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If you’re an owner of Denon’s flagship A/V components, the AVR-5308CI, or the AVP-A1HDCI, you’ve probably had them for a while now, and already know that these are amazing machines that can definitely enhance anyone’s viewing and listening experience. You’ve probably made the most out of their features over the years, like the AVR-5308CI‘s HQV Realta processor, HDMI to HDMI scaling, 6 HDMI inputs and two HDMI outputs, among other things like the standard Denon cutting-edge technology installed during the AVR-5308CI‘s first release, and the AVP-A1HDCI‘s numerous audio decoders, three 32-bit floating-point surround processors, 48 24-bit/192kHz Burr-Brown DACs, 6 HDMI 1.3 inputs, 2 HMDI 1.3 outputs, Deep Color support, and much, much more.
All of these technologies made these two products the very best in their fields when they were released, and they continue today to still be among the very best machines in the A/V components market. But let’s face it, there’s not much else to look forward to with these machines, right? They can’t possibly get any better, correct?
Well, WRONG!
Denon has recently announced an upgrade program for these exact two products this year, which will keep both the AVR-5308CI and the AVP-A1HDCI up-to-speed with the industry’s latest technologies, boosting both machines, once again, to the top spots of their fields! So if you’re thinking about possibly replacing your AVR-5308CI or your AVP-A1HDCI, then you’d better check out these 5 things that the upgrade will soon be giving you! In no particular order, they are…
- Audyssey MultEQ XT32 (including Audyssey Pro) – It is the newest, most accurate, and most cutting-edge room correction solution from Audyssey. The MultEQ XT is already in place in some of Denon’s other top-of-the-line machines, but the MultEQ XT32 will definitely make your AVR-5308CI and AVP-A1HDCI truly ready for the future! The XT32 room correction solution has ten thousand (yes, that’s 10,000) individual control points that allow the machine to correct the most detailed problems of a room. Its ultra high resolution filters are applied to all the channels, including the subwoofers, in order to truly enhance the audio that is produced.
- Audyssey DSX Surround Processing – Say hello to a truly immersive and realistic home theater experience! Audyssey’s research led to the discovery that adding more channels in the correct places will make the surround sound experience much better. So they developed the DSX, which creates new wide and height channels and provides Surround Envelopment Processing to enhance the Front and Back channels, expanding beyond the 5.1 sound to deliver a truly awesome surround sound experience! It is an upgrade that will make your AVR-5308CI and AVP-A1HDCI much more amazing!
- Dolby Pro Logic IIz – Normally, 5.1 and 7.1 channel surround systems provide a horizontal soundfield, meaning it is directed to the listener from only one vertical plane. However, what would happen if front height channels are added? Well, the result is surround sound that has incredible depth and dimension, something that the Dolby Pro Logic IIz is slated to provide! What the Pro Logic IIz does is identify, and then decode, spatial cues that come naturally in all content. It then processes any ambient sound, like rain, or wind, and directs them to the two front height speakers above the original front left and right speaker. What this means in layman’s terms, is you’ll hear lifelike sound from varying heights, providing an even more detailed listening experience!
- 3D Video Pass-through via HDMI – 3D is fast becoming the current benchmark in home-entertainment. What was first thought to be only possible in large theaters, is now becoming a technology that more and more A/V systems are including! In fact, Denon already has a number of 3D capable machines and by getting this upgrade for your AVR-5308CI and AVP-A1HDCI, you too will be able to experience 3D entertainment without the need to buy totally new equipment!
- A totally brand new home theater – This may not be a literal thing to receive, but rest assured, with all the upgrades your AVR-5308CI and AVP-A1HDCI will get, your home theater will transform into a brand new one, short of having new upholstered couches, a new bowl for popcorn, and new rugs and pillows!
Come October, these upgrades will all be up for grabs, so you don’t have to wait for much longer! Be ready to transform your home theater systems!
For more details on the upgrade, sign up here to receive informational email updates.
Denon A/V Receivers are at the very tip of the sword when it comes to audio-video entertainment technology. They are prized the world over for being the best in the industry, which is why a lot of the Denon AVRs have found their place in a lot of people’s homes.
 AVR-5308CI(A)
But the AVRs’ potential can only be achieved fully by having the proper gear to use with them. Just like how a top of the line, ultra powerful car engine needs the proper chassis, body shell, and wheels to show what it’s made of, so too does an AVR need the right TV, and of course, the right speakers, to function to the best of its abilities. And speaking of speakers…
More often than not, people get the best Denon AVR available, only to feel a little unsatisfied because of the speakers they are using. Using the example above, think of having a home theater setup with the wrong speakers, like a car with a powerful V12 engine that has golf cart wheels. It’s just not gonna work properly!
Thankfully, it’s not hard to select the proper speakers for a Denon AVR. It will need, however, a little bit of reading and thinking, in order to maximize both the AVR’s potential, and the speakers’! So, read on.
First, some basic questions need to be answered.
What is the size of the room where the speakers will be placed? This is of course, important, because it’s kind of hard to buy huge speaker sets, only to find out after setting them up, that there’s barely room to move or do anything else! Next, determine if the system will be used more to play music or movies. Some speakers are designed specifically to make music sound better, whereas some speakers are made more for movies and TV. Also, determine the kind of music and movies to be played, whether they’ll be HD radio or MP3s, Blu-ray or DVD, and so on. Next, what is the budget? And finally, what kind of audio system will be used? Is it a 5.1 channel system? 6.1? 9.2? It is important to know this because these numbers will determine the number of speakers and subwoofers that need to be purchased.
The reason for these questions is that sometimes, it’s better to buy speakers that are reasonably within the limits of what they’ll actually be used for, rather than just buying the best and most expensive ones you see in the store. Not to mention, this will make the purchase more cost-effective, because the speakers purchased will be used to their fullest potential.
Now, for more of the technical stuff. This is where it gets a bit tricky, and to get the most out of the receiver and speakers, it’s best to take the time to understand this part properly.
First, check the impedance of the speakers, which is measured in ohms. They typically come in 4, 6, or 8 ohms, depending on what the speakers are designed for. It is important when getting speakers to match the proper impedance of the speakers, to that of the AVR, and here’s why. If a lower impedance speaker is connected to a higher impedance AVR (say, 6 ohm speaker to 8 ohm amplifier), the amplifier will have more load than it’s designed to take, which results in less than dynamic sound, basically a fancy way of saying “poor quality audio”. More importantly, however, is that when this happens there’s a risk of the AVR overheating, resulting in shut downs or total burnouts. A sign that this is happening is when in loud action scenes, or after playing a few minutes of loud music, the speaker begins to “stutter” and produce bad audio. So, check the impedance!
Next, check the power rating of the speakers, measured in watts. A good measure for this is to check the speakers’ peak power rating, which is the rating that shows how much power the speaker will take before the sound produced becomes distorted. Like impedance, it’s important that the power rating of the speakers match that of the capability of the AVR, to produce crisp, dynamic sound.
Lastly, the sensitivity should be checked, which is a rating measured in decibels. For Blu-ray and HD DVD formats, a range of around 90 decibels is good, but to make things perfect, it is best to match the levels of the speakers to that of the AVR.
These may sound too technical for the average buyer, but they are much simpler once understood properly. Also, when buying speakers from a trusted establishment, there will be many experts present who can give all the proper information. It’s just important to know what kind of questions to ask, so that the speakers that will be bought will be the best for the home theater system!
Ready to choose the best speakers for your system? Visit your nearest Denon Dealer today!
Apple AirPlay. Long story short, it is a technology that allows people to send many kinds of media, to any AirPlay compatible device, using their iOS gadgets like the iPhone and iPod Touch. When AirPlay was announced by Apple, it seemed only a matter of time before this new technology would begin to take a foothold on many devices. But Denon took the step forward almost immediately, and has unveiled a number of new devices that are already AirPlay compatible. These include the N7 system, the AVR-991, the AVR-3311CI, AVR-4311CI, and the AVR-A100. And because of the importance of this new technology, expect Denon to have more devices that are AirPlay compatible very soon.
For now, however, if you already have any of the devices listed above, you’re AirPlay ready. But… how do you use it? Well, that’s what this guide is all about!
First off, you need to get your device’s AirPlay firmware upgrade online for just $49.99. To do this, first, you need to make sure your device is connected to the internet. Then, access the “Feature Upgrade” on your device. From there, you’ll be able to see the Denon AirPlay upgrade. Retrieve the Upgrade ID that will appear, and then go to this link, to finalize the process. It’s that simple! There’s no hardware upgrade or modification needed!
Once this is done, your device is now AirPlay ready. To use AirPlay, simply make sure that your device is on the same WiFi network as your other devices, like your home PC or Mac, and your iOS devices like the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.
It is important to know that for the PC or Mac, iTunes 10 is needed, the iPhone and iPod Touch should have iOS version 4, and the iPad should have iOS version 4.2. Compatible iOS devices include the iPhone 3GS or newer, iPod Touch 2nd generation, and the iPad.
Once your Denon gear and iOS devices are set, it’s time to use AirPlay! Whether it’s through iTunes on the PC or Mac, or through the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch interface, all you need to do is find the button that looks like this:
 To the left, is the iOS AirPlay button. To the right is how it appears on iTunes. For iOS devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch, the black AirPlay button appears either on the navigation bar of the app, or at the top of the main screen. For iTunes, the button is located on the lower right corner of the window.
When this button is clicked, a list of currently connected AirPlay devices will appear, at which point, the Denon device can then be selected. After this, any song selected on the iOS device, or on iTunes, will be sent to the Denon device wirelessly, and played conveniently! No more finicky cables, no need to be in close proximity to the Denon device to control the songs that play.
AirPlay has not even been pushed to its fullest potential just yet, but expect Denon to continue being at the forefront of this new and exciting technology. For now, grab your AirPlay upgrade and enjoy AirPlay today!
 If you’ve been paying attention you’ll have noticed a new Dolby product over the past couple of years, Dolby Pro Logic IIz. You’re likely wondering exactly what does this do. Basically Dolby Pro Logic IIz adds sound from an additional set of front speakers to add height to your sound stage thereby bringing new depth and expansive presence to your movies and music.
Some of the benefits include:
- Introduces front height channels for more spacious surround sound
- Delivers a compelling and enveloping listening experience
- Adds depth and dimension for a lifelike soundstage
- Provides you with a wide range of choices for speaker positioning to optimize sound in almost any room
- Works with existing soundtracks by identifying and decoding spatial cues that occur naturally in a soundtrack
Find out more about how Dolby Pro Logic IIz works here.
 Did you know that Dolby Pro Logic II can take a regular stereo source from a movie, TV or game and turn in into a compelling and totally enveloping surround sound experience?
How is that possible? Dolby Pro Logic II does it by transforming high-quality stereo sound into 5.1-channel surround sound so rich and realistic that it completely changes your audio experience. Thanks to its full-range performance, you will hear all the detail and subtleties of a compelling five-channel Dolby surround sound mix from a stereo signal. Suddenly you’re immersed in the action when you play video games. Your favorite stereo movies and TV shows are more engaging than ever before. And your music has amazing presence and depth.
Find out how this works
Dolby Podcast on how this works
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