Denon AVR 790 Unboxing and setup

Recently purchased this little beauty, The Denon AVR 790 as an upgrade for my aging Pioneer.

It is interesting to note as per this AVS forum post from user Batpig that:

Q. What is the difference between the three-digit models (e.g. AVR 790) and the four-digit models (e.g. AVR 1910)?

A: Essentially, NOTHING. Denon puts out two parallel receiver lineups, with four-digit and three-digit model numbers. The four-digit models are generally sold by high end stereo shops and custom installers, and the three-digit models are the "consumer" version sold in retail outlets like Circuit City and Fry's.

However, there is ZERO difference in terms of power, specs, sound quality, build quality, etc. between the two lines. Denon has been doing this for years, it is exactly analagous to the Yamaha HTR and RX-V parallel receiver lines.

Batpig also has a very handy DENON-TO-ENGLISH DICTIONARY Setup Guide and FAQ.  Definitely worth checking out as he has put a significant amount of effort into helping with the Denon setup process.

The Quick Specs

The AVR-790 features the latest high resolution audio decoders, including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, and is one of the first to include Dolby Pro Logic IIz, which provides front height channel effects for an incredibly expansive front soundstage.

The video section features the latest Video Reference Series processor from Anchor Bay Technologies, providing analog-to-digital video deinterlacing and upconversion to HD, with both component and HDMI outputs, and features 1080p 24Hz/60Hz HDMI pass-through, allowing a single HDMI cable run to your HDTV.

Audyssey’s advanced MultEQ room acoustic measurement and correction system analyzes the speakers and the listening room and automatically corrects the response for the smoothest, most natural tonal balance.

Audyssey Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ are provided to ensure rich, natural tonal quality at any volume level, and with no annoying volume jumps during commercial interruptions.

On to the unpacking:

My old Pioneer Receiver, never failed and has been fantastic.

Plugging in my HTPC, TV and Wii.  Everything is pretty straight forward at this stage.  Just one HDMI cable to the TV.

The automatic calibration using the Audyssey Setup Microphone is simply amazing - especially if you have not witnessed anything like it before. The official Audyssey FAQ can be found here.

Here is a screen of the setup taking place:

I thought my old Pioneer was good but never realised how under utilised my Subsonic speakers were until testing some HD music and the Batman Blu-ray.  I raised the volume for the Bike scene in The Dark Knight and was completely blown away by the sound quality.  No distortions with the volume up and the surround separation from the Main listening position 1 was spot on.  I pushed it to the point the woofer was blowing the curtains and vibrating the roof but then dropped the volume - kids bedtime 🙂

The sound is as precise as I was after and it is also excellent for stereo and even standard mp3's. The Denon upscales all analogue sources to 1080p which was a straightforward process and works well for the wii console I have connected.  Denon dropped last years Faroudja scaling method in favor of Anchor Bay and proprietary video processing chips - and it shows.  The pulldown Jitter I was experiencing seems to also been eliminated.

Great stuff.

The Denon AVR 790 gets a big 9.5 out of 10 from me.

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