Two weeks ago, I walked onto the Melbourne offices of Qualifi the distributor of Marantz and Denon products, what they showed me was a brilliantly designed surround sound receiver that is set to be added to the Denon HEOS family.
Personally, I hate the word receiver, what I believe these devices should be called are content management systems.
This new device delivers 100W per channel of Class D amplification and while it has standard speaker terminals on the back for the option of wiring up a 5.1 speaker system it also has the latest wireless technology for delivering multiroom audio and the distribution of content.
When paired with speakers from the rest of the HEOS range, you can put together a surround sound system that’s not only wirelessly connected, but has the ability to operate integrated into a sound system over a wireless network.
Set to sell for around $1,999 the guys at Qualify have said that their new Denon HEOS AVR will be as simple to set up and operate as a typical soundbar, which is a massive plus as most AV receivers are a pain in the backside to manage.
And just to make life easy, the system has got four HDMI inputs around the back, with support for 4K Ultra HD. There’s also an app to help you configure everything, as well as Bluetooth for streaming from a mobile device.
The standout feature is that the device is built around a beautiful piece of sculptured aluminium.
