I don't think it really does anything more that I need than my current receiver. I'd definitely stick with Denon next time even if it does have to be made in China.
it doesnt matter where it is made nowadays, what matter is their QC in the factory
ever since foreign 'high-end' companies 'invaded' chinese factories/labours, their QC has come through miles away now from the old days
even their own brands such as SHANLING has received numerous prestigious awards
you normally have 1 year warranty anyway, plus don't forget, even after 1yr you should still be protected by CGA to a certain 'reasonable' length of time
my rule of thumb is always to try to avoid to be an early adopter of any product, so i would probably wait until at least the 2nd gen or 3rd gen of 3d receiver if i ever wanted to buy (probably not)
1st gen product normally hampers with all sort of bugs etc, which only gonna cause customer headaches. been there, done that, never do it again.
richms: I just find it so annoying that its really hard to find what amplifier technology is being used in receivers - so many still have old analog chip amps in them, whereas ideally I would expect them to have class T or class D digital amps these days.
There's nothing wrong with old analogue amps but plenty wrong with "digital" amps.
Most of them just don't sound any good.
To make a good sounding digital amp requires real expertise, it's not just a matter of buying in third party amplifier modules.
Even high end companies like Audio Research and Jeff Rowland took several attempts before they could make a decent sounding example.
Currently the only really good sounding digital amped AVR is the Arcam AVR600.
the best digital ICE-powered AVR in the market will be Pioneer Susano LX-90, which is RRP$15,999. you get the most features, latest technology, power and musicality cramped into 1 box (well, it's actually 2 boxes joined together in 1 casing)
i do agree that class D amp does not sound so musical, hence you only see most of them adopted as a built-in power amp for a sub. this is one of the reason ppl re-invent the class D technology and they came out with ICE-powered technology. Bang & Olufsen reinvented this and many adopted and perfected the technology after that. on the paper, they sound like a normal class D amp but they are way different in terms of musicality
this is the exact technology being used by D-sonic amps, Jeff Rowlands, Rotels, Pioneer LX82 and LX90 (many more that i can't remember).
i personally never tried the ICE-powered amp, but given the opportunity i will grab it right away.
btw, the latest JB hifi brochure has some of the latest hdmi 1.4 and 3d capable receivers in it. check it out.
The ones I have heard have all been fine, both car and domestic.
Whats wrong with old analog amps is efficiancy and the resulting massive heat output, and the lower outputs in devices that result from that. Never going to see more than about 500w total in a reciver in anycase so I might just stick with an external amp regardless.
I would like to be able to disable the poweramp in the reciver when using it in stereo mode since i have them externally amplified and even driving nothing they still get stinking hot, particually in that I normally have to have the gain up high because of the gutless low output level they have on the RCA's when driving a proper amplifier that wants proper levels.
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