In conjunction with Sound United's first ever North America Dealers Conference, being held this week in New Orleans, two of the company's venerable audio brands, Marantz and Denon, announced a pair of new offerings apiece to their extensive audio video receiver lineups.
Fresh off the news that other familiar audio names Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer and Pioneer Elite will soon be joining the large Sound United audio family, Marantz and Denon are both giving dealers two more affordable, feature-packed AVR options.
Marantz announced the NR1510 ($599) and NR1710 ($749) slimline 4K Ultra HD receivers, while Denon introduced the AVR-X1600H ($599) and AVR-X2600H ($799) receivers for its X-Series.
Marantz Slimline 4K Ultra HD AVR Features
“We've packed plenty of power into both models and included the latest HDMI suite alongside voice control compatibility with leading AI platforms,” said Emmanuel Millot, global brand director at Marantz.
“Both of these new models easily meet the needs of most enthusiasts without sacrificing space, and are an ideal option for listeners looking to move away from a sound bar to a product with greater sonic performance and ease-of-use.”
Both models provide 50 watts of amplification, into 5.2 channels for the NR1510 and 7.2 channels for the NR1710. They offer six and eight 4K Ultra HDMI inputs, respectively.
Other shared features of the two receivers include: 4K/60 Hz full-rate pass-through, 4:4:4 color resolution, HDR10 and BT.2020; ability to decode high-resolution audio ALAC, FLAC and WAV files up to 24-bit/192kHz as well as DCD 2.8MHz and 5.6MHz; HEOS Built-in for multiroom streaming, music streaming and voice control; support for Alexa, Google Home and Apple Siri voice assistants; supports for all major streaming services including Spotify, Pandora, Tidal, and more via Bluetooth, AirPlay 2 or the HEOS app; and integrated phono input.
Both support Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats, but the NR1710 bumps listeners into the immersive audio realm by adding support for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and DTS Virtual:X.
Giving more fuel to the custom integrator channel, the NR1710 also is compatible with voice assistant Josh.ai.
Meanwhile, both models deliver IP control, Control4 SDDP, Web UI, Works with Domotz Pro, SnapAV's OvrC and Ihiji Invision for remote monitoring and management, according to the announcement.
Denon X-Series X-Factors
The new Denon AVR-X1600H and AVR-X2600H deliver 80 watts and 95 watts, respectively, into 7.2 channels; the X1600H has six 4K Ultra HDMI inputs and one ouput, and the X2600H has eight inputs with two outputs.
These models also leverage the HEOS platform to enable wireless music streaming across compatible devices, and support the aforementioned quartet of voice control assistants.
The Denon AVRs similarly aid custom installers, per the announcement, including support for Audio Select functionality or AirPlay OFF so it will not appear on every iOS device throughout the home.
Plus integrators can assign the same HDMI input source over multiple inputs and choose different audio sources, the company notes.
Related: Denon Unveils Three New A/V Receivers Equipped with Dolby Atmos, HEOS, Alexa Control
On the remote monitoring/management side, the units also give integrators Domotz, OvrC and Ihiji support for diagnostics and troubleshooting.
“Denon is committed to bringing the latest technologies to home theater enthusiasts while offering flexibility so they can grow with their home entertainment systems.
“To that effect, we’ve added the latest Dolby and DTS 3D audio technologies and eARC so customers can up-mix traditional stereo and surround soundtracks to a 3D listening experience or virtualize Dolby Atmos or DTS:X mixes for amazing immersive audio without dedicated height channels,” said Michael Greco, senior director of global brand management at Sound United.
