Denon 2008 AV launch preview

The AVR-4308 features Denon's 'new wave' design, giving it a sleeker, softer look

Denon has revealed preliminary details on its new home cinema range for the 2008. The new models are a 'statement of intent' for the Japanese AV specialist. Denon says all of its new products will be 'high-def format neutral' and will offer better sound quality, ease of use and connectivity.

Showing off this philosophy to fine effect is the new Denon AVR-4308 DAB HD Network Wi-Fi 7.1 AV receiver. Due to be launched in September, this £2,000 home cinema receiver features Denon's 'new wave' design which gives its products a sleeker look. The AVR-4308's key features are given below:

High Definition Sound & Vision

  • HDMI 1.3a with two HDMI outputs
  • Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD decoders (HDMI 1.3a)
  • Deep Colour and xvYCC support (HDMI 1.3a)
  • Auto Lip Sync (HDMI 1.3a)

Sound Quality

  • State-of-the-art Denon Solutions for Maximising Content Quality
  • Identical quality and power for all 7 channels, 140W x 7ch
  • Denon's Dynamic Discrete Surround Circuit
  • Denon proprietary Advanced AL24 for all channels
  • Faroudja chip to up-scale to 1080P
  • New audiophile chassis construction design
  • Compressed Audio Restorer
  • DAB Tuner (Denon's first in an AVR)

Ease of Use

  • Stunning new photo-real Graphical User Interface (GUI)
  • Auto set-up and Room EQ, MultEQ XT from Audyssey
  • Includes dedicated 2nd zone remote control
  • New back panel layout

Connectivity & Future-ready Expandability

  • Full Networking capabilities
  • Wi-Fi & Ethernet Built-in
  • DenonLink ultra-high-speed audio interface
  • Selectable USB ports (Front/Rear)
  • iPod Ready (using the Denon ASD-1R)
  • Music streaming from PC & Mac - AAC, MP3, WAV, WMA lossless, FLAC
  • Photo streaming (JPEG)
  • Internet Radio V2.0 extended - 7000 stations
  • Network setup (Web Control) function
  • HDMI 1.3a inputs with 1080p capability
  • 3 zone room-to-room capability

Denon is also showing off a new version of its massive pre/power AV combo, the AVP-A1HD AND POA-A1HD. The £10,000 two-box set has all the features listed above, but can deliver 3,000W of power into 10 discrete audio channels. There are no more details yet, but we do know it's launching in October.