And at the same time, it is considered as the best AVR by What hi-fi!!
What Hi-Fi? Awards 2022 winner. JBL’s classy SDR-35 is a clear cut above the AVR norm
www.whathifi.com
“A clear cut above the AVR norm”
I don't understand how there can be such a gap.
Let’s assume that this JBL is free, so there’s no cost factor. It had DIRAC with bass management too. That’s good.
This graph provides the best insight. As a processor, the more voltage you have the better since most amplifiers do better with low gain. So instead of having low voltage out of the preamp and a lot of gain later, you can have a medium about of gain in both.
The SDR-35 is a receiver with preouts for fun. It’s horrible to use it as a processor unless you have an ultra high sensitivity speaker and high gain amplifier. Here, we can see that in low power, it is nicely in the 95 to 100 dB SINAD. The amplifiers are engaged.
Compared to the Denon X8500H
We see that in the lower power range, the JBL beats the Denon (amp on vs amp on).
Then if you look at the amplifier section with digital sources
You can see that the JBL is ahead of the Denon X8500H.
So, you have Dirac which is more configurable than Audyssey XT32, and at low power, higher SINAD as well.
You can plug in your estimated SPL at 5 watts using this calculator:
To get 5W, your pre amp level is below 0.2V. So you have to look at the lowest number on the curve.
So if it was free, the JBL probably would in fact sound great and be a good option as an AVR. Since it’s not free, it’s not a great option. If you were using the JBL as a processor, it’s a really bad choice.