The summer holidays are here and whether you’re schlepping it back to the office or staying home to have some quality time with the newly freed sprogs, we have a special treat for you: a fresh entry to our weekly hi-fi and home cinema news digest.
Sure, most attention was rightly on our special Home Cinema Week event, but between the sea of special features, a few key reviews and announcements also went live over the past seven days. Here’s what you need to know.
Denon’s flagship AVR is pretty awesome
There’s no getting around the fact £4999 is a lot of money right now. But if you have the cash and want a premium AVR to power your swish new home cinema, or upgrade the one you have, then we have a new recommendation: the five-star Denon AVC-A1H.
Expensive? Yes, but the flagship unit has rapidly become a favourite among the What Hi-Fi? home cinema team, with its rich, bold and powerful sound and wonderfully dynamic, fun presentation delighting every reviewer who listened to it. Hence our five-star rating and verdict:
“Denon’s flagship amplifier justifies its large price tag, and even larger chassis. With a rich, powerful and natural sound, it takes every film and song we throw at it and makes them shine without breaking a sweat. Equipped with an exhaustive feature set and an intuitive set-up, this enthusiast-level amplifier is actually a stellar choice for all levels of home cinema fans – providing they have a generous budget.”
Read our full Denon AVC-A1H review
K-Pop to the rescue
While certain team members are unashamed K-pop fans (staff writer Robyn Quick in particular), it’s not a genre you see talked about on What Hi-Fi? very often. But that all changed last week when reports broke suggesting K-pop powerhouse BTS helped cause a huge surge in CD sales, with the release of their new album ARIRANG. Specifically, data company Luminate showed that CDs sold 16.3 million units in the US between January and the end of June thanks to its launch – meaning for the first time in recent memory CD sales grew faster than vinyl during the period!
Read the full story: Growth in CD sales has overtaken vinyl in the US – the reasons for this might surprise you
We found out why Marantz’s new Model 70 stereo amp won’t launch in the US
Marantz launching its entry-level CD 70 CD player and Model 70 stereo amplifier was big news a couple of weeks ago.
But while we found lots to like about the two units, which are in our review rooms right now, there was one odd omission that gave us pause. Specifically, the Model 70 didn’t have US pricing – which gave us, and a number of readers, pause.
Last week our ever-inquisitive deputy editor, Andy Madden, took the time to ask Marantz if the Model 70 would be coming to the US market. Sadly it’s not good news, with a spokesperson telling us:
“Following careful evaluation, we determined that anticipated market demand in the region would not support the minimum production volumes required for a local launch. As a result, we have made the decision to focus availability for the initial launch in markets where consumer demand can be more effectively met.”
Read the full story: Here's why the Marantz Model 70 stereo amplifier isn’t going to be available in the US
McIntosh unleashed the MX124
Looking for a powerhouse AVR that can support 8K resolution, support four subwoofers and pretty much every HDR and audio format under the sun? Got £16,900 (around $23,000 / AU$32,000) to spare? Then we’ve got good news! McIntosh just launched its new MX124 AV receiver that delivers on all of those fronts.
Featuring nine 32-bit digital-to-analogue converters and new upgraded circuitry, this beast of an AVR is available now and claims to be a perfect fit for "today's most advanced home cinema systems".
We haven’t reviewed, or even seen, the unit in the flesh yet, so we can’t comment on performance. But considering the firm’s pedigree in the premium space, it’s certainly caught our attention! We’ll do our best to get one in for review ASAP.
Read the full story: The McIntosh MX124 AV receiver wants to be the beating heart of your monster home cinema setup
MORE:
These are the best AV receivers we’ve reviewed
We rank the best CD players for every budget
Our picks of the best stereo amps
