Denon - AVR-S980H 7.2 Channel AV Receiver - Black

I upgraded from an AVR I setup and used probably 8-10 years ago, and while it still performed quite well, some of the hardware was outdated. This is my first Denon product, but its been on my radar for the past 15 years or so during my on and off research for home theater improvements. The swap between the two was very simple and straightforward. Everything is labeled clearly so connecting cables was a breeze and I was up and running in minutes since it was a direct switch. I plugged in an ethernet cable to make internet access easy, and sure enough during the initial bootup, it asked to install the firmware. Few minutes later, it was done and I went through the initial setup. It even auto-labeled my Device names for me like “Apple TV” and “Panasonic…”. I was actually surprised the setup process was as simple as it was. I thought Denon would be catering to more advanced home theater users, but it was nice to get a simple set of questions and graphics, explaining step by step process for new and experienced users. I did the sound calibration a few times, and had to change my speaker wiring around. The layout didn’t seem to accommodate my 5.1.2 setup initially, as I saw no atmos plugs in the back or speaker setup options in the settings. I had to go through and change the speaker setup for Rear Surround to Side Surround, and change the height option, re-run the speaker sound calibration, and it seems to work well now. I do wish there were more Dolby-related instructions during setup, but I got there and I’m happy. The remote does feel a little cheap, very light plastic. Not something I expected from a premium AVR company, but I guess if you drop it the damage would be minimal. Also no backlit buttons, so difficult to see in dim light. The Heos app provides a broad centralized view your AVR and settings. Beyond the AVR settings, it lets you choose radio stations, add music streaming services, and setup playlists. I connected a USB that had some mp3 and FLAC files on it, which played them with no issues. The Heos app remembered the songs and lets me create the playlists which could be played straight from my phone, I like this feature. Denon also has an app that acts as a remote, which I think is pretty common these days, and helps solve the no backlit buttons on the physical remote. The actual remote features quick Sound Mode options at the bottom, so you can easily switch from Movie to Music to Games and the modes do sound quite accommodating for the chosen sound source. This upgrade was mainly to bring us up to date and future proof our setup so we can have peace of mind for a few years, but more than that we have noticed an improved quality in sound. My wife and I both have watched some sound-intense movies and listened to music, and we both agree that it just seems to sound better than before, which we weren’t really expecting, so that is a nice bonus. We still have more to discover with this AVR but wanted to share our experience so far. This model maxes out our speaker ports with the 5.1.2 setup, so if you want to do an expanded Dolby setup you’ll need to bump it up to a 7.1 Denon model. Overall I’m happy with the upgrade.

Bottomline: Whether you are building a home theatre or just want to listen to pure stereo music this Denon receiver has it all. Over the years I have owned nearly every brand of AV receiver and when it comes to Audio Quality none match Denon. Setup is fairly straightforward using the instructions on your TV and the Audyssey room correction configures the receiver to give you the best listening quality. This is very noticeable when you play a Dolby Atmos movie because the receiver provides a very immersive experience. Denon gives you the choice of listening equalizers as well as options to listen in DTS:X and Dolby Digital. Personally I jump between them because some media – music and movies – sound better in one format vs the other. This Denon does it all and it provides a listening experience you will never get from a soundbar. Pros: - Supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X - Audyssey Room Correction Setup - Supports 4k and 8k - 6 HDMI inputs and 2 HDMI outputs - Bluetooth and Wireless streaming - Numerous equalizer options for movies and music - Plenty of Power for most rooms - HEOS wireless support Cons: - Remote is not backlit My Setup: I have Definitive Technologies BP9000 series speakers for my front, rear and center speakers, I have a SVS subwoofer that can rock the house. Note that this receiver will work with just about any speaker combination and make them sound better. Plus Denon gives you lots of control over the receiver’s output so that you can customize your listening experience to match your listening taste. For music I have a large selection of LPs and CDs as well as streaming music from Apple music and Amazon music. Amazon music supports songs recorded in Dolby Atmos and the Denon does a great job of making the music immersive. Connecting the hdmi, speakers and subwoofer are simple because everything is prelabeled on the back of the receiver. To run the Audessey room correction app you need to plug in the included microphone. Denon includes a cardboard microphone stand but I used a camera tripod instead because its much easier. You have to create a HEOS account if you plan on streaming directly from the receiver vs using your phone app or media player.

The Denon AVR S980H 7.2 Channel AV Receiver is a midrange AV receiver from Denon that offers many of the same features and audio quality from their higher end models. The box contains the following items: The Denon AVR S980H AV receiver itself 2x External Bluetooth/Wi-Fi antennas RC-1263 Remote Control with 2x AAA batteries Power Cord FM Indoor antenna and AM loop antenna Sound Calibration Microphone Quick Start Guide and other pamphlets Main Features and Specs Supports 7.2 channels 6x HDMI Inputs with 3 of them supporting 8K/HDCP 2.3 2 HDMI outputs with one supporting ARC/eARC Supports HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision Supports Dolby Atmos and DTS X Supports Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Quick Frame Transport (QFT) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) for gamers Supports High Resolution Audio Supports multi-source, multi-zone Supports HEOS Supports Bluetooth streaming and Apple AirPlay2 1x Phono (MM) Input 2x Optical Inputs 1x Coaxial Input 2x Subwoofer Outputs Network support with 1x Ethernet and Wi-Fi AM/FM Tuner There are too many features to have a complete list but needless to say, the Denon AVR S980H supports every feature I think is important. For testing, I am using the following speakers that I have accumulated over the years for a 5.1.2 home theater setup: Sony SS-CS5 Bookshelf for the Left/Right Front speakers Sony SS-CN550H Center Speaker Sony SSCSE Dolby Atmos for the front up-firing Dolby Atmos Enabled speakers KLH TW-08 Satellite Speaker for the surround speakers. Insignia NS-RSW211 Subwoofer Setup The physical setup was very easy. I felt the physical layout of the speaker terminals and HDMI ports provided ample spacing and was not crowded so swapping the Denon into my current home theater setup and reconnecting all my speakers and devices was very easy. The software setup was slightly time consuming. When I started setting things up, it asked for my Wi-Fi password so it could connect to the internet. Shortly after, it told me that I should download the HEOS app and get a HEOS account if I didn’t already have one. Once I downloaded the HEOS app and registered for an account, it detected my Denon AV receiver and asked if I wanted to upgrade the HEOS firmware to the newest version. After updating the HEOS software on the Denon receiver, I had to reenter my Wi-Fi password (which is somewhat long and annoying to type in) to set up my Wi-Fi network all over again. The physical remote is large, and I felt the buttons are arranged in an intuitive layout which made using it a pleasant experience. However, it is not backlit which can make finding the correct buttons in a darkened room difficult. There is also a Denon AVR Remote app available. There is some overlap between the HEOS and Denon AVR Remote app, but it seems the Denon AVR Remote app is mostly to be used as a alternate/backup for the physical remote while the HEOS app mainly provides support for streaming audio services. After everything was updated, I had to go through the Audyssey room calibration which required me to plug in a microphone and place it at 6 different listening positions while beeping sounds played through each speaker. This allows the Denon AV receiver to calibrate the sound to your room’s acoustic layout. I cannot comment on whether the room calibration made a big difference in sound quality as I did not test the sound quality without the calibration. I only experienced the sound quality after calibration which I felt was excellent. Sound Quality I feel the Denon AVR S980H has a very clean, neutral, balanced and refined sound. The only tweaks I have applied to the sound was to enhance the dialog since dialog clarity is extremely important to me. This was done setting Denon’s Dialog Clarity mode to its highest level. I liked that the Denon AVR S980H has a special mode for dialog clarity instead of just allowing me to increase the level of the center channel (which you can still do). For testing music, I mainly used Amazon Music, and I thought the Denon performed splendidly. For music, the Denon AVR S980H has a very natural, refined and balanced sound that is very pleasing to me. The Denon also provides a nice display of the artist/album on the screen when playing a song. Overall, I loved the onscreen GUI that the Denon provides. It’s very intuitive, visually pleasing and allows you to tweak any setting to customize the sound. One feature that I love is the ability to rename the inputs to something more meaningful. In my case, I renamed the AUX 1 input to Nvidia Shield, the AUX 2 input to Fire TV, and the Media Streamer to Apple TV. If you press the info button on the remote, the GUI displays information on the audio format being used along with a display showing the input channels being received and the output channels being sent to the physical speakers. I really appreciated this as it helped me understand better what was happening. For video streaming, I used an Apple TV, Fire Stick 4K, and Nvidia Shield to test picture and sound quality. All devices displayed a beautiful picture and sounded great on this receiver although the Fire Stick 4K seemed to sound slightly more subdued compared to the Apple TV and Nvidia Shield. I haven’t had the time to investigate this difference. To test Dolby Atmos, I played Ballerina on my 4K Blu-ray player. The sound was spectacular and immersive with bullets zipping all around and you could feel the theater-like thump of explosions. Overall, the sound produced was clean and precise with good separation, a wide soundstage, and great dialog clarity. Summary Overall, I think the Denon AVR S980H is a great AV receiver that supports almost every feature and format one could ask for, provides excellent sound and picture quality, and has been rock solid during the time I have spent with it. I didn’t encounter a single problem with compatibility with any of my devices. I think the Denon AVR S980H has a very intuitive, visually pleasing and powerful GUI that allows the user to access any setting in order to customize their experience. I’ve been super happy with the Denon, and I can recommend the Denon AVR S980H to anyone looking for a new home theater AV receiver.

You can get into the home theater game with the Denon -AVR-5980H72 ChannelAVReceiver at a sub$1000 price point and have confidence with the Denon brand. The Denon - AVR-S980H 7.2 Channel AV Receiver comes with a remote, batteries, Wi-F1 antennas, AM/FM antenna and a sound calibration microphone. The Denon - AVR-5980H7.2 supports up to 7.2 channels and has two subwoofer outputs, 90 watts x 7 channels @ 8 ohms, has 6 HDMI 2.1 Inputs, and also has HEOS. This unit supports a lot of your modern AV features, too many to list. Build quality is great and it looks good with my home theater setup- Setup for the Denon - AVR-5980H7.2 Channel AV Receiver is easy and straight forward. Using the on screen menu and the included setup microphone you can adjust all your initial settings to get you ready for movie night! My current setup is 7.1 including Klipsch speakers in addition to height speakers and I am loving the movie sound experience! The Denon - AVR-5980H is providing clear dialogue and is separating all the action on screen to the appropriate speakers Just like the theater and giving thunder roaring bass when an explosion happens!

I have this receiver powering 4 bookshelf speakers in a bar. It sounds great and the Audyssey MultEQ speaker calibration made a HUGE difference in how the speakers sound. It's one of the best reasons to get this receiver. Another great reason is the HEOS app. I use it to play Hi-Res music tracks on Tidal and Spotify. It sounds fantastic! This receiver is an excellent value, and I plan on adding Denon Home Speakers for wireless surround sound for movie nights at the bar when they update the software to support that.