Denon AVC-X680OH

Denon delivers yet another feature-rich and powerful-sounding flagship AVR

Anyone with even a passing interest in home cinema sound will know that a new Denon AV amplifier is exciting news. The AVC-X6800H is the sequel to the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning AVC-X6700H which was released back in 2020; so what has changed in the past four years?

While you might not be able to tell much from the outside, Denon is touting an assortment of upgrades under the hood, which means this AVR should outperform its predecessor while also delivering a smoother user experience and enhanced gaming specifications.

That all sounds like a winning combination to us; but can this amplifier deliver the goods in the most important category – sound performance?

Without diving into the intricacies of the global markets, we regret to inform prospective buyers that this year’s iteration of Denon’s flagship X-series AV amplifier is a fair bit more expensive than the previous model.

The good news is that we are already seeing the price drop a fair ammount already in India. And, to be fair, the price of the AVC-X6800H is in line with rival models on the market now. The four-star Pioneer VSA-LX805, for example, offers a comparable feature set for its price.

For our testing purposes, however, we are using the Arcam AVR5 for comparison. This amp undercuts the Denon by a fair margin. That, though, doesn’t tell the full story; if you want to match the Denon in terms of amplification channels via the Arcam, you will need to purchase the separate Arcam PA410 power amplifier which brings the Arcam package total to a rather more Denon-comparable price.

It’s worth noting that in the US this model is an AV receiver (with the model name Denon AVR-6800H), meaning it has a built-in FM tuner. In other places it forgoes this feature and is, therefore, an AV amplifier. All other features remain the same, as does – according to Denon – the sound.