AV Receivers

Canada: a land of sweeping mountains, pine forests and ice hockey, where maple syrup rules and giant moose walk the streets. But what the country is becoming increasingly famous for is its rather tasty AV equipment.

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.

It's probably fair to say that Arcam doesn’t rush its AV receivers to market. It’s been four years since the launch of the brand’s last flagship, the AVR600, which in the world of home electronics is something of an age. At least the brand doesn’t undersell them when they arrive. The AVR750, it says, is not just the finest home cinema receiver it’s ever made – it’s also the best-sounding stereo amplifier, too. Quite a claim, and the guys from Cambridge may well be right.

The Datasat LS10 is a stripped-down and frill-free ‘lite’ version of the company’s flagship RS20i, aimed squarely at the custom install market. Those looking for fancy GUI interfaces, easy-to-access user options and wow-factor remote controls can look away now. If you are seeking seamless performance, pro-quality processing and even Auro-3D, then read on.

Timing is everything, and with its first range of 8K-capable X Series home cinema amplifiers, Denon has seemingly got its timing just right. Not just because 8K flatpanels are slowly filtering through, but because this range is ready and able to play with the latest generation of consoles primed for 4K/120fps gaming thrills.

Apple’s nifty music streaming feature, AirPlay, is slowly finding its way onto more and more home cinema products, and Denon’s AVR-1912 is another one to add to the list. This makes it dead simple to play music from iPods, iPhones and iPads, but with DLNA-certified streaming and USB playback also on board the rest of your devices are in safe hands.Denon hasn’t dubbed this AVR the ‘Everyceiver’ for nothing.

I must have been snoozing last year as I missed Denon’s AVR-3311 completely. That well specified £1,200 receiver forms the base on which the AVR-3312 is built, updated and refined. And it’s damn fine news for potential buyers that this year’s contender comes in £200 cheaper. Where the money has been saved is a mystery. The new kid gives little away to the old guard, boasting all its power and features, and adding more networking and HDMIs, AirPlay as standard and a new set-up wizard.