Turn It up To 11.2

DENON AVR-X6700H 11.2-CHANNEL A/V RECEIVER

- Thomas J. Norton

DENON’S AVR-X6700H, made in Japan, is one of four new models in the company’s X-Series A/V receiver family. The new models start at $849 for the AVR-X2700H and extend up to $2,499 for the AVR-X6700H under review here. (The company’s current $4,000 AVR-X8500H carries on as the X-Series flagship.) The AVR- X6700H is notable for its next-gen HDMI 2.1 connectivity, which supports pass-through of 8K video and multiple gaming-oriented features.

FEATURES

The AVR-X6700H packs 11 onboard channels of class-A/B amplification. That’s enough to cover a 5.2.6 system or 7.2.4 system, or the 5.2.4 one I used with two channels left over for other applications such as bi-amping the left and right front speakers or powering a second audio zone.

The Denon has two additional, fully functional preamp outputs, increasing its total processing power to 13 channels with the addition of an outboard stereo amp. There’s a pair of independently adjustable line-level outputs for powered subwoofers, though for my evaluation I used just one, with a Y splitter, to drive two subs.

With the X6700H rated at 140 watts per channel into 8 ohms (20Hz-20kHz, two channels driven) most users won’t require more power. Though not specified, Denon states that its receivers can drive five channels with at least 70 percent of rated two-channel power (about 100 Wpc for this model). The X6700H has Audyssey MultEQ XT32 room equalization. When I employed Audyssey for this review, I used just basic EQ without Audyssey’s other features: Dynamic EQ, Dynamic Volume, and Low Frequency Containment. All of these are selectable on the Denon, and there’s an optional $20 Audyssey Editor App that brings additional flexibility.