NEWS: Denon announce AVC-X8500H Pure AV Amplifier

Thanks Mark. ETA for the review ? Gonna have to finally relinquish my AVC-A1XVA, I think !
 
I'm still not convinced these latest efforts are really built to the same flagship standard of the those from 9 years ago. The AVC-A1HDA was £4000 back then and weighed nearly 30Kg with only 7 channels of power built in.
I have the Marantz SR8012 (the 11 channel sister amp to this) and its about 2/3rds of that weight despite the additional 4 channels of power.

I'd be interested to know how much this new Denon differs from the Marantz once the 2 extra channels are taken out of the equation.

From a purely cosmetic point of view, I prefer the look of the Marantz.
 
Yeh, my AVC- A1XVA is even heavier at 44Kg !
 
Yeh, my AVC- A1XVA is even heavier at 44Kg !
i had one of those for a while but sold it quite quickly as I found it to have a slightly brittle character compared to the HDA.

an absolute beast though and this new model will be nowhere near the power of it.
 
I'm still not convinced these latest efforts are really built to the same flagship standard of the those from 9 years ago. The AVC-A1HDA was £4000 back then and weighed nearly 30Kg with only 7 channels of power built in.
I have the Marantz SR8012 (the 11 channel sister amp to this) and its about 2/3rds of that weight despite the additional 4 channels of power.

I'd be interested to know how much this new Denon differs from the Marantz once the 2 extra channels are taken out of the equation.

From a purely cosmetic point of view, I prefer the look of the Marantz.

It's almost ten years since I plugged in my AVC-A1HD for the first time. :)
 
I'd love this, it looks gorgeous. But I've zero interest in multiroom and, IMO, 7.1 is sufficient for most home installations. So, would it be overkill if I bought one...
 
I'm still not convinced these latest efforts are really built to the same flagship standard of the those from 9 years ago. The AVC-A1HDA was £4000 back then and weighed nearly 30Kg with only 7 channels of power built in.
I have the Marantz SR8012 (the 11 channel sister amp to this) and its about 2/3rds of that weight despite the additional 4 channels of power.

I'd be interested to know how much this new Denon differs from the Marantz once the 2 extra channels are taken out of the equation.

From a purely cosmetic point of view, I prefer the look of the Marantz.

It wont be built to the same standard,but the price is not in a true TOTL territory too.I think the last true flagship AV amplifier was the 9 channel Onkyo 5010 from almost five years ago.
 
I'd love this, it looks gorgeous. But I've zero interest in multiroom and, IMO, 7.1 is sufficient for most home installations. So, would it be overkill if I bought one...
What if your installation is not like "most"? This is a niche product, and it will certainly appeal to many that have the money to spend and/or that have the need for an Atmos set up.
 
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It wont be built to the same standard,but the price is not in a true TOTL territory too.I think the last true flagship AV amplifier was the 9 channel Onkyo 5010 from almost five years ago.
I bet you my Denon AVR-4300H from last year sounds better than that Onkyo....caveat: in a room of the size of my home theatre (approx 16feet by 12 feet) and a high vaulted ceiling
 
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Whatever.

Anyway, back to sanity...

If I were to purchase this unit am I still able to double up amplification for fewer channels as per older units?
Sanity is recognising that MANY people want an amp that does >7.1 channels. So don't try and be clever.

As for your question, it bi-amps the fronts if you wish.
 
It can bi-amp more than just the front, it seems:

Bi-amp connection AVC-X8500H

But, as the power is all coming from one 900 watt power supply, I don't see the point.
For my own knowledge, if the power amps are discreet, does that not mean the power supply issue is secondary? That is to say, there might still be a benefit?
 
For my own knowledge, if the power amps are discreet, does that not mean the power supply issue is secondary? That is to say, there might still be a benefit?
That is a good question.

If you look at bench tests of AVR's, such as this one:

Denon AVR-X7200W A/V Receiver Review Test Bench

It shows that the amount of power output by each amp channel reduces exponentially, the more channels that are driven. For example, the Denon 7200 can output 146 watts into two speakers, but only 113 watts into 7. If it is driving 5 speakers, then it can do 122 watts.

So, the question is, will it output more than twice the amount of power for each channel it is driving if using 5 amp channels simultaneously, than it would if using 10?

And if the difference is only slight, is it worth it, taking into account the inconvenience of all the extra cable runs?
 
That is a good question.

If you look at bench tests of AVR's, such as this one:

Denon AVR-X7200W A/V Receiver Review Test Bench

It shows that the amount of power output by each amp channel reduces exponentially, the more channels that are driven. For example, the Denon 7200 can output 146 watts into two speakers, but only 113 watts into 7. If it is driving 5 speakers, then it can do 122 watts.

So, the question is, will it output more than twice the amount of power for each channel it is driving if using 5 amp channels simultaneously, than it would if using 10?

And if the difference is only slight, is it worth it, taking into account the inconvenience of all the extra cable runs?
Purely from those figures, if running a 5.1 system from the 7200 and bi-amping the fronts, then you will get 226W into the fronts as opposed to 122 if running a 5.1 without bi-amping.
So it does seem worth it, if power is the only variable we are considering.
 
Whatever.

Anyway, back to sanity...

If I were to purchase this unit am I still able to double up amplification for fewer channels as per older units?
Also, I just want to say, a good question that and something that would be relevant as I only have a 7.2.4 set up so could use the extra channels to bi-amp.
 
Purely from those figures, if running a 5.1 system from the 7200 and bi-amping the fronts, then you will get 226W into the fronts as opposed to 122 if running a 5.1 without bi-amping.
So it does seem worth it, if power is the only variable we are considering.
Yes, fair enough, you may have a point there

But, wouldn't it be better to have separate power supplies altogether for the front three speakers, as in, external amplification? Then there will be a lot more headroom all round, as the AVR's power supply has a lot of work to do, not only supplying the power amps, but also the pre-amps and DAC's etc..

Interestingly, not all AVR's are equal in how they distribute the power to the power amps when running multiple speakers, this Yamaha for example, 159 into 2 channels, 52 into 7:

Yamaha Aventage RX-A3060 A/V Receiver Review Test Bench
 
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