Having owned this AVR for a month now, and having spent a lot of time fiddling with it, I will start chiming in with some things I have learned in small bites.
The topic for this bite is,
Saving a Preset Saves All or Almost All the Speakers Configuration Settings, Including Audyssey Settings. This is a very handy feature, because it allows you to create a preset for TV / video streaming / movies and another preset for music playback--each with potentially completely different settings. Each preset contains virtually all of the settings in the Speakers configuration, including Amp Assign, Speaker Configuration, Distances, Levels, Crossovers, Bass, 2 Channel Playback, etc. and a set of related Audyssey settings.
Random stream of consciousness follows. So sorry for the lack of organization...
I previously showed the procedure for turning off the front amps, while using the remaining amps for the center and surrounds. My front speakers are driven by an external Peachtree Nova 150 in Home Theater Bypass mode. This is all saved into Preset 1: my video preset.
Yesterday, a miracle happened, and I had the house to myself for several hours. I ran Audyssey again with 6 mic positions right around the MLP to optimize for music playback. The AVR was configured in Preamp mode, and only the front pair and subwoofer preamp outputs were active. I set everything to my liking in the MultiEQ app and saved the configuration to Preset 2. This is now my music preset. It allows me to run the AVR in its cleanest [and coolest] configuration and take advantage of its multitude of inputs, bass management features, and Audyssey room correction.
Even though I have better measuring DACs available, I prefer the features of the AVR enough, that I am willing to accept its middling performance compared with SOTA. Honestly, I think its pipelines are clean enough in preamp mode, that its flaws are not audible. I can't say I can tell the difference, anyway.
To change presets using the [terrible] Denon remote, press the Options button, scroll down to Speaker Preset, and select Preset 1 or Preset 2. You cannot make this automatic per input in a straightforward way, but you can save all the settings to a Quick Select button, which you then have to remember to press after selecting your input.
After consulting the [terrible] manual, I figured out how to program a Quick Select button/command for BRD/DVD, Roku, Heos, and Digital Optical 1 inputs.
Unfortunately, I was not able to program my universal remote to associate a preset with an activity. The only available preset commands are PresetNext and PresetPrev, which do not comply with non-linear workflows. I was able to program the universal remote to send the Quick Select commands for each activity, so each activity has one of the 4 Quick Select buttons I programmed sent after powering everything on. It is klugey, but it works.
Preset 1 - Video Sources
Etc.
Preset 2 - Music Sources
Etc.
It is worth noting that Audyssey found the same speaker distances (to the inch) and levels (to the half dB) in 2 different measuring sessions weeks apart. The video session included 8 measurements spread all across the sofa. The audio session included 6 measurements spread around the center seat on the sofa. And, they match perfectly.
