system set up with a 400 watt subwoofer. Even listening to TV broadcasts is incredible. Listening to music through my iPod was a dream. Blu-rays look and sound phenomenal. It’s everything I’d hoped it would be.
There aren’t many cons to this receiver. A minor complaint would be that no video can be presented through the USB connection on the front. If you want to watch movies through your iPod, you’ll have to hook up some kind of dock (Denon offers a dock for about $100). The Denon remote didn’t work well when trying to control the iPod. I had to press buttons several times to get the song to change or stop. Again, these are minor complaints. The pros vastly outweigh the cons.
Hopefully, if I decide to venture into 3D, this receiver will stand the test of time and fulfill any need. For now, my home theater is complete and I couldn’t ask for anything more.