Mark Fleischmann

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AV Receiver Reviews
Denon AVR-X7200W A/V Receiver Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 19, 2016

Audio Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Gobs of power for almost any situation
Audyssey MultEQ XT32
Atmos, DTS:X, and Auro 3D
ISF certified
Minus
Daunting price

THE VERDICT
The Denon AVR-X7200W is pricey, but this flagship is loaded with power, features, and performance.

Ticking off all the feature checkboxes does not automatically confer popularity on a flagship audio/video receiver. Some prospective buyers will look at the four-figure price tag of the Denon AVR-X7200W and just say, no, sorry, not for me—despite the fact that many other high-end audio products, and luxury products in general, sell for far more. The AVR category is the spiritual home of those who love to get more for less. Why, asks the hardheaded audio buff, do I need to pay three grand for all those features, all those jacks—all that stuff I’ll never need? The answer is that the features you do need may be worth the price. If your speakers are a little more demanding than the home theater norm or you have a large room, you’ll want as much power as possible, and this receiver is Denon’s best shot.

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Audio Video News
Denon Celebrates Centenary
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 27, 2010
Congratulations, Denon. You were founded in 1910 by the American-born entrepreneur Frederick Whitney Horn as the Japan Recorders Corporation, making records and gramphones. Since then you've celebrated many technological firsts, become the number one brand in surround receivers, and been adopted into the D&M Holdings family. Now you're 100 years old, a claim few consumer electronics companies can make.
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CES 2010
Denon Combines Blu with Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 11, 2010
The Denon S-5BD is a combination Blu-ray player and a/v receiver. The player is BD-Live capable and the receiver is no slouch either. It includes Audyssey MultEQ auto setup and room correction plus Audyssey's Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ for the ultimate scalable flexibility in low-volume listening -- a boon to action movie lovers who burn the midnight oil. The height-enhanced Dolby Pro Logic IIz surround listening mode is also included. Front panel connectivity includes HDMI, SD card, and direct iPod-capable USB (unless you'd prefer to add Denon's dock). The S-5BD won a CES Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering award and will ship in March for $1799.
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Home Theater Systems Reviews
Denon DHT-1513BA HTIB
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 15, 2012
Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $600 At A Glance: Denon entry-level AVR • Boston Acoustics sat/sub set • Acceptable performance

Eliminating nonessentials sounds easier than it is. A year ago, I went through my clothes and filled six shopping bags with shirts and pants I knew I’d never wear again. Just a month ago, I repeated the exercise and darn if I didn’t fill another bag. If I’d exerted myself, I could have filled two. So I felt a certain respect as I cracked open the Denon DHT-1513BA carton and moved its contents to my rack and speaker stands—because I knew this system’s designers had made some tough decisions. They’re more hardheaded than a guy who decides to let his HD DVD promotional T-shirt survive another year.

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Denon Exploits Audyssey's Dynamic Volume
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 04, 2008
Denon's receiver demos made good use of Dynamic Volume technology licensed from Audyssey. If the dynamics of action movie soundtracks are too much for you, you'll like the way Dynamic Volume keeps voices constant but curbs the more brutal excesses of effects -- by monitoring the signal, not just the room. If you watch TV programs via your receiver, it'll help tame those blaring ads too. Dynamic Volume is available as a firmware upgrade for some existing models. New models shown by Denon included the two-zone/two-source AVR1909, 90 watts times seven; the AVR989, 115 watts; the AVR889, 100 watts; and the AVR789, 90 watts. All have onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Denon HEOS AVR A/V Receiver Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 19, 2017

Audio Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
App-driven HEOS eco-system
Up to 5.1 channels
Wireless HEOS surround and sub options
Minus
Nearly no front-panel controls
No low-volume mode
No Dolby Atmos or DTS:X

THE VERDICT
The Denon HEOS AVR reimagines the black-box receiver as a sleek, shapely, app-driven beauty that leverages the home network to provide wireless sub and surrounds.

Having successfully developed their own wireless ecosystem under the HEOS brand, Denon is using it to reinvent the audio/video receiver. What the company calls the HEOS AVR departs from the black-box norm by offering suave dove-gray aluminum as an optional alternative to the usual black. It isn’t a box, either, or at least not a pure rectangular solid, thanks to a diagonally split, convex front panel. Whereas other A/V receivers wear lots of buttons or conceal them behind a flip-down door, the HEOS AVR has a front panel that’s pointedly devoid of any controls except a large metal volume dial. And in lieu of a front-panel display, it has only a large horizontal LED stripe in the HEOS style for volume and status. This isn’t just another receiver. It’s a deliberate provocation.

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Audio Video News
Denon Player Truly Universal
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 08, 2008
Among universal disc players, the Denon DVD-A1UCDI is the most universal of all. It handles Blu-ray, DVD, SACD, and DVD-Audio. But the pricetag is high, at $3800.
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CEDIA 2010
Denon Receivers Get AirPlay Upgrade
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 24, 2010
Want to use AirPlay to connect your Denon XX11-series a/v receiver to your iTunes library? There's an app for that, and while it's a $49 value, you can get it as a free upgrade for awhile starting in November. Denon also has a separate receiver-control app for iThings.
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Audio Video News
Denon Rethinks Receiver Line
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 26, 2007
Though Denon's receiver line has long been one of the industry's strongest, it's also suffered from the same ossified in-the-black-box thinking that plagues all receivers. That's changed in a big way with the 2007 models unveiled at a Tuesday press event.
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Audio Video News
Denon Retrofits Flagships
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 25, 2011
Manufacturers of surround gear typically upgrade products by replacing one model with another. But Denon is taking a different path with upgrades of a pair of four-year-old products.

The Denon AVR-5308CI flagship audio/video receiver and AVP-A1HDCI preamp-processor are geting Audyssey MultEQ XT32 room correction, Audyssey DSX width- and height-enhanced listening modes, and the Dolby Pro Logic IIz height-enhanced listening mode.

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