Denon AVR-A1H High-end AVR Review

[ExUnoPlura]

Compliments of someone on the Roon Community forum, it looks like Roon Ready is rolling out for the A1H:

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My unit has not yet updated.

Edit: now also showing on Roon Labs partners page:

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roon.app

 

[ExUnoPlura]

HEOS firmware update finally arrived overnight and can confirm AVR-A1H is Roon Ready!

 

[Frank207be]

Thanks for sharing. I Just updated my A1H and Marantz Cinema 40 too.

 

[SynthesisCinema]

Any idea how these specs would translate to all channels driven ?

Late to the party. You are not taxing all channels simultaneously with films vs in the test bench. D&M gives the 70% promise for 5 channels (2ch spec). In the case of AVC-A1H Gene D.S said:

" We confirmed with Denon engineering that they bench tested the A1H is able to maintain 70% power for up to 9 channels driven! (105w) "


E-Core / toroidal power transformer weights for comparison as the lower models were brought up multiple times so there could be some interest.

AVC-X4800H & Cinema 40: 4,8kg / 10,5lbs
AVC-X6800H: 5,3kg / 11,6lbs (750VA)
Cinema 30: 5,8kg / 12,7lbs (835VA)
AVC-A10H: 8,1kg / 17,8lbs
AVC-A1H: 11,5kg / 25,3lbs

Power supply capacitors:

AVC-X4800H & Cinema 40: 2x 15,000μF 71V
AVC-X6800H: 2x 15,000μF 73V
Cinema 30: 2x 22,000μF 80V
AVC-A10H: 2x 22,000μF 80V
AVC-A1H: 2x 33,000μF 80V

 

[peng]

Late to the party. You are not taxing all channels simultaneously with films vs in the test bench. D&M gives the 70% promise for 5 channels (2ch spec). In the case of AVC-A1H Gene D.S said:

" We confirmed with Denon engineering that they bench tested the A1H is able to maintain 70% power for up to 9 channels driven! (105w) "


E-Core / toroidal power transformer weights for comparison as the lower models were brought up multiple times so there could be some interest.

AVC-X4800H & Cinema 40: 4,8kg / 10,5lbs
AVC-X6800H: 5,3kg / 11,6lbs (750VA)
Cinema 30: 5,8kg / 12,7lbs (835VA)
AVC-A10H: 8,1kg / 17,8lbs
AVC-A1H: 11,5kg / 25,3lbs

Power supply capacitors:

AVC-X4800H & Cinema 40: 2x 15,000μF 71V
AVC-X6800H: 2x 15,000μF 73V
Cinema 30: 2x 22,000μF 80V
AVC-A10H: 2x 22,000μF 80V
AVC-A1H: 2x 33,000μF 80V

Thanks for posting facts and figures previously posted but hard to find after many pages of posts.

My only cautionary note on the above is the VA rating, that particular data seems to often get confused or mixed up with the so called power consumption data, that, unfortunately are often specified by different manufacturers based on different methods and/or standards though Gene apparently had consulted Maximo in recent years and clarified the standard they used on that, so for D+M AVRs we could make some reasonable assumptions on the power consumption spec, just that we cannot directly translate them to transformer rating.

 

[Frank207be]

The power delivery capabilities of the A1H remain quite impressive but it's still an AVR after all.

I chose the A1H as it has pre-outs for all channels so I can expand the number of power amps when I feel the need to upgrade. Right now I only have an extra power amp for the main speakers which already ensures a stress free playback at reference levels.

When Dirac ART is released I might make the surround channels full range though by adding a beefy woofer to these speakers and power the combination with a 2-channel Hypex Fusion amp or even a Crown XLS1002. The surround speakers would be HPF'd between 100-120Hz.

 

[solrage]

Nice to finally see measurements for this, and great to see how good they are for an AVR this feature-packed. I got mine over a year ago as an open-box/used unit for about half the "new" price. I would've preferred an AV10 because I already had separate amps, but those AV10s don't come up for sale often and I figured whatever improvements it offered would be minimal, probably inaudible, and certainly not worth around twice the price. I'm running a 7.2.4 setup and I've had no complaints with A1H so far. I did have it powering my surrounds while I awaited my new "surround" amp, and my L/C/R when my main amp died (had to send it in for repairs), and it seemed to do both jobs well enough; so it's nice knowing that if either of my amps die I can just use the A1H until I get the amps replaced. Maybe I missed it in the OP or elsewhere in the thread, but there is a way to defeat the amp function (and video processing) and I wonder if this improves measurable performance of the pre-amp at all.

 

[peng]

Nice to finally see measurements for this, and great to see how good they are for an AVR this feature-packed. I got mine over a year ago as an open-box/used unit for about half the "new" price. I would've preferred an AV10 because I already had separate amps, but those AV10s don't come up for sale often and I figured whatever improvements it offered would be minimal, probably inaudible, and certainly not worth around twice the price. I'm running a 7.2.4 setup and I've had no complaints with A1H so far. I did have it powering my surrounds while I awaited my new "surround" amp, and my L/C/R when my main amp died (had to send it in for repairs), and it seemed to do both jobs well enough; so it's nice knowing that if either of my amps die I can just use the A1H until I get the amps replaced. Maybe I missed it in the OP or elsewhere in the thread, but there is a way to defeat the amp function (and video processing) and I wonder if this improves measurable performance of the pre-amp at all.

The A1H should perform as good as the AV10 anyway if you use it as preamp/proc, based on the published specs and measurements.

 

[Gwreck]

The A1H should perform as good as the AV10 anyway if you use it as preamp/proc, based on the published specs and measurements.

It’s funny how the reviews and measurements on audioholics are set up so there is no direct comparison with measurements between the 2 units. I don’t think audioholics actually did any of their own measurements but the did do the AV10 and had glowing praise.

 

[Frank207be]

The A1H should perform as good as the AV10 anyway if you use it as preamp/proc, based on the published specs and measurements.

In my set only some of the subwoofers are the weakest link but this is about to change. The A1H has enough oomph for high octane movie watching all day long provided that the speakers have enough sensitivity. Using 85db/1W/1m or lower speakers with limited extension doesn't do this AVR justice.

 

[peng]

It’s funny how the reviews and measurements on audioholics are set up so there is no direct comparison with measurements between the 2 units. I don’t think audioholics actually did any of their own measurements but the did do the AV10 and had glowing praise.

Fortumately ASR did both so you can do the direct apples to apples.

 

[famasfilms]

The A1H with Audyssey One Acoustica simply sparks joy every time I listen to it, regardless of content. Even the opening credits to Homeland that send voices to individual speakers are precise, clear and distinct.

 

[scampbell1839]

If I want to use the Zone 2 RCA outputs as a fixed line level output, what fixed level is correct by standard line level measures?

 

[soerenssen]

My A1h sometimes randomly turns off (to standby /red LED/ mode) while listening to low-level background music. ECO mode on, nothing is stressing the amp, the top is nice and cool. Firmware is up-to-date. How could I debug what is causing it?

I'll try to do factory reset and see if the issue goes away, but I had this problem is the past and in-between I did several resets already, so we'll see.

 

[bo_knows]

My A1h sometimes randomly turns off (to standby /red LED/ mode) while listening to low-level background music. ECO mode on, nothing is stressing the amp, the top is nice and cool. Firmware is up-to-date. How could I debug what is causing it?

I'll try to do factory reset and see if the issue goes away, but I had this problem is the past and in-between I did several resets already, so we'll see.

See if the 8500H protection history display mode steps can be used with A1H.

 

[soerenssen]

See if the 8500H protection history display mode steps can be used with A1H.
View attachment 470721

Zone3 is there, but the Status button is missing from the A1h remote.
Ah you mean at the front of the receiver. Yes, the service menu is available and it shows "NO PROTECT".
Can it be Heos issue? It happens only when I am streaming music via Tidal Connect.

 

[JK369]

Would you recommend the 3 channel Buckeye NCx500 to power the LCR for hometheater duties using RCA preouts on this Denon or the A10h?

 

[masterhw]

Would you recommend the 3 channel Buckeye NCx500 to power the LCR for hometheater duties using RCA preouts on this Denon or the A10h?

What are your LCR speakers? Listening distance & desired SPL level also factors.

 

[JK369]

What are your LCR speakers? Listening distance & desired SPL level also factors.

SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle Towers (300 Watts Max) and Ultra Evolution Center (225 Watts Max). 12 feet from MLP. Towers are 88db and center 87db sensitive with nominal impedance of 6ohm (Some reviewers say that the towers act like 4ohm speaker, objective review). I know the Buckeye NCx500 is more than I need but this amp will ensure I have headroom and if I ever get a dedicated processor such as Marantz or Anthem then there would be no issue driving the amp to it max, in case I get power hungry speakers. This particular amp has different gain stage to select from. I am going with Hypex (2.5vrms).

 

[masterhw]

SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle Towers (300 Watts Max) and Ultra Evolution Center (225 Watts Max). 12 feet from MLP. Towers are 88db and center 87db sensitive with nominal impedance of 6ohm (Some reviewers say that the towers act like 4ohm speaker, objective review). I know the Buckeye NCx500 is more than I need but this amp will ensure I have headroom and if I ever get a dedicated processor such as Marantz or Anthem then there would be no issue driving the amp to it max, in case I get power hungry speakers. This particular amp has different gain stage to select from. I am going with Hypex (2.5vrms).

Why not the 3-channel 1ET6525SA, which should be able to just about max all those speakers?

Another consideration: the A1H alone has XLR outs for subs. If you're going to make use of this, go A1H, else A10H.