Review and Measurements of Denon AVR-4306

[Sal1950]

Of course the high-end mono or stereo amps measure better than AVRs, but do they sound any better?

With power amps it's all very dependent on them working comfortably in their power range. So many AVR's of today suffer badly when pushed to deliver lots of watts into more than just one or two channels at a time. Many speakers are low efficency and have impedance/phase issues in the crossovers to boot. Modern class D's that are well designed are beginning to change the status quo but that's just in some of the top end products. Time will tell on that front.

 

[maty]

Modern AVR, measures:

[Polish] https://audio.com.pl/testy/kino-domowe/amplitunery-av/2955-marantz-sr6012

to English with Google:

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=pl&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=es&ie=UTF-8&u=https://audio.com.pl/testy/kino-domowe/amplitunery-av/2955-marantz-sr6012&edit-text=&act=url

The Marantz SR6012 construction is similar to the Denon AVR-X4400H, but the measurement results indicate a slightly different calibration of some systems. The output power is 153 W at 8 Ω (the manufacturer declares 185 W at 6 Ω, which seems quite real). In stereo, the SR6012 achieves an excellent 2 x 148 W, five-channel mode 5 x 98 W, and nine controlled tips - 9 x 48 W.

SR6012 can work with 4-ohm loads (in all channels), which, however, requires the use of a special mode of impedance selector - the situation is analogous to that of Denon's AVR-X4400H. The power decreases significantly, the single channel - also in stereo mode - gives a maximum of 59 W, in five-channel mode 5 x 51 W, and finally 9 x 39 W.

 

[jhaider]

I have many AVRs here I have picked up over the years. Some of them were TOTL multi thousand dollar units, some medium to upper range models. Even a few mid range ones I bought for their parts content (Sanken LAPTs etc).

None of them come close, IMO, to dedicated, high quality, two channel, analog class A/AB amplifiers in a few key areas.

Some of your comparisons aren't fair. For example, for residual noise you can't compare an amp to a AVR. You have to compare the amp hooked up to a preamp with cables to the AVR. For many real-world situations the AVR will win. All of the gain stages are prematched by professionals, and there are no ground loops.

Also, I wonder if it is a generational shift, but I think my view that audio electronics are generally not viewed as heirloom products today. Elite sound quality requires considerable signal manipulation to address room modes, so a system that does not include a computer of some sort to get the bass right is has a proverbial hand tied behind its proverbial back. Computers are disposable tools that keep getting better, so if anything easy recyclability is a higher virtue than decades long durability.

Now, take all of that with a mouthful of salt given the raving hypocrisy of such comments coming from someone currently listening to content coming through 7 passive speakers processed by a disposable tool SSP - and powered a 100+ lb heirloom ATI amp.

PS: Dr. David Rich wrote an informative series on AVR build quality:
https://hometheaterhifi.com/technical/technical-reviews/options-by-supplier-and-price/
https://hometheaterhifi.com/technic...design-of-high-performance-avrs-and-pre-pros/
https://hometheaterhifi.com/technic...ponent-choices-for-a-high-performance-design/

 

[amirm]

Modern AVR, measures:

One thing of note there is that as I have been searching new AVRs, may have minimum impedance of 6 ohm now. Wonder who started that trend.

 

[amirm]

@amirm , can you measure IMD with amps?

I have post some but yes, will do.

 

[RB2013]

I have a Denon AVR-4306 in HT system - sounds great and has been bullet proof running for over a decade. Sucker is heavy with a very large Denon transformer and large filter caps.

Recently bought a American made B&K AVR307 to use in my office, it sold for $3500 when new - I paid $200 off a Craig's List ad. It's a monster and a beauty (mine is the silver version)! MOSFET outputs, precision metal foil resistors, class A pre, and an amazing tuner section (B&K made the $1400 Fanfare FT-1) - and I'm a lover of vintage tuners and have owned most of the very best.

Has a very nice digital equalizer system built in.

These can be found easily for around the same price as I paid - although mine is in mint condition.
https://www.soundandvision.com/news/10163

The reason these sell for dirt cheap - is they lack HDMI video inputs and outputs - which is kinda mandatory for a AVR (the Denon AVR-4306 of course has these). But for two channel audio makes no difference.

 

[restorer-john]

Some of your comparisons aren't fair. For example, for residual noise you can't compare an amp to a AVR. You have to compare the amp hooked up to a preamp with cables to the AVR. For many real-world situations the AVR will win.

Residual noise is residual noise. It is measured in microvolts (uV). Power amplifiers have a relatively fixed residual noise, preamplifiers often have a residual noise which varies according to the volume position. Often a 2ch analog, well designed preamplifier will be the quietest (noise) at full volume or near it.

Where you have a noisy front end, the amplifier gain stages will amplify the residual noise. Processing circuits and add their own noise and it accumulates/amplifies all the way down the line to the speakers and becomes hiss you can easily hear. That hiss is the limiting factor in your dynamic range. AVRs are extremely poor in this regard. They always have been.

...For many real-world situations the AVR will win...

No way, that statement is rubbish. Even a medium range, analog 2 channel preamplifer/power amplifier combination from the 1980s will obliterate virtually any AVR in the S/N department.

From the article you linked:

"...Even a low-cost stereo integrated amplifier will offer better performance in its analog input to its preamp output than an AVR in direct mode..."

 

[restorer-john]

One thing of note there is that as I have been searching new AVRs, may have minimum impedance of 6 ohm now. Wonder who started that trend.

The speaker manufacturers have been doing nominal 6 ohms for about 20+ years, particularly Japanese designs in the late 80s and through the 90s.

AVRs simply don't have the SOA in output devices, the power supplies, or the heatsinking area for continuous ratings into lowish impedances. As they've sidestepped the old FTC ratings and the FTC is apparently not enforcing the standard amplifier rule requirements in relation to multichannel amplifiers, I expect the situation to continue to get worse.

The power output claims and impedance requirements of AVRs have been a joke for 20+ years.

 

[amirm]

Well, the only way we will know if 2-ch wins versus AVRs is by testing a lot more of them! I have to figure out a good source of them and figure out what to do with them after testing!

Meanwhile, I have a modern Onkyo 2-channel amp and one of their AVRs to test....

 

[restorer-john]

You need a lot of dummy loads for AVRs.

 

[Blumlein 88]

A lot of audiophile amps have less SNR than AVR.

You can can adjust economically a second hand AVR like my Marantz SR4500 (with KEF Q100 cheap tweaked too) and get a great sound!

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/marantz-sr4500-av-receiver-ht-labs-measures

But if you look at the details, claims by Marantz are same as for their other current gear I posted earlier. Which puts the SINAD measures at a not very good -62 db range. The link you have shows .1% at 74.4 watts. That is only - 60 db before taking into account any residual noise. So again no better than the Behringer territory. That may be less audible than some think. .1% is about the edge of audibility and may be below it for much music. Considering there are other sources of distortion in the playback chain I'd like to see it around -80 db at least on distortion. It is also possible Marantz is being conservative and most units better claimed specs a little bit. It is also true that the test in your link and quoted in specs isn't into a reactive speaker load. So again I'd like a little distortion headroom (foot room?) there.

The places we still have to exercise some extra care in playback are in the transducers and the devices directly connected to transducers. Amp/speakers and microphones/preamps (the latter is lesser a problem than the amps).

Now one place that happens to make for a happy marriage I've seen over and over is Maggies and mid to upper end AVRs. Maggies require some power, but being a nearly pure resistive load a solid AVR can do fine with it. But then Marantz doesn't want you to connect to anything less than 6 ohms rated speakers. The 4 ohm rated resistive Maggies will work anyway. Plenty of 6 ohm rated box speakers will have reactance making for a tougher load than a 4 ohm Maggie.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I guess you never did get that Audiograph load box for your Ap @amirm ?

https://www.ap.com/technical-library/measuring-power-amplifiers-with-reactive-loads/

That's the kind of test we need for amps.

https://www.audiograph.se/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/PowerCube_12p_brochure_complete.pdf

They show a Rotel RB971 doing very well on that test. I seem to recall seeing this test done with some of the old Threshold gear which performed very well on it.

 

[amirm]

I guess you never did get that Audiograph load box for your Ap @amirm ?

It is crazy priced ($20,000) and seems like the love for it has been lost after it was rolled out initially.

 

[restorer-john]

It is crazy priced ($20,000) and seems like the love for it has been lost after it was rolled out initially.

At $20K, I can see why.

Full power 8/4/2ohms numbers, single channel and both channels driven, along with a few scope shots of square waves into capacitive and inductive loads is good enough I reckon. You're right, the 'power cube' seems to have lost favour.

 

[Wombat]

At $20K, I can see why.

Full power 8/4/2ohms numbers, single channel and both channels driven, along with a few scope shots of square waves into capacitive and inductive loads is good enough I reckon. You're right, the 'power cube' seems to have lost favour.

That overthinking of measurement accuracy for a more than adequate particular performance level is hard to put to rest.

Ignorance of metrology or obsessiveness?

 

[Blumlein 88]

There are some Rockford Fosgate car amps (160 wpc) that show to have been tested on the power cube and gotten only a smidgen off perfect result. If you wanted a marine 12 volt battery or two in the listening room, you might could have the real deal for cheap. Of course I think they were testing to .5% or 1% thd. This one is from 1999. Cheap on ebay. BTW, I think it rated for like .005% thd to 17 wpc rms. I think all the Powercube results are sine wave bursts at 1 khz. Not continuous power.

 

[restorer-john]

...I think all the Powercube results are sine wave bursts at 1 khz. Not continuous power....

EIA or EIAJ specs?

 

[Blumlein 88]

EIA or EIAJ specs?

Don't know.

 

[Aweicc]

SVS just released a wireless 2 channel amp, 150W per channel, with built in DAC for 500 dollars.

https://www.svsound.com/products/prime-wireless-soundbase

Would be interesting to see how it measures.

 

[amirm]

SVS just released a wireless 2 channel amp, 150W per channel, with built in DAC for 500 dollars.

https://www.svsound.com/products/prime-wireless-soundbase

Would be interesting to see how it measures.

I had only known them for subs. Didn't know they were making amps.