To play music from your phone on a Denon AVR-S960H, press and hold the Bluetooth button on the remote for 3 seconds, then pick the receiver from your phone’s Bluetooth list. To send the receiver’s sound to Bluetooth headphones, go to SETUP > General > Bluetooth Transmitter, set Transmitter to On, and select your headphones from the Device List.
The S960H works both ways: it can receive Bluetooth audio from a phone, or send audio out to headphones. It can’t do both at the same time. If one direction won’t work, the other one is often what’s in the way. This guide covers both, plus the fixes for each.
Part 1: Stream to the receiver from a phone, tablet, or laptop
Pair a device for the first time
- Make sure both antennas are attached to the back of the receiver. They handle Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi.
- Turn the receiver on.
- Press the Bluetooth button on the remote. On a receiver that has never been paired, pairing mode starts automatically and “Pairing…” appears on the front display.
- On your phone, turn on Bluetooth and open the list of nearby devices. Stay close to the receiver, about 3 feet (1 meter) away, while you pair.
- Tap the receiver’s name when it appears in the list.
- Open any music or video app and press play. The sound comes through your speakers.
You only pair a device once. After that, press Bluetooth on the remote and the receiver reconnects to the last device you used.
Pair a second or third device
The automatic pairing mode only happens the first time. For every device after that, you have to start pairing mode yourself. Use either way:
- From the remote: press and hold Bluetooth for at least 3 seconds.
- From the on-screen menu: while the Bluetooth playback screen is showing, press OPTION and select Pairing Mode.
Then select the receiver on the new device. The S960H keeps a list of 8 paired devices. Adding one more pushes out whichever was registered first.
Switch between paired phones
- Switch off Bluetooth on whichever phone is currently connected, so the receiver is free.
- On the phone you want to use, turn Bluetooth on.
- Select the receiver in that phone’s Bluetooth list.
- Start playing music.
Useful extras
- Remote control: the receiver’s remote can play, pause, and skip tracks on most phones. The phone has to support a Bluetooth feature called AVRCP, which most modern phones do. Denon notes the remote isn’t guaranteed to work with every device.
- Song info: press STATUS on the receiver’s front panel to cycle through the title, artist, and album name on the display.
- Auto power-on: if you connect a paired phone while the receiver is in standby, the receiver can turn itself on. This only works when Network > Network Control is set to Always On, the default.
- Volume: with some phones, the receiver’s volume follows your phone’s volume. If it sounds quiet, turn up the phone too.
Part 2: Listen through Bluetooth headphones
This feature is called the Bluetooth Transmitter. It sends whatever is playing in the main room to a pair of wireless headphones, including TV and movie sound. It’s handy for late-night watching.
Safety first: Denon warns that headphone volume may be unexpectedly loud when the receiver connects. Turn your headphones’ volume down before you pair. Don’t use headphones that have no volume control of their own, because the receiver can’t adjust headphone volume.
Connect your headphones
- Press SETUP on the remote.
- Go to General > Bluetooth Transmitter.
- Set Transmitter to On. It’s off by default.
- Select Output Mode and pick where you want sound to play. See the table below.
- Put your headphones into pairing mode. Check the headphones’ instructions if you’re not sure how.
- Select Device List, then choose your headphones’ name.
- Once connected, set a comfortable volume using the headphones’ own controls.
Choose an Output Mode
| Output Mode | What you hear | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth + Speakers (default) | Headphones and your room speakers play together | One person with hearing trouble who needs the sound closer |
| Bluetooth Only | Headphones only. The speakers go quiet. | Watching late at night without waking anyone |
You can also change Output Mode quickly from the OPTION menu, under Bluetooth Transmitter.
What to expect with headphones
- Stereo only. The sound mode is locked to Stereo while headphones are connected. You won’t get virtual surround in the headphones.
- Some delay is possible. Bluetooth can lag behind the picture. The S960H has no setting to correct this for headphones. It uses the basic SBC Bluetooth codec, so low-latency codecs aren’t an option.
- One pair at a time. The receiver can remember up to 8 headphones but only connects to one at once.
- Bluetooth speakers work too. Any Bluetooth speaker that supports A2DP (standard stereo streaming) can connect the same way as headphones.
Reconnect, disconnect, or forget headphones
To reconnect: use your headphones’ own reconnect feature, or select them from Device List. You can also choose Reconnect under Bluetooth Transmitter in the OPTION menu. If Output Mode is Bluetooth + Speakers, the receiver automatically reconnects to your last-used headphones when you turn it on.
To disconnect: turn the headphones off, choose Disconnect under Bluetooth Transmitter in the OPTION menu, or set Transmitter to Off in the setup menu.
To remove a pair from the list: open Device List, highlight the headphones, press OPTION, and select Forget This Device.
Why the two directions block each other
Denon’s manual is clear that the Bluetooth transmitter (receiver to headphones) and the Bluetooth receiver function (phone to speakers) can’t be used at the same time. Here’s how that shows up:
- If any zone is using the Bluetooth input, you can’t connect headphones, and the Bluetooth Transmitter menu settings aren’t available.
- Even with Transmitter set to On, pressing Bluetooth on the remote switches the receiver back to receiving from your phone. Then reconnect your phone.
- If the receiver is grouped with other speakers in the HEOS app, you can’t connect headphones or change the Bluetooth Transmitter settings. Ungroup it first.
Bluetooth troubleshooting
The phone doesn’t see the receiver, or won’t connect
- Press Bluetooth on the remote to make Bluetooth the active input. If the transmitter was in use, this switches the receiver back to receiving.
- For a new phone, start pairing mode by holding Bluetooth for 3 seconds. The auto-pairing only happens the first time.
- Move the phone closer. Pair within about 3 feet.
- Turn the phone’s Bluetooth off and on, or restart the phone.
- Check that the device supports A2DP, the standard Bluetooth profile for streaming music. The S960H needs it.
My headphones won’t connect
- Check that Transmitter is On.
- Make sure no zone is using the Bluetooth input, and that the receiver isn’t grouped in the HEOS app.
- Press INFO on the remote to see whether another pair of headphones is already connected. Disconnect it first.
- Bring the headphones closer and turn them off and on.
- Confirm the headphones support A2DP.
The sound cuts out or crackles
- Move the device closer and clear anything between it and the receiver. Denon rates the range at about 98 feet (30 m) with a clear line of sight. Walls cut that down.
- Keep the phone and receiver clear of microwave ovens, Wi-Fi routers, and other wireless gear that can cause interference.
- For headphones, Denon suggests putting the receiver on your router’s 5 GHz Wi-Fi band or on a wired network. That leaves the 2.4 GHz band for Bluetooth. Our guide to connecting the AVR-S960H to Wi-Fi shows how to switch the connection.
Nothing works, even after all of the above
Remove the receiver from your phone’s Bluetooth list, then pair again from scratch. If Bluetooth still misbehaves, restart the receiver by holding its power button until “Restart” appears. As a last step, our AVR-S960H reset guide explains which reset to try without losing more settings than you need to.
Bluetooth or HEOS: which should you use?
Bluetooth is quick and works with any phone, with no Wi-Fi required. But if the receiver is on your network, AirPlay, Spotify Connect, or the HEOS app usually make better sense for music. They use your Wi-Fi network instead of a short Bluetooth link, so you aren’t limited by Bluetooth range. With HEOS and Spotify Connect, the receiver streams the music itself and your phone acts as the remote.
Denon’s manual covers pairing Bluetooth devices and the Bluetooth Transmitter settings on separate pages.