AVR Control · Help
Your receiver, one click away.
Everything you need to set up AVR Control, control your Denon or Marantz receiver from the Mac menu bar, and automate it with scenes, Shortcuts and links.
Up and running in a minute.
Your Mac and your receiver need to be on the same network. AVR Control talks to the receiver directly over your home network, with no account and no cloud service.
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Connect the receiver
Make sure the receiver is on your network by Wi-Fi or Ethernet. To turn it on from the Mac, set Network Control to Always On in the receiver's Network setup menu.
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Open AVR Control
The first time, AVR Control searches your network and lists every Denon and Marantz receiver it finds. Click yours to add it.
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Allow local network access
macOS asks whether AVR Control may find devices on your local network. Click Allow. Without it, the app can't reach your receiver.
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Use the menu bar
Click the receiver icon in the menu bar to open AVR Control. Not listed? Type the receiver's IP address in the setup window instead.
Every zone, right in the menu bar.
The tiles at the top show each zone of your receiver with its power, volume and input, so you can see the whole house at a glance. Click a tile to control that zone: power, volume, mute, inputs, sound mode and Quick Select.
- Inputs use the names you set on the receiver, and hidden inputs stay hidden
- Volume shows the same number as the receiver's display and stops at its volume limit
- Tuner panel with band, frequency, seek and presets when you listen to the radio
- Browse Favorites, Internet Radio and Media Server, and see what's playing
The ⋯ menu at the top right switches between receivers, turns off all zones at once, opens the receiver's own web page, and opens Advanced Settings.
Fine-tune every setting from your Mac.
Open Advanced Settings from the ⋯ menu or with ⌥⌘A. AVR Control asks your receiver what it supports and only shows those settings, so every model gets the right controls.
- Audio: bass and treble, dialog and subwoofer level, Audyssey MultEQ, Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume, Cinema EQ, LFE, audio delay
- Speakers: channel levels for each speaker and your speaker setup
- Video and system: HDMI output, picture mode, sleep timer, ECO mode, display dimmer, 12V triggers
- Console: send any Denon/Marantz control command and see the reply
Movie night in one click.
A scene runs several steps in order, for example: turn on the receiver, switch to Blu-ray, choose Dolby, set the volume to −30 dB and dim the display. Create scenes in Settings › Scenes, start from a template, and they appear as buttons at the bottom of the menu bar window.
- Run a scene automatically when your Mac wakes, goes to sleep, or every day at a set time
- Give each scene its own keyboard shortcut and link
- After turning a zone on, the next step waits 3 seconds for the receiver to wake
Control it from anywhere on your Mac.
Everything AVR Control does in its window is also available to Shortcuts, Siri, keyboard shortcuts, widgets and other apps.
AVR Control links.
Open these links to control the receiver from other apps or scripts, for example with open "avrcontrol://mute?state=toggle" in Terminal. zone is main, 2 or 3; without it, the main zone is used.
| Action | Link | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open | avrcontrol://open | Shows the menu bar window. |
| Power | avrcontrol://power?zone=main&state=on | state is on, off or toggle. |
| Set volume | avrcontrol://volume?db=-35 | In decibels, or level=45 on the receiver's 0 to 98 scale. |
| Change volume | avrcontrol://volume?zone=2&step=up&by=2 | step is up or down; by is in dB (0.5 if left out). |
| Mute | avrcontrol://mute?state=toggle | on, off or toggle. |
| Input | avrcontrol://input?source=DVD | The input's code or factory name, such as BD, Blu-ray or TUNER. |
| Sound mode | avrcontrol://soundmode?name=STEREO | Main zone. Names as in the sound mode menu. |
| Quick Select | avrcontrol://quickselect?number=2 | 1 to 4. Called Smart Select on Marantz. |
| Scene | avrcontrol://scene?name=Movie%20Night | Each scene's link can be copied in Settings › Scenes. |
| Command | avrcontrol://command?text=PSDYNEQ%20ON | Any Denon/Marantz control command. |
What you need, and what it works with.
Something not working?
Most problems come down to the network or a receiver setting. Start here.
AVR Control doesn't find my receiver.
Check that the receiver and your Mac are on the same network, and that local network access is allowed (see the next question). Some routers and mesh systems block the search between devices; in that case, enter the receiver's IP address in the setup window. You'll find it on the receiver's screen under Setup › Network › Information, or in your router's list of devices.
The app says "Allow local network access".
macOS is blocking AVR Control from reaching devices on your network. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network, turn on AVR Control, then click Search Again. The app's Open System Settings button takes you there.
I can't turn the receiver on from the Mac.
In standby, most receivers switch their network off to save power. On the receiver, open Setup › Network and set Network Control to Always On. The receiver then stays reachable in standby and can be turned on from AVR Control.
"Another app is connected to the receiver's control port."
Advanced settings are read through the receiver's control port, which accepts only one app at a time. If Home Assistant, another control app or a home automation hub keeps that port open, the Advanced window can't read settings. Power, volume, inputs, scenes and everything else keep working, because they use a different connection. Close the other app's connection, then click Try Again.
Zone 2 or Zone 3 is missing.
AVR Control shows the zones your receiver reports. Many models have only one or two zones. If your receiver has a zone that doesn't appear, remove the receiver in Settings › Receivers and add it again so the app reads its features afresh.
The volume slider stops before the end.
That's your receiver's own volume limit, a safety setting on the receiver (Setup › Audio › Volume › Limit). AVR Control respects it. Change the limit on the receiver if you need more.
An advanced setting I expected isn't there.
AVR Control only shows settings your receiver answers to, so features differ between models. Some settings also depend on others: bass and treble appear when Tone Control is on, and Reference Level Offset when Dynamic EQ is on.
The widget shows an old status.
Widgets show what AVR Control last read from the receiver, with the time underneath. The status refreshes while the menu bar window is open and after every action, so opening the window once brings it up to date.
Still need help?
Tell me your receiver model and what happens, and I'll help you get it working.