Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I did a lot of research, like most of you will do, and determined that this was the best I could do with my budget. My primary concerns were sound quality and getting enough power for a large room (19' x 20') This does well in those regards, while you sacrifice in other areas. For this price you can't have everything!
Pros:
The components seem quality built. The receiver is heavy and well ventilated. The speakers are heavy and wooden. Everything is just sturdy. It shipped well packed in a heavy box.
The amplifier itself is the same circuitry and power rating you'll find in more expensive Denon receivers, like the 591 and 1611. From what I gather it's THD and power compare well with more expensive models. It certainly does a good job with the included speakers. It will get ridiculous house party loud, no worries.
The HDMI inputs gave no problems. Denon is sometimes noted for handshake problems, but I did not encounter any. I have a Motorola DVR, a Sony BDP-S570 blu-ray and a Samsung PNC50C450 and they all sync up perfectly. I did the latest firmware updates on each device prior to the Denon arriving.
The sound is pretty tweak-able, if you have the patience. More on that later.
The included speaker wires are long.
Cons:
Setting this thing up is tedious. There's no surround auto setup. You need to measure your speaker distances manually. You need to tweak the loudness of each speaker to your liking. They should all be equal. You need to specify the type of each speaker.. etc. The menus are not very intuitive. The included speaker wire is pretty thin 22 gauge. I suppose this is ok, but it seems fragile and I prefer some more durable, less resistive 16 gauge wire for the long runs in my room. You may want to play with the crossover frequencies also. Letting the sub handle everything below 200Hz provided the best results in my case.
At first I thought the sound was muddy. I then did some research on room acoustics and speaker positioning. Most real experts (the ones that work in the field and/or adhere to the scientific method) agree that the room it's acoustics and the position of you and your speakers is the single most important variable in sound quality. I completely agree after re-positioning my speakers three times. The most significant change was moving the sub-woofer out of the corner and into the open. I also got some quality mounts. In conclusion, do some research, put your speakers in the right spots, work with the setup for 3 or 4 days until you get the sound you want and crank it up. After all that, holy cow! Crank it up!
Click Here to see more reviews about: Denon DHT-391XP 5.1 Channel Home Theater System with HDMI 1.4a connectivity and 650-Watt Total System Power (Black)
The Denon DHT391XP raises the performance bar for "HTIB" systems. It features the powerful Denon AVR391, a 5.1 channel home theater AV reciever boasting 3D compatible, 1080p capable HDMI 1.4a repeating technology (4 in, 1 out). This allows simple one cable connectivity to any HDMI equiped HD TV. The HDMI connectivity also supports the latest generation surround sound formats available on Blu-ray disc, including Dolby TrueHD and DD+, dts-HD and DTS-HR. The AVR-391's 5 x 110-Watt (6-ohms, 1kHz) amplifier section features discrete circuitry to deliver detail and dynamics to your music and movie selections. Complimenting the AVR-391 is a relatively compact, yet powerful 5.1 speaker package. The front speakers are a 2-way "LCR" design using dual 3-inch woofers flanking a 1-inch tweeter. The surround speakers feature a 3-inch full range driver. Providing depth and impact is an 8-inch, 100-watt powered subwoofer. Combined with the AVR-391, this package delivers 650-watts of total system power. That's a lot of bang for the buck! Enough to please any value orientated movie and music enthusiast.
