In this article, we will be discussing two of the most popular home theater receivers on the market, the Denon AVR-S770H and the Denon AVR-S970H. At first glance, other than the 15 watts per channel power difference, it's not super obvious as to why you might want the more expensive AVR-S970H. We will go over the features shared by both units, then get into why you might want to upgrade to the AVR-S970H or if you should consider something even more capable.

If you are looking at either of these receivers, it's likely you might be making your first dive into a separates-based home theater system. There are a lot of things to consider to get the best performance, and a big one is the type, placement, and number of speakers in your system. The good news is we have a wealth of free information on audioadvice.com to help you out. From how-to articles on setting things up to planning the optimum speaker layout, you can find it all at Home Theater Central. You can even play around with our free and patented home theater design tool to experiment with different speaker layouts. And the great news is, either of these Denon receivers can get you set up with what we consider the sweet spot for home theater speaker layouts, a 5.1.2 system. You can learn all about what those numbers mean here.

After you read this article and decide if one of these is right for you, we hope you will support our business by purchasing from Audio Advice. We have a team of home theater experts who can help you with any questions, and with your purchase, we will send you our exclusive Tips and Tricks guide for your new Denon receiver.

What Makes Denon So Popular?

There are good reasons these two Denon home theater receivers are so popular. First, they are loaded with all of the latest tech for video, low-latency gaming, voice control, and music streaming. We really like the fact they have a pair of assignable speaker outputs. This lets you select the best type of immersive speaker for your room. You’ll have the basic left, center, right, and surrounds, and you can then decide if you want the final pair to be rear channels or a different type, of which there are multiple choices in the setup menu. You can pick front heights, front Atmos, Middle Atmos, Front Atmos enabled, or Surround Atmos enabled.

Both of these units are also good choices if you are only doing a 5.1 surround system and want to power another set of speakers in a different room. You can choose this option as well, which is called Zone 2, and even get independent sound in each location. Bear in mind if you do use all 7 powered channels, this will not be available.

Both the AVR-S770H and AVR-S970H have you covered for all of the popular immersive surround sound formats. While Dolby Atmos is the most popular, it's nice to see DTS:HD Master Audio, DTS:X, DTS:Neutral X, and DTS:Virtual X included.

You’ll notice the rear panel of both as two subwoofer outputs. We need to point out that for those of you interested in going with more than one subwoofer, which is always a great idea, those two jacks are just for convenience and do not give you independent subwoofer calibration like some more expensive home theater receivers offer.

If you are not able to place Atmos speakers in your room, you’ll have Dolby Atmos Virtualization, which does a decent job of simulating height speakers.

Denon Power

Power ratings, as we said, are a bit higher on the AVR-S970H, with 75 watts per channel on the AVR-S770H and 90 on the bigger one, but both of these units use all discrete, high-current power amps for better audio performance.

Input-wise, both have 6 rear HDMI inputs, with 3 being 8K capable. eARC is supported on the HDMI output for those of you who want to use your TV apps for streaming.

There is a moving magnet phono input on both units, which leads to an interesting sidebar. Way back in the late 70’s, Audio Advice was one of the first dealers in the US to bring in the brand. At that time, they had a tonearm, a turntable motor with no base, and a cartridge as in those days Denon specialized in turntables. Denon gear was built extremely well back then and is still to this day.

You’ll find a coax digital input and two toslink digital inputs on each unit as well.

Setup Menu

For those of you just getting into a serious home theater, you will love the setup menu these units have. It walks you through every single step with awesome visuals, making it really hard to make a mistake. At the end, you’ll be asked to run Audyssey, which is a full-on room correction system Denon has been using for years. Room correction can make a huge difference in improving the sound of your space, and we highly recommend you go through this step.

We do wish Denon allowed you to assign surround sound modes to an input. It's not a big deal when the signal is in surround as it will automatically decode it, but for stereo feeds on TV or some streaming sources, it would be nice to set this up. We do go over how to do this in our exclusive tips and tricks guide for these units.

Which One is for You?

So, what are the reasons you might want to think about the AVR-S970H over the very capable AVR-S770H?

The first one will depend on the gear in your system and if you plan to add much in the way of legacy or vintage audio sources. The AVR-S770H has two analog inputs, which would suffice for a CD player and music streamer. But if you have these and want to add a vintage cassette deck or any other analog sources, you will appreciate the AVR-S970H has 4 analog inputs.

The next feature relates to video situations. The AVR-S970H has a second TV monitor out. Where we usually see this being used is a home theater room where you might have a small TV mounted on the wall but also have a front projector with a screen that drops down over the small TV.

But the real difference between the two units is the sound. The AVR-S970H is almost an inch taller than the AVR-S770H and weighs more as well. The reason for this is it has a larger power transformer for the amplifier stage, larger output transistors, and more heat sinks. It is actually very impressive how large the amplifier section is in the AVR-S970H for its cost. The AVR-S970H is rated at 90 watts per channel compared to the 75 of the AVR-S770H, and that extra power will help with speakers that are harder to drive. However, the AVR-S970H just has more punch to our ears with its larger power supply and more robust output transistors. Even at lower volume levels, you can hear the difference.

So unless you have some extra input needs or are doing a dual TV situation, the real reason to get the AVR-S970H over the AVR-S770H is it just sounds better.

Now, if you look at all of the Denon receivers available, you will see there are several models above the AVR-S970H. And if you look at other home theater receiver brands like Marantz and others, you will find all kinds of units that sell for more than the AVR-S970H. But the AVR-S970H is still a great deal for the price.

Plan for the Future

When you are thinking about a new home theater receiver, you definitely want to plan for all of your future needs. Some people might start out with a small pair of speakers, then move them to surround channels later to repurpose them, but a home theater receiver should offer you everything you might possibly need now and in the future.

Immersive home theater audio is pretty incredible, and the more channels you have, the better! There are several home theater receivers now that give you 13 or even 15 on some, like Denon’s top-of-the-line unit. While 7 channels is great, the experience with more is far superior.

Another thing you will find on more expensive receivers is preamp outs for some or all of the channels. This comes in really handy if you decide to splurge on a pair of speakers, but it turns out your receiver does not have the juice to drive them. With preamp outs, you can add another amplifier and be all set.

Subwoofers are another very important part of a home theater, and it's been proven that two subwoofers give you much more even bass in a room. Having the ability to calibrate each subwoofer individually is a big deal, and you will not get that with either of these two. Heck, some models these days even have 4 independent subwoofer outputs!

Two other critical parts are the amplifier and DAC section of your home theater receiver. The amplifier is what drives your speakers, and the more power and current available, the better audio you will get. Denon’s top-of-the-line unit weighs in at 3 and a half times what the AVR-S970H does, and most of that reason is the far larger and more capable amplifier section.

The DAC is what converts the digital signals from digital to analog, and all DACs are not created equal. Higher-end home theater receivers will have better DACs than you will find in these two models.

So, when you are thinking about the best way to go, you’ll want to consider how many speakers you might have in the long run. Or, if you already have some great speakers now, consider something with even better power to drive them.

Again, our team of home theater experts can help you determine the best way to go for your long-term system needs.

Overall Recommendation

The AVR-S770H and AVR-S970H are incredible units for the money and are two of the best-selling home theater receivers on the market and, for many people, will be a fantastic choice to start your home theater journey with. We hope this article has helped you understand the difference between the two and helped enlighten you on a lot more fun options a great home theater system has to offer.

If you’re planning your home theater or media room, you have to check out our Home Theater Design page, where we have everything Home Theater related, including our FREE Home Theater Design Tool.

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