Denon finally returned to the consumer headphone market, and they’ve made a big splash with their latest offerings. I spent some quality time with the AH-C700 (available in black or silver), and the upshot is that I’m not going to wait 2 days to call. They’re not cheap dates, though, at about $200. But they have such nice extension in both the bass and the treble that they rival similarly priced favorites from Etymotic and Shure, and they’re pretty tough to beat on comfort and build quality. → Read More
Home Theater Blog, via CNET’s Crave, has published some leaked details of five new Denon receivers possibly scheduled to arrive starting this summer. Speculation has the receivers being released in two waves, with two high-end models arriving in July and three less-expensive units hitting in September. The top models—the $2,500 AVR-4308CI and $1,600 AVR-3808CI—will “include four HDMI 1.3 inputs, support for internal Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio decoding, built-in Ethernet connectivity for digital media steaming (plus Wi-Fi on the AVR-4308CI)” and you can expect some new GUI action as well. The more-budget-friendly AVR-1508, AVR-1708, and AVR-2808 will follow in September and will share similar connectivity options as the more expensive models, just fewer of them. For example the 2808 is expected to have HDMI 1.3 support and internal Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD decoding, but the lower models will lose built-in support for decoding the newer audio soundtracks. → Read More
With so much tech goodness available, it’s all too easy to forget that some of the best products are the ones that don’t require a Comp Sci degree to master. After all, just because you’re a genius and can figure out how to work the latest cell phone, computer, TV or digital camera, doesn’t mean your friends and family can. To that end we’ve put together a brief list of products and technologies that will make even the most hopeless of users feel like tech gods. → Read More
With all the talk about screen resolutions on HDTV sets, people tend to forget about the other important part of the high-def experience: 5.1-channel surround sound. So if you’ve got yourself a sweet plasma, LCD, projector, or rear-projection HDTV and you’re rocking the built-in speakers (though we know there are some good ones out there) you’re doing you and your loved ones a serious disservice by using them. To help you out, ‘cause that’s how we do, we put together this run down of eight of our favorite home-theater-in-a-box systems (HTIB, pronounced “HTIB”). Are they as good as buying individual components to handle your media needs? No, probably not. True audiophiles and film freaks will probably want to go with individual specialized components, especially if you’re trying to fill a large room with mind-blowing, bone-rattling sound. Will they pump out satisfying surround sound for the average music-and-movie enthusiast? Absolutely. → Read More
Well this was announced a few weeks back, but we have some firm specs on it now. The HD2500 is designed to be a sort of one-stop DJing utility. It provides a built-in hard drive, external memory, CD playback control, catalog backup, special effects and “more.” It includes Denon DJ Music Manager for easy navigation of files, seamless looping, hot starts and stutter points. Users can also hook it directly to external storage devices like iPods, jump drives or laptops, or can use the internal hard drive for playing digital music. It features USB 2.0 and can completely control several Denon devices, such as the D4500 and the D4000. No word yet on pricing, but it will be available in Q4. Denon DN-HD2500 Information Page Denon DJ → Read More
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