Please note that this website deals primarily with "consumer level" Denon models, that is, everything BELOW the 3808ci and higher level models. The 3808ci and up have many more additional features that I am not 100% familiar with, and will not be covered here.

With so many different Denon AVR's out there, the dizzying number of different model number designations can be very confusing. However, once you understand the Denon nomenclature for numbering their receivers, things make a little more sense. The first thing to learn is that Denon puts out two parallel receiver lineups, with four-digit and three-digit model numbers. The four-digit models are generally sold by high end stereo shops and custom installers, and the three-digit models are the "consumer" version sold in retail outlets like Circuit City and Fry's.

However, there is ZERO difference in terms of power, specs, sound quality, build quality, etc. between the two lines!! Denon has been doing this for years, it is exactly analagous to the Yamaha "HTR" and "RX-V" parallel receiver lines.

There will usually be one or two minor differences to differentiate the three-digit and four-digit models. There is typically a slight cosmetic difference between the two lines, and different remotes. Most people speculate that the real reason they do this is so that you can't easily price match between, say, Circuit City and Best Buy.

Note that this "parallel" numbering scheme only applies to the "consumer level" Denons that you will find in retail shops, basically everything up to the 2800/900 level. On older models, the three-digit model used to be silver instead of black, and these would sometimes be designated with an "S" after the model number (for example, the 985S was the silver version of the 2805).

Now that you understand that the three-digit and four-digit models are "parallel" lineups, you are ready to learn the number scheme:

• The FIRST number (or first two numbers on four-digit models) tells you the "level" of the receiver. The higher the number(s), the higher-end the model is. So the 789 is one step above the 689, which is one step above the 589. Similarly, for this year's models the 1610/590 is the lowest, 1910/790 is a step up, 2310/890 the next step, etc.

• The LAST number is the model year. So, for example, the 789 is last year's (2009 model) 7XX level receiver, and the 790 is THIS year's (2010 model) 7XX level receiver. If it ends in "10", it's a brand new model.

That's pretty much it! So, if you are at Best Buy and you see the brand-new 1910 model, but there is also a special on the 2809CI model, you now know that the 1910 (ends in "10") is one year newer than the 2809 (ends in "9"), but the 2809 is a higher-end model than the 1910 (the first two numbers are bigger, the 2800 series is above the 1900 series). So you'd be comparing a higher-end closeout model from last year versus a lower-end but new model.

The following table gives info on the three-digit vs. four-digit model equivalents, going back to the 2005 models (sort of the first year of the "modern" Denon AVR's with auto-setup and HD video capability). Note that the new 2010 lineup has complete HD audio ability throughout the entire lineup!

While I do have a "real" job, this website and all its content was created for free during my spare time. This is not a commercial website and I am in no way an AV professional. I do this because I enjoy learning about AV stuff and helping people out, and the contents and helpful hints found here are free for all to use.

However, if you found it useful, consider throwing a small donation my way to help me cover costs like web hosting, domain registration, time, etc. Maybe think about how much you would be willing to spend on a "Denon for Dummies" type book, and how much it would have cost to have a professional installer come over to set up your Denon.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck with your Denon!