Price Paid:  $170.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
What a surprise! I picked up this receiver at Circuit City on a closeout sale at a ridiculously low price. When I got it home, hooked it up, and listened to it I could scarcely believe my good fortune. The bass is tight, the mids clear, and the highs are just right. The FM reception has very good selectivity, sensitivity, and quieting. There is almost no background hiss or hum even through high efficiency headphones at the highest volume setting with no program and the inputs left open (unshorted and unterminated). It runs cool, and has plenty of power for anything but actual theater levels. The subwoofer output can be active with two-channel material as well as with multichannel programs. I have many old and new receivers, and this one sounds as good as the best of them. I have ranked the Denon AVR-587 with four stars simply because I realize that there are some other units out there that have more power and/or more features. I doubt that anyone could reliably differentiate this unit from the very best in reliably amplifying music. On a value basis, I give it my highest rating.

Strengths:
Great sound, low noise, cool running, low price, excellent build quality, ergonomically designed and easy to use and control the many, many operating parameters (once you are familiar with its features).

Weaknesses:
Comprehensive owner's manual takes a couple of readings for some features; control of some parameters is somewhat involved until one is familiar with th unit.

Similar Products Used:
Sony STR-DE 825, 845, 895, 995; Yamaha HTR-5790, 5940. In features and performance, the Denon AVR-587 is closest to the Yamaha 5940. Both are excellent receivers at very low prices.