Help me decide: 7.1 today with future headroom, go with the Denon AVR-X4700H or X8500H

[TheReef510]

so... one more thing: are there any new Denon receivers on the horizon for this year? I know their release cycle is that they announce over the summer, and attempt to ship in late fall. They haven't refreshed their line up in 2 years, and are still having problems supplying the current chipset after a fire and covid etc. So is there any benefit for me to wait (even if I dont buy the newest version) and hope that the current price hike on 2020 models will come down/back down before year is up?

 

[peng]

so... one more thing: are there any new Denon receivers on the horizon for this year? I know their release cycle is that they announce over the summer, and attempt to ship in late fall. They haven't refreshed their line up in 2 years, and are still having problems supplying the current chipset after a fire and covid etc. So is there any benefit for me to wait (even if I dont buy the newest version) and hope that the current price hike on 2020 models will come down/back down before year is up?

I thought you had already bought the 4700. If not, you probably should keep using the AV8801 until the price come down an/or when we know what kind of improvements Denon will be offering in their 2022/23 models. I replaced my 8801 with the 4400 and have no regrets, but I paid only about under CAD 1,200 for it brand new from BB, when its list price was $1500 at the time if I remembered right. The current pricing is ridiculous, and I don't like that they replaced the DAC chip with one that is a downgrade even if it won't make any audible difference.

 

[Dougey_Jones]

I lol'd.

The damned thing is heavy. I cut a few dowel rods and stained them to match the stand I'm using to reinforce the shelf it sits on. Just kinda wedged them in there and shores everything up. Otherwise it'd buckle. Doesn't look too bad tho.

View attachment 201990

You can see them under that middle shelf across the front. There's support for the back too.

Now THATS a center channel speaker, damn.. What are these?

 

[TheReef510]

I thought you had already bought the 4700. If not, you probably should keep using the AV8801 until the price come down an/or when we know what kind of improvements Denon will be offering in their 2022/23 models. I replaced my 8801 with the 4400 and have no regrets, but I paid only about under CAD 1,200 for it brand new from BB, when its list price was $1500 at the time if I remembered right. The current pricing is ridiculous, and I don't like that they replaced the DAC chip with one that is a downgrade even if it won't make any audible difference.

wait what? they replaced the chip AND its more expensive than it was at launch?? yeah okay i'll just buy the amp and have a makeshift set up until something new approaches. going with purely 7.1 at the moment, I dont *really* need atmos right now anyway, its just that the 8801 doesnt have dolby vision passthrough but i'll just make it all work with eARC for the time being I suppose. thank you!!

 

[jbattman1016]

There is a whole thread here and on AVS about the chip change, but it's fine.

 

[peng]

wait what? they replaced the chip AND its more expensive than it was at launch?? yeah okay i'll just buy the amp and have a makeshift set up until something new approaches. going with purely 7.1 at the moment, I dont *really* need atmos right now anyway, its just that the 8801 doesnt have dolby vision passthrough but i'll just make it all work with eARC for the time being I suppose. thank you!!

Wait for the AVR-X4800H, SR7016, AV7707 lol...
The 8801 can do heights, better than nothing, if that helps to hold you over for a year, or less hopefully. I bet with inflation being aggressively controlled by the Fed, launch prices for those 2022/23 models may actually come down but I may be too optimistic.

 

[Pogre]

Now THATS a center channel speaker, damn.. What are these?

Yup, lol. One of the reasons I went with those speakers. Ascend Acoustics Sierra Towers and Sierra Horizon center with the RAAL ribbon upgrade.

SIERRA TOWER PAIR

Introducing our Flagship Loudspeaker "The midrange on the Towers...is a main event. Inner detail is fantastic even on large-ensemble recordings, and they are free from distortion and retain a hefty amount of dynamic headroom when played at spirited levels." -Enjoy the Music.com Combining...

ascendacoustics.com

SIERRA HORIZON

Our Flagship Center Speaker! Combining exceptionally wide and linear dispersion, massive dynamics, high levels of detail and a smooth and musical presentation, the Sierra Horizon has been designed to transport you into the concert venue, recording studio or movie theater. Equally adept at music...

ascendacoustics.com

 

[Dougey_Jones]

Yup, lol. One of the reasons I went with those speakers. Ascend Acoustics Sierra Towers and Sierra Horizon center with the RAAL ribbon upgrade.

SIERRA TOWER PAIR

Introducing our Flagship Loudspeaker "The midrange on the Towers...is a main event. Inner detail is fantastic even on large-ensemble recordings, and they are free from distortion and retain a hefty amount of dynamic headroom when played at spirited levels." -Enjoy the Music.com Combining...

ascendacoustics.com

SIERRA HORIZON

Our Flagship Center Speaker! Combining exceptionally wide and linear dispersion, massive dynamics, high levels of detail and a smooth and musical presentation, the Sierra Horizon has been designed to transport you into the concert venue, recording studio or movie theater. Equally adept at music...

ascendacoustics.com

Gorgeous

 

[TheReef510]

So I ended up getting the 4700H. I really wanted to wait and see what the new models would bring but I am now out of time. I will not really have time to buy, set up, and then research the new model on here whenever Denon gets around to launching it. I called up my local dealer and asked if he had a good price on it, and fortunately, he beat every single other place i've seen for this AVR that's new. Once I get to my new place, I'll check the wiring and hopefully be able to add the monolith amp without tripping the circuit. I'm not ordering that until I move in, given how heavy and power consuming it is. Thank you all for your invaluable help getting me to this point. The only thanks I can offer is pictures of my set up once I move and have everything set up by the end of the month, hopefully.

 

[amper42]

Yup, lol. One of the reasons I went with those speakers. Ascend Acoustics Sierra Towers and Sierra Horizon center with the RAAL ribbon upgrade.

SIERRA TOWER PAIR

Introducing our Flagship Loudspeaker "The midrange on the Towers...is a main event. Inner detail is fantastic even on large-ensemble recordings, and they are free from distortion and retain a hefty amount of dynamic headroom when played at spirited levels." -Enjoy the Music.com Combining...

ascendacoustics.com

SIERRA HORIZON

Our Flagship Center Speaker! Combining exceptionally wide and linear dispersion, massive dynamics, high levels of detail and a smooth and musical presentation, the Sierra Horizon has been designed to transport you into the concert venue, recording studio or movie theater. Equally adept at music...

ascendacoustics.com

I bought my Sierra Towers in late 2020. Can't let go of them.

 

[TheReef510]

so I set up my system temporarily (just to get everything out of the box and hooked up/working) and noticed there's significant audio lag coming from my nvidia shield. I'm using a generic HDMI cable and I suspect it has to be a cabling issue. The Apple TV 4K has no lag, its running this belkin cable and so is the Sony TV's own ARC, also running another belkin cable. I only had two so I put the shield on a generic cable, but the audio lag was present even on 1080p24 content. Does anyone have a recommendation for a cable I can try to solve this issue? I was going to move the belkin cable to the shield, and run this cable from the TV to the Denon. Thoughts?

 

[HarmonicTHD]

so I set up my system temporarily (just to get everything out of the box and hooked up/working) and noticed there's significant audio lag coming from my nvidia shield. I'm using a generic HDMI cable and I suspect it has to be a cabling issue. The Apple TV 4K has no lag, its running this belkin cable and so is the Sony TV's own ARC, also running another belkin cable. I only had two so I put the shield on a generic cable, but the audio lag was present even on 1080p24 content. Does anyone have a recommendation for a cable I can try to solve this issue? I was going to move the belkin cable to the shield, and run this cable from the TV to the Denon. Thoughts?

Well isn’t it obvious from your description. Use the Belkin cable from your Apple TV and see if the problem persists. If yes buy one for the NVidia

 

[TheReef510]

Well isn’t it obvious from your description. Use the Belkin cable from your Apple TV and see if the problem persists. If yes buy one for the NVidia

you know i consider myself to be a non-dumb person, that never occurred to me to try that. before I got the Denon AVR, I had the shield plugged directly into the TV and had no audio lag issues. hopefully the same will be true going through the AVR with this cable.