Denon has unveiled a new range of AV receivers designed to bring support for the latest cutting edge gaming features to a more affordable price point.
The new range of S Series audio devices will be available across the US, UK and Europe, starting from just $549/£549/€629. Two models have been confirmed for the US, and three for the UK and Europe, with all of the new models supporting pass through over their HDMIs of 4K/120Hz, variable refresh rates and auto low latency mode switching game features – making them potentially great companions for the latest PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X games consoles – as well as PCs sporting premium graphics cards.
There will also be support on the HDMIs of all three models for 8K resolution sources up to 60Hz frame rates should you be able to find any – though for most people the gaming-related features will prove far more useful.
The HDMI loop through of each S Series models will additionally support both of the premium HDR10+ and Dolby Vision high dynamic range formats, with their extra scene by scene picture information. This means the S Series models can provide the very best versions of any source no matter what brand of display you own.
Naturally Denon’s new S Series trio aren’t only interesting for their cutting edge connectivity. Other notable features supported by all three models are 145W per channel of audio power; integration of Denon’s HEOS system for seamless music playback from key services such as Amazon Music HD, Spotify, Tidal and TuneIn; AirPlay and Bluetooth connectivity; and Bluetooth transmission to compatible headphones.
All three models are easy to set up, too, thanks to Denon’s award-winning Setup Assistant, which uses HD video to provide clear, step-by-step instructions on how to get started. This is joined by Denon’s Audyssey MultEQ room correction technology that automatically optimises the sound stage to your specific room set up.
The $649/£699/€779 Denon AVR-S770H receiver provides a 7.2-channel audio configuration, and is capable of playing Dolby Atmos and DTS:X mixes complete with overhead effects for a true Dolby Atmos and DTS:X experience. The $549/£599/€679 AVR-S670H receiver drops the channel count to 5.2 and only supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio decoder, while the entry-level AVC-S670H amp (not available in the US) features the same specification as the AVR-S670H, except for not carrying an integrated FM Tuner.
Denon actually delivered the world’s very first 8K and 4K/120Hz-capable AV receivers back in 2020, so it’s fair to say the brand now has plenty of experience of handling high bandwidth HDMIs.
Long term followers of my Forbes channel may recall that Denon’s debut 8K/4K@120Hz receivers ended up – along with debut 8K receivers from Marantz and Yamaha – suffering with an HDMI ‘bug’ that meant they couldn’t actually pass through 4K/120Hz signals from Xbox Series X and Nvidia PC graphics cards. There should be no need to worry about any similar problems cropping up with Denon’s new S Series triumvirate, though; those initial issues have been demonstrably eliminated from all Denon AVR and AV amp production runs since May 2021.
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