Has anybody heard anythign good or bad about the Denon AVR 486 reciever. On the FS web site it says it will supoort 5.1 but on denon usa website it does mention 5.1 at all and help would be much appreciated as I would like to run 5.1. Thank You

I tried both Denon 486 and 686. The bass was not strong.
I then switched to 886, you can tell the difference.
Wait for BB on sale and you can get it for $300 cheaper.

cpmadam,

I know you did not try the 786... that's the one I got, but I have ancient low-wattage speakers. any idea if it'd be worth it to get new speakers for this system, or does my AVR suck just like the 486 and thus not make any difference?

At first I thought "486" was a typo but it is listed on the US site. I tried one of Denon's cheaper receivers once and was not impressed. Anything less than a AVR-3805 (http://denon.ca/html/product_display.asp?id=289) in the Denon line can probably be beaten by another brand. I like the AVR-4806 (http://denon.ca/html/product_display.asp?id=225). I currently have an AVR-5700, somewhat outdated but it still works well.

redwing,
You're right, not much about the avr 486 in this forum.
There is more discussion about the better (and more expensive) denon receivers.

The avr 486 supports 5.1 sound.

I purchased my 486 as a system dvd player and denon speakers 7.1 and discovered you have to become real familiar with all the options on it. I too had trouble with the bass response and then learned all the options and settings a bit more complicated than necassary but it's the nature of this beast but when I learned all about them and started playing with them, unless your in a gym it has all the power and bass you need I can rattle my windows and knock things off my tv and sub-woofer so it's there you just have to work at it. It will kick-ass! especially for the price!!