FOR AT least two decades now, designers have been managing to deliver more and more features, power, and audio/video finesse, for fewer and fewer dollars-or at least, no more-with every passing model year. Denon's latest lineup ably illustrates the trend and the one in the spotlight here, the $1700 AVR-X3800H, is going to hit a lot of budget sweetspots. It's the least costly model in the range with the nine-channels power needed for a full Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Auro-3D or otherbrand object-oriented surround implementation on board.
The X3800H includes nearly every other critical checklist item: HDMI 2.1 on all inputs and outputs; 8K video-capable and 4K up-converting; multi-subwoofer integration and room-correction via top-level Audyssey processing, with Dirac Live as an extra-cost option.
Denon and Marantz are stablemates, and in fact the X3800H is generally similar, not to say identical, to the Marantz Cinema 50 that appeared in this space a couple of issues back. And like the Marantz, the Denon delivers access to both Audyssey XT32 and Dirac Live room/speaker/sub correction systems, with Dirac being a $259/$349 (limited/fullbandwidth) add-on owners can activate online. (The Audyssey vs. Dirac debate will rage until the Internet turns to pixel-dust: I've achieved excellent, and at the end of the day functionally very similar, results from both systems, though they use different geek-level DSPs to get there, undertake essentially the same measurement and equalization processes.)
Another commonality is participation in the Marantz/Denon HEOS streaming/multiroom ecosystem, which we'll revisit briefly a bit further along.
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Denne historien er fra August - September 2023-utgaven av Sound & Vision.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Big Clean
Chances are you probably do not think about the state of your electronic devices too often. Oh, you might think about all the upgrades you would like to make; where you would put those new tower speakers, or how a second or third subwoofer would really tame those bass modes in your room, or how much more cinematic a larger screen would be. Sure, you think about that part of your system. But how often do you think about the well-being of your system?
Planar-Magnetic Attraction
THE DIPTYQUE DP 115 speakers are a new model 2-way, ribbon, and planar magnetic driver dipole \"isodynamic\" speaker system designed and built in France.
Full-Featured 4K
THE QN95D is one of two televisions we went hands-on with on a recent trip to Samsung's New Jersey QA Lab, the other being the S95D quantum-dot OLED.
Party Animal
FOR ANY party, the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus Outdoor Bass Bluetooth Speaker is an essential invite.
It's the End of the World. How About Popcorn and a Movie?
Attention all preppers! Today's column is right up your alley-or, more precisely-your tunnel to your underground bunker.
Bridging the Analog-Digital Gap on a Recliner
When I shopped for a motorized recliner, I rejected models with their own Internet Protocol address and built-in speakers. No need. I had already placed a smart speaker on an étagère beside the space where I had planned to put the chair. I'd have a smartphone in my hand and the room would be bathed in Wi-Fi.
BACK TO THE GARDEN
AN AQUARIAN EXPOSITION in WHITE LAKE, N.Y.
Big Sound, Small Price
DOLBY ATMOS, once a costly premium, is enjoying a surge of popularity across a range of new audio gear.
Classic Sound with Streaming Smarts
THE TWENTIETH century had its Roaring Twenties; welcome to the twenty-first's Streaming Twenties.
Stand and Deliver
IT DOESN'T seem all that long ago that SVS first entered the audio scene.
