Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
great, but!, January 1, 2008
works great, plenty of plug-ins, easy set up, but you get 2 hdmi ins 1 out. hdmis' work great one cable for sound and video but the denon avr588 doesn't accept sound through the hdmi cable.(it's noted in the manual) why not? i don't understand. so you go with optical or coaxial for audio. it works but extra cables.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Its a good receiver..., March 30, 2008
Hi Amazon users.
I purchased this receiver at Circuit City in my neighborhood after substantial online research. I was looking for an inexpensive 5.1 receiver and the alternatives explored included the Yamaha 361, Yamaha 363, Onkyo 505, Onkyo 506, and Harmon Kardon 147. The receiver i had decided to buy (Onkyo 505) had been discontinued and was supposed to be on sale at Circuit City, but they did not have them in stock. I had purchased B&W CM1 bookshelf speakers (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) to build a 2.0 channel system and wanted a receiver that was capable of performing the Dolby Virtual Speaker option or a similar alternative, and the Denon 588 was an upscale alternative to the other mentioned receivers. (The Yamaha 363 had been my first choice, but user reviews indicated that it is a substantially underpowered unit, distorting at low volumes)
The good:
This is a lot of receiver for the money. Denon has a favorable reputation for sound quality over Onkyo, Harmon Kardon, Pioneer, Yamaha, Sony and others (in that order IMO). I found this to hold true. I have a NAD T751 for use in my living room which is regarded to be a higher quality amp. While i did no direct comparison, i did not notice anything that made me yearn for better sound or make me say that the NAD would sound better. The amp doesnt struggle to power these speakers even at relatively high volumes. Switching inputs is clean. 7.1 or 5.1+2 is a great option. 4 digital audio inputs. The remote is a mixed bag. It is incomplete in a few areas. For instance, the front of the remote has 6 inputs that you can select from, but there are substantially more inputs that you could utilize. For the others, you have to flip over the remote, open the plastic hinge and select that way. Same thing with the sound modes. There are 7 DSP sound modes, but the bottom of the remote gives you options for 5 and then a cycle button. Its a stupid design decision. In other ways the remote is good. The volume button - the most used button - is right where you need it to be. Other pro - I have not noticed the amp to run hot like the Onkyo's are famous for.
The Bad:
The reviews on the circuit city website for this receiver had made it clear that this is a confusing receiver to program. I have to agree with them, as i would find it difficult to do without the manual. The settings are displayed on the small denon display and performed via the remote (2 sided) which adds to the confusion. Higher end receivers typically have the settings displayed on the screen which would improve the process. I had read that the HDMI does not carry audio. This doesnt bother me, but some users may be affected.
Overall:
Again, this is not an entry level receiver, despite the fact that it is Denon's least expensive receiver. It provides a lot of bang for the buck, and I think while the sound quality is great for the price, the remote / menu interface are not up to par with the industry. I did not test any of the surround sound functions as I was running a 2.0 system, but i have no doubt this receiver would perform. It strikes me as a good choice for someone who was looking at creating a 5.1+2 system. People looking at Onkyo and Harmon/Kardon might find the Denon 588 this to be a good alternative.
Best of luck with your decision. My two cents - Spend most of your AV budget on speakers and lower your component budget.
Regards,
Ben
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
No HDMI Audio - makes no sense, June 8, 2009
Was excited , got this for a good price with the Boston Acoustics speaker system. Was very frustrated that I could not get the HDMI Audio to work on my DVD player. Bought a Blue Ray to take full advantage of the Digital experience also , even went out and bought the more expensive HDMI cables thinking it was a cable problem. Manual says right in the DVD setup area that HDMI is for both Audio and Video combined (page 11). On top of it, can't really use the Blue Ray digital as it has no Coax output - only HDMI and optical and the DVD on the amp only accepts Coax, not even optical ! This is really nuts.
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