Denon AVR-X6700H Home Theater AVR Review

[Bentley]

One other question: If I plan to use an external amp for my 11-channel system, is there any real benefit to paying the extra for the 6700 vs the 4700?

I think if you run the 8500 you probably won't need an external amp . I had a 7 Channel 200 watt amp that i I'm in the process of returning now . I got a really good deal on the 8500 from Safe and Sound .

 

[Dj7675]

The more expensive 6700 may actually be a serious downgrade in the external-amps scenario. The x4700 and x3600 DAC/preamp outputs do measure (much) better.

Truth be told, nobody knows for sure. Those devices are way too complex, have hundreds of different audiopaths and settings, there seems to be serious variation between production batches and the documentation is lacking. Did I mention the word clusterfuks?

Until it gets retested with the fix, I would probably wait to purchase this particular unit. Hopefully the fix will get it up to at least the level of the 4700. Very interested in the 3700/8500 results. As has been shown time and time again, you can’t assume anything.. next generations don’t always perform better, and higher end models don’t necessarily perform better....

 

[Dj7675]

I think if you run the 8500 you probably won't need an external amp . I had a 7 Channel 200 watt amp that i I'm in the process of returning now . I got a really good deal on the 8500 from Safe and Sound .

$2799 for an open box from them really is a pretty good deal IMO. Being able to disconnect any amp as well is a nice feature as well if you want to run external amps on any of your channels.

 

[Bentley]

$2799 for an open box from them really is a pretty good deal IMO. Being able to disconnect any amp as well is a nice feature as well if you want to run external amps on any of your channels.

If you call them they're running a special $3149 new! I talked to David really nice guy I had it the next day!

 

[Bentley]

Well I've had the 4500 the 6700 now the 8500 and wow this is what I've been looking for. It sounds so much better to me. I can't wait for him to put it on the test bench but either way I'm keeping it .

 

[lashto]

Well I've had the 4500 the 6700 now the 8500 and wow this is what I've been looking for. It sounds so much better to me. I can't wait for him to put it on the test bench but either way I'm keeping it .

That is called listening with your eyes . Holding an empty(er) wallet also sounds 'much better' for some reason.

 

[voodooless]

I think if you run the 8500 you probably won't need an external amp . I had a 7 Channel 200 watt amp that i I'm in the process of returning now.

It will "only" do 900W in total, so on 7 channels that is 128W per channel. With all channels driven that is just 70W each. Obviously if all driven equally which is probably not the case in real life. Should still make a lot's of bang and pow though

 

[Bentley]

It will "only" do 900W in total, so on 7 channels that is 128W per channel. With all channels driven that is just 70W each. Obviously if all driven equally which is probably not the case in real life. Should still make a lot's of bang and pow though

It was a 7 Channel 200 Watts a channel monolith . It's the second one the first one started humming out of the back of the amplifier. The second one started humming in the back and also threw the speakers so it's on its way back . The 8500 sounds really nice without an amp I was listening to it this morning much cleaner and clearer than 4500 or 6700. Luckily was able to get my money back on those 2.

 

[frangle]

I think a factor in reliability is how much you use the AVR. Ours is connected to our TV so runs 14 hours a day, every day of the week (it is the babysitter for dogs even when we are not home!). If its use is for home theater and watching a movie every other day, it is not going to be a major factor.

I'm not sure about that. My Marantz SR7009 has been gradually dying (HDMI drop-outs and thermal shut-off) after 5 years of very light use. To quantify that a bit better, the projector I bought at the same time has 250 hours on the lamp now. The receiver has been used more, but not much.
There a great video here of a repair of an X4000 where the poster found the unit didn't work at all due to a failed resistor most likely caused by circuit glue aging and going conductive over time (spoiler alert: he finds the problem around the 36 minute mark).

 

[studiocity]

I just picked up the 8500 last night. Wow! I love it. I think it's so much better so far and also like you say doesn't seem to run hot at all . There seems to be much more room inside maybe because of the bigger chassis it's not blocked with a bunch of boards on top it's open. It looks to have 4 fans in there also. I did hear the fans of my 6700 run I think if they didn't the thing would have melted !!

So compared to the 6700, you noticed an improvement in sound quality with the 8500 that was easily heard?

 

[Bentley]

So compared to the 6700, you noticed an improvement in sound quality with the 8500 that was easily heard?

Definitely!

 

[Ucftechguru]

Definitely!

Everyone who has the 8500 has said it sounds good. So, I’m hopefully optimistic the bench tests will show that too.

 

[peng]

It will "only" do 900W in total, so on 7 channels that is 128W per channel. With all channels driven that is just 70W each. Obviously if all driven equally which is probably not the case in real life. Should still make a lot's of bang and pow though

Is that 900 W the so called power consumption spec? If it is, we don't really know the conditions under which the unit would consume 900 W, such as how many channels, driven to what level, what's the load impedance, is it for "continuous" running, if not, for what duation... etc. etc.. ?

When it comes to power consumption spec, there seem to be no standard that all manufacturers could, or would follow. D+M always give just one number, power consumption XXX W, period.. Yamaha usually would provide two numbers, one just power consumption and the other "maximum power consumption.

Example: below are the specs for the RX-A1080, copied from the Owner's manual:

Power Consumption
[U.S.A. and Canada models] ......................................................450 W
[Other models] ...........................................................................420 W

Maximum Power Consumption
[Brazil, Asia, Taiwan, Central and South America and General models]
..........................................................................................................1190 W

Even if the given 900 W "power consumption" means the transformer is rated 900 W, or more properly, about 1125 to 1200 VA based on pf of around 0.8, we still cannot do our math to figure the maximum output, because class AB amp's efficiency can range between approx 50% to 78% and the manufacturer may factor in the non continuous nature of music programs so they may size the transformer aggressively such as based on less than 1 VA/W output, or more conservatively using a factor >1, may be even 2 but that's highly unlikely for AVRs. Actually I should just say I don't know.

 

[studiocity]

Im also looking forward to the bench testing results!

 

[peng]

Im also looking forward to the bench testing results!

Did you offer Amir overtime rate so he might do it on night shift? He said he wasn't cheap though.

 

[studiocity]

No but I’m about to sign up as a full
Member, being a new person here, I’m very impressed. I’m hoping at some point maybe we could have a thread on HDR For our AVR, source devices, and TV set systems, but I realize this is an audio forum, so not sure how everyone would think that HDR would fit?

 

[SKBubba]

I think a factor in reliability is how much you use the AVR. Ours is connected to our TV so runs 14 hours a day, every day of the week (it is the babysitter for dogs even when we are not home!). If its use is for home theater and watching a movie every other day, it is not going to be a major factor.

Our dog likes HGTV. No drama. Just people talking.

 

[Ucftechguru]

Did you offer Amir overtime rate so he might do it on night shift? He said he wasn't cheap though.

I donated! His reviews are invaluable!

 

[Anterantz]

Is that 900 W the so called power consumption spec? If it is, we don't really know the conditions under which the unit would consume 900 W, such as how many channels, driven to what level, what's the load impedance, is it for "continuous" running, if not, for what duation... etc. etc.. ?

When it comes to power consumption spec, there seem to be no standard that all manufacturers could, or would follow. D+M always give just one number, power consumption XXX W, period.. Yamaha usually would provide two numbers, one just power consumption and the other "maximum power consumption.

Example: below are the specs for the RX-A1080, copied from the Owner's manual:

Power Consumption
[U.S.A. and Canada models] ......................................................450 W
[Other models] ...........................................................................420 W

Maximum Power Consumption
[Brazil, Asia, Taiwan, Central and South America and General models]
..........................................................................................................1190 W

Even if the given 900 W "power consumption" means the transformer is rated 900 W, or more properly, about 1125 to 1200 VA based on pf of around 0.8, we still cannot do our math to figure the maximum output, because class AB amp's efficiency can range between approx 50% to 78% and the manufacturer may factor in the non continuous nature of music programs so they may size the transformer aggressively such as based on less than 1 VA/W output, or more conservatively using a factor >1, may be even 2 but that's highly unlikely for AVRs. Actually I should just say I don't know.

The 900w issue has already been discussed in this video and says at minute 25:20 that it is an average figure and that the transformer can deliver 2,8kwa peaks, which I think is 2800watts!

I have an 8500h and this has powerful roots and I have had a marantz sr7013 that is between 4500/6500 and the denon eats it with potatoes ..

 

[DrewMcG]

One other question: If I plan to use an external amp for my 11-channel system, is there any real benefit to paying the extra for the 6700 vs the 4700?

You get DTS:X-Pro (eventually), of which I can find no reviews/applause anywhere on the web ....