Rob Sabin

Sometimes, you have to go big. And that’s just what one young power couple did when they built their dream home in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, a teeming metropolis that sits about a six-hour drive north of the Rio de Janeiro coast. To be more precise, they went 50,000 square feet big. With that area, the modern two-story residence shown in these photos, if laid flat, would cover the size of an American-style football field (minus a couple of end zones).

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Audiophile-quality sonics
Easy access to networked and internet-streamed music
Extensive HDMI switching
Minus
Non-backlit remote

THE VERDICT
Denon’s modern take on the classic stereo receiver delivers excellent sound quality, video switching for 2-channel home theater, and all the amenities of an app-driven, internet-connected music system.

As I uncrated the Denon DRA-800H stereo receiver and set it on my rack for review, I was struck by a powerful wave of nostalgia. Back in my early days of audiophilia, stereo—no wait, stereo and vinyl—was pretty much the game. Buying a basic receiver was a typical rite of passage for a high school or college student back then, and it was staring at rows of them at the local TV/appliance store—with their shiny brushed chrome faceplates, dials and buttons, and backlit tuning displays—that got me hooked on audio in the first place.

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Stupendous bass without an external subwoofer
Outstanding timbre and dynamics
Easy to use via HDMI-CEC or Devialet app
Minus
No remote learning for optical connections
No voice integration
No DTS decoding

THE VERDICT
You'll pay for the privilege, but Devialet's Dione lives up to the full promise of an audiophile-quality, all-in-one soundbar.

From time to time I get to review an audio product that is so thoroughly engineered, so cutting-edge and so high performing that it leaves me in awe. And let's be clear, after three decades of doing this, I'm not easily impressed. But I'll tell you here that the subject of this review, the $2,400 Devialet Dione, is hands-down the best all-in-one soundbar I have ever heard, and undoubtedly one of the two best soundbars currently available. We'll get to that later, but for now, let's take a closer look.