Denon AVR-X6700H AVR Review (Updated)

[amper42]

This is pretty much the exact question I have. Given the updated numbers, is there any (audible) reason to put a Hypex or Purifi amp on the 6700. I suspect 140 wpc will be plenty for my small room with 91 dB sensitivity 8-ohm speakers. It would be another $2200-$3000 for an NC252 or $4500 - $5000 for a 1ET400A (Apollon or NAD), and that's just for 7 channels.

Marc

There are two situations where I can hear a positive difference with a Purifi or Monolith 7x200 amps on the Denon 4700 receiver.
1. If I have a high quality stereo pair of speakers (stereo only) playing music and setup the Denon in pre-out only mode while using an external Purifi amp.
2. If I setup 7.2.4 for Home theatre action movies using pre-out only mode with the Monolith 7x200 amps. The sound is crisper and sounds crystal clear even in the peaks. It's a noticeable difference.

If neither of these examples are important to you then just use the internal amps. You will save money. You should understand the available power of internal amps will be reduced by approx 25% when more than 5 channels are in use on the Denon receiver. That may not be a big deal. If I wasn't interested in running pre-out only mode then I would just use internal amps.

 

[radix]

There are two situations where I can hear a positive difference with a Purifi or Monolith 7x200 amps on the Denon 4700 receiver.
1. If I have a high quality stereo pair of speakers (stereo only) playing music and setup the Denon in pre-out only mode while using an external Purifi amp.
2. If I setup 7.2.4 for Home theatre action movies using pre-out only mode with the Monolith 7x200 amps. The sound is crisper and sounds crystal clear even in the peaks. It's a noticeable difference.

If neither of these examples are important to you then just use the internal amps. You will save money. You should understand the available power of internal amps will be reduced by approx 25% when more than 5 channels are in use on the Denon receiver. That may not be a big deal. If I wasn't interested in running pre-out only mode then I would just use internal amps.

@amper42 thanks for your feedback.

I have a 5.2.2 setup. I listen to media at a volume setting of 65 - 75, depending on the material. I think that's tops out around 85 dB SPL at the main listening position (about 10'/3m with KEF R3/R2c). If I go and put my ear near a speaker, I clearly hear hiss, but it's inaudible at any distance.

EDIT: I only hear the hiss if the Denon input is set to an input with no source attached. When I have it set to the eARC TV input, there is no hiss at any volume I tried.

I'm working on room treatments now. Maybe once I get those sorted out and the big peaks/valleys taken care of, I'll then think about cleaner amp.

Marc

 

[amper42]

@amper42 thanks for your feedback.

I have a 5.2.2 setup. I listen to media at a volume setting of 65 - 75, depending on the material. I think that's tops out around 85 dB SPL at the main listening position (about 10'/3m with KEF R3/R2c). If I go and put my ear near a speaker, I clearly hear hiss, but it's inaudible at any distance.

I'm working on room treatments now. Maybe once I get those sorted out and the big peaks/valleys taken care of, I'll then think about cleaner amp.

Marc

I have the Denon 4700 setup with Purifi in "pre-out only" mode with Revel F328Be in Stereo. I put my ear next to the Be tweeter and there is no hiss. You may find pre-out mode offers a difference?

 

[radix]

I have the Denon 4700 setup with Purifi in "pre-out only" mode with Revel F328Be in Stereo. I put my ear next to the Be tweeter and there is no hiss. You may find pre-out mode offers a difference?

I'm thinking pre-out will improve the sound. You use the Monolith 7x200? That does seem to be the value 7-channel amp at just under $2k. It looks like the other option is Apollon or NAD.

 

[bo_knows]

I have the Denon 4700 setup with Purifi in "pre-out only" mode with Revel F328Be in Stereo. I put my ear next to the Be tweeter and there is no hiss. You may find pre-out mode offers a difference?

May I ask you at what volume level? I don't hear any hiss or very little at the same volume level (65) mentioned. I only hear a hiss when I turn it all the way up (maximum 98) and that is with my ears a few inches away from the tweeter. I have 8500h.

 

[peng]

May I ask you at what volume level? I don't hear any hiss or very little at the same volume level (65) mentioned. I only hear a hiss when I turn it all the way up (maximum 98) and that is with my ears a few inches away from the tweeter. I have 8500h.

Internal amp or external amp? I did the same with my Buckeye amp connected to the AVR-X4400H, had to have ear almost touching the tweeter, mid or woofer to hear anything at volume +18 and the Denon has many inputs (almost full) connected. Did the same with my AV8801, with only the XLR aux inputs/outputs (stereo) connected and I could hear about the same noise level at volume 0 and could hear it from a few feet away at +18. Room noise floor was probably in the 20's based on my REW plots from before. I am sure I have hearing loss but not in the hiss/hum range. I could hear just about any transformer hum (mechanical, not ground loop related) including those that others claim were silent.

 

[radix]

May I ask you at what volume level? I don't hear any hiss or very little at the same volume level (65) mentioned. I only hear a hiss when I turn it all the way up (maximum 98) and that is with my ears a few inches away from the tweeter. I have 8500h.

I edited my post about the hiss. It only happens if I select a Denon input without a source attached. I'm not sure if it's an issue with the auto select or a floating input or what. When I select an input with a source, such as the eARC, there is no hiss at any volume I tried.

 

[opus]

Could someone please confirm, that hdmi diagnostic cable test is not working anymore with new firmware? Denon 6700. Thanks a lot.

 

[Matts13]

I own this amp. That said is it safe to say that any Receiver with a serial number greater than the one shown would have this fix?

 

[gusti123]

Hello everyone out there,
I've been observing this forum for years and have made many decisions regarding my AV system from the findings.
From today I would like to actively participate.
My first question.
How does the Denon AVC-X6700H sound best to you?

1. The Denon AVC-X6700H with front L/R in bi-amping with 4 internal power amplifiers and with a 7-channel power amplifier IOTAVX AVXP1 (center in bi-amping, L/R surround in bi-amping) i.e. full 5.1 bi-amping ?
or
2.The Denon AVC-X6700H in preamp mode 5.1 and with a 7-channel power amp IOTAVX AVXP1 (front L/R in bi-amping, 1 center, L/R surround)?

My devices:

KEF XQ 20 for front
KEF XQ 50c center
KEF XQ 40 Surround
1 ELAC 2050 subwoofer
Denon AVC-X6700H
7 channel power amplifier IOTAVX AVXP1

95% of the time I listen to music in stereo.
In the front area of the 5.1 setup is my living room with TV (movie area) and in the back area of the 5.1 setup is my dining room (music area). Hence the unusual placement of the surround floorstanding loudspeakers.

I would be very happy about your opinions on which variant 1 or 2 sounds better.
thank you
translated by Google

 

[tifune]

Hello everyone out there,
I've been observing this forum for years and have made many decisions regarding my AV system from the findings.
From today I would like to actively participate.
My first question.
How does the Denon AVC-X6700H sound best to you?

1. The Denon AVC-X6700H with front L/R in bi-amping with 4 internal power amplifiers and with a 7-channel power amplifier IOTAVX AVXP1 (center in bi-amping, L/R surround in bi-amping) i.e. full 5.1 bi-amping ?
or
2.The Denon AVC-X6700H in preamp mode 5.1 and with a 7-channel power amp IOTAVX AVXP1 (front L/R in bi-amping, 1 center, L/R surround)?

My devices:

KEF XQ 20 for front
KEF XQ 50c center
KEF XQ 40 Surround
1 ELAC 2050 subwoofer
Denon AVC-X6700H
7 channel power amplifier IOTAVX AVXP1

95% of the time I listen to music in stereo.
In the front area of the 5.1 setup is my living room with TV (movie area) and in the back area of the 5.1 setup is my dining room (music area). Hence the unusual placement of the surround floorstanding loudspeakers.

I would be very happy about your opinions on which variant 1 or 2 sounds better.
thank you
translated by Google

If you're able to perfectly match levels and have someone help you do an ears-only test, they are very likely going to sound identical. Personally I like less "stuff" so I just use the AVR until something forces me to do otherwise. Tripped the power protection on my 8500 yesterday for the first time ever...

I have 6.2.4, my surrounds are active speakers soon to be replaced with kef r3 so might be I need an external amp now.

Bi-amping probably won't yield you much difference, if any at all. There's a very long thread here where user DonH56 explains in great detail the reasons why. It's a bit beyond me, but some factors that are very easy to explain: doubling your power only adds 3dB of volume and the tweeters utilize a very small amount of power relative to woofers/mids. If you're so squeezed for power that 3dB is useful, you're better off upgrading your amp in general. The IOTA you mention has about the same power as the 6700 so not much point unless you have a lot of speakers.

 

[David338]

Hi @amirm, did you test what the clipping volt is with the Pre-out set to off, meaning with the amps connected? I am asking to see what the issue would be if I only use external amps for the front stage and use the internal amps for the Atmos or/and the surrounds. I would only set the Pre-out (disconnecting the amps) for the front channels. So the rest of the channels will be limited/affected by the possible clipping?

Thanks.

 

[MarcT]

Hi @amirm, did you test what the clipping volt is with the Pre-out set to off, meaning with the amps connected? I am asking to see what the issue would be if I only use external amps for the front stage and use the internal amps for the Atmos or/and the surrounds. I would only set the Pre-out (disconnecting the amps) for the front channels. So the rest of the channels will be limited/affected by the possible clipping?

Thanks.

View attachment 189997

Great question, as I am also thinking to only set the front L/R channels to the pre-amp mode on a X3700 or X4700 and use the AVR to power the center and surrounds. I need 2.7 vrms in order to drive my power amp to full power, as I understand it. My suspicion is that if I only set the front channels to pre-amp mode, the use of the AVR to power the other channels will negate the benefits of pre-amp mode on the front L/R channels.

 

[rvsixer]

Hi @amirm, did you test what the clipping volt is with the Pre-out set to off, meaning with the amps connected? I am asking to see what the issue would be if I only use external amps for the front stage and use the internal amps for the Atmos or/and the surrounds. I would only set the Pre-out (disconnecting the amps) for the front channels. So the rest of the channels will be limited/affected by the possible clipping?

You can't turn the pre-outs off, and if you could the output would be zero (no clipping).

In regards to your use case, there is no issue when turning the mains amps off and running external amps, and running the rest off the internal amps.

 

[bigguyca]

You can't turn the pre-outs off, and if you could the output would be zero (no clipping).

In regards to your use case, there is no issue when turning the mains amps off and running external amps, and running the rest off the internal amps.

The power amplifier channels can't be turned-off. The preamp channels can be disconnected from the power amplifier channels.

Either all of the preamp channels can be disconnected from the power amplifier channels or alternatively just the front two front (left and right) preamp channels can be disconnected from the associated power amplifier channels with the remainder of the preamp channels still connected to the associated power amplifier channels.

 

[rvsixer]

True true. I suppose my point was if pre-amp is disconnected from amp…it does not matter if actual amp is on or off. Also aware of mains or all pre-outs disconnected, but question was about mains only.

 

[radix]

True true. I suppose my point was if pre-amp is disconnected from amp…it does not matter if actual amp is on or off. Also aware of mains or all pre-outs disconnected, but question was about mains only.

Turning off the amps reduces the noise inside the system. Denon's "Pure Direct" even turns off the display and the video processor to reduce internal noise.

 

[rvsixer]

Turning off the amps reduces the noise inside the system. Denon's "Pure Direct" even turns off the display and the video processor to reduce internal noise.

As @bigguyca corrected me already, you can't turn the amps off. Only disconnect pre-outs from them.

I am also fairly certain, that Pure Direct does not play into this, @bigguyca? The amps remain on with both Pure direct enabled or disabled?

 

[Brian6751]

I think the question is if using a separate amplifier lets say, for the 7 base layer channels and powering the rest off the AVR, would the pre-out voltage still be enough to fully drive the separate amp before clipping?

Is pre-amp mode with all channels disconnected the only way to have enough voltage to drive these N-core amps without clipping issues?

 

[peng]

Hi @amirm, did you test what the clipping volt is with the Pre-out set to off, meaning with the amps connected? I am asking to see what the issue would be if I only use external amps for the front stage and use the internal amps for the Atmos or/and the surrounds. I would only set the Pre-out (disconnecting the amps) for the front channels. So the rest of the channels will be limited/affected by the possible clipping?

Thanks.

View attachment 189997

The pre out won't clip at 2 V for sure. If it did, you wouldn't have gotten 75 dB SINAD as measured by Amir. Amir used the term "clip" but when pre out reached his test voltage of 2 V with the pre out connected to the power amps, it would have been the power amp that clipped, resulting in the lower pre out SINAD (75 dB), but again it wasn't the pre out that clipped.

Keep in mind all of the Marantz AVR, and even the AV7705 (at 4 V XLR, that is 2 V RCA) also measured at around 75 dB SINAD. In my opinion that's not likely an audible issue under normal use conditions.

As to pre out clipping, when Audioholics measured the AVR-X3300W, Gene found that it clipped at over 4 V, he typically consider THD>0.1% (-60 dB) as clipping. The AVR-X6700H's pre out would probably clip at closer to 4.5 V if you look at the graph.