Customer Ratings & Reviews

Great reciever, easy to setup and clear remote control.

Good receiver for the price. I highly recommend this product for the features it has.

Works well good options set up can bw a bit finicky

Easy setup. Tons of connection options allowing for future add-ons to your system. Love it.

Broke after one days use and damaged one of my speakers in the process. I returned it and bought a Yamaha elsewhere. I could not be happier.

From the moment I opened the box and picked this thing up, I had a good feeling. Yes, a lot of that is the Denon name, but it just feels good in the hand, has a solid weight and well-built feel. It just feels like quality. If that makes sense? Beyond that, I really like the design and look. On some level, it is a receiver, I get that, but black, clean, modern, minimalistic. More or less all I am looking for, and perfect for me. Looking past aesthetics, it is more of the same. I really (really) appreciate the robustness of the input and output options. Not only in number, but also in both variety and specs. This is the “home base” of my home theater, also connected to my main computer system, and essentially where I am consuming my media when at home. Being able to have it all centralized (and improved) is exactly what I was looking for, and the connectivity this provides allows me to do that. Everything I need, and more, is covered. Phono, Composite, Tuner, HDMI (6! 2.1), eARC, Optical, Streaming, Speakers, etc…are all there. The connections also all seem of good quality, and speakers are all Banana Jack/Screw Terminals save the sub (of which there can be two). I am coming from a slightly older A/V receiver, which honestly has served me well, but is missing some connection options and some of the newer tech. Additionally, I have had some soundbars, which, again, have been great, but no matter how good they are, I just think can not deliver the sound immersion a dedicated receiver-based system can provide. They also do not come close to matching the connectivity, which is so important to me. So, perhaps that is a personal thing, but something to note. Set-up for me was not bad (I mostly did a swap of my previous receiver), about expected, but did require a bit of time. Some of that was just the number of inputs I had. So, not so much in getting it to work, but more to spend the time to get everything connected, labeled, the way I wanted it, and dialed in. Everything was easy to follow, intuitive, and mostly done well. I did find the calibration a bit clunky, but in the end, I am happy with the results. I know it is common, but I did appreciate the included mic and cardboard tripod. I mentioned it briefly above; I do absolutely think you should spend the time here and dial in everything to your liking. Both with general sound, as well as balance. It really will help you get the most of this unit and your system as a whole. Yes, you can do this after, and given how we all are lol, you will be anyway…but just take the time. Performance-wise? I am very pleased. I have this paired with a 7.1 speaker set that, while I really do attack it with music (pretty much everything save metal and country), is mainly together for me to enjoy movies (and some TV). That said, I think music sounds great. It pushes volume and has some power behind it. Beyond that though, it is accurate, with clean lows, nice mids, and crisp but not piercing highs. Vocals have life. I suppose it has a bit of warmth to it, which is hard to express and get across, but is also something to note. I should also add that while it is not the biggest deal to me, as my computer is connected, and the phone is an option, I was a bit disappointed that native Google support is not included as a feature streaming partner. I know how these deals work, but it really felt like a miss to me. As for movies, well, I could not be happier. Everything simply sounds wonderful/amazing. No matter the style, genre, or source (although dedicated blu-ray is the best). Powerful. Accurate. Clean. Crisp. Responsive. Collectively, this system has delivered the best home movie viewing experiences I have had to date, due to the sound. (I did also do a recent TV upgrade though). There is a whole new level of life and immersion to the films. The clarity, amount, and presence of sound are very noticeable to me and a large part of what I was hoping for. Ultimately, I really like this unit and think for all it offers, even at its price point, it is a very good value. While I do think lack of native Google support across the board is a miss, and the remote is somewhat basic and doesn’t match the quality feel of the unit itself (which I did not mention above), they are my only two real “issues.” Everything else works for me. Very well. It is well-built, has truly great connectivity, got me current and delivers some future proofing, performs very well, and most importantly to me, has improved my movie watching experience. Obviously, it depends on what you are looking for, but I think most would be happy here.

I get personally attached to receivers. I spend hours tweaking the sound, setup and layout then seldom make modifications other than to switch sound modes from Dolby to 2-channel stereo, for example, when switching between a movie and music...or to flip from a custom preset EQ designed for rock and roll to an EQ for dialog. Once I have it dialed in at the end of the first week of use, I don't want to touch any of the settings again if I can avoid it. That being said... The Denon AVR-S980H 7.2 Channel AV Receiver setup, configuration, and tweaking frustrated me almost enough to throw it out. However, from a PERFORMANCE standpoint, this AV receiver is VERY WELL EQUIPPED. With 90W/ch (8ohm) you can push speakers to the limit. My rig actually has 6ohm speakers (JBL G500 series are the primaries) that were previously matched with a 6ohm receiver. This can be "dangerous" as I am pushing more current than the speakers want but I also no longer "play my music loud and play it non-stop." Understanding that an 8ohm stereo can overheat when driving 6ohm speakers means you shouldn't push your volume to the limit. Consequently, you also want the receiver to be in a well-ventilated area as it will run warm in my scenario (as I observed) compared to a 6ohm receiver. I used the calibration tools (Audyssey) to configure my speaker setup (2 front towers, a center channel, 2 small rears, 2 Atmos and a sub) and the system did its thing. Adequate, but I did not like it. It took a minute to figure out how to get back to "manually configure your speaker setup" but I tweaked the layout adding some gain to the center channel, pulling a bit off the sub, and pushing the Atmos a bit more than auto-calibration suggested. I listened to music first. Changed the "sound mode" to the equivalent of 2-channel stereo from Dolby or "all speakers" because the output was initially too mid-range. 2-channel stereo was much richer for music. Switched it back to Dolby for television viewing and I am content...especially with the "sound effects speakers" (i.e. rear channel and Atmos/height). I also cranked it pretty good* because that is what you do with a new toy. Was satisfied with the quality of sound at high levels, but came back and rebalanced the EQ for what is more normal listening styles and conditions for me. *I want to give Denon an extra star for offering a MAX VOLUME option to prevent accidental (or intentional) overdriving of the speakers and receiver. For example, you can configure the receiver to never go over 80% volume. I initially set my high volume limit at 60 via Denon menu when it was connected to my TV. Later, I realized I could safely set it at 80, but I had physically disconnected the TV from the receiver. No worries as I figured I could change the max volume limit by pushing buttons on the actual receiver, but I cannot. Consequently, I opened the app and found max volume settings--but it was for max volume out of your device (i.e. cell phone) to avoid pushing the volume on your phone too high and blowing up the receiver. Eventually, under the Denon App + Web Settings I was able to make my modification...but nothing about the app was intuitive, imo, so I am taking half of that star back. As for the other features: - I am happy there are 6 HDMI inputs (3@8k, 3@4k) with better integration for gaming systems, I am told. [I am old, I stopped gaming with the Sega Genesis.] - There are two HDMI outputs that work with eARC - Bluetooth, I am pretty sure, can be in transmit OR receive mode - I use YouTubeMusic and Google Home which unfortunately is not natively supported. Denon has HEOS and partners with Spotify, Tidal and other services I am not interested in. I did use HEOS to stream some internet stations from across the country but the sound quality feels like "AM radio" at best on a performance system like mine. - Wifi was rock solid and easy to set up - You can flip the SURROUND BACK speakers to be "Zone 2" or "B" primary speakers. I love this feature as I had run a second set of "front tower speakers" off my previous receiver and did not want to lose that ability. It took some effort to figure out the Denon way of doing it versus the Sony way, but I was successful and running two sets/rooms/zones of left/right primary speakers. - HIDDEN FEATURE: If you Google "Provide setup instructions for optimizing 6ohm speaker impedance settings on Denon AVR S980H" you can figure out how to set the entire receiver to drive speakers that prefer 6 or 4 ohm rather than 8ohm. A missing feature, however, is built-in Chromecast. Consequently, I needed to hook up a Chromecast dongle to make the device part of my Google smart home. I was prepared for this, did it with older receivers. Unfortunately, with this device the process was a bit of a nightmare as I could not, at first, get output via the HDMI port I put my Chromecast on. As I moved it to other ports to test, Denon started renaming all the ports I plugged into as "Chromecast." Now I have 4 ports auto-labeled Chromecast--but the dongle is only plugged into one of the HDMIs. I have no real idea how I finally got my Chromecast dongle to work, but it does now but for some reason when I turn the receiver back on, it wants to default to HEOS and not the last used (Chromecast dongle). IN THE END, this is a very high quality, powerful, fully featured (minus Google support) receiver that will make listening to music, movies or television a pure joy, but for the first time in my life, I felt like I was too old (54 yrs old...and an audiophile and IT guy) to figure out the setup, manual and app. After probably 10 hours over 2 days, I finally got the rig set to a point where I am satisfied...or rather to a point that I have "settled" because I just don't want to mess with it anymore. I own this unit because the DENON AVR-S980H DELIVERS WHERE IT MATTERS: 90W/ch@8ohm, 7.2 (or anything in-between), wifi, eARC, bluetooth, 2-zone/dual front channels, top quality sound, ability to tweak gain/eq/etc., plenty of HDMI but I nearly chucked it into the lake as the initial setup and configuration was rather complicated and time consuming while the app was dense and confusing.

This is for when you are ready to step up your game, for the most part I have used the pre-configured or setup surround sound systems that have your TV input, Bluetooth and so on but aren’t really designed to let you do whatever you want. However, I recently got my Dad’s custom speakers ( he is an audiophile) that he built himself and sound amazing but I didn’t have an AVR for them. This has worked amazing with the and they sound awesome. I only have a 5.1 setup myself and this supports 7.2 but 5.1 works excellently on it for sure. I did mess up the surround sound wiring at first thinking that 5.1 would just use the surround sound inputs and not the front left and right, but after that was corrected it worked perfectly. The setup was more complex the normal speakers I deal with but if your moving to one of these, you are probably up for the task. I’m pretty sure it was my TV that added to my troubles more than the AVR, as I could see the AVR setup menu as it booted up but then the TV would decide there was no signal anymore. I ended up just connecting it to my LAN and then configuring everything through the app including the Wi-Fi. So, there are multiple methods to get setup. Now it’s on my Wi-Fi the sound really adds to the movies and I have a ton of room for the Xbox, Nintendo Switch, DVD player, cable box (If I had one), streaming stick, or whatever else you might dream up that you need. It supports multiple zones for music if you have speakers in different areas as well as HEOS which helps with controlling that as well. The Wi-Fi streaming allows you to utilize the better codecs such as lossless with Spotify for better quality I love. I also love that it has AM, FM, and Bluetooth built in, I don’t exactly use AM and FM that much but I realize those have disappeared from almost every device I own and I like having a central device that supports them. Overall, this fits all the needs I have out of a media control center and I love the number of inputs and that it is pretty simple to use once I got it setup. The only real complaint I have is that I am constantly switching the source instead of the volume, I’ll get it one of these days, and I’m not sure that I’d want it any different, but it is a problem my mind hasn’t gotten a grip on yet. Pros: Number of Inputs Wifi and Wired Good power to the speakers for excellent sound with good speakers Lossless Audio AM/FM radio Bluetooth Cons: Easy to mistake Source wheel for Audio Wheel Setup wasn’t the easiest

I have owned many AV receivers over the past decades from various manufacturers, and this is my second from Denon. My first Denon was my all-time favorite so I was excited to get one of their newest models to be the hub for my living room entertainment. Soundbars have simplified home audio over the past 10-20 years, but they lack the versatility that AV receivers provide. While soundbars try to simulate surround sound, I have found that they typically fall short. And after getting this receiver hooked up to my set of Onkyo surround speakers and subwoofer, I was reminded of that fact. Movies came alive in a way that I have not experienced outside of movie theaters. Movies with Dolby Atmos were particularly impressive. Speaking of the versatility that AV receivers have, while my last soundbar had just one HDMI input, this model from Denon has SIX. I was able to hook up our Apple TV and an XBOX, while having plenty of ports open to connect other devices like my gaming laptop, record players, blue-ray players, etc. There are also 2 HDMI outputs which allow me to have both a TV and projector connected at the same time. 4k video pass-through is supported, which is a huge necessity these days. Like my last Denon receiver, I was very impressed with the build quality. It seems solid, well-designed, and built to last. It looks and feels very high-end. I made sure to place it in a nicely ventilated area in my entertainment center as receivers have a tendency to run hot. I suggest everyone else do the same. I used banana plugs to connect my speaker wire, which I also suggest for everyone else, but they are not required. Lastly, I really loved streaming music from my phone through this receiver and my surround speakers. I especially enjoyed listening to live concerts where I could close my eyes and feel like I was there in person. As a person who loves audio, I am a big fan of this new model from Denon!

The modern AVR brings multiple components together, allowing you to control all of them from a central unit, and making them function nicely together, resulting in a more pleasant experience overall. The Denon AVR-S980H 7.2 Channel AV Receiver brings a lot of high-end features to a sub-$1000 price point. I’ve had a pretty standard 5.1 setup for years, but I wanted to upgrade the receiver to see if it could breathe new life into my listening experience. Denon has really put some work into making the setup experience easy, especially for those who may be new to this type of setup. The quick start guide has you connecting the receiver to your TV right away, and I wondered why there was no mention of connecting speakers or other input sources. That’s because the TV is where the process leads you step by step through connecting speakers, Blu-Ray players, streaming devices and even a phonograph (which has a dedicated input). On-screen text and images show you exactly how to connect to the AVR. At one point in the process, you’re given the choice of creating an account and completing setup on the TV or using the HEOS app on a mobile device. If you’ve ever used a TV remote to input lots of text, you know why I opted for the mobile device. I created my new account, then selected “Denon” to continue, whereupon I was told that I could not complete setup on the app and must go back to the TV. Now I had to manually enter my account name and password using the remote, which feels cheap and has buttons that are sometimes hard to press. This was incredibly annoying and unnecessary—why couldn’t they have read my account information online, since the WIFI settings from the app were transferred to the AVR? Thankfully I only had to go through that once. While this may seem minor, I really appreciated that Denon included a page of sticker labels for speaker wires and input devices. Labeling all the wires made it easy to move from my old AVR to this one. Nice touch! Once everything is wired up, you use the included microphone to calibrate your room’s EQ for optimal listening from all seats. Since you want the microphone to be at ear level, you should mount it on a tripod, but even if you don’t have a tripod, Denon includes a cardboard tripod in the box. Another nice touch! At the completion of the 6-step calibration, you’re ready to listen. With everything set up, I decided to try a blu-ray disc. I had fortunately chosen one with a Dolby Atmos demo at the beginning, and wow, was it great! I had never heard my speakers sound so good! I attribute this to the Audyssey MultEQ room calibration that uses the included microphone mentioned above. It makes things sound great from everywhere in the room. The AVR-S980H supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and they really make movie audio sound excellent. Unlike my old AVR, the various sound modes included here really make a difference and provide distinctively different sound signatures. There are preset sound modes for movies, music, game and pure, which is an audio setting that bypasses all digital processing and provides an unaltered audio signal. 90 watts per channel provide plenty of power to drive the speakers. The AVR-S980H features HDMI 2.1 support with 8K/60Hz and 4K/120Hz pass-through. It includes HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1440p pass-through, and AMD FreeSync. It has 6 HDMI inputs (all 8K compatible) and 2 outputs with eARC, plus a built-in moving-magnet phono input for turntables. All of this makes the AVR-S980H more than ready to handle all of your media room needs. Additional features include built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and HEOS multi-room audio (I’m not sure this is available yet, and I couldn’t test it even if it were). Connecting via Bluetooth was super easy, and I was streaming music from my phone in seconds. The unit includes 2 discreet antennae that handle both Bluetooth and WIFI signals. I’m thrilled with the way the AVR-S980H breathed new life into my speaker setup, with lots of room for future expansion. I would have been happier with a lower price point, but this packs a lot of functionality in at this price. If you’re considering an upgrade, I think a lot of that decision comes down to all the newer technologies that are included here, which do make it work seamlessly with my new TV. I’m looking forward to enjoying this for many yeas to come, and maybe even with some future speaker upgrades!

We upgraded from an 11-year-old Onkyo receiver to this Denon. Overall, it was a smart upgrade. Swapping from the old to the new system only took about 15 minutes including setup. Hardest part was getting the cables re-labeled. The systems had the same screw/unscrew then insert the speaker wire setup so that made it easy. Functionally – the system is very easy to use. The remote has all commands and there is no guessing. The remote is not backlit so that is a little frustrating, but it doesn’t affect the operation of the remote. The FM radio worked surprisingly once I got the FM antenna setup. I was able to pick up all my local stations. The best upgrade was Bluetooth to iPhone. The old system would take forever to connect and the connection seems weak. With the Denon system it was very simple and smooth. Once set up you can connect easily. There was a weird cardboard microphone setup that we didn’t not setup or use. It looked very cheap, so we’ll figure out another way to use that. Overall – love the system and the sound. No static or delays. Setup and use are easy.