Denon AVR-A1H what a Beast

[cpp]

So the A1H is very powerful. Why would he need an external amp?

Why, because its just cool to some

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Why, because its just cool to some

Of course. I used to be cool like that also when I was younger.

Owned five high-end ATI fully balanced amps just because it’s cool. None of that cheap stuff.

 

[mono-bloc]

While I'm not a AVR owner, All power to the new owner, If you can afford it, you can enjoy it. This seems to be a comprehensive review. https://www.avfive.com/blogs/news/denon-avr-a1h-review-exceptional-performance-and-versatility-for-home-theater-enthusiasts#table-of-contents-2 It would seem the only downside is the cost, Reported to be around 6500 usd Which would seem very reasonable for what your getting.

 

[Epsonfan]

Were you planning on using external amps?

nope no 4ohm around here

 

[Auditor55]

While I'm not a AVR owner, All power to the new owner, If you can afford it, you can enjoy it. This seems to be a comprehensive review. https://www.avfive.com/blogs/news/denon-avr-a1h-review-exceptional-performance-and-versatility-for-home-theater-enthusiasts#table-of-contents-2 It would seem the only downside is the cost, Reported to be around 6500 usd Which would seem very reasonable for what your getting.

The only problem is that the AVR-A1H will be obsolete tomorrow. It's way overpriced, $6,500, I don't get it. It's packed with features that no person will ever use. Lots of superfluous and overkill feature sets. 15.4 channels, are you kidding me!! For what? What content do we have or ever will have that justifies 15.4 channels? Music, heck no. Movies, nope. So what's the point of 15.4 channels?

 

[lovinthehd]

The only problem is that the AVR-A1H will be obsolete tomorrow. It's way overpriced, $6,500, I don't get it. It's packed with features that no person will ever use. Lots of superfluous and overkill feature sets. 15.4 channels, are you kidding me!! For what? What content do we have or ever will have that justifies 15.4 channels? Music, heck no. Movies, nope. So what's the point of 15.4 channels?

Would be mostly about how your room is setup as to what feature set you can use; a dedicated theater room could well use such.....a typical living room not so much. Some people just have to have the top of the line, too....I've seen guys buying units such as this for even 2.1 setups (with horrible rooms and poor placement of speakers all too often), somewhat along the lines of thinking the "sound quality" always goes up with model/price....

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The only problem is that the AVR-A1H will be obsolete tomorrow. It's way overpriced, $6,500, I don't get it. It's packed with features that no person will ever use. Lots of superfluous and overkill feature sets. 15.4 channels, are you kidding me!! For what? What content do we have or ever will have that justifies 15.4 channels? Music, heck no. Movies, nope. So what's the point of 15.4 channels?

You don't understand why some people spend more money and buy more speakers?

It's because it makes them feel happy. It's a hobby. Whatever makes everyone happy.

I would rather spend my money on a Lexus LX600, but everyone is different.

 

[Epsonfan]

Lexus LX 600 is next on the agenda as soon as I collect my reparation cash.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Lexus LX 600 is next on the agenda as soon as I collect my reparation cash.

There you go. Life is short. Enjoy!

 

[Epsonfan]

There you go. Life is short. Enjoy!

I hear you in Dolby Atmos.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I hear you in Dolby Atmos.

Don't tell that to Auditor55 - he hates ATMOS also.

But you do remind me of the days when I bought the Denon AVR-5308 and Lexus LX570.

 

[Epsonfan]

I am happy with my RX350 6 cylinder beauty.

 

[Auditor55]

You don't understand why some people spend more money and buy more speakers?

It's because it makes them feel happy. It's a hobby. Whatever makes everyone happy.

I would rather spend my money on a Lexus LX600, but everyone is different.

In my opinion, people should not spend that much on speakers, what's the difference between a $10,000 pair of speakers vs. a $20,000 pair? At 10K I should be able to purchase a great pair of speakers. There should be no need to spend more, if not, I have wasted my money.

That said, I believe people make poor purchases, not because it makes them happy but due to marketing. Saying that superfluous, useless features that drive up the price of a product are purchased because they make you happy is a bit of a cop-out.

That Denon unit is priced at $6,500 and it doesn't have Dirac Live, which most people in this forum have opined is a superior room correct software to Audyssey. That would be a useful feature for a premium-price product. However, they want to give you useless stuff like 15 channels, when small rooms don't even need it.

 

[Auditor55]

Don't tell that to Auditor55 - he hates ATMOS also.

But you do remind me of the days when I bought the Denon AVR-5308 and Lexus LX570.

I don't hate Atmos, to the contrary, I love it when done right.

 

[Auditor55]

Would be mostly about how your room is setup as to what feature set you can use; a dedicated theater room could well use such.....a typical living room not so much. Some people just have to have the top of the line, too....I've seen guys buying units such as this for even 2.1 setups (with horrible rooms and poor placement of speakers all too often), somewhat along the lines of thinking the "sound quality" always goes up with model/price....

I agree with most of what you are saying. However, even in a dedicated room, 15 channels seem like fluff to me. 15 channels of what? It's still a small room.

With all that being said, I don't doubt that it's probably a great AVR.

 

[PENG]

I agree with most of what you are saying. However, even in a dedicated room, 15 channels seem like fluff to me. 15 channels of what? It's still a small room.

With all that being said, I don't doubt that it's probably a great AVR.

I think manufacturers know that a lot of hobbyists put a lot of value on the ability to use one box to do it all. In that case, the A1H is currently a great value for those who do want to run 15, or 13 channels. The overall cost with all the DL licenses would be about $8,000, that's still a lot less than the Marantz "separates".

For those who only need 11 channels max, there's always the Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer alternatives, and save a few thousand dollars.

People who only want 5 or 7 channels, they are unfortunately out of luck as there are currently nothing they can buy that can match the feature sets of the Onkyo/Pioneer/D+M/Arcam/NAD/Monolith/McIntosh except with only 7 channels + 2-4 sub channels.

Anthem does have the MRX540 that may fit, but if Dirac Live is a must, then no, it isn't an option.

 

[Trell]

People who only want 5 or 7 channels, they are unfortunately out of luck as there are currently nothing they can buy that can match the feature sets of the Onkyo/Pioneer/D+M/Arcam/NAD/Monolith/McIntosh except with only 7 channels + 2-4 sub channels.

That's my situation as I can't fit more than than 5 speakers and two subs in my, by American standards, small living room.

 

[PENG]

That's my situation as I can't fit more than than 5 speakers and two subs in my, by American standards, small living room.

So what are you using now?

 

[Trell]

So what are you using now?

I still have my 2015 model Denon AVR-X4200W that works fine. That model did not get the Audyssey app upgrade, though, but buying a new AVR for that felt expensive with uncertain benefits.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

In my opinion, people should not spend that much on speakers, what's the difference between a $10,000 pair of speakers vs. a $20,000 pair? At 10K I should be able to purchase a great pair of speakers. There should be no need to spend more, if not, I have wasted my money.

That said, I believe people make poor purchases, not because it makes them happy but due to marketing. Saying that superfluous, useless features that drive up the price of a product are purchased because they make you happy is a bit of a cop-out.

That Denon unit is priced at $6,500 and it doesn't have Dirac Live, which most people in this forum have opined is a superior room correct software to Audyssey. That would be a useful feature for a premium-price product. However, they want to give you useless stuff like 15 channels, when small rooms don't even need it.

You use words like “should” and “be able to”, but this is purely a hobby, not a necessity.

I bet some people think you SHOULD just spend no more than $400 on an AVR and no more than $1000 for all your speakers ad subwoofer combined.

Some people spend thousands on Harley Davidson motorcycles, and I think they are wasting money. But that’s their hobby. Same with cars, cooking equipment, etc.