In leu of a decent manual from Denon, what do I do?

The Denon AVR-687 manual is just terrible. The explanations are
inaccurate and in some cases, incorrect. The icons are not explained
and in many cases just do not make sense. If you have to go any deeper
than the very basics, you are falling into a deep hole.

Is there anyplace on the web where a clearer explanation of how the
equipment works may be available? I called Denon tech service, and
after over 15 minutes on the phone, got a technician that admitted how
bad the manual was and indicated that they were rewriting it. They
will not do it fast enough for me. I hate to keep harping on this
manual, but I just can't believe that such crap exists from a company
with the reputation that Denon has.

I just bought an AVR-687 yesterday from JR.com so I'll keep you posted
on what I find. I haven't found a lot of reviews of this receiver,
mostly I'd say because its somewhat last gen tech due to the lack of
hdmi.

I have an older 32" crt HD set that only has component in, so the 687
is a perfect match.

Some other specs:

All component system
All digital audio connections
Harmony 676 remote

We'll see just how bad it is.


eganders wrote:
The Denon AVR-687 manual is just terrible. The explanations are
inaccurate and in some cases, incorrect. The icons are not explained
and in many cases just do not make sense. If you have to go any deeper
than the very basics, you are falling into a deep hole.

Is there anyplace on the web where a clearer explanation of how the
equipment works may be available? I called Denon tech service, and
after over 15 minutes on the phone, got a technician that admitted how
bad the manual was and indicated that they were rewriting it. They
will not do it fast enough for me. I hate to keep harping on this
manual, but I just can't believe that such crap exists from a company
with the reputation that Denon has.

Ahhh. Another user. I hope we are of value to each other. I have
quite a few posts about this receiver. I have had quite a few stereo
receivers in my life, but these AV receivers are a new wrinkle for me.
I don't know what your experience is or what contacts you have to hold
your hand with this receiver. If you look at the manual (unless you
have had extensive Denon manual experience), you will be confused at
almost every paragraph (if you can call them paragraphs).



From what I understand, the 687 does not have a way to display the
setup on the monitor (even though the manual implies this by asking you
to turn the monitor on). You may find it useful to go to their website
to download the manual as a pdf. There is no more information in the
pdf file (it is just an electronic copy of the paper one), but having
the ability to search for a subject allows you to gather what is in the
manual fairly quickly.



I know this receiver does not have HDMI, but I have a 60 inch RCA
vintage of about 8-10 years ago. Great picture for what it is, but
only has an S-video input. I also have a Panasonic DVD recorder that
is very nice, but does not even have digital analog passthrough, so I
am trying to figure out how to get to use the digital audio with my
system.



At any rate, if you have any questions, fire away and I will let you
know what I know. If you have any resources for additional information
on how to set things like the volume level at turn-on (default seems to
be almost 0 volume), how to understand the cryptic display info, etc.
let me know.



I have used Visio to draw the back panel and wiring of the components,
so I have some better shots of the rear panel.



wrote:
I just bought an AVR-687 yesterday from JR.com so I'll keep you posted
on what I find. I haven't found a lot of reviews of this receiver,
mostly I'd say because its somewhat last gen tech due to the lack of
hdmi.

I have an older 32" crt HD set that only has component in, so the 687
is a perfect match.

Some other specs:

All component system
All digital audio connections
Harmony 676 remote

We'll see just how bad it is.