Denon AVR-X1700H Test

Denon AVR-X1700H Review From A Beginner.

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My Layman Cinema Journey – Testing the Denon AVR-X1700H

As fate would have it, when the pandemic hit, I suddenly found myself with a lot more free time.
And since I couldn’t go to the cinema anymore, I decided to explore the seventh art from the comfort of my own home.

I wasn’t trying to become a film critic—just a curious viewer eager to discover new worlds through movies.
But my budget was tight, so I started out watching films on my laptop.

Two years passed, and thankfully, my financial situation improved. I finally treated myself to a large TV.
The visual experience? A massive upgrade.
The sound? Well… that was another story. The built-in TV speakers just didn’t do justice to the cinematic atmosphere.

A few days ago, I asked myself:
“Is this really how I want to experience movies for the rest of my life?”

Of course not.

How can we upgrade our  film watching experience?

Stepping Into Unknown Territory: My First Home Cinema Setup

The world of home cinema was completely new to me.
I’ll admit—I had never experienced movie watching at this level of quality anywhere outside of an actual cinema.

Since I already had a solid TV, I knew the next step was diving into the world of sound systems.
And here’s where I might have made my first mistake: I thought price was secondary.
What I really wanted was cinema-like sound—something immersive and powerful.

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Why I Chose the Denon AVR-X1700H

After a few days of research, I decided on the recently released Denon AVR-X1700H.
My goal was to:

• Get a system that supported the latest audio formats
• Build a 5.1 setup with the speakers I had just picked up from a friend
• Explore what modern home theater technology could really deliver

I ordered it online, and to my surprise, it was delivered the very next day. I was thrilled—this was the start of my home cinema journey.

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Unboxing the Denon AVR-X1700H: First Impressions

Let’s talk about the box.
I had high expectations, especially given the price point. It wasn’t top-tier expensive—but definitely not cheap.

So when I saw the plain brown cardboard box, I was a bit… surprised.
It had the classic “Since 1910” printed on it, which made me wonder:
Was the packaging design also preserved since 1910?

Not that packaging is everything—but still, it didn’t exactly scream “cutting-edge tech.”

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Unpacking: What’s Inside?

Once opened, I was greeted with:

• A remote control
• Instruction manual
• A radio antenna
• Two pencil batteries for the remote (nice touch!)
• And—some odd little speaker setup stickers Not entirely sure what I’m supposed to do with them. Stick them on the walls?

There was also a paper stand for the microphone used in the calibration process—more on that later.
Let’s just say… a plastic or metal stand would’ve felt more reassuring.

Finally, I reached the heart of the package:
The Denon AVR-X1700H itself. I unwrapped it, placed it in front of me, and just stared at it.

And I stared.
For a solid ten minutes.

I couldn’t decide if the minimalist design was elegant or just… underwhelming.
Maybe it’s just me.

A Look at the Rear—and Front—of the Denon AVR-X1700H

Let’s start with the front panel.

The amplifier features a digital display front and center.
I powered it up and was immediately hit with a wave of nostalgia:
The pixelated text that appeared looked like something straight out of a Sony VHS player from the early 2000s.

For a moment, I genuinely felt like I had time-traveled 20 years back.
And I thought to myself:
“Wow… am I really that old?”

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Simplicity—or Missed Opportunity?

The overall front design is extremely minimalist.
The digital display takes up most of the space—and frankly, it’s not something I really want to keep staring at.

Below the screen are a few buttons, none of which were particularly intuitive or clearly labeled.
I recognized the radio tuning buttons, but… let’s be honest, I won’t be using this unit to listen to radio stations.

At both ends of the panel sit two large retro-style dials, reminiscent of classic hi-fi gear:

• The right dial controls the main volume (thankfully, that one’s obvious)
• The left dial seems to switch the input source—at least, that’s what the tiny label suggests

It’s a bold design choice, but in reality, I know I’ll be relying on the remote control for everything.

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Inputs and Expectations

Coming up next: the rear panel and connectivity options—the part where a home cinema enthusiast can really get excited… or overwhelmed.

What I appreciated is that there is a USB input on the front, so anyone at the party can quickly put music on it and not have to struggle with the RCA cables on the back, of which there are 2 inputs! It’s interesting that most home theatre amp manufacturers don’t dare to ditch the RCA connectors, which I don’t understand, because no one will hook up a CD player anymore.

When I took a look at the back of the amp, I actually got the gist of it pretty quickly. The bottom of the panel has the outputs for the speakers, and is neatly labelled ‘Front R’, ‘Front L’, ‘Center’, etc. In fact, if you understand the configuration of a 5.1 system, you can plug each speaker into the appropriate output and you’re done. On the plus side, the amp has 6 HDMI inputs, so you can plug in everything from your gaming PC to your old tablet or your grandfather’s 10-year-old laptop. I was a little disappointed, however, because there’s only 1 4K/8K output, which either goes to the TV or, for example, the gaming monitor; the other connectors like optical, coax outputs didn’t mean much to me.

Setting up the device

After admiring the exterior of the amplifier, it was time to connect the TV and speakers. The back proved to be a good feature in this respect, as it was easy to navigate the connections. But, when the TV picked up the signal, it brought back the retro feeling I had when the digital display on the front panel started to show information. Seeing the highly pixelated configuration menu was like installing a new application on my old Windows XP machine. And it wasn’t too hard to recollect the quasi similar Playstation menus either. I shed a tear, but only because I thought again how much I had paid for the product.

The helper shows you some tips on how to set up your speakers, and then does a bit of promotion for its own sound technology, the Audyssey MultEQ XT software, which is supposed to calibrate the speakers to the room characteristics. The microphone that came in the package is for that purpose, by the way. The slogan is: in 15 minutes the system will sound the way it should! Well, I tried this feature later, but I have to shoot the joke, I didn’t hear any difference.

After the tips, the device automatically connects to the wifi network and the fun begins. Oh no, because another retro menu pops up with a bunch more things to set up. HDMI format, HDMI upscaling, screen saver, 4K/8K signal format, HDCP configuration, TV format. I have to admit, I’m completely lost on these. I gave up after a while, all I had in mind was to put in a movie and finally let me enjoy home cinema.

Denon for films and the features

I had high expectations for the sound because I knew I had bought good speakers, so the spotlight was on the amplifier. The product description had all the “buzzwords” that are supposed to impress customers – Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization, 4K, 8K, HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, Hybrid Log Gamma and more. I put in my favourite movie and started watching. The feeling that captured me would be described as “okay”. But that was it. Nothing extra, “nothing special”. It works. To be honest, I expected a bit more. I calibrated the microphone in my room, turned on all the cool features, as my TV is compatible with them. I’ve read a lot about acoustics, so I tried to set up and furnish my room properly. I put an acoustic carpet on the floor, an acoustic curtain on the window and even bought a partition door curtain for the door. A total of 6pcs of acoustic panels adorn the walls of the room , which I bought from Perfect Acoustic. After that the test could begin.

It was not a bad cinematic experience, but not quite what I expected.

The Final Verdict: A Mismatch of Needs

At the end of the day, I found myself not quite sure where this product fit in my setup.
It felt too expensive for a device I only intended to use as a basic home theatre amplifier.

Don’t get me wrong—the Denon AVR-X1700H isn’t a bad product at all.
It’s packed with cutting-edge features:

• Three HDMI inputs that support
  → 4K at 120 Hz,
  → or 8K at 60 Hz
• A clear focus on integrating next-gen gaming consoles, PCs, and TVs into one seamless multimedia platform

But for simple movie nights and occasional Netflix sessions?
It’s overkill—and not worth the investment for such limited use.

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Doomsday Thoughts

In the end, the Denon AVR-X1700H is a high-end device that only makes sense if you’re going to fully utilize everything it offers.
As a pure home theatre amplifier, it’s too pricey, and many of its high-tech features end up sitting unused.

Despite the specs and promise, I found the sound quality to be average, and the retro-style setup interface and dated digital display didn’t help either.
There’s a nagging feeling that this amplifier might not have a long-term place in my home.