Denon Replaces AKM AK4458 DAC IC in X4700H and X6700H

[WaynesterUK]

Hi guys, just bought a used Denon AVR-X4700 from Richer Sounds, an absolute steal of a price for £725.. Mint Condition! Was able to haggle down from £799

I have now found out that my unit is the one affected by the 120hz issue, Denon are sending me the adapter (see our conversation pictures)
is this adapter huge?

My unit was manufactured January 2020, would anyone know what DAC is in mine? The older one is better than the newer 4700’s?

 

[EWL5]

Hi guys, just bought a used Denon AVR-X4700 from Richer Sounds, an absolute steal of a price for £725.. Mint Condition! Was able to haggle down from £799

I have now found out that my unit is the one affected by the 120hz issue, Denon are sending me the adapter (see our conversation pictures)
is this adapter huge?

My unit was manufactured January 2020, would anyone know what DAC is in mine? The older one is better than the newer 4700’s?

Since you need the adapter, chances are you have the older 4700 that has the better AKM DACs!

This post appears to confirm it by the serial number:

Denon Replaces AKM AK4458 DAC IC in X4700H and X6700H

But your approach insinuates the differences are audible. In the presented cases, I highly doubt the diff. would be the audible. as I said no, I believe there is no audible difference. I just wanted to explain why some people want to have a "perfect chain", like a peace of mind. I'm using an...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[WaynesterUK]

Since you need the adapter, chances are you have the older 4700 that has the better AKM DACs!

Better DAC? that’s great news then

I take it that the better AKM DAC will make listening to music CD’s sound better in 2 channel mode (using my Marantz CD Player into the Denon) and movies and music blu rays will sound better?

I’ve not disconnected my current Denon AVR-X2200 unit from my setup yet, will use the 4700 unit after I’ve moved into my new home late November

 

[EWL5]

Better DAC? that’s great news then

I take it that the better AKM DAC will make listening to music CD’s sound better in 2 channel mode (using my Marantz CD Player into the Denon) and movies and music blu rays will sound better?

I’ve not disconnected my current Denon AVR-X2200 unit from my setup yet, will use the 4700 unit after I’ve moved into my new home late November

You have a better SINAD w/the AKM DACs. Whether you can hear the difference....you'll let us know!

 

[WaynesterUK]

Early models of the Denon AVR-X4700H that utilized the AKM AK4458 DAC can be identified by their serial numbers. Specifically, the fifth number from the right in the serial number indicates the DAC type used in the unit. If this number is 6 or lower, it means the unit is equipped with the AKM DAC. Conversely, if the fifth number is 7 or higher, it indicates that the model has been updated to the TI PCM5102A DAC

.For example:

Serial Number Ending in 70001 or Higher: New DAC (PCM5102A)
Serial Number Ending in 60000 or Lower: Old DAC (AKM AK4458)

Yep!
My serial number is DBCT062001492

so I must have the AKM4458 ?

Manufacture date January 2020

 

[ban25]

Better DAC? that’s great news then

I take it that the better AKM DAC will make listening to music CD’s sound better in 2 channel mode (using my Marantz CD Player into the Denon) and movies and music blu rays will sound better?

I’ve not disconnected my current Denon AVR-X2200 unit from my setup yet, will use the 4700 unit after I’ve moved into my new home late November

It just means that harmonics will be further below the ambient noise floor than they already were -- i.e. there will be no audible difference and you just paid $800 for an out-of-warranty AVR that requires an external box to support 4K120 on a single input (and reportedly still doesn't work with the Xbox Series X even with said box).

 

[WaynesterUK]

It just means that harmonics will be further below the ambient noise floor than they already were -- i.e. there will be no audible difference and you just paid $800 for an out-of-warranty AVR that requires an external box to support 4K120 on a single input (and reportedly still doesn't work with the Xbox Series X even with said box).

I have a 12 month warranty Thankyou and the AVR is £725, which is less than it’s £1400 new price

The Sony PS5 will now work on my 4700 unit, what are you on about for the X Box Series X? Who says it won’t work?

 

[SloPoke]

I have a 12 month warranty Thankyou and the AVR is £725, which is less than it’s £1400 new price

The Sony PS5 will now work on my 4700 unit, what are you on about for the X Box Series X? Who says it won’t work?

Yes, both PS5 and XBox function great with this Denon, but "only" up to 4K 60 Hz video. The games look extremely good at 4K 60Hz.

Some games though can do 4K at 120Hz. You can absolutely play these games, but not at this very highest video setting (unless routed through the external Denon box).

 

[Bleib]

Denon are sending me the adapter (see our conversation pictures)
is this adapter huge?

Wow, they actually replied to you. I didn't even get a reply when I needed one as well.

 

[Sal1950]

I have a 12 month warranty Thankyou and the AVR is £725, which is less than it’s £1400 new price

The Sony PS5 will now work on my 4700 unit, what are you on about for the X Box Series X? Who says it won’t work?

Sounds like you got a good deal with the warranty included.
Whether it sounds any different than the units built with the newer DAC's is debatable, but yours do measure quite a bit better.
I'm running the newer DAC equipped X4700H here and it sounds just fine to me. YMMV
I never do any gaming here so I can't comment on that performance.
Good luck.

 

[peng]

Sounds like you got a good deal with the warranty included.
Whether it sounds any different than the units built with the newer DAC's is debatable, but yours do measure quite a bit better.
I'm running the newer DAC equipped X4700H here and it sounds just fine to me. YMMV
I never do any gaming here so I can't comment on that performance.
Good luck.

Same for me, I could not tell a difference between my AVRs/AVPs that have the much better dacs. I no longer worry about the PCM5102A but if given the choice, I would take the better dacs regardless. That's just if there is a choice, otherwise, no concerns at all. RC/EQ is much more important to SQ.

 

[Miker 1102]

It just means that harmonics will be further below the ambient noise floor than they already were -- i.e. there will be no audible difference and you just paid $800 for an out-of-warranty AVR that requires an external box to support 4K120 on a single input (and reportedly still doesn't work with the Xbox Series X even with said box).

Ouch... The Denon 4700 is a fine AVR. I never used Xbox with mine as it's simply for movies. I haven't used the external box either. The nice thing about the early Denon 4700 is the dual LCD display, AKM DAC and it's ability to run in pre-amp mode. If it hasn't been dropped in shipping you should get years of service out of it. If it runs warm fans placed on top pointing upward are helpful. Denon warranty service is pretty terrible so you won't miss much there. $800 sounds like a fine deal for a well running AKM Denon 4700.

It is a good deal. The warranty extended would have been good but the 4700 offers Auro, lots of channels, thr ability to use separate amps, etc. It's a lot of tech for the price. I am still happy running 4500.

 

[antcollinet]

I take it that the better AKM DAC will make listening to music CD’s sound better

The difference is probably not audible in real world listening. The "worse" dac is still good enough for the imperfections to be inaudible, especially listening with speakers.

 

[zexoni70]

The difference is probably not audible in real world listening. The "worse" dac is still good enough for the imperfections to be inaudible, especially listening with speakers.

I am also interested in this with DACs.

In January 2024 I bought a new unboxed AVC-X6700H where the serial number starts with DBxx072377xxx and I know there are Ti DACs in there by serial number, but the question is, has anyone really felt the difference between TI and AKM DACs in everyday use when only listening to music?

 

[peng]

I am also interested in this with DACs.

In January 2024 I bought a new unboxed AVC-X6700H where the serial number starts with DBxx072377xxx and I know there are Ti DACs in there by serial number, but the question is, has anyone really felt the difference between TI and AKM DACs in everyday use when only listening to music?

I probably have read 99% if not all such posts and if I remember right, may be 1 or 2 that might have mentioned there was audible difference, but none were done in blind tests.

There have been (ongoing) more posts in which people claimed Marantz (same TI dac) sound better. So if you believe (I don't) such subjective measurements online that are likely biased to begin with, then you may want to go with one of Marantz instead of worrying about just the dac chip itself.

 

[zexoni70]

The smoking man will definitely notice a difference with the smooth AKM DAC. Other less advanced humans may not. In fact, most of us will not know what they had for breakfast the day before.

Why so cynical, I was just asking...
So far I haven't listened to or compared any AVC-X6700H with AKM DACs.
I only have my AVR, and so far I'm happy with how it sounds, especially after listening to the Onkyo TX-NR5007 which also had TI DACs (but sadly the HDMI board died)!

 

[antcollinet]

I am also interested in this with DACs.

In January 2024 I bought a new unboxed AVC-X6700H where the serial number starts with DBxx072377xxx and I know there are Ti DACs in there by serial number, but the question is, has anyone really felt the difference between TI and AKM DACs in everyday use when only listening to music?

All I can say is I'm currently listening to Radio Paradise on a 3800 (TI Dac) and it sounds simply stunning.


I suspect most of that is due to the Audessy One process for setting up the Audessy room correction (still to try Nexus)

Years ago I used to dream of having an audio setup that sounded as good as this.