Holy Grail of processors

[zepherman]

I had heard that Denon was planning on introducing a hi end dedicated processor with all the newest audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dts HD, Dts HD MA) but I had never seen what this bad boy was going to look like. That is until now. This new Behemoth of an A/V processor is "tentatively" scheduled to be available late February for $7,000 MSRP.

Here are some of the goodies offered:

THX Ultra 2
6 HDMI 1.3 in, 2 out - xxyycc color support and auto lip synch support
Full Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS HD support
Denon Link 3
Silicon Optix Realta HQV video processing
Audyssey MultEQ XT/Pro Room Correction
12 Balanced Outputs
Stereo Balanced Input
4 Coax and 4 Optical Inputs
4 Optical outputs for other zones
Wireless and RJ45 audio streaming
4 Trigger Outputs
2 RS232 connections
Denon Control Link
Ipod Dock Support
Analog to HDMI Conversion and upscaling to 1080p
FLAC/WMA lossless, AAC Lossles, WAV
Windows Media PlaysForSure
HDCD
HD Radio/XM/AM/FM (independent/simultaneous multi-zone capable)
Multi Channel Zone 2 Output for dual surround zones
Zone 4 Digital Audio
Simply HD Certified silicon image approves connectivity and operability
Remote maintenance program

Here's some pix of the processor and the matching multichannel amp.

[zepherman]

Source selector

[zepherman]

Volume control

[zepherman]

Front display

[Pirate]

Silver.

[zepherman]

Back panel

[zepherman]

Balanced XLR's

[Pirate]

I'm sure this thing will be very impressive, but damn is it fugly. It looks like an oven. And, again... silver.

[zepherman]

HDMI's

[zepherman]

Denon POA A1HD Power amplifier

[zepherman]

Under the hood

[Taxi]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

It looks like an oven.

I kinda like it though. (If it were black, that is.)

[zepherman]

More inside pix

[zepherman]

Back of amp

[zepherman]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

I'm sure this thing will be very impressive, but damn is it fugly. It looks like an oven. And, again... silver.

That's funny! Yeah it may not be the prettiest processor around but for everything that it does this one may be hard to beat. Like Taxi, I also like the way it looks. And I don't mind Silver, it'll match my TV

[Pirate]

I don't have $7,000 for a receiver, but if I did, it damn sure better be black.

[Taxi]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

I don't have $7,000 for a receiver, but if I did, it damn sure better be black.

I wonder how much the amp is...

[Wirehed]

Has Denon ever made seperates before?

I wonder what it will sound like. You can get a lot of reciever for $7k.

[Wirehed]

Looks like the amp will cost the same as the reciever.

[Iguana Man]

Poor poor Denon. They learned nothing from McIntosh when it comes to looking cool. That one pic sadly does look like an oven of sorts. Toast light on the left, eggs over easy in the middle, and bacon semi crispy on the right.

Your's for ONLY 7K! Act now and get a free juicer!

Hehehe..sorry Zeph'

For 7K, I'd probably go Parasound Halo if they finally stepped up to the new formats and their 'needs' functionality-wise.

[zepherman]

Originally Posted by Seamonkey

Has Denon ever made seperates before?

I wonder what it will sound like. You can get a lot of reciever for $7k.

Yes, Denon made some very high end separates in the 90's. But many of them were way too expensive ($15,000 pre-amp, $20,000 monoblock amps etc.). Here's a photo of their $40,000 pr. POA-S1 Monoblock amp. Glad to see them back into making separates

Yes one can get one hell of a receiver for less than $7k, but for people that want balanced outputs and balanced digital inputs, a stand alone processor like the AVP-A1HD is the only way to fly.

[zepherman]

Originally Posted by Seamonkey

Looks like the amp will cost the same as the reciever.

I believe you are right, the matching 10 channel amp is going to cost around $7k-$8K.

[zepherman]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

Poor poor Denon. They learned nothing from McIntosh when it comes to looking cool. That one pic sadly does look like an oven of sorts. Toast light on the left, eggs over easy in the middle, and bacon semi crispy on the right.

Your's for ONLY 7K! Act now and get a free juicer!

Hehehe..sorry Zeph'

For 7K, I'd probably go Parasound Halo if they finally stepped up to the new formats and their 'needs' functionality-wise.

No problem, it's cool Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Personally I like it, maybe not as much as say Classe's designs, but I don't think it's ugly. It is a bit on the HUGE side though, so when I get one I'm going to have to figure out where the heck to put it.

Yeah at one time I considered Parasound's Halo processors. They are nice, but even when they do start offering decoding for the HD audio formats, they still aren't going to do everything that this one will do.


Seth

[zepherman]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

I don't have $7,000 for a receiver, but if I did, it damn sure better be black.

Actually I think that I saw a photo online of the AVP-A1HD in black. For me since pretty much every component I have is black, a silver finish is actually welcome. Since this pre-amp/processor will be the centerpiece it will be easy to spot in silver.


Seth

[EM3]

Well I'm lucky since it's in two seperate pieces and I only have room for one.















It's looks like a tank. How much does it weigh in at?

[chlngr1970]

Originally Posted by EM3

Well I'm lucky since it's in two seperate pieces and I only have room for one.

If you only have room for one, does that mean you would only be able to buy the amp? I could see that if you have a less than perfect amp section in your receiver, but if you were considering it for a replacement, you kinda need that amp

j