Denon AVR-X4800H AVR Review

[anarchist]

Just measured Yamaha RX-A3080 pre-outs vs Denon AVR-4800H in REW, in direct pure mode, at 3V output - Yamaha actually does better:

 

[steveoat87]

Internally and software-wise? No difference. Only difference is the aesthetics, and whether that's worth the price premium is up to you. FWIW, I think the C40 is the best looking AVR on the market, especially in silver, and if Integra had not announced Roon support, that's what I would own right now.

Any reason why Denon/Marantz does not offer Roon support. Does anyone know if Denon/Marantz has made any mention of this?

 

[steveoat87]

Why no support for multichannel dsf files on the Denon X4800h. I find this to be crazy and real head scratcher. I have the Denon but I wonder why a company would make a premium multi-channel receiver, yet not provide full support for all multichannel files, especially dsf which are based on multichannel sacds. Any thoughts?

 

[peng]

Why no support for multichannel dsf files on the Denon X4800h. I find this to be crazy and real head scratcher. I have the Denon but I wonder why a company would make a premium multi-channel receiver, yet not provide full support for all multichannel files, especially dsf which are based on multichannel sacds. Any thoughts?

Are you sure, my AVR-X4400H does support multichannel DSD but obviously it only supports it in the lowest resolution.

 

[EWL5]

Why no support for multichannel dsf files on the Denon X4800h. I find this to be crazy and real head scratcher. I have the Denon but I wonder why a company would make a premium multi-channel receiver, yet not provide full support for all multichannel files, especially dsf which are based on multichannel sacds. Any thoughts?

Do you mean DSD? Never heard of DSF...

 

[steveoat87]

When you look at the manual and look at the file support, it only mentions 2 channel dsf and not multichannel.

 

[Joffy1780]

Do you mean DSD? Never heard of DSF...

Same thing

 

[popej]

Multichannel DSD is supported over HDMI but not over network or from USB.
Actually does any AVR support multichannel music over network? DSD, FLAC, ac3 or anything?

 

[ban25]

Multichannel DSD is supported over HDMI but not over network or from USB.
Actually does any AVR support multichannel music over network? DSD, FLAC, ac3 or anything?

My fingers are crossed that when the PAC AVRs are updated for Roon Ready, they will support lossless multi-channel. But we will see...

 

[ban25]

Any reason why Denon/Marantz does not offer Roon support. Does anyone know if Denon/Marantz has made any mention of this?

My theory is that they are trying to push their HEOS crap...

 

[steveoat87]

My theory is that they are trying to push their HEOS crap...

HEOS is terrible. My hope is that is Onkyo is truly Roon Ready, maybe Marantz/Denon will feel they need to stay competitive and offer this.

 

[steveoat87]

Multichannel DSD is supported over HDMI but not over network or from USB.
Actually does any AVR support multichannel music over network? DSD, FLAC, ac3 or anything?

I believe you can do this with minimserver. Can anyone confirm?

 

[muslhead]

Multichannel DSD is supported over HDMI but not over network or from USB.
Actually does any AVR support multichannel music over network? DSD, FLAC, ac3 or anything?

I believe this is a sony licencing thing. Unless it is played from the disc, it is only transmittable via HDMI
That being said, i am pretty sure i have used jriver to push mch dsf files to my old denon without problem.

 

[CapMan]

Any reason why Denon/Marantz does not offer Roon support. Does anyone know if Denon/Marantz has made any mention of this?

Their AVRs are Roon Tested which means Roon sees the AVR but streams using Airplay not Raat.

Roon Works on my cinema 70 - AirPlay runs everything as 44.1/16 .

 

[steveoat87]

Their AVRs are Roon Tested which means Roon sees the AVR but streams using Airplay not Raat.

Roon Works on my cinema 70 - AirPlay runs everything as 44.1/16 .

Airplay is too limiting in terms of sample bit rate and limits the full functionality of Roon. They need to be roon endpoints like Onkyo and NAD does with their receivers.

 

[CapMan]

Airplay is too limiting in terms of sample bit rate and limits the full functionality of Roon. They need to be roon endpoints like Onkyo and NAD does with their receivers.

Which functionality is limited ? I can use all the DSP, searches, meta data, volume , sleep timer . It’s just the transmission at 44/16 I think …

 

[ban25]

Which functionality is limited ? I can use all the DSP, searches, meta data, volume , sleep timer . It’s just the transmission at 44/16 I think …

No lossless transmission, no multi-channel audio, no Roon cover-art display, etc. You also lose all of the Roon Signal Path data because there's no 2-way communication as with RAAT. So essentially Roon is just throwing it over the fence as AirPlay and has no idea what happens next. FWIW, if you want better than 44.1/16, then stream via Roon/Chromecast instead. It's just a higher bandwidth protocol which the Denon supports out of the box.

The fact that the D+M receivers *can* stream 24-bit lossless, *if* you use HEOS, tells me that they are likely ignoring Roon to support their own ecosystem.

 

[CapMan]

No lossless transmission, no multi-channel audio, no Roon cover-art display, etc. You also lose all of the Roon Signal Path data because there's no 2-way communication as with RAAT. So essentially Roon is just throwing it over the fence as AirPlay and has no idea what happens next. FWIW,

I do get signal path data up to the point of replay on the Marantz - which is correctly identified on Roon. No issues with cover art on the playback device as I see this on my iPhone. It’s kinda of nice that the TV is not powered on by airplay.

44.1/16 is fine for me - I attribute most of the difference I hear in higher resolutions to differences in the mastering not the resolution. Maybe my hearing isnt good enough!

Your point on HEOS is a good one, wonder how HDMI from chrome cast compares to say a wiim pro via coax or a little pi4 based Roon endpoint

 

[peng]

When you look at the manual and look at the file support, it only mentions 2 channel dsf and not multichannel.

It does mention 5.1:

Page 297:

Page 305:

Page 310:

As mentioned before, it depends on the type of input, for Mult-channel DSD, use HDMI.

 

[ban25]

I do get signal path data up to the point of replay on the Marantz - which is correctly identified on Roon. No issues with cover art on the playback device as I see this on my iPhone. It’s kinda of nice that the TV is not powered on by airplay.

44.1/16 is fine for me - I attribute most of the difference I hear in higher resolutions to differences in the mastering not the resolution. Maybe my hearing isnt good enough!

Your point on HEOS is a good one, wonder how HDMI from chrome cast compares to say a wiim pro via coax or a little pi4 based Roon endpoint

So it's actually built into the AVR and into Roon. From Roon, if you go to Settings -> Audio and scroll down to "Other network devices", you should see your AVR listed twice, once with "via AirPlay" and again with "via Chromecast streaming". Choosing Chromecast should get you higher resolution.