The AVR-685S provides 6.1 not 7.1 channel processing. The Denon brand has long been associated with high quality in sound and the AVR-685S continues the tradition. Note that the AVR-1705 is the same exact device in a black casing. My system uses Onkyo surround speakers with a Yamaha powered sub-woofer. The sound is fantastic! This unit has more inputs then I have sources! It offers the ability to handle three types of video (composite, S-video, and component) and audio (analog, optical, and coaxial). The digital inputs are assignable so the coaxial can be used for the cable box, optical for the DVD and in my case, an Apple Airport Express is connected to the other optical as a CD player. iTunes never sounded so good! All of the audio and video switching is super clean. There was some noise in the video signal that turned out to be the connecting cable! The Dolby (or any type) digital sound from a DVD is brought to life with the exceptional 6.1 channel processing. It feels like the laser blasts, explosions, and car chases are right next to or in back of or going right through you! You have the capability optimize every speaker for volume, size, and distance. There have been a bunch of superlatives like "high quality", "fantastic", "never sounded so good" , "super clean", "exceptional" - maybe I should pull out my thesaurus to find some more synonyms. Let me sum up by saying that this unit is more than enough capability for most users since there are not many audio/video sources that cannot be handled (I have not gone HD and even then it handles component video). The power exceeds what most people can tolerate (except may a teenager - my neighbor has already complained about the tunnel scene in the last "Die Hard" movie). Do I have a complaint? Of course I do - nothing is perfect! I had to daisy chain my two VCRs (a Beta and a VHS) since there is only one VCR port and my turntable needed a pre-amp and goes through AUX. Oh yes - it does not cook, vacuum, do laundry, or change the cat box...Read full review
Bought to drive some high end speakers. Found DRA 685 has more than enough power to push them. Easy to use and sounds great. If you are looking for a 2.0 Amp I would highly recommend this unit.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This replaced a 30 yr old 125W Carver receiver and I wish I had done it sooner. The Denon is used strictly for 2 channel stereo with a pair of Bose 901's. If I did use it for TV viewing I'm sure it would blast me out of my chair. The clarity and brilliance of this Denon is just plain outstanding with plenty of reserve power to drive the 901's. The cd player attached to it us an old Sony 5 disc with DSP so all audio tweaking is easily handled by the Denon. I would definitely recommend this and all Denon receivers. You'll hear the difference.
I got this receiver on Ebay and boy am i glad i did. This receiver is a monster, it has so much power and awesome sound. I decided to buy this receiver because i previously bought a Denon Dra-297 stereo receiver on Ebay. The Dra-297 is a 100watt receiver and sounds awesome but i wanted a little more power, that is why i bought the Dra-685. The Dra-685 is a 200watt stereo receiver. I use this receiver to watch dvd movies,listen to cds and listen to the radio. I very highly recommend Denon, both receivers,the Dra-297 and the Dra-685. They sound incredible and to my ears they sound better than the competition.
I like the quality- Denon has good user ratings. Easy to operate & see with middle aged eyes. Separate controls useful and well placed. Excellent sound quality- I have heard new pieces in music like never before, this is very exciting. Remote control is pretty much useless.
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