Hi SF members,

I'm on the path of upgrading my 24 yo Sony AVR. It has served me well. Looking to make use of the new (to me) living room and upgrade the 5.1 to an 11.2 for Auro-3D. I found the Denon X6700H for a great price as it is phased out of the 2024 line up. My budget is limited so it rules out the latest X6800H. I've read a lot of post about the X6700H issues and don't know if I'm getting a great deal or disappointment. No personal experience with Denon as my previous purchases would be considered entry level. Any members have experience with this model AVR?

Does Denon have a history of fixing known issues before moving on to the next model? I didn't get a sense that the issues were corrected while researching.

Thanks.
-TVz

So is Aura-3D your only concern?

Denon is a well established AV brand.

Denon makes great gear - you really can't go wrong

before I bought my Anthem AV processor I had two generations of Denon

my current DVD is still Denon and its been bulletproof for about 10 years

Thanks for the responses.

Smschulz - there were reported HDMI issues that left unresolved for some owners. I would like to take advantage of HDMI switching with the X6700H. Regarding Auro-3D. The previous owner of the house left 5 Bose Super Cubes that were wired at 10 foot. The 3 that were the mains and center aren't in use. Pulling them down would leave an ugly bracket or a hole to patch. I want to swap all five out to Polk ES10 and use those as the 2nd layer of the Auro-3D setup. I have to upgrade the AVR to get those working. That is why I'm researching the X6700H. Do you have any experience with Auro-3D?

Would you consider a refurbed Denon?


Thanks.
-TVz

A couple of years ago I did quite a research on AVR because that generation of AVR had been affected by the HDMI bug and the issue hadn’t been resolved yet. It was quite specific and well beyond my hardware capabilities of the time.

I did learn that you could find information and disinformation easily at Reddit. That would be a goto place if you want to read about your model.
There are plenty audio and video boards too.
Also check Youtube if there’s a known bug/fix for them.

Have Denon in high regard but am a Yamaha fan, bought an Avantage A2A following the expert of another board member who had bought an RX-V6A. Couldn’t find one.

Finally, am also interested in the ES10 (actually the older S10, both unavailable) because i’m very pleased with the S35 Center Channel Speaker.
Suggest you listen to the ES10 first and decide if they will match the sound of the tiny Bose cubes.

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0-0, I plan to replace all of the Bose speakers. I've never used them. I have a Polk center channel and matching bookshelves that I will use as part of the 5.1 bed layer. I was able to listen to the ES10 at Nebraska Furniture Mart last weekend. Just waiting for them to go on sale. NFM is not an ideal place to listen to speakers but I was at least able to see them in person and get a good enough impression to know they will work well with what I have in the intended locations.

All 5 ES10s will be 10 feet up. My ceiling is too tall for a "top" surround. So I will have 3 ES10s above my mains and center and 2 more as the high left and high right surround. The Polk bookshelves will be moved down to the ground level surround right under high surrounds.

The HDMI 2.1 issue is my main concern with the X6700H as we have a PS5 and Xbox S. They both serve as the 4k Blue-ray players to the tv and projector.

I'll add the Yamaha Aventage RX-A8A to the consider list as I just confirmed it will do Auro-3D. But it doesn't support 8k HDMI. . All HDMI connections support 8K. Not that I have 8k anything and I hardly ever turn over equipment.

Thanks.
-TVz

I believe the HDMI bug was at least partially solved around mid 2021.

The main manufacturers issued new serial numbers or some identifying signs to tell the old buggy devices from the new fixed ones.

0-0

I have a 2016 x4300h that's was solid till a month ago. I lost the HDMI port to the cable box. Just switch it to the CD since on the remote it is next to the Cable button.
Looking for September I think when new receivers come out.
This time I look for the Marantz Cinema 50.

quote:

Auro-3D

What is Auro-3D and why do you want it? I'll probably never expand past my current 5.1 setup but I've never heard of "Auro-3D"

Auro 3D

9.11 and 11.1 for small and medium size living rooms….

Don’t sure if i should laugh or cry.
For one, my Aventage A2A is way out of league.

0-0

I saw the X6700H for $1,699.99 at my local Best Buy yesterday - a savings of $300. If I was in the market, I strongly consider it.

I currently own about a five year old Denon AVR, but it is only a 5.2 with 70 wpc. Due to the crappiness of newer movies, I’ve lost my desire for anything higher end a long time ago. If Hollywood would do a total 180(yeah, when hell freezes over), I’d be motivated for that level.

I’ve been in a demonstration room for Atmos, and as COOL as it can be for movies and music, I just can’t get motivated. I’m big into hifi, and two channel stereo is king to me.

To add, a feature I really like is HEOS. When I wake up in the morning, I’m on my iPad for about an hour. From bed, I remotely activate HEOS over my iPad or iPhone which plays music through my Denon. It actually sounds pretty good in its own right.

I’ve found that no electronic device is perfect, but this Denon hasn’t disappointed, especially for the price I paid. For the one time I can remember a glitch, I just did a reset and it was back in business - no further problems.

I have a 4300X I bought in 2016 and it's still working fine.

There are two issues with the more recent Denon AVR's

1. HDMI 2.1 bug that prevented 4K/120 from working. The fix was an outboard box placed in line between the 4K/120 source and the input. 4K/120 is only used on gaming concoles so if you don't use one, it's not an issue. Anything else is going to be 4K/24 or 4K/30, or maybe 4K/60.

2. About the time they fixed the HDMI glitch internally, there was a fire at the AKM factory that supplied the D/A converters to Denon. They changed to a lower quality D/A's from TI. Instrumented measurements show the difference.

Check out this site:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php

Technology for the sake of technology? I have a 7.1 System...More than adequate for my 16' x 20' Home Theater/LR. It lacks nothing experience wise IMO...Just sayin'

There is VERY VERY little content available encoded with "Auro 3D". Most of the stuff that is available, are live music concerts. It requires a LOT of speakers. Looks like the last feature I would have on my list of requirements. I would not hesitate to buy a used Denon or floor model, etc. I've had an x3300w for a long while and haven't had a reason to upgrade it yet.

The lack of content is not a show stopper for me. The three AVR manufacturers (Denon/Marantz/Yamaha) I'm looking at, package the Auro-3D option with Auro Matrix. Auro Matrix will upconvert 5.1 material to Auro-3D. It's been on the market for 10+ years I think. So not exactly new.

Why am I upgrading? My current home has a much bigger living room (where I prefer the home theater) than before. It has an open floor plan with tall ceilings every where. A very big space volume wise. It easily accommodates the 120 inch floor rising projector screen I added at Christmas. My 24 year old AVR is outdated and doesn't keep up with it. It's like watching a movie on a TV and using the TV speakers vs a surround sound. Turning up the volume only makes it louder on the floor in front of the screen.

Since a new AVR is the next step in the home theater upgrades. I would like it to have latest technology at least. The second layer of speakers are already wired in the right positions at 10 feet high. Once the AVR is settled, the rest will fall in place with a little time and effort. I'll check the Best Buys around me and see what deals I can get.

Thanks for the feedback.
-TVz

I'm still using 5.1 with P-Ref V1 and V2 mix (Studio V1 60 fronts, plus V2 CC and Surrounds) and a P-Ref Seismic 12 sub. Surrounds are di-polar. My living room is not really deep enough for 7.1, but I possibly could do 6.1 with one rear surround in the middle.

I have a set of P-Ref V1 Studio 20 "bookshelf" speakers I can use for front heights for Atmos, but I haven't devised a high wall mounting method yet.