Denon and Marantz are two of the biggest names in audio, especially if you’re obsessed with AVRs like me. Whether it’s the affordable Denon AVR-X2800H or the premium (and super stylish) Marantz Cinema 30, these sister companies occupy three of the five slots on our best AV receivers list.
Speaking of, that list is probably about to receive a bit of a shake-up. Last month, I travelled all the way to Tokyo for a secret mission, which I can now reveal was to check out the highly anticipated AVR-X2900H and AVR-X3900H: both sequels to two home cinema test-room legends.
The other half centred around touring Denon and Marantz’s facilities, which included speaking to the companies’ respective Sound Masters, and experiencing the listening rooms in which these products are developed and tuned.
Marantz joined Denon here in 2002, and now both companies share the space. There’s a Hall of Fame and a museum dedicated to products that define both audio companies’ respective histories, and there’s a manufacturing plant on site. Everything from handmade turntable cartridges to mass-produced AV receivers are assembled here.
The room featured a 9.4.6 speaker arrangement, with four pairs of Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 floorstanders as the headliners. These cost £36,000 a pair, so it should be clear just how serious Denon and Marantz are about home cinema and hi-fi sound.
These were joined by a matching centre channel – the B&W HTM81 D4 at £8250 – and four B&W DB1D subwoofers at £4600 a pop. Height channels were handled via six in-ceiling Bowers & Wilkins speakers, including one pair of CCM663s (around £650/pair) and two pairs of the CCM664 speakers (around £600/pair).
Put simply, this room is an audiophile’s dream, and it was the perfect space to experience the top-of-the-range products being shown by each brand.
With all of that important context explained, let’s get into the listening experience...
Denon’s cinematic AVR-A1H...
Denon led with its AVR-A1H home cinema amplifier, known as the AVC-A1H in the UK due to it lacking an AM/FM tuner.
This amplifier launched at £6800, and it sits above the top of the range X-series AVC-X6800H and AVC-A10H amplifiers.
It has been on the market for a few years now, but as the premier of Denon’s AVR offerings, it remains a stalwart for devoted home cinema fans. Featuring 15.4 channels of amplification, it supports Denon’s reference system without breaking a sweat, and is rated to deliver 150W of amplification with two channels driven, meaning it’s plenty powerful.
Denon opted to use three well-known demo sequences, one of which we often use to test Dolby Atmos soundbars and surround sound speaker packages.
Starting with the first performance of the track Shallow from A Star Is Born, the AVR-A1H delivered a powerful, rich and enveloping performance. It balanced immense scale with intricate detail and subtle dynamic shifts, resulting in a supremely natural sound.
I have heard this sequence at countless hands-on events, and in our home cinema testing room, and yet this demonstration revealed some subtle sonic elements that I'd never heard before.
Speaking of sequences I've heard more times than I can count, Denon followed up with the introduction to Unbroken. The dynamic build of the plane approaching at the very start of the film was conveyed with an impressive balance of subtlety and weight, allowing the engine sounds to swell naturally, and ultimately pass to the surround and height channels fluidly.
When the bomber comes under fire, the flak explosions were expressed with a crisp, weighty punch of bass that remained totally in control while also delivering the intended impact.
Denon rounded out the experience with chapter nine of Gravity, in which (spoilers ahead) the space shuttle reenters the Earth’s atmosphere, and the Denon AVR-A1H takes us full circle.
It carried the same authoritative, muscular and rich sound of the five-star AVR-X6800H, but with a much broader and more powerful character that tackles cinematic scale with ease.
The rattling and creaking of the shuttle as it plummets towards Earth felt textured, while the stray debris whizzing past carried a genuine sense of speed and danger.
While the wonderfully overkill speaker system undoubtedly played a part in making this demo as impressive as it was, the AVR-A1H’s balance of sheer power and finesse made it all the more impressive.
Marantz’s musical Model 10, Link 10n and SACD 10 trio...
Marantz followed up with a triple threat of reference hi-fi products. The Model 10 Reference Integrated Amplifier, to give it its full title, was the star of the show, launching back in 2024 for £13,000.
It was joined by the Link 10n network preamplifier (which launched at £10,400) and the SACD10 (also £10,400); essentially, this is Marantz’s full reference hi-fi lineup. While the same B&W sound system was used, Marantz switched to stereo instead of surround and used only the front left and right channels.
To establish its musical prowess, Marantz used classical compositions by Shostakovich and Stravinsky, alongside a duo of jazz renditions from Miyuki Koga and Fourplay.
The classical tracks revealed the system's ability to deliver punch, scale and drama, all while remaining intricately detailed and superbly controlled.
Shostakovich's Symphony No.5 II Allegretto emphasised the big, powerful and rich sound that this system can produce. It did come across as a touch too forward and assertive at times during this track, but that didn't detract from the scale and spaciousness shown during the demo.
Miyuki Koga's rendition of Put the Blame on Mame demonstrated a rich and natural vocal presentation, with a solid sense of timing to back the lyrics up. Despite a lot of words starting with ‘s’ in this track, there was very little sibilance to note.
Finally, Fourplay’s Chant was underpinned by a fresh, airy and open sound, held together by snappy, tight bass that kept everything in check. All of the instruments featured in the track sounded realistic and natural, with the bass guitar and woodwind instruments being two standout elements.
Both systems lived up to expectations in many regards – given the price, I would have been shocked if they hadn't. We’re eager to hear how this testing environment influences the sound of the final products – and the good news is that we won’t have to wait long.
The Denon AVR-X2900H has just landed in our AV testing room, so stay tuned for our full review.
MORE:
Read our Denon AVR-X2900H hands on review
As well as our full Denon AVR-X2800H review
And check out our list of the best AV receivers
