I read all of the reviews on this product posted on this site.Then I looked for reviews by professionals. I found a review for the AVR2700, the sony 30es and the kenwood VR2090 in a head to head comparison in the May 99 Stereophile guide to HT. READ IT!
Stereophile recommended the unit. They say that the Denon really shines with music and has great imaging and definition. they described the sound as grand, transparent, seemingly three-dimensional. They concluded that "if I (the reviewer) were concocting $800 worth of receiver, i'd want it to look, act, and sound like the Denon AVR2700." I wanted to hear first hand to see what I thought.

I auditioned this receiver four times. the first two times as a music only system and the second two as a theater system. I enjoyed the way the Denon presented itself with music. Rich, full-bodied and warm with great imaging. In comparrison, with other units from Sony, onkyo, kenwood, and yamaha that I found harsh and un-ingaging. With movies I liked the sound again. I also liked the Yamaha with movies. The onkyo again sounded harsh.

I listened to the Denon in DD mode through a combination of speakers including Polk, Klipsch, Energy, and Boston Acoustics. Let me address the "lack of bass" issues. I was left alone for almost an hour in the Goodguys listening room while the salesmen where hooking up new speakers in another room (lucky me) so I had time to play with the Denons menus and set the speakers. (not delays or placement, just size). I found this very easy to do. First off, bass response varries greatly with the kind of speaker you are listening to.

I found the Polk RT line to me be lacking in bass until the RT1000, which had a good, deep response. The lower Rt models just don't have the bass output. RT owners, by a sub! The Klipsch KSF8.5 and 10.5 both had very good bass response. The Boston line sounded fairly good. The Energy exL28P speakers sounded the best (also the most expensive). the Energys gave off a sound that was warm and delightful to listen to both with movies and music. The bass response was fantastic thanks in part to the powered subs in these gorgeously finished speakers. ANYONE that says the Denon AVR2700 has no bass response is blaming the wrong conponent in thier system.

I have not made my mind up and purchased a receiver yet. While the Denon is at the top of my list, I feel that I have to give the Yamaha (I think the model is 795 but not sure)and SONY 30ES a fair shake. The Yamaha does have a good amount of inputs and features and 10,000 DSP modes that will NEVER be used. But the sound is a little bright. The Yamaha has presets for the tuner on the unit and the Denon doesn't, big plus for Yamaha. The Yamaha and SONY have DTS but will this ever take off? Dolby Digital sounds really good so I don't think DTS will be a deciding factor. Niether will synthetic listening modes. The Denon and Yamaha remotes could use some more R&D as niether of them are really good. Why can't these companies make a GOOD remote? In comparrison, the SONY remote for the 30ES is cool. it is small and laid out very ergonomically but I have read that it is prone to problems.

In closing, The Denon AVR2700 deserves to be heard. If you already have your speakers try and audition the receiver with them,IT MATTERS!!! If you are buying speakers too, pick the ones you like or narrow it down to to or three models and then listen to them with the receivers that you are looking for. ALL speakers do not sound good with ALL receivers. You be the judge. I have to give the Denon a rating of 4 for the great music and movies, but a bad (UGLY and BIG) remote and no tuner presets on the unit.

After much research I narrowed my choice to the AVR-2700 or the Yamaha RX-V793.I listened to both side by side and chose the Denon. Was able to get a local retailer to come down to $571.

Did not care about all the DSPs on the Yamaha(though the 5 channel stereo on the Denon is pretty neat). Also did not care for spring clips on 3 channels as opposed to binding posts around on the 2700. The 2700 also has a 24 bit DAC as opposed to 20.

Brought it home and hooked it up to Carver 5.1s, popped in Twister on DVD,
and in a word.... Wow! Every bit the punch of a theater, no lack of bass at
all.

I am very happy with my choice.

I have been using this receiver for almost six months and have been -extremely- pleased with its performance, ease of use, and overall quality. Last summer, I began shopping for a good A/V receiver under $800 that not only performed well with home theater applications, but music as well. After spending a great deal of time auditioning various units and doing head-to-head comparisons, I narrowed my list down to three excellent receivers: The Denon AVR-2700, the Sony STR-DA30ES, and the Yamaha RX-795. The Sony was a wonderful piece, but it generated tremedous amounts of heat. It also lacked six-channel inputs and a good remote. The Yamaha was rather harsh and bright, and build-quality, in my opinion, was the worst of the group. The Denon stuck me as warm-sounding, with excellent bass extension(contrary to what other people are saying; um...it's called an owners manual. Read it.), an astoundingly easy-to-use interface, and a clean, well-design layout. The build quality was also quite good.
My home theater setup consists of four B&W DM302 loudspeakers, a B&W CC#3 center channel, and an Energy ES-8 subwoofer. I'm using a Sony DVP-S300, with a Monster Cable digital coax running to the Denon (bypassing the Sony's DACs and taking advantage of the Denon's better converter). The B&Ws are relatively efficient speakers, so the 2700 has no trouble powering them to high levels. I've found that in my relatively small room (1000 sq. ft.), even without the subwoofer, bass is deep and distortion free.

Personally, I think the main reason people feel the unit doesn't have enough bass is because not everyone is used to good, natural sound. In other words, an AIWA mini-system with T-BASS set to MAX is the ultimate in tonal quality (don't get me wrong; this was me two years ago!). Well okay, either that, or they just don't know how to set it up properly. The subwoofer channel is turned ON by default, meaning all L & R channel bass gets redirected. Here's the solution: turn it off. It's simple, people. And remember, don't expect to get 30hz from SuperZeros or Energy Take 5s (there ain't no Yamaha that can fix that either).

Not to offend anyone, of course. I just think the Denon is absolutely wonderful. Play Jerry Goldsmith's score to "The Ghost and the Darkness" (an excellent CD-audio demo disc) and experience what I mean when I say this receiver has a deep soundstage and exquisite detail. You can't get any better than this for the price.

And I dare say, should you decide to go higher in the price range, start looking at separates, because $800 is just about the point of diminishing returns for receivers. And remember, when a salesperson says something is setup properly, don't assume he/she knows what they're doing. Do your homework, and I guarantee you'll come out ahead.

The Denon is my top choice--you can't go wrong with it.

First I would like to say I am not a audiophile, just a normal guy trying to figure out all this stereo stuff for my new home theater. After many weeks of shopping and review reading I have bought the AVR2700. My theater room is 600sq.ft and the unit still shakes the room. set-up was very easy for me W/
the on screen display, and the remote is simple.I cant believe how grand the sound is on everything.(theater and cd). 5 channel stereo is ausome.sorry this review is so untechnical but my point is, for someone just starting out it is an excellent unit. ease of set-up--5. sound quality--5.remote for dummbies-5
You could not pay me to change-- overall---5.Also looked at yamaha-795 and
marantz685.bought from local dealer after dealing with ABCStereo on net.
Still trying to get my money back.dont deal w/ those guys(they have many,many,many complaints.

I compared this receiver to the Yamaha RX-V793. I listened to both of them on and off for about 3 weeks. I liked the Denon's features, but I liked the Yamaha's warm sound. Also not to be accusing of false info, but Denon has a Motorola 24-bit DSP, the DSP Modes are 24-bit and the DD Decoding is whatever the disc is. Yamaha has a chip that keeps 20-bit precision for CD's, and keeps the DD Decoding for whatever the discs are. After extensive listening I chose the Yamaha. It had better sound, the DSP Modes didn't care for too much, and the midrange sounded more forward than the denon.

I just recently purchased a Denon AVR-2700 and I can't understand where all this negative criticism is coming from. I have a pair of Infinity SM-185's and I have more base than I know what to do with. The only drawback with this reciever is the remote. I did not relize that all the major adjustments had to be imputed from the remote and nothing but the remote. I feel that inspite of this shortcoming this reciever is a excellent deal given the other many features. As far as pure, clean, powerfull sound is concerned, I have yet to hear a rival within the same category.
Question: As a newbie to this world of Stereo technology, I was wondering if any of you audiophiles could email me some links to websites that might contain usefull information in getting me started. Thanks!!

I've had my Dennon for a week now and I am *very* impressed. For the money, I don't think you can do better. I've got mine set up with Optimus PRO LX10s in front, PRO CS5 as center, PRO 77 surrounds, and an HSU TN1220HO sub. For those who say it has no base, you have got to be kidding. I can shake every loose object in my listening room without even trying. If you've got no base, you have something set wrong.

I have to agree with Hank on this one. These Denons sounded very poor. I even asked the salesman to be sure they were set up properly. I confirmed they were set up properly. Having enough knowledge after shopping for a receiver now for a few months. As far as sound and parts quality goes, I would have to pick Yamaha as #1 in both these catagories leaving the Onkyo 747/838 for the #2 spot. Go do a direct comparision. The difference is like night and day with the Yamaha and others blowing the Denons out of the water. This is just the way I feel and I am not trying to trash the Denons, I just don't care for them.

It's been over a month since purchasing the Denon 2700. Set up of the unit was pretty straight forward. Some findings:
The binding posts, instead of having a nice hole inside the binding posts once loosened they have a post which makes it difficult to thread in your speaker cable.
I previously had a NAD receiver and can say the bass is a little weak with the Denon.
The Dolby Digital on this system works great. I enjoy using the remote to add or tone down channels individually and it remembers your settings! Woo Hoo. However the remote or processing of remote functions seems to be a bit slow.
The overload indicators work well as it imformed me I had a problem with one of my speaker wire connections.
Has plenty of clean power for running my M&K LCR55 and MKII75 sub. I am pleased with the product, for the price compared to other manufacturers the Denon had the best bang for the buck.

Very good receiver. Much clearer than the Sony equivalents. In 5 channel stereo mode (which caused me to pick this over the Yamaha, which lacks that feature), music sounds superb, and in Dolby Digital mode, DVDs really shine. It's coupled with a Denon CDM-460 CD player (hooked up via a digital connection), 4 Infinity Overture 1 speakers, an Infinity CC-3 center channel speaker, and a Creative Labs DVD-ROM Encore (in a computer, which also happens to be hooked up to the receiver on a separate channel). I don't understand the reviews below which say the receiver has no bass - even without a sub, the 4 Overture 1s (with their powered woofers) do an excellent job of providing low end bass. Since it's hooked up to the computer and DVD, the S-Video switching is much appreciated. The only concerns I have with the receiver are the somewhat confusing remote (which doesn't really work that well as a universal remote) and lack of front-panel input jacks (for a camcorder, for example).
Overall, very happy with it.