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Review 4 of 21
Price Paid:
$900.00
from Jeff's Sound Values, CA Summary:
"Real High End does not have a Japanese name"- Is what I used to tell people. And when Denon first started mass producing their Home hi-fi receivers, I would say- "If Denon was a car, it would be a Toyota Corrola". This was my FIRST perception of this company.
You must know that I grew up staring wondrously at the orange glow mysteriously contained in those little glass chambers that my father called tubes (monoblocks, to be more precise). Nothing is more soothing to a 10 year-old than having artists like The Modern Jazz Quartet and John Coltrane emanate from a spinning Thorens piped through a McIntosh tube pre-amp. That was how my Saturday mornings started off for the first 12 or so years of my life. And while that in no way makes me a certified audiophile, it has given me a frame of reference as to what the Modern Jazz Quartet (and similar artists )are supposed to sound like. If nothing else, it made me into the audio-snob that I am today.
Cut to 20+ years later, I found myself wanting to upgrade from a very decent component-analog system, to the digital domain. I had been very happy with what I had for quite some time, but was starting to lose sleep over the better stuff that was being churned out on a daily basis from tons of manufacturers. I had no Dolby Digital. No onboard DAC’s. I was a mere "shell" of a man... (Well not REALLY, but you get the idea).
I figured that I had two choices; I could take the money I had to spend and buy right into brand-new mediocrity, or call Dan (or Jeff) at Jeff's Sound Values and buy "last year's top of the line". I opted for the latter.
UPS delivered a 35lb package to me 7 days later. I have a 3-flight walkup, and I was complaining every step of the way. Remember, we are talking pre-amp here. No integrated amplifiers of any kind. That 30 or so pounds (sans box) can be found in the build quality of the unit itself, and in the power supplies that sit inside it. Quite the little monster.
“Overwhelmingly unimpressive” is what most people feel when they see this unit at first glance. I was no different. It’s minimal, yet typical appearance gives no clue whatsoever as to it’s real capabilities. A sleeper in the truest definition of the word. But If I may take a moment and digress to my automotive analogies- when it comes to the bottom line, it’s what’s under the hood that counts.
And that is exactly what happened. For it was not the details and instruments (that I never heard before on my old pre-amp) that won me over, it was the TRUE WARMTH in which they were articulated that blew me away. Billie Holiday sounded more emotional. Miles Davis became more musical and coherent. And Patricia Barber? I swear that the woman herself was in my very own Brooklyn living room for the past 5 nights (thank GOD I’m not taking those drugs anymore!).
But what, Keith, of digital theater decoding? I have three words for you: accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. The AC-3 RF input on the Denon was a shining star for my Elite 97. It never sounded so good. For now, I am satisfied with not having a DTS decoder. It seems that Dolby Digital has become something of a defacto standard, and the THX setting almost makes up for it. Besides, Denon has an AVP-8000 DTS model (in gold anodized aluminum) circulating the globe in limited numbers. And if the new model is in any way fantastic as it’s older brother, you should find a way to justify the cost, providing of course money is a factor in your buying decision.
Here’s my only real complaint: this older model has a 1.5 - 2 second latency time “latching” onto digital signals. No big deal for straight PCM or AC-3 from a laserdisc or CD player, but on DVD’s where the menu and trailers are in “plain” Dolby Surround(or stereo) and the movie itself is encoded in Dolby Digital, the Denon has to race to switch back and forth between the two formats. I experience an occasional audio cut-off in the very beginning of some DVD’s. I try to augment this by pausing the movie before the beginning credits start to roll to allow time for the DAC’s to latch on, but it is still an annoyance. Perhaps it is because the original design of this model is of the B.D. era (Before DVD), when switching between the two digital audio formats was not an issue.
But at the end of the day- The Denon AVP-8000 is a great example of an audiophile quality pre-amp and theater decoder hybrid. It’s dollar-per-performance ratio is unparalleled in any other product I have found. It’s minimalist (for a Denon) approach to design is a refreshing change from the button and led riddled components that are an all too common sight form the country that bears the rising sun. What initially started out as a compromise, manifested itself into complete fulfillment.
-KDC
P.S. The great service and fantastic deal I got from Jeff’s Sound Values allowed room for yet another component purchase- A Citation 7.1 THX, another incredible performer.
Strengths:
OUTSTANDING SONIC QUALITY Weaknesses:
Manual reads like bad Rod McKuen; Disturbingly unintelligible. The remote looks like that of a $150 receiver, purchased at a fire sale, in a bad part of town. Don't show the remote to your friends, or any women you are trying to impress. ;)
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