DENON AVP-A1HDCI: new king in a house

[Vlad44]

Just look at this bad boy.

$7000 preamp + same heap of money for amp.

Wow.

Just wow.

[zepherman]

Yes this pre/pro and 10 channel beast of an amp are going to give the likes of Lexicon, Classe', and Krell some serious competition. The Denon AVP-A1HDCI pre/pro has to be the most technologically advanced product on the market. It has everything one would want/need in a high end pre/pro (and then some).

I have an AVP-A1HDCI pre-ordered and hope to receive it within a week. I am chomping at the bit to get this thing! It's gonna' be freakin' awesome!!



Seth

[Rike255]

Mmm if only they'd let me take out another mortgage on my house. I'd be all over this.

[Vlad44]

Originally Posted by zepherman

I have an AVP-A1HDCI pre-ordered and hope to receive it within a week...

You gonna' be freakin' LUCKY!! Don't forget to write a little review...

[welwynnick]

The POA-A1HDCI power amp weighs one hundred and thirty two pounds.

Thought I'd write that long hand for effect. Even the AVP (60 lb) weighs more than my massive sony DA9000ES. Wow.

Nick

[zepherman]

Originally Posted by Vlad44

You gonna' be freakin' LUCKY!! Don't forget to write a little review...

Thanks.

Once I get it I will be sure to give some detailed impressions on both 2 channel and multichannel sound.

[Galley]

Xlr?

[Edit] Why are acronyms being made lower case?

[mr peepers]

Originally Posted by Galley

Xlr?

[Edit] Why are acronyms being made lower case?

xlr connections are awesome. true balanced connections, make for an ultra low noise transfer with much less interference than rca or other connections made from a preamp to power amp.

this thing looks disgustingly amazing. if i could live off riding my bike to and from work 30 miles away every day i'd sell my car for these beasts.


maybe my kidney ..... how much do those sell for on ebay now days?

[Rike255]

maybe my kidney ..... how much do those sell for on ebay now days?

If you sell them in two packs they do much better!

[zepherman]

Originally Posted by mr peepers

xlr connections are awesome. true balanced connections, make for an ultra low noise transfer with much less interference than rca or other connections made from a preamp to power amp.

this thing looks disgustingly amazing. if i could live off riding my bike to and from work 30 miles away every day i'd sell my car for these beasts.


maybe my kidney ..... how much do those sell for on ebay now days?

Yes if XLR connections are available, they are indeed the best connection choice.

The Denon AVP is one serious pre/pro. I know that the learning curve will be long, but once learned will be well worth it. Anything and everything I have ever wanted in a high end pre/pro is in this thing.

So now about the only thing I need to get to fully appreciate it's capabilities, it to change from my current Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player to a Panasonic BD50. Then I will be able to let the Denon pre/pro decode the DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD tracks on my Blu-ray movies.

Another thing that I'm really looking forward to using is the Denon's Ext In. for my SACD/DVD-A player. Since this pre/pro offers A/D conversion on these inputs, I will finally be able to let the bass management be done in the pre/pro.

Here's a look under the hood of this beast.




Seth

[HDJK]

Originally Posted by zepherman

Yes if XLR connections are available, they are indeed the best connection choice.

The Denon AVP is one serious pre/pro. I know that the learning curve will be long, but once learned will be well worth it. Anything and everything I have ever wanted in a high end pre/pro is in this thing.

So now about the only thing I need to get to fully appreciate it's capabilities, it to change from my current Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player to a Panasonic BD50. Then I will be able to let the Denon pre/pro decode the DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD tracks on my Blu-ray movies.

Another thing that I'm really looking forward to using is the Denon's Ext In. for my SACD/DVD-A player. Since this pre/pro offers A/D conversion on these inputs, I will finally be able to let the bass management be done in the pre/pro.

Seth

I agree 100%, it's a beauty, and if I could afford it, I would buy it in a heartbeat. But may I ask why you would prefer the bass managemant to be done in the pre/pro? I'm not familar with BM from players, but the additional AD conversion seems a shame with a AVP-A1/Martin Logan setup.
If I were you, I'd consider a Denon SACD/DVDA player with Denonlink 3rd out, so you can stream DSD and Hi-Rez PCM in 5.1 (with arguably less jitter than HDMI) to your pre/pro. That way you get the BM where you want it without the additional AD conversion. Just a thought

[zepherman]

Originally Posted by HDJK

I agree 100%, it's a beauty, and if I could afford it, I would buy it in a heartbeat. But may I ask why you would prefer the bass managemant to be done in the pre/pro? I'm not familar with BM from players, but the additional AD conversion seems a shame with a AVP-A1/Martin Logan setup.
If I were you, I'd consider a Denon SACD/DVDA player with Denonlink 3rd out, so you can stream DSD and Hi-Rez PCM in 5.1 (with arguably less jitter than HDMI) to your pre/pro. That way you get the BM where you want it without the additional AD conversion. Just a thought

The main reason(s), I want the Denon AVP to do the bass management is because on it's own, my SACD/DVD-A player (Yamaha DVD-S2300) does not offer on board bass management. So as you can imagine, the Yamaha on it's own has very weak bass for SACD/DVD-A. I do have and use an Outlaw ICBM-1 bass manager, and it works very well, but different discs require different bass levels. So by having the pre/pro do the bass management, I will not need to physically have to go to the unit and fiddle with any knobs and will be able to control it from the comfort of my chair.

This to me is a big plus. And I feel good knowing that the A/D section is 24-bit/192kHz and is dual differential. So I'm confident that the audio quality will be very good.

I considered getting a Denon universal player for spinning SACD/DVD-A discs, but I felt that the expenditure was not really worth it to me as I only own around 15 high rez discs. If I had a really large collection, say 60 - 70 titles, then I may have considered a Denon universal player to use DenonLink.

But the sound from the Ext In. might sound so good that I may not feel the need to invest in another player.



Seth

[HDJK]

That makes sense I will not even try to hide my envy for this new toy of yours

[zepherman]

Originally Posted by HDJK

That makes sense I will not even try to hide my envy for this new toy of yours

Thanks!

[zepherman]

Well I finally got my Denon pre/pro and I LOVE it!!!! To say this thing is advanced is an understatement! Just about everything that one could want/need is included. And the sound quality on this thing has exceeded my expectations. TrueHD and DTS-HD MA sound phenomenal! I am hearing a quality in movie soundtracks now that I had never experienced in my setup before. The sound is very dynamic, highly detailed, and never harsh. It delivered the sonic goods just as I had hoped that it would.

The sound quality on 2 channel music, like movie soundtracks, is very impressive. 2 Channel sound easily matches that of my audiophile grade Sunfire TGIII. So far everything about this pre/pro has impressed me. The only things I have yet to try is streamed audio from my PC, and SACD/DVD-A playback.

When I picked up my AVP-A1HDCI I also picked up a Denon BT2500 transport. The BT2500 is one gorgeous unit that works as good as it looks. PQ on the BT2500 going through the AVP-A1HDCI's Realta processing is nothing short of stunning. I am extremely happy with both units.

Here's some pix of the two.

[zepherman]

[Rike255]

Holy **** dude that's beautiful! You need to update your Martin Logan setup pics now too.
I wish I could even hear a setup like that.

[RUR]

Originally Posted by zepherman

The sound quality on 2 channel music, like movie soundtracks, is very impressive. 2 Channel sound easily matches that of my audiophile grade Sunfire TGIII.

Very, very nice and I'm definitely envious. I had thought you used tube gear for your 2ch audio?

[Vlad44]

Originally Posted by zepherman

And the sound quality on this thing has exceeded my expectations. TrueHD and DTS-HD MA sound phenomenal! I am hearing a quality in movie soundtracks now that I had never experienced in my setup before

LUCKY you! this device looks amazing!!
BTW what do you use to surge protect them?

[mr peepers]

absolutely stunning.

what are you using for an amp then zepher?