Denon quality for Technics Price
Written: Feb 03 '00
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Pros: Sound, preouts, 5.1 inputs, 5 channel surround.....list continues forever
Cons: remote lacks any intuition
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| jdwk's Full Review: Denon AVR-85 Home Audio Receiver |
The AVR-85 doesn't come with tons of bells and whistles, in fact it is very simple to use. I went through the entire manual in about 20 minutes. It has all the basics, everything you need for good sound. You can control the sound level for all five speakers and the sub, which is good if the sensitivities don't match up. You can control the surround effects, and set the distance of the speakers from the listening area for optimal performance. The reciver has very few buttons, which also adds to the ease of use. The volume knob is large and controls the volume digitally depending on the speed you spin the knob (can throw you off sometimes), and the bass and treble controls are underneath (some other units don't have them).
The tuner has a nice feature that blocks out static, so you either get a station or you don't (the tuner was the first think I used and I thought the receiver was broker until I found a station it would pick). I guess the sensitivity of the tuner could be better, but you could always run to an exterior antenna with the included attachment. I thought 40 presets was a bit much when I could only pick 15 stations.
Now to the digital part of the receiver. First of all digital is better. I hooked my Sony Cd player to both the analog and the digital coax, and the digital connection was a hundred times clearer and more vibrant. Luckily, the Denon has two coax connections so I could leave my CD player and my DVD hooked up. There is also one optical jack.
DVD is awesome when it is in 5.1 surround. I watched Terminator 2 and it rocked! The Denon did a great job of separating the channels, and no matter how loud I got it never distorted, although the Denon is a little underpowered for big room. I would suggest using the preouts, if you are looking for concert sized sound.
It automatically detects if the signal is 5.1 or Surround, and lights up the appropriate icon on the display. Regular surround, while not amazing is also impressive. While it doesn't do DTS, it has 5.1 inputs, so you can upgrade it if you want.
The sound is excellent. I have a pair of Klpisch KSB 3.1's in the front and Pioneer HPM-100's in the back. The Klipsch's match extremely well with this receiver, producing sound the manages to blast the highs and hit the bass hard, and the sound is very easy on the ears. I don't have a sub yet, but a little bit of bass can go a long way with just my fronts.
The only complaint I have is the rather stupid remote. I has tons of useless buttons, a door for common functions, and no back light (the glowing thing isn't too great). It is however very easy to program to control your TV, VCR, etc.
Overall, you get some great sound, enough power, and every feature that you really need, for a price that can't be beat. Plus, no one can match Denon's 5 channel stereo.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300
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Epinions.com ID:
jdwk
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Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 2 members
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