AV Receivers

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Steve May  |  Jan 16, 2019  |  0 comments
Marantz updates its long-running NR flagship for vinyl revivalists and Alexa addicts...
Richard Stevenson  |  Nov 27, 2018  |  0 comments
Denon’s AVC-X8500H has taken the AV amplifier concept and turned it up to 11. Well, more than that actually. With a claimed 1,950W spread through its 13 independent channels, plus every key AV feature currently available, this is the undisputed champion of AV specification trumps. But do you need so many channels of power on tap?
Richard Stevenson  |  Nov 23, 2018  |  0 comments
With Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Auro-3D, Marantz’s SR7012 is one of a handful of receivers to boast this trio of sonic processing suites straight out of the box. One step down and considerably more affordable than the brand’s flagship SR8012 AVR, could this £1,000 model be the sweet spot for object-based audio value?
Steve May  |  Jan 19, 2018  |  0 comments

With the HEOS AVR, Denon has taken everything you think you know about AV receiver design, and filtered it through a multiroom prism. Pointless legacy inputs and 1990s design chic are traded for multiroom streaming and app control. You don't even have to trail speaker wire around your living room. Few would argue that the AVR is long overdue a rethink, but is this the right direction for tomorrow’s home cinema?

Richard Stevenson  |  Apr 18, 2017  |  0 comments
Denon’s AVR-X6300H comes to the home cinema receiver market with a spec sheet hotter than Megan Fox in a stolen hot tub – but the headline news is its 11 channels of onboard amplification for a largescale Dolby Atmos, DTS:X or (optionally) Auro-3D experience. That means no more fiddling about with external power amps for 7.1.4 sound.
Mark Craven  |  Dec 12, 2016  |  0 comments

It's getting hard to find many points of difference between AV receivers around the key £500 mark. Pioneer's VSX-1131, originally priced £550 but available now for less if you shop around, offers a specifications sheet with few surprises, beyond the fact that it's very well featured indeed. Whatever you're hoping to find here, you probably will. 

Steve May  |  Nov 08, 2016  |  0 comments

When it comes to home cinema sound, the elephant isn’t in the room. The elephant is the room. It’s an inconvenient truth that no matter how good your multichannel sound system, the environment you listen in – and all those resonances and reflections – will have an inordinate influence on what you hear. 

Mark Craven  |  Sep 26, 2016  |  0 comments

Denon's AVR-X2300W is an AV receiver after my cash-conscious heart. Available for £500, it offers buyers at this price everything they will probably expect, all wrapped up in a neat design and delivered with a welcome understanding that those investing in home cinema separates may still be AV novices. 

Steve May  |  Apr 19, 2016  |  0 comments

It's a tempting time to upgrade your AVR. With a rising tide of 4K content requiring HDCP 2.2 copy protection, UHD 2,160p displays and object-based audio formats, the stars are aligning for those eager for a movie theatre makeover. And if you’re prepared to shop at a higher level, there’re precious few compromises that need be made. 

Jon Thompson  |  Apr 05, 2016  |  0 comments

The home cinema industry has been in something of a rut since the financial meltdown of 2007, with gaping holes where much of the high-end market used to be. But Arcam's AVR850 – its latest flagship AV receiver – has me thinking we may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Steve May  |  Mar 18, 2016  |  0 comments
With Dolby Atmos and DTS:X in its armoury, the Pioneer SC-LX89 is currently the brand's best-dressed AV receiver. No stone has been left unturned when it comes to advanced functionality. But is there more to this badass box than high-tech feature overload? 
Steve May  |  Dec 13, 2015  |  0 comments

Onkyo's TX-RZ800 marks a break from the brand's typical AVR design, offering an oversized volume dial and a pimple rash of tiny buttons. As a fashion statement, it must be said it’s not particularly pretty, but it is at least different. Other changes are less obvious.

Danny Phillips  |  Oct 03, 2015  |  0 comments

Dolby Atmos and the imminent DTS:X are shaking up the AV receiver market with their object-based antics, yet Cambridge Audio is having none of it. With its latest pair of audiophile receivers, the CXR120 and CXR200 – its first new models since 2013’s Azur 751R – the company has given these features the cold shoulder, opting instead to make pure sound quality the priority.

Steve May  |  Jul 22, 2015  |  0 comments

It’s easy to forget that Yamaha effectively invented the home cinema receiver market. When screens were square and multichannel audio was young and frisky, it pioneered with monster AV receivers that became things of legend. Back then, DSP was Definitely Something Profound, and Yamaha wrote the rulebook on soundfield design.

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