Interestingly here where I live the Denon 8500HA is significantly more expensive (by 1k) than the 8500H plus its 8k board.
I wonder, are the DACs in the 8500H (not HA) guaranteed to be the AKMs? If then, it's an even better deal getting the older model.
If you look at the photos on the Denon.jp website, they talked about the new DA board (with photos) for the 6700 and 4700 but did not say anything about the 8500HA, A110 and 3700. It still shows the 8500H has the 4490 but who knows, may be the 8500H is unofficially discontinued before the DAC change?
AVC-X8500H | 13.2 ch AVサラウンドアンプ | Denon公式