Denon AVC-X8500H 13.2 Channel AV Amplifier Review & Comments

Installed yesterday the latest firmware:
Version 7430-6233-3151-2044
-DTS Version 3.90.50.00
But no Auro-3D support yet... :(
On the Marantz SR8012 Auro-3D was present in the first firmware.
IMG_4276.JPG
 
Installed yesterday the latest firmware:
Version 7430-6233-3151-2044
-DTS Version 3.90.50.00
But no Auro-3D support yet... :(
On the Marantz SR8012 Auro-3D was present in the first firmware.

There was a flyer in the box noting availability of the Auro3D firmware in May
 
I still haven't got round to auditioning the Denon or Marantz receivers but I'm beginning to go cold on the idea of upgrading. I auditioned the Arcam AVR 850 this morning and was talking to someone in the shop afterwards and what he was saying has convinced me I don't need a 13.2 or even 11.2 receiver, even for future proofing. If anything I'm looking at going back to 5.1 from 7.1 because from my seating position you don't get much separation between the main front and wide speakers. So I'm going to stick with my Pioneer receiver for the time being.

As for the AVR 850 it's fantastic for surround sound but I was more interested in it's stereo performance as I was hoping to have a one box solution. For me the 1200 quid Roskan amp sounds as good as the 4.5k Arcam receiver for two channel music.

I also had a listen to a pair of Kef R700s and thought they were a better speaker than my B&W CM8s. The Kefs sounded better at lower volumes and I think they had more bass. The CM8s sound a bit dull unless you increase the volume. Consider the can of worms duly opened.
 
I still haven't got round to auditioning the Denon or Marantz receivers but I'm beginning to go cold on the idea of upgrading. I auditioned the Arcam AVR 850 this morning and was talking to someone in the shop afterwards and what he was saying has convinced me I don't need a 13.2 or even 11.2 receiver, even for future proofing. If anything I'm looking at going back to 5.1 from 7.1 because from my seating position you don't get much separation between the main front and wide speakers. So I'm going to stick with my Pioneer receiver for the time being.

As for the AVR 850 it's fantastic for surround sound but I was more interested in it's stereo performance as I was hoping to have a one box solution. For me the 1200 quid Roskan amp sounds as good as the 4.5k Arcam receiver for two channel music.

I also had a listen to a pair of Kef R700s and thought they were a better speaker than my B&W CM8s. The Kefs sounded better at lower volumes and I think they had more bass. The CM8s sound a bit dull unless you increase the volume. Consider the can of worms duly opened.

Before i went with my current separates setup . I had few a few receivers all where terrible with stereo and i had the flagships, I used a Roksan Caspian M2 power amp to Run the fronts its outstanding, and like you stereo is most important, the only two i recommend are Arcam and Anthem as a one box solution there is a new Rotel rap 1580 which looks promising.

I have not heard the Marantz its the flagship and has all the characteristics of their higher end stereo amps Marantz are very musical so have a home demo with it if possible. If you do have the space then i would definitely recommand separates
 
Before i went with my current separates setup . I had few a few receivers all where terrible with stereo and i had the flagships, I used a Roksan Caspian M2 power amp to Run the fronts its outstanding, and like you stereo is most important, the only two i recommend are Arcam and Anthem as a one box solution there is a new Rotel rap 1580 which looks promising.

I have not heard the Marantz its the flagship and has all the characteristics of their higher end stereo amps Marantz are very musical so have a home demo with it if possible. If you do have the space then i would definitely recommand separates
I'm starting to lean towards the separates route I've decided to add a Roksan K3 amp to my set up for now and will move forward from there. A bigger AV stand will come in handy.
 
I have 4 Sonos units in my lounge 2 5's and 2 3's

They sound fantastic.

But the x8500 with b&w sounds just as good.

I will now move the Sonos to other rooms.

19 speakers in one room is far too much
 
I'm starting to lean towards the separates route I've decided to add a Roksan K3 amp to my set up for now and will move forward from there. A bigger AV stand will come in handy.
If you're thinking of KEF R700s then audition them with a Rega Elicit R which really brings my R300s alive. Like you I'm space limited for layout and as much as I admire the 8500 I really don't need more than my 6200 gives me especially with the Rega driving the stereo pair.
 
I think you are stretching it a bit with the 'special power cable'

If you want decent 2 channel get a reasonable stereo integrated. You will get far more without the need to try and fix limitations with expensive cables.

Cable borrowed from the Hegel H360
IMG_4355.JPG

IMG_4352.JPG
 

I see. I'm not a big fan on fancy power cables but at least it makes sense now. Anyway a bit of testing side by side comparison. How did it go?

I'd be interested in seeing something like a budget stereo Marantz PM6006 or Cambridge CXA60 in comparison. I have a feel while not perhaps having the output of the Denon they still would possibly sound better even at that end of the market (given the right speaker choice).
 
Yessiree, I just bought one. It's wonderful. Only problem I'm having so far is it doesn't recognise my second sub during Audyssey setup. I'm in a 7.2.6 config. I can manually add it after Audyssey completes and it works just fine, but it's weird that Audyssey can't seem to see that it's there. Oh, and it also told me all my height speakers were out of phase, which they weren't – I double-checked and I am super-careful with my pos/negs when wiring up as I know what an asshat it is to have to flip them.

Other than that, this thing is doing the absolute business. Couldn't be happier. Shame I had to sell the kids, but, you know. *shrugs*

Any questions, I'll answer them if I can.
 
Yessiree, I just bought one. It's wonderful. Only problem I'm having so far is it doesn't recognise my second sub during Audyssey setup. I'm in a 7.2.6 config. I can manually add it after Audyssey completes and it works just fine, but it's weird that Audyssey can't seem to see that it's there. Oh, and it also told me all my height speakers were out of phase, which they weren't – I double-checked and I am super-careful with my pos/negs when wiring up as I know what an asshat it is to have to flip them.

Other than that, this thing is doing the absolute business. Couldn't be happier. Shame I had to sell the kids, but, you know. *shrugs*

Any questions, I'll answer them if I can.

Before you run Audyssey you need to double-check the second SW is enabled in the Channel Select menu. Sometimes it will be set to only look for one when it runs the EQ sweeps etc.
 
Before you run Audyssey you need to double-check the second SW is enabled in the Channel Select menu. Sometimes it will be set to only look for one when it runs the EQ sweeps etc.

Yep. Did this. Still only one sub tested in Audyssey. I’m splitting off the second sub out both to an active sub and to a set of shakers installed in the sofa. May have something to do with it. I dunno. Worked fine on my X4200W. Happy to have second sub set up by ear. I tend to fiddle a little to taste post-Audyssey anyway. Audyssey always sets the crossovers a little too low IMO, and I get some pleasing additonal immediacy in the bass response if I add a couple of metres to the sub distances.
 
Yep. Did this. Still only one sub tested in Audyssey. I’m splitting off the second sub out both to an active sub and to a set of shakers installed in the sofa. May have something to do with it. I dunno. Worked fine on my X4200W. Happy to have second sub set up by ear. I tend to fiddle a little to taste post-Audyssey anyway. Audyssey always sets the crossovers a little too low IMO, and I get some pleasing additonal immediacy in the bass response if I add a couple of metres to the sub distances.

Seems a bit strange that it was fine on your X4200W but not on their Flagship Amp but if you're happy, fair enough. :thumbsup:

It would be bugging me until I could sort it! :rotfl:
 
Hi there, I'm new to the avforums. It was just a year ago that I upgraded my Onkyo Stereo receiver with a denon avr X4300H. So far very good choice and up to date with features. I don't plan to upgrade this now, but just out of curiosity for later investments: How does the Denon AVC X8500h compare to the Marantz AV8802A (or the newer AV8805) together with the MM8077 Amps? Is there still a noticable difference in audio performance? Thanks in advance!
 
Yep. Did this. Still only one sub tested in Audyssey. I’m splitting off the second sub out both to an active sub and to a set of shakers installed in the sofa. May have something to do with it. I dunno. Worked fine on my X4200W. Happy to have second sub set up by ear. I tend to fiddle a little to taste post-Audyssey anyway. Audyssey always sets the crossovers a little too low IMO, and I get some pleasing additonal immediacy in the bass response if I add a couple of metres to the sub distances.

I think you should re-run Audyssey without the Shakers connected. You should be able to level both Subs before you start, IIRC.

Plus, moot point, Audyssey doesn’t set the crossovers, the AVR does based on the info Audyssey passes to it. It is normal to adjust the Crossovers to 80hz or higher afterwards. (Just never adjust below how the Denon set them to).

In your current set up, it seems you have setup one Sub to be Eq’ed by Audyssey, and One not to be.

It’s up to you, but I thinks that is not optimised.
 
I think you should re-run Audyssey without the Shakers connected. You should be able to level both Subs before you start, IIRC.

Plus, moot point, Audyssey doesn’t set the crossovers, the AVR does based on the info Audyssey passes to it. It is normal to adjust the Crossovers to 80hz or higher afterwards. (Just never adjust below how the Denon set them to).

In your current set up, it seems you have setup one Sub to be Eq’ed by Audyssey, and One not to be.

It’s up to you, but I thinks that is not optimised.

Thanks for that. As I said, though, I can go in and manually change the channel settings to two subs, go to Audyssey setup and it INSTANTLY changes it to one again, before even running the test. It does this with or without the shakers. Agree that it’s not optimal, but what am I to do? Totally flummoxed by it.
 
Thanks for that. As I said, though, I can go in and manually change the channel settings to two subs, go to Audyssey setup and it INSTANTLY changes it to one again, before even running the test. It does this with or without the shakers. Agree that it’s not optimal, but what am I to do? Totally flummoxed by it.

Strange, I have two subs connected and no problem with Audyssey setup.
Your firmware is updated?
IMG_4379.JPG
 
Last edited:
Strange, I have two subs connected and no problem with Audyssey setup.
Your firmware is updated?
View attachment 995368
It wasn't when I did it first time. Is now. Going to do it again once I've finished tinkering with room characteristics tomorrow. Will let you know if that fixed it.
 
Testing stereo performance on Pure Direct with Tidal Masters
,,,and how did you find stereo performance?

Just curious, ‘cause in my case after using this receiver for two weeks, I will not get back to direct or pure direct modes vs Audyssey corrected mode. Room imperfections seem to be too big to enjoy music in pure.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom