Denon may have announced its new X-series AV receiver range ahead of today's D+M group dealer conference, but it still has some surprises up its sleeve. The 'advanced evolution' stereo range has a new SA-CD player and amplifier, the DCD-1520AE and PMA-1520AE, on the way in October and selling for £1199 apiece, and the company is teasing a new all-in-one TV surround solution, the TV Soundbase, due on sale at about the same time.
The DCD-1520AE uses an all-new disc mechanism, and also has an asynchronous USB-B input able to handle content at up to 24-bit/192kHz, as well as handling DSD content in native format. It uses a 32-bit/192kHz digital to analogue converter section, and also has a front-panel USB-A socket for iOS devices and USB memory.
The partnering PMA-1520AE amplifier uses a cascade circuit design for accurate reproduction of higher frequencies, and an advanced ultra high current MOS single push-pull circuit topology. Signal paths are kept minimal and a single mechanical ground design is used.
Both components can be controlled by a redesigned Denon system handset.
Less detail is available on the Denon DHT-T100, or TV Soundbase, due in October and expected to sell for around £350. Rather than go for a conventional soundbar design, Denon has opted to build the DHT-T100 as a slimline box, strong enough to support all but the heaviest plasma screens up to 50in or so.
Drive units are built into the front panel, with separate woofers and tweeters for each channel, and the unit has both digital (optical and electrical) and analogue inputs, and also supports apt-X Bluetooth streaming from suitable portable devices and computers.
More information on the DHT-T100 is expected nearer its launch date, and Denon is hinting this may not be its only all-in-one home cinema component.
Written by Andrew Everard