Best Buys – Audio & AV – July 2019

LEFT: Top-of-the-line audio-visual receiver from Denon, the AVC-X8500H, its height significantly
ahove the mid-range AVR-X3500H (eight) partly for its wider range of inputs externally,
but also for the beefier power supplies and additional amplification channels within.

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Best Buys Audio & AV 2019-#2

the receivers also support Bluetooth, so just about
any modern smart device or computer can send
music to the receiver.
And these receivers can all be controlled —
somewhat — by voice, if you use either Google
Assistant or Amazon Alexa. Our sense is that this
is still mostly first-generation stuff, but we still
reckon it’s so very cool. These systems are being
improved as time goes on. We had a quick run
through both systems on a Denon AVR-X3500H
as we were writing this to see where they were up
to. Alexa is a bit more advanced in its handling —
including the ability to switch the receiver on and
off and change inputs — than Google Assistant.
But Denon is promising more capabilities for
the latter in coming months. Apparently Alexa is
easier to code than Google Assistant.

AUDIO
Again there are some commonalities but also some
significant differences between these receivers
when it comes to audio. One similarity is that all
of them support all the main home theatre audio

standards currently available, including DTS:X

and Dolby Atmos. They also support the most

up-to-date surround processing options: Dolby

Surround and DTS Neural:X.

But the AVR-X4500H and up also add

Auro 3D for those wanting to experiment with

a quite different surround system. And while the

X1500H, X2500H and X3500H are limited to

seven surround channels, the AVR-X4500H can

process eleven. So the three lower-cost units can

deliver 7.1 surround, or 5.1-channel surround

with two overhead speakers. The X4500H can go

all the way to 7.2 surround plus four overhead

speakers. Essentially that’s as good as it gets with

mainstream surround receivers.

From the X3500H and up there are multi-

channel analogue outputs so you can do such

things as add audiophile power amplifiers to

selected channels.

All but the X1500H include a ‘Pure Direct’

playback mode that switches off all sound

processing, for

those times when

you want the greatest purity in playback. For the

rest of the time you can enjoy speakers which have

been EQ’d (and otherwise calibrated for level,

distance and size) by the highly regarded Audyssey

ABOVE: The gradual rise in abilities is most obvious to the rear, comparing the $1149 AVR-X1500H on the left with the range-topping AVC-X8500W on the right.

SOLID CIRCUITS: Denon has a deep heritage of

‘firsts’ in audio technology; it was Japan’s first

audio electronics manufacturer, founded in 1910.