Just got the AVR-2700 from soundpros.com last week and all I can say is AWSOME. I have a Panasonic A310 hooked up through the optical port. Listening to the bloodbath scene in "Blade" is spectacular.. I couldn't believe my ears. The channel seperation is outstanding. Even with my relatively inexpensve Cerwin-vega vs-80, it sounds soo much better then the 7+ year old Technics SA-GX330 that its replacing. Although the Technics put out a lot more bass( sometimes too much according to my neighbors hehe), I'm not complaining, and a Sub will surely fix that..
The 5 channel stereo is great too.. especially listening to some Vivaldi or Enigma..
Btw, can anyone recommend a speaker package.. I've been looking at the Energy Take5, Klipsh Quintet, and Infinity TheaterPac with CMS 2 speakers...

Thanks....

Just Finished to listen to a lot of different type of speakers , with the same machine , AVR-2700 .. have passed 1 week comparing other amp . My first idea was the onkyo 656 , there was also the yam 795.... but i walk away of the yam , cause of is intense high ( too clear ) . first , was looking for the 3200 , but the 2700 have the 5.1 input, that sounds great !!! Combine this with 4 monitor 7 , cc-350 and ps-1200 form paradigm , and youll get GREAT stuff for around 3000 $ can

This is a great unit.Originally, when i went shopping for DD receivers, I looked at the Denon AVR-3200, Sony 925, and then ended up with an Onkyo TX-DS656. This was, at the time the unit with the best features and sound for the money. However it had too many anoying features which made me take it back, and eventually swap it for the AVR-2700. U can see my review of the 656 on this site. The sound, in stereo, was a touch better in the imaging and channel separation then the Denon range, however, at the store, i only had limited time to compare them in DD mode. Now, having the Denon at home.

I can easily say, it is the best reciever you can buy for the money. It can be had for around $1200 in Australia, and competing (inferior) units are at least a $100 more.. The Denon has 24/96 Burr Brown DACs which are responsible for the high quality DD decoding. The amp section is not quite as good as the 3200, however it is still a fine sounding unit. Persoanlly, I will most likeyl end up using this unit as a rear channel amp only, the mains and centre will be powered by external amps. This feature was the first thing which lead me away from the Denon 3200 as it did not have rear pre-outs and the Onkyo did. Both have 5.1 in, if you feel the need for DTS, myself, with the limited range of movies, (i dont think I like one DTS DVD out) dont think its worth spending anymore money on.

The Denon is much superior in its ergonomics and usage then the Onkyo, you can feel the quality in all its operations. Good, useable surround modes, plenty of switching, a great remote (compared to the Onkyo anyway), with learning and Macro features (dont _need_ that RC2000MK2 now) and only one feature which is almost anoying, swicthing sound modes, on the remote, you have to cycle through all of them, a small price to pay for all the other excellent features and high quality sound. It has an excellet OSD system, which comes out of both composite and S-video monitor outputs. The 3 digital inputs are assignable to any input, and the dynamic range compression actually does something, (unlike the Onkyo).

Direct stereo mode is as good as i could as for, initially the lack of channel separation lead me to belive the Onk was the better unit here, but the tonality and overall imaging is much better in the Denon, esp when you setup your speakers better, by this i mean less toe-in. This way, the stage is wide and imaging becomes sharp.

Many people are now buying units such as the Sony 50ES, however i dont personally like Sony, (ive had too many Sony items fail) and will not buy a unit with _that_ remote on principal. In stereo id take the Denon over the sony anyday, Sony lacks any smoothness, which for me makes all the difference. The DACs on this unit are the same ones used in the new flag ship AVR-5700, in the Sony are they the same ones as the 9000? I dont think so.

SO there you have it, I can no listen to and enjoy straight CDs, something which with the Onkyo was not possible due to that FAN, and now listening too, starting, setting up and watching DVDs is a real pleasure, not a chore as it was with the Onkyo. Most definetly 5 stars. 6 if it had full 5.1 pre-outs.

I concur with many of the reviews below. This is a fantastic unit with good build quality and features. The remote is usable and the onscreen menus are very helpful. For home theater with all speakers, this unit can't be beat in it's price range. However, for two-channel stereo music, it leave much to be desired. I thought the sound was a little bright and the lack of bass is disturbing. You definitely need a subwoofer for music. If you wish to listen to music at a soft volume, you won't have the luxury of a "loudness" or similar button to punch up the bass. I ended up selling this unit after a week and am buying a Nakamichi AV-8 instead for those reasons. Otherwise, it's a first class unit.