Customer Reviews

Denon AVR590 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver with 1080p HDMI Connectivity

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After spending weeks of researching A/V receivers, I chose the AVR-590 to replace my old, non-HDMI Sony receiver. I had a 5.1 setup and didn't need anything fancy, but I didn't want something mediocre either. On paper, this model had all the features I needed (HDMI switching and automatic speaker setup) for a very reasonable price.

This is my first Denon receiver, and I have been using for over a month.

Setup - I consider myself technically inclined, so when I read the manual for the first time, it wasn't too complicated. However it's layout is not very intuitive, so I can see where people who are technically challenged may have issues with the Denon manual. I went to the BatPig Web site to download instructions, just in case I had a brain fart reading the manual...I found that both the BatPig instructions and the Denon manual complimented each other well, so setup ended up being pretty easy. You have the option of setting up the receiver with the speakers either manually or automatically. Being naturally lazy, I opted for automatic (Audyssey) setup using the included microphone. When doing automatic setup, be sure to use the on-screen menu and definitely test all 6 sound locations to get an accurate audio "sweet spot".

Sound - Wow. This is where going through the setup pays off. Whether you're watching something with Dolby Digital/DTS encoding or just listening to music, the sound is very full and crisp. You have several sound field settings to chose from, as well as manual volume adjustment to suit your listening tastes. I use HDMI for the HD and Blu-Ray sources and Digital Optical for DVD sources. Although the speaker system I have in place is modest, it handles all audio sources beautifully. Listening to music or sounds from TV/movies is an absolute treat to the ears with this receiver.

Video - Excellent. With the AVR-590, I used its HDMI out for video from DirecTV and Blu-Ray sources. I hooked up Component video for my DVD changer, because it is a pre-HDMI device. The receiver uses the most current HDMI standard (1.3a), and picture on my 120Hz LCD from both outputs is vivid and sharp, with no ghost images or signal loss at all. Watching from any video source is pure (pardon the pun) eye-candy.

Performance - Excellent. One evening, I did my best couch potato imitation and watched a bit of DirecTV HD & a couple of Blu-Ray movies for nearly 8 hours straight. Afterward, I checked the receiver to see if it was getting hot, and surprisingly there was hardly any heat coming from it. Dynamic EQ seems to work, as I have not noticed any of those annoying commercials that scare the bejeezus out of me when watching TV programming. I definitely feel like I'm in a theater when watching anything on this system.

Overall - Excellent. Even with decent speakers and a good LCD, plugging in a new receiver really makes a difference...I now find myself losing track of time while listening to vibrant sound and watching brilliant video! If you have under $400 to spend on a quality 5.1 receiver, this is it. Don't mind what others have said about setup issues, because it really isn't that difficult to set up. For the features that it offers at its price range and the performance you get in return, I do feel you get the best "bang for your buck".

Well, I finally decided to upgrade my great-sounding but HDMI-less Marantz receiver to something that would play nice with my PS3 and Wii and upconverting Oppo player. I wanted this, but I did not have a fortune to spend.

I checked out the 'budget' receivers from Yamaha, Harman/Kardon, Onkyo, Pioneer, and even refurbished Marantz. I did weeks of research; comparing spec sheets repeatedly, always price shopping, comparing each one's auto speaker setup, and build quality(I was spoiled by the Marantz). Also, I ideally wanted to run just one cable to my projector(it looks ungodly with wires running across the room).

What made me choose the Denon? Easy. I only have a 5.1 setup (no need for two extra amps), the Audyssey MultEQ is superior to what the other brands (except Pioneer) can offer at this price, the receiver is heavier and feels less 'flimsy' than the others (the Onkyo was also fine), decodes all of the latest HDMI audio codecs, and I only have one HDMI cable running to my projector! And all for a great price!

In the budget receiver world, I do not think this has any peers right now. You won't regret purchasing one!

The only thing budget about this receiver is its price. There are more than enough inputs for me(and well more than enough settings than I will ever use). This receiver makes use of the latest encodings found on blurays(uncompressed FTW).

I have paired mine with 2X cerwin-vega re30s, 2x sony ssf-6000s, a celestion 35c, and a bic America f12. (Ill be replacing the center soon as he is the low man on the totem pole)

The remote is less complicated than the other higher end Denons, making it more functional and much less complicated. I didn't really use the manual much, and this is my first true dedicated receiver. Audessy did a fantastic job of setting up and matching speaker volumes. Although I have a franken 5.1, it blends beautifully for both movies and 2.1 for music. (The autovolume makes tv commercials much less glaring, very nice feature)

Wire all of your speakers, write down where all of your inputs went, plug in your mic and run audyessy... it really is that simple. Use the yellow input buttons to quickly select what you want to use as your source.

This receiver has a true 75watts all channels driven, which is plenty to drive my speakers well beyond a comfortable level.

In short, this receiver amazes me every time I turn it on. I would recommend it, and any other of this years denons to anyone who needs a great quality receiver. Buying the higher models will basically net you only a few more watts and 480p upscaling, despite this, I would have gotten the 990 if my budget had allowed.

With this receiver, and quality budget speakers, you will absolutely blow away systems that cost much more.

Hooked up easily, excellent sound from 5 speakers + 1 sub woofer. I had no idea of the complexity of formats there are for surround sound systems, and bought a book (Practical Home Theater), to explain much of what I was supposed to know already. Book very helpful. Audessy EQ very easy to set up and balanced the speakers better than I could have. The effect this receiver has on blu ray movies is amazing--adds as much realism as blu ray did to plain DVDs.

Combining Denon's high performance AVR-590 A/V receiver with Boston Acoustics' MCS 90 5.1 speaker system, the DHT-590BA home theater system features carefully matched components to provide thrilling surround sound for music and movies.

HDMI cables makes this a breeze to set up. yes one must look at the owners manual once or twice but other then that no tech support needed, feels like i am in the newest movie theaters with hi-tech equipment when watching a blu-ray and listing to music. For the money i doubt you can beat this on a5.1 surround sound system...i would absolutely recommend this with a combo package called the DHT-590BA

Denon's reputation is well deserved plus when matched up with bostons Acoustics' speaker reputation ... Marriage made to last

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This is a truly outstanding A/V and pure-music receiver, chosen by me after copious research and critical reviews of reports about many comparable products. The AVR590 does more for my sonic entertainment that I could ever have dreamed, a real mind-blower that replaces a very capable Teac 5.1 Dolby/DTS receiver that became buggy after many years of service. The one thing I'd fault Denon for is the occasional impenetrability of the verbiage in its owner's manual. But there's plain-language help available online from a good samaritan's "Denon-to-English dictionary" and set-up guide at: [..] (Thanks, Batpig, whoever you are.)

Shoppers who need convincing and want to read an exhaustive analysis of the AVR590's engineering and features, by an apparently expert reviewer, will want to read: [..]/denon_avr590.html

One memorable takeaway from the L.A. Audiofile review is the fact that the AVR590's onboard chip that processes the music data, at the rate of 2 billion floating-point instructions per second, is the same used by Denon in its $5,500 top-of-the-line receiver. Nice to pay a fraction of that price and get so many advanced features. Already a crowd-pleaser, my home theater system now produces stunning, hyper-realistic audio from all inputs and media.

I switched AV components after a recent purchase of a new plasma. I wanted everything integrated through HDMI. With this Denon receiver I was able to achieve this with ease. Nice features, easy to set up, excellent sound quality. This receiver is highly recommended and at a great price through Amazon.

I paired this receiver with a set of Energy Take Classic speakers and it sounds way better than the Sony Home Theater in a Box i was using. WIth the HTIB, i could barely hear the surround effects, but now it sounds like i'm in a theater in the small room i have this set up in. I leave the Dynamic Volume off for movies to get the full effect.

I got this to pair with a 37 inch 720p LCD TV so i didn't want upscaling, but if you have a 1080p TV, you may want to go up a level or two in the Denon line to get video upscaling.

Only downer is finding a console that can fit the unit. Most furniture stores have TV stand with fixed or small shelves, hard to find somethign with the room and ventilation necessary.

This is a fine receiver but is not as intuitive as it could be. Definitely not for those who are not pretty tech saavy.

I ran into a major lip synch problem when I connected my Samsung LCD HDTV to this unit.
The problem was even worse when the lip synch feature on the receiver was on. Turning off the lip synch feature made it less bad... go figure. When I hooked the satellite directly to the TV, no lip synch problem at all. So the root of the problem is definitely with the receiver. The TV is not watchable with this audio/video problem so I am having to return the unit tomorrow. I will now have to start shopping all over again.

SO far this receiver has panned out great, it was easy to install, easy to program got it up and working with in minutes. The Mic is an excellent feature to help set up the sound in a room. Set this receiver up with a Sony F6000 system and for my 15 X 15 room, it is more sound than needed..but it sounds perfect for me...overall for someone not looking to spend a lot of money and still get a great product, the DENON AVR-590 is a must buy.