Denon AVR-989 Test Reports

test reports
Daniel Kumin
Denon
AVR-989 A/V receiver
D
SETUP
enon has achieved a strong rep
in the ongoing wrestling match Audyssey's MultEQ XT setup routine is
that's been the A/V receiver by now a familiar one: plug in the mike,
ma rket for t he past severa l call up the Setup screen, and hit Go.
years. And it has done this by delivering To perform the second step, you have to
a steady stream of fine-performing prod- invert the AVR-989's remote and flip open
ucts, mostly at rational prices. The latest the bottom panel to reveal keys that are
Denon recipe from this pressure cooker is mostly used for setup and tweaking. The
the AVR-989, which manages to pile on routine includes moving the included
functions and features while coming it at mike to various positions (as many as
just $200 over the magical $1,000 price eight) within the listening area. Rinse
point. and repeat.
The AVR-989 eschews the fancy high- As usual, MultEQ XT's results proved
def color g raphical displays t hat a re reliable, with just about spot-on channel
becoming common on receivers, content- levels and crossovers. The Denon adjusted
ing itself instead with a rather dated-look- my dipole surrounds a dB or so too high,
ing — but perfectly functional black-and- but every robotic setter-upper I've used
white text menu system. It also omits the does this. In truth, you almost always
home-network connectivity and media- have to tweak dipoles by ear anyway.
player functionality that is fast becoming
MUSIC & MOVIE PERFORMANCE
standard on up-market receivers.
What this new Denon does offer is the It didn't take me long to confirm that the
full palette of Audyssey-licensed audio AVR-989 maintains the Denon-receiver
processing. These include MultEQ XT tradition of excellent-quality amplifiers.
auto setup/room equalization; Dynamic Its rated 115-watt (stereo) output proved
EQ, for massaging equalization and rel- easily able to drive my medium-sensitivity
ative channel levels on the fly so that a full-range front speakers to realistic lev-
movie soundtrack will retain its integ- els with truly elevated sound quality,
r it y when listened to at lower-t ha n- eliciting the clarity, impact, and detail
reference-level settings; and Dynamic of which I know they're capable. Multi-
Volume, a "smart leveler" that adapts channel music was even better. The Dolby
the receiver's master-volume setting to TrueHD soundtrack on the Dave Matthews
changes in the source or program signal and Tim Reynolds Live at Radio City Blu-
(including those damn infomercials). ray Disc is a magnificent surround pro-
72
january 2009 SOUND & VISION
duction. Just listening to the opening
crowd noise and then the open-tuned
drone introducing "Bartender" offered
enough proof that the Denon was more
than capable of reproducing this produc-
tion's spatial and tonal richness.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoe-
nix has a world-class soundtrack, and the
Denon again handled the DVD's wide-
ranging demands, delivering pristine
music, dialogue, and effects with ease.
For example, the dense spatial activity in
the exam-room fireworks scene was won-
derfully represented, with outstanding
dynamic "pop" and transparency.
Denon uses Faroudja processing for the
AVR-989's analog video paths, a reliable
solution that in this case delivers deinter-
lacing and rescaling of analog video up to
1080p format by way of the HDMI output.
As usual, this processor passed my eyes-
on tests without a hitch, delivering crisp,
full-resolution, artifact-free images.
On the other hand, the Denon will only
process analog video arriving at its com-
posite-, component-, or S-video jacks and
pass the upconverted signal out by way
of its HDMI output. HDMI sources, mean-
while, are switched by the receiver and
passed through untouched.
The Short Form
Snapshot
+
Outstanding audio performance
outweighs basic onscreen displays
and limited video processing in
Denon's newest receiver
Plus
::
Excellent overall audio performance –
::
Good analog-video processing
::
Accurate auto-setup and calibration, and
useful room/speaker EQ correction
Minus
::
Onscreen graphics are a bit slow, and
aren't available with all video signal
formats and inputs
::
Video scaling limited to analog video
inputs, with HDMI-only output
Price $1.199
soundandvisionmag.com
Test Bench
MEASurEd PowEr outPut
GrAYSCALE
155w
130w
112w
115 watts
100w
rated power
per channel,
8 ohms
1 Channel 2 Channels 5 Channels 7 Channels
The Audyssey MultEQ XT room/speaker turned off, the reverberant ambience of
correction worked just the same as I'd the chamber was effectively erased; with
found on previous versions. (Results will it engaged, the space's individual, echo-y
vary enormously depending on the indi- character was clearly restored.
vidual room and setup.) In my system, this
ERGONOMICS
made for slightly clearer center-channel
dialogue, tighter bass, and a smoother Oddly, the AVR-989's onscreen displays
sonic bubble with surround effects. only worked when it was upconverting an
I was also impressed by the other two S- or composite-video source. (And there's
Audyssey elements. Dynamic EQ, which a several-second delay while it re-syncs the
I've encountered before, was able to retain video each time you call up or release
musical bass, male-vocal character and the display.) It didn't work with signals
weight, and surround spaciousness even passing through the component-video or
at very low master-volume settings. And HDMI inputs, which is unfortunate since
it did so without once sounding heavy, the Denon's displays offer easy access to
bassy, or ill balanced the way fixed "loud- many valuable options and parameters.
ness compensation" circuits so They also provide a comprehen-
often do. sive display that includes infor-
Dynamic Volume, which is new mat ion about t he v ideo- a nd
to me, might be an even more wel- audio-signal format and the sur-
come feature since it effectively round mode, including dialogue-
leveled the volume from source normalization offsets for Dolby
to source, channel to channel, Digital soundtracks.
and — significantly — program to The simplified, "everyday" top
commercial and back again. While side of Denon's two-sided remote
a bit less subtle than Dynamic EQ is easy to use, and it might well
(it's an entirely different process), prove a great compromise solu-
this is an insignificant price to pay tion for some folks. But power
to keep those supernaturally loud users will find that the remote
Cockney pitchmen from shocking has a few problems. If you want
you into buying some idiotically to select a mong a ll 12 of t he
useless item. AVR-989 inputs (only six a re
For movie playback, Dynamic included on the remote's front),
EQ kept an excellent semblance of navigate menus (including the
spatiality even at very low, late- oft-needed Parameters page), or
night-suitable volume levels. The cha nge sur round modes, you
courtroom scene early in Order need to flip the handset, open
of the Phoenix proved a fine dem- t he door, a nd access a set of
onstration. When listened to at a small, unlit keys. (And it's par-
very soft level with Dynamic EQ ticularly awkward for lefties.)
Test Bench results for Denon's AVR-989 were uniformly
Before Calibration
excellent. Power was impressive, with the receiver easily
surpassing all of Denon's 115-watt specifications for single
channels or pairs. Even with all seven channels driven simulta-
neously, it delivered 100 watts or better per channel, and also
supplied generous current increases into 4-ohm loads. Noise
and distortion were equally impressive, approaching or match-
ing theoretical minimums throughout. The Denon appears to
roll off ultrasonic frequencies at about 3 dB/octave beyond
50 kHz or so on both analog and digital inputs. This is sonically
unimportant (and probably even beneficial), and may well have
been a deliberate design decision. In short, the AVR-989 deliv-
ered very nearly faultless performance. — D.K.
BOTTOM LINE
The AVR-989's audio and video perfor-
mance is beyond reproach. That said, I
found its comparatively basic (and limited-
access) displays and its frankly confus-
ing video-processing limitations slightly
disappointing. And in our increasingly
networked home-entertainment era, the
absence of media-client functions prob-
ably qualifies for the same complaint.
Counterbalancing these is the Denon's
powerful Audyssey processing, which,
along with its indisputable audio and
video chops, make it an excellent, afford-
able A/V receiver option.
Key Features
::
7 x 115 watts (1 or 2 channels driven)
:: (4) HDMI 1.3a inputs, (1) output
::
Upconverts component-, composite-, and
S-video signals to 1080p via HDMI
:: Decodes Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master
Audio, and multichannel SACD
::
Audyssey MultEQ XT auto-setup/
equalization with supplied microphone
::
Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Dynamic
Loudness level- and volume-correction
:: XM/Sirius satellite-radio-ready
::
iPod input and control via optional dock
:: Assignable front biamp or powered
Zone 2 amp channels
:: (
3) Quick Select presets store source
and mode adjustments
::
IR in/out, 2x 12v trigger, RS-232
serial port
:: 17 x 6 x 10 in, 28 lb
1 ⁄ 7 ⁄ 3 ⁄ 1 ⁄
8 8 8 4
USA.DENON.COM :: 201-762-6665
SOUND & VISION JANUARY 2009
S&V
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