A/V Receivers


This year’s consumer can expect a flood of affordable A/V receivers. Apart from some of the least expensive units, all products incorporate Dolby Digital and DTS decoders along with 24-bit/96k DACs. That’s right, even receivers under $1000 now incorporate high-bit processing. Since most DVD and CD players’ internal DACs are bypassed in favor of the receiver or digital processor’s DAC, a receiver with 24-bit/96K processing ensures an improved and consistent reproduction of sound from all sources.

The majority of these new receivers include six-channel direct inputs to accommodate future digital audio decoding systems and DVD-Audio players. This also allows direct connection to HDTV sets with built-in digital decoding.

Harman Kardon is reappearing as a force to be reckoned with, releasing the $1,500 AVR 7000. This new HK product, incorporating HDCD processing, really stands out in a crowd with a striking shiny black face and brushed aluminum accents. It’s equipped with a newly developed AKM AK4393 24-bit/96k DAC, utilizing delta-sigma technology and a 24-bit, 8x digital filter at the output stage to reduce jitter. The AVR 7000 features Logic 7, originally developed by Lexicon (another Harman company), to reproduce two-channel material with good imaging and directionality on a multi-channel system. The exclusive VMAx 3D VirtualTheater is included for realistic surround effects using only two speakers (even on Dolby Digital sources).

Part of the Reference Series, the Marantz SR-19 provides many of the features of the current SR-18, with some major exceptions, enabling it to carry a price that is almost half of its predecessor at $1,699. While both are THX certified, the newer SR-19 is one of the first A/V receivers to be approved for THX Select, a new set of specifications best suited for the smaller room environment. The SR-19 delivers 120 watts per channel, and incorporates heavy-duty speaker terminals, to accommodate high-quality cables with banana plugs. In addition to the myriad inputs and outputs on the back panel, a set of inputs is provided on the front panel for portable gear. The receiver is delivered with the RC-2000 Mark II Programmable Universal Remote Control, a $200 value.

Denon barely comes in under $1000 with the new AVR-3300. It incorporates the newest Analog Devices chips, the SHARC 32-bit floating-point DSP processor for combined Dolby Digital and DTS decoding and the AD-1855 24-bit/96k DAC on all five main channels (including subwoofer). The digital interface accepts stereo 24-bit/96K PCM digital audio. A unique feature of this unit is the Dual Surround Mode Speaker Switching, allowing switching between two pairs of surround speakers, ideally a pair of direct radiating speakers for 5.1 audio sources and a pair of dipoles for movie soundtracks. Also, uncommon in a receiver at this price range, the AVR-3300 provides a dedicated analog stereo pathway to keep signals in the analog domain. It’s not the most powerful A/V receiver, but it does deliver a respectable 105 watts per channel. If lots of power is not a major concern, especially in a small apartment, the AVR-2800 at 85 watts per channel and the AVR-1800 at 75 watts per channel are other possibilities. These two receivers, using the same digital decoder chip as the AVR-3300, are a terrific value at $799 and $599, respectively. They are currently shipping.