Key Takeaways Denon AVR-S980H serves as an incremental upgrade to its predecessor the S970H in the S-Series line. Wireless upgrades in future firmware patches to introduce wireless surround support through Denon Home speakers. Added 1440p Video Pass-Through support helps support modern gaming setups.

Denon has released a new update to its affordable S-Series lineup in the form of the AVR-S980H, directly replacing 2022’s AVR-S970H in the series. The updates themselves are incremental in nature, supporting more modern AV habits through feature additions such as added wireless support, as well as future prepping for 8K media sources.

What the Denon AVR-S980H Brings to the Table

Keeping in line with its predecessor, the S980H is a 7.2 channel AV receiver built to be one of the more approachable entries into Denon’s portfolio by supporting simpler AV configurations.

Its amplifier delivers 90 watts per channel, which Denon says was engineered to work with the growing number of speakers that people are pairing with their AVRs nowadays.

Overall, the S980H is designed to be flexible and scalable. As Denon says, speaker configurations can shift and change, but the design is meant to keep the S980H at the center of it all. As an example, the company says the AVR can start with a simple two-speaker setup, transition to 5.1 surround and even support a 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup.

Wireless Options Designed for Flexibility and Scalability

This ethos flows into the updates made to wireless support, as Denon states that the AVR will have special support for the company’s recent Home speakers. Once hooked up, the company says installers have the option to leverage the 200, 400 and 600 speakers as wireless surrounds within the system for greater flexibility. (That feature won’t be available out the gate, however, with a future firmware update set to add the functionality.)

The AVR-S980H also comes HEOS integration for multiroom audio support, allowing HEOS-compatible wireless speakers to work in tandem with dedicated wired speakers, supporting up to 64 zones of streaming audio.

Ready for Modern (and Future) Entertainment

Beyond movies and audio, Denon points out that the AVR-S980H has been designed with gaming in mind as well. The AVR features support for 1440p pass-through and AMD FreeSync (TM), which is meant to deliver smoother visuals and more responsive gameplay, making fastmoving scenes feel cleaner and easier to follow.

Beyond that, all six HDMI 2.1 inputs have been updated to be 8K capable, whereas its predecessor had only three inputs that were 8K capable. The S980H also includes support for HDCP 2.3 as well as modern HDR formats such as Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG. There’s also eARC support.

Speaker calibration and room correction is handled by Audyssey MultEQ.

Pricing and Availability

Pricing for the receiver is just under $1,000 at $949 MSRP. Given the price and the emphasis on scalability and flex setups, the S980H sits at the entry-level end as far as speaker systems in the custom integration (CI) channel is considered.

It might not be the product driving deep, rich sound in dedicated home theater systems, but it can swing as the wading pool for clients who might be interested in exploring multiroom audio with the openness for substantive upgrades later down the line. Wireless support might also make it advantageous in retrofits.

The Denon AVR-S980H will be available April 2026 at Denon.com and through authorized global Denon retailers.