Denon AVR-1800 AV-receiver
The Denon AVR-1800 has a sense of power and class that is taken for granted with obvious satisfaction. The receiver also uses a digital-to-analog converter capable of 24-bit/96 kHz signal processing. The tricky contrivances of the remote with its own LCD display, which replaces the kit's on-screen menu, are overcome, but after some communication. The receiver is equipped with a system that remembers the state before it was last turned off, and returns all settings, including input, spatial sound mode, its parameters, etc., after turning on.
The process of fine-tuning the sound parameters of the "theater" is similar to the work of a musical instrument tuner. It takes an ear, a sense of proportion, and patience. Otherwise, the preparation process can become an end in itself. However, after the first switch-on the Denon AVR-1800 after preliminary tuning by test tone showed such a harmonious combination of details with the volume of the stage space that we twisted our eyes: further correction, it seems, is not for him. The uniform frontal sound field, supported by the accurate work of the rear channels, creates an excellent foundation for the smooth movement of virtual objects in almost all directions. The transition from a confined space to a large volume is quite confident. The central channel does not attract sound to itself, thanks to which the freedom of space is felt in all scenes. "Cinematic reality" is conveyed easily, like breathing, and what is happening on the screen immediately engages the story. What is particularly pleasing is that the three-dimensional space does not impair the sound microdetail in any way. Apparently, this is the main charm of Denon: the combination of the immensity of space with the clear delineation of small sound images. We played with the settings for a while, and it became clear that the preliminary (optimal according to the test) settings fully correspond to the actually measured ones. While the optimum is really pronounced, the device does not have a strong criticality to the variation of the parameters. Deviations within certain limits can only affect the number of VIP seats in the home theater.
From the DSP modes we can single out Mono Movie, in which the input rear effects even on the simplest phonograms provide the generation of sound space while maintaining high definition frontal localization. Another mode is similar to this one - 5-Channel Stereo. This unit is for the fine connoisseurs of multi-channel sound in the home theater, so the acoustics must be high class. They may not be very bassy (in this respect, there is a reserve), but they must have a flat frequency response and low nonlinear distortion.
