Denon Home Theater
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For a true home-theater experience you need a great audio system – and Denon is a leading name in affordable high-quality sound. Without a true surround-sound system you're simply not going to get an amazing audio experience like you do at the cinema. You'll find objective no-hype information on various Denon a/v receivers on this site, plus some links for finding a great price.
Denon was actively involved in the early development of digital audio, and specializes in professional and consumer audio. They've been around a while. The original company was founded in Japan in 1910, and introduced some of the first digital recorders in the 1970s. They've been making consumer CD players since 1981, and added A/V amplifiers in 1988. They introduced the first home theater system with Dolby AC-3 and THX 5.1 certification in 1995 and added DVD players to their line up in 1997. They unveiled the world's first universal Blu-Ray/DVD-audio/SA-CD player in 2008. So you can see that Denon brings decades of experience to the table to deliver excellent audio and video quality at affordable prices.
Denon Home Theater
Current Denon a/v receivers combine high-quality surround-sound audio with digital HDMI switching to form the hub of a great home-theater system. Going this route you'll have fewer cables and simpler set up.
Most people are now familiar with 5.1 channel audio systems. These use the regular pair of stereo speakers plus a rear pair, a center speaker (for a total of 5 speakers) plus 1 sub-woofer. Most Denon models deliver 7.2 channels, adding 2 more front speakers and a second sub-woofer. This gives you more of a “sound stage” plus true stereo on the deep base. Most Denon receivers, incorporate the latest Dolby decoders add a vertical dimension to the sound.
Most models also include Audyssey digital audio processing for exceptional sound quality. Audyssey MultiEQ provides automatic equalization better than a professional can perform. This gets you the most out of your speakers, and even adjusts for room acoustics.
Video and More
Denon A/V receivers can switch multiple HDMI inputs into a single output for your HDTV. Even lower-priced models such as the AVR 1912 have enough inputs for a cable box, game console, DVD/CD, and Blu-Ray player. Along the way these receivers can upconvert all video resolutions to 1080 high-def, as well as converting interlaced to progressive scan. Many also offer an on-screen GUI (graphical user interface) do display the many system settings.
Many models, including the Denon AVR-3312, have a network interface. This lets you listen to internet radio and even view Flikr photos. It also means you can control your receiver and video switching from any networked device with a browser. That includes iPhones, iPads, and more.
Coda
We're starting out commenting on a few receivers in the $900 to $1,200 price range. But we've also poked around and found discounts as much as 1/3 off. As you might have guessed, I really like Denon home theater receivers, but if there's a negative I'll tell you about it on the various pages of this web site.