Skip to main content
Featured
Best Mesh Wi-FiDyson Robot VacuumBest Budget LaptopsIKEA Smart HomeBest Electric BikesDeals Delivered
Mat Honan
Gear

Review: Denon AVR-889

Denon delivers a lot to love at an excellent price. For well under a grand, you get features that just a few years ago were available only in flagship models. That includes 1080p upscaling from analog sources, Neural Surround for XM-HD radio, and Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. And don’t think Denon tacked on fancy formats […]
review image
Rating:

9/10

WIRED
Immersive sound with excellent surround handling at all volume levels — even at a near-whisper, spatial effects split like Brit and K-Fed. Calibrates from six points in the room to kill dead zones. Automatically levels volume to keep commercials from assaulting your eardrums.
TIRED
Remote is both ugly and unresponsive. Others Tested

Denon delivers a lot to love at an excellent price. For well under a grand, you get features that just a few years ago were available only in flagship models. That includes 1080p upscaling from analog sources, Neural Surround for XM-HD radio, and Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. And don't think Denon tacked on fancy formats at the expense of power: At 100 watts per channel, it manages to be Nascar-loud yet ballet-beautiful.

Pioneer VSX-1018AH-K $600
A blast-your-Blu-rays, 130-watt-per-channel receiver that delivers sparkling hi-def at a low price. Onscreen iPod controls.

Yamaha RX-V863 $1,000
Brilliant digital signal processing and support for more A/V technologies than your average Best Buy store. Worth the splurge.

Onkyo TX-SR606 $600
We dug the four HDMI inputs and front-panel connections, but this 90-watt-per-channel receiver could use more juice.

Buy at Denon
Mat Honan was a senior staff writer with WIRED. ... Read More
Senior Staff Writer