Denon, Panasonic and Wharfedale power this hugely talented and traditional home cinema system

(Image credit: Future)

This wonderful surround sound system is old-school in all the best ways, and wouldn’t have looked out of place a decade or two ago. (Don’t misunderstand us: we mean literally ‘looked’, as in appearance; this is a thoroughly modern performer.)

We stand by the opinion that, fine and improving products though Dolby Atmos soundbars may be, you really can’t do better for home cinema sound than via a proper multi-channel home cinema amplifier and a surround-sound speaker package. The disadvantages of such a set-up are clear: there’s no getting away from the fact that you need a fair amount of space to house all those speakers, and the AV amp itself is a hefty beast.

And all that is before we mention the projector. For which you will need both a screen, and a room large enough to justify one.

The system

Projector: Epson EH-TW9400 (£2499 / $3999 /AU$4999)
AV receiver: Denon AVC-X3800H (£1499 / $1700 / AU$2550)
Blu-ray player: Panasonic DP-UB820EB (£299 /$399 / AU$453)
Speaker package: Wharfedale Evo 4.4 5.1 pack (£2799 / $5095 / AU$8067)
Total: £7096 / $11,193 / AU$16,069

TV: Sony XR-55A95K (£1499 / $2499 / AU$3000)
AV receiver: Denon AVC-X3800H (£1499 / $1700 / AU$2550)
Blu-ray player: Panasonic DP-UB820EB (£299 /$399 / AU$453)
Speaker package: Wharfedale Evo 4.4 5.1 pack (£2799 / $5095 / AU$8067)
Total: £6096 / $9693 / AU$14,070

Projector: Epson EH-TW9400

Each of the products you see above is the proud owner of a What Hi-Fi? Best Buy from our recent 2022 Awards. You can’t always just fling a number of Award winners together and expect them to perform at their best, tempting though that may seem. In this instance, though, the individually excellent components gel together wonderfully.

The projector uses Epson’s 4K Enhancement pixel shifting tech to display that higher resolution, but it does so with panache, and comes in considerably cheaper than a true-native 4K unit. As we say in our review: “At the moment, unless you have a budget north of £4000, the EH-TW9400 is as good as it gets.”

4K QD-OLED TV: Sony XR-55A95K

Let's face it, not everyone has the space to accommodate a projector and projector screen in their living room. One alternative option would be to go for this Sony QD-OLED TV. It serves up some of the best pictures we've ever seen, packed with detail and blessed with superb colour reproduction. Ask it to handle any 4K movies and TV shows and you'll be richly rewarded with a natural, authentic presentation that you can't help but be blown away by.

AV receiver: Denon AVC-X3800H

Just as the Epson sits in the middle of our Award-winning projectors, Denon’s mighty AVC-X3800H is our midfield general as far as home cinema amps go. This is a flexible, feature-packed behemoth, that has everything any enthusiast could want – even a little bit more, perhaps, for future-proofing enhancements.

All six HDMI inputs and three outputs are HDMI 2.1 rated to 40Gbps, capable of 8K/60Hz or 4K/120Hz passthrough. They boast compatibility with every major HDR format and there’s a raft of gamer-friendly technology supported too.

Speaker package: Wharfedale Evo 4.4 5.1 pack

And, of course, the Denon AVR is able to make this rather special speaker package thrill when watching a movie.

Another Product of the Year winner, the Wharfedale Evo 4.4 5.1 speaker package manages to feel like superb value for money, despite its price tag. This powerful but detailed system never sounds like it’s having to work too hard. Voices are projected with transparency and are full of character, and there’s an ease and spaciousness to the performance that makes this an immensely enjoyable set-up to listen to for long periods of time.

Blu-ray player: Panasonic DP-UB820EB

As this is a full cinema system, it makes sense to have a Blu-ray player in there, to make the most of the 4K advantages disc players have over streamers – although we would probably add a streamer of some sort as well at some time (the new Apple TV 4K will likely fit the bill, but we haven’t tested that at the time of writing).

This Panasonic was the only Blu-ray player in our Awards this year, proving how much streaming has stolen the show. But there is no doubt that the most consistent quality 4K picture is still provided by a disc player, and this one delivers a hugely immersive and impactful picture, backed up by a strong audio performance that the rest of this brilliant system deserves.

Verdict

This is a pleasingly old-school-looking home cinema set-up with modern smarts courtesy of Award-winning kit. You might be tempted to opt for the convenience of fewer, smaller boxes and if space is at a premium then that's completely understandable. If you've got the space (and budget), though, we heartily recommend this more conventional, not to mention great-sounding AV system.

MORE:

This simple TV and Dolby Atmos soundbar system is a brilliant bargain

This high-end home cinema system of your dreams is packed with Award winners

Our pick of the best speaker packages we've tested

Jonathan Evans is the editor of What Hi-Fi? magazine, and has been with the title for 18 years or so. He has been a journalist for more than three decades now, working on a variety of technology and motoring titles, including Stuff, Autocar and Jaguar. With his background in sub-editing and magazine production, he likes nothing more than a discussion on the finer points of grammar. And golf.