Tag: Denon

Introduction

I am reviewing the Denon DHT-T100 TV pedestal speaker which is one of the new crop of “soundbars” that is intended to serve primarily as an active external speaker for an LCD TV. Here, most of these TVs have internal speakers that are often considered just “good enough” for casual TV viewing but may not give highly-engaging sound quality which some TV shows really benefit from. This situation is underscored by the fact that these sets use a thin chassis which doesn’t really work well as a speaker enclosure and more of these sets have the speakers placed behind the screen rather than behind a separate speaker grille.

This class of device is intended to be positioned as an alternative to a surround-sound home-theatre system with the many speakers, especially where the goal is simply to improve on the TV speakers’ sound.

For example, some of you may find that a stereo system is good enough for your listening area and want to keep that for music playback but you may want to improve your flatscreen TV’s sound.  Similarly, these devices come in to their own with most of us who have always liked positioning the TV in the corner of the room ever since we owned CRT-based TVs, usually to avoid competing with other views like a fireplace or feature window or make it fit in with other furniture.

Price

Recommended Retail Price: AUD$549

Specifications

Connections

Sound Decoding

Amplifiers and Speakers

The unit itself

Controls on edge of speaker

The Denon DHT-T100 is shaped like a plinth which an LCD TV up to 40” rests on using its pedestal. There isn’t the need for a separate subwoofer box because the housing’s size and design is able to serve effectively as two rear-ported bass-reflex speakers. The local controls are arranged across the bevelled top of the front of the unit so as to be accessible but look neat.

This design allows for a piece of equipment that looks neat and hardly noticeable where it is meant to be heard but not noticed visually.

Setup

Audio connections for the Denon DHT-T1000 soundbar – 3.5mm stereo line-in, RCA coaxial and Toslink optical for SPDIF digital input

It was a totally simple affair to set the Denon DHT-T100 TV pedestal speaker up, with me just plugging it in to the Samsung TV’s digital output. Then I just had to set the TV up to use the device connected to the digital output as its external speakers and away we went.

This unit is able be be operated with the sound level controls on the TV’s remote control as well as its credit-card-size remote control so you don’t have to think of using another remote control to manage your TV’s sound. This is facilitated with a “learn” mode where you can set it to “capture” the volume and mute commands from that TV remote and act to these commands.

Here, you had to press LEARN then the function you want the device to learn on the Denon’s control surface. Then you press that same function on the TV’s remote control four times so it knows what it is receiving. You have to do this for the “Volume Up” command, the “Volume Down” command and the “Mute” command.

Useability

Once I had set the Denon DHT-T100 speaker up to work with the TV’s remote control, it is so easy to use when it comes to adjusting the sound. Here, we were able to adjust the sound and see a bar-graph of lights to know how loud it was playing at. As well, if we used the MUTE button on the TV’s remote typically to stop the commercials shouting at us, the MUTE indicator on the Denon soundbar flashed to indicate this mode.

When you determine the sound mode by pressing the MODE buton, the controls light up in a manner to indicate the effective stereo separation that you will be noticing from the speaker.

In this situation, I was able to avoid the need to use the Denon speaker’s remote control at all this avoiding the need to cause any confusion for people who are not patient with consumer electronics.

Sound Quality

I have hooked this up to our Samsung Smart TV and have noticed that the unit came across in a very subtle manner both in the way it looked and the way it sounded. Here, I could hear the sound improvement that it brought to the TV shows that I have watched.

Just after I connected it to the TV and set it up, there was a news bulletin on the ABC and I was able to effectively hear “more” of the news anchor’s voice where there was that bit of extra depth there. Then we watched one of those British “comedy documentaries” and heard the voices and sound effects come through as if they had more “bite”.

Even some of the British crime dramas that I like had come through with a lot more bite from the actors and from the sound effects. For example,  when I  was watching one of the episodes of “The Bill” which opened with a funeral service for a fallen officer. the opening hymn of that service came through in a manner where the organ was given the rich sound that it deserved while the congregation singing the hymn came across very clearly. Another example was an opening scene in another of the crime dramas where a farmer had ambushed someone else with his shotgun and that shotgun blast came across with the “full punch”. I also watched a bit of a highly-produced Hollywood-style movie and the sound still had the full weight.

The Denon DHT-T100 didn’t come across as having a “boomy” or aggressive sound, but I could take it up to 80% without it distorting, clipping or simply sounding “awful”. The Movie Wide effect was able to provide the apparent “increased separation” which came through for both the UK dramas as well as a studio-based game show that the BBC had produced. The key talent for the shows came through as though it was from the TV base speaker’s centre. Here, I could effectively leave it on the “Movie Wide” mode for most of the time to cover all of the TV viewing.

Comments and observations from other people

Other people whom I have watched TV with while the Denon DHT-T100 TV pedestal speaker was in action have not noticed the speaker visually but have noticed the sound improvement that this device has provided over the TV speakers. It is although they haven’t seen this class device in action before I had brought in the Denon speaker.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

The Denon DHT-T100 could benefit from a walk-up 3.5mm jack for use in connecting portable devices that don’t use Bluetooth A2DP connectivity.

As well, Denon could use the DHT-T100 as the start of creating a range of these “TV base speakers”. This could be achieved by creating a variant or “better model” that has at least 2 HDMI connections (HDMI output with ARC + 1 or 2 HDMI input) along with the digital inputs. Similarly, they could offer a variant that has an integrated Blu-Ray player for those of us who are replacing a broken DVD player with a nicer Blu-Ray player but also like the idea of improving the flatscreen TV’s sound. A larger variant that suits the 42” or 50” flatscreen TV could come a long way for those of us who own these sets.

Conclusion

I would recommend the Denon DHT-T100 TV pedestal speaker for those of us who want good sound for their TV watching but don’t want to allow the TV and its related equipment to dominate the lounge area. It doesn’t even take away any functionality that your TV, especially your smart TV, or its associated video peripherals have and you don’t have to learn any new procedures or use different remote controls for adjusting the sound while you have the speaker working still at its best.

This is more important when you are intending to set up improved sound for a TV habitually used by people who may find any changes to operating procedures very difficult.

Introduction

I am reviewing the Denon UrbanRaver AH-C100 in-ear stereo headset which is the cheaper in-ear model of the UrbanRaver series of bass-enriched headsets. These are intended to appeal to people who value the in-ear style of headphones or like their portability compared to a pair of over-the-head headphones.

Price

RRP: AUD$109

Type

The headset itself

Connectivity

The Denon UrbanRaver AH-C100 headset works as expected with most devices no matter whether they have the headphone jack or the full headset jack.

Comfort

Earpieces for the Denon UrbanRaver headset

This may be a subjective remark but the Denon Urban Raver AH-C100 can be difficult to wear especially if the headset ear-adaptors that come with it don’t suit your ear canals. Once in place, they don’t cause any fatiguing even for a long journey.

Sound

Like a lot of in-ear headsets and earphones, the quality of the sound for the Denon Urban Raver AH-C100 headset is totally dependent on the earbuds fitting in your ear properly with the supplied ear-caps in place. I even tried using these earphones without the ear-caps in place as if you were to use them like earplugs but I didn’t get the full desireable response from them.

There is the tight bass response that is identifiable with the UrbanRaver headphone lineup but you still hear the “rest of the music” in the songs such as the vocals and melody-bearing or harmony-bearing instruments.

As for non-music content, there is the clear dialogue, and the tight presentation of sound effects coming out of the headphones which makes them work appropriately for private viewing of videos or private gameplay.

I have taken a call using the headset and can hear the correspondent’s voice clearly and they could hear me clearly.

Noise reduction and handling in noisy environments

I have used these headphones during a train journey from Ballarat to Melbourne using a Vline “Vlocity” diesel railcar train. These have a similar engine noise level to most transit buses or coaches as heard from inside the cabin. Here, I was able to hear the music material from my Samsung phone at a reasonable volume without the engine noise competing with the sound.

Motorcyclists who are most likely to buy headsets like this due to them being able to be worn in conjunction with their helmet may appreciate the noise reduction because they can hear what’s going on around them but not as much the noise from the machine under them.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

There could be further work done on making the Denon UrbanRaver AH-C100 headset fit for most people especially if it could serve also as an “earplug” headset for colder climates.

As well, like with most of the headsets I had reviewed, a break-out plug and/or USB communications audio module would be nice to have to make these headsets work well with online gaming environments. This is more so with “gaming-rig” PCs or console audio adaptors that aren’t likely to have the four-conductor jack.

Conclusion

The Denon UrbanRaver AH-C100 headset comes across as a compact in-ear headset that you can stow away but need to make sure it fits properly every time you wear it for best bass response.

Here, they can come in handy for cyclists and motorcyclists who value using a headset in conjunction with their favourite helmet as they ride their bike on longer distances or want to keep on touch through that bike ride.

Article – From the horse’s mouth

Denon

DNPF109, Optional Mini Network player for DF109, Audio Products Group

My Comments

If you are looking for an audio-focused network media player for your hi-fi system, you will typically come across devices that have an integrated broadcast radio tuner or optical disc player. This may be OK if your sound system doesn’t have these functions and may come in to its own with those network media players that have an integrated DAB+ or ISDB digital-radio tuner so you can add digital radio to your existing system.

But you may find yourself “doubling up” on functionality especially if you have an AM/FM tuner or broadcast-radio subsystem that is doing its job very well with broadcast radio.

Denon have filled in this gap with an audio-focused network media player in the form of the DNP-F109 that just provides access to network-hosted or Internet-hosted audio content as well as file-based audio content for existing audio systems. They pitched it primarily as an optional-extra component for their D-F109 bookshelf hi-fi system which consists of a CD player and a stereo receiver feeding a pair of bookshelf / mantelpiece speakers. Here, you can link this unit to the other components in a way to permit simplified “one-touch” operation or control with the system’s remote control.

But the DNP-F109 comes with its own remote control and has a coaxial digital output along with an analogue line-level output, thus allowing it to be plugged in to a vacant tape, CD, tuner or aux input on the amplifier. The digital output comes in to its own with “Dolby Digital” home-theatre receivers, digital amplifiers and digital-analogue converter components for best-case sound reproduction.

It can work with a small network that implements Ethernet or Wi-Fi connectivity and supports DLNA and Apple AirPlay setups. You also gain access to online media services like Internet radio and Spotify as well as the ability to play media held on USB-connected devices.

These kind of components can go a long way as an alternative to hooking up a laptop computer or tablet to an existing music system to play network-hosted or Internet-hosted audio content without making existing components or functions redundant.

Introduction

I am reviewing the Denon CEOL Series music systems and had a chance to review the CEOL but am focusing on the CEOL Piccolo. Both these stereo systems are “three-piece” micro systems with a main unit and two speakers, and can work with Internet radio, Last.FM, Spotify, DLNA Home media networks and music held on USB storage or an iPod device. The larger CEOL system also has an FM broadcast tuner and a CD player whereas the smaller CEOL Piccolo just focuses on the online sources.

Denon CEOL with CD and FM radio as well

Price

The unit itself:

Recommended Retail Price:

Denon CEOL: AUD$999

Denon CEOL Piccolo: AUD$799

Form Factor

Both systems: Three-piece stereo music system with separate speakers

Functions

Connections

Speakers

The unit itself

Remote control

The Denon CEOL stereo systems come with a comprehensive remote control or can work from a Denon smartphone app available through the iOS and Android app stores. But they can be worked from the units themselves, with the CEOL’s controls on the front and the CEOL Piccolo’s controls on the top of the main unit.

The main units in these systems are equipped with a monochrome bitmapped OLED display which is a delight to use. Here, the display is bright and easy-to-read, which I find is important for older people or those of us who don’t have good eyesight. As well, the bright display also comes in to its own if you are one of those people who like that dim lighting for romance.

Both systems are very easy to integrate in to your home network with them running a “quick setup” when they are first connected to AC power. This same option can be invoked through the Setup menu which is selected as a “source” when you use the Source button. They can work with most small Wi-Fi wireless networks that implement passphrase-based WEP or WPA network security.

The Denon CEOL comes with a tacky piece of wire as its FM aerial (antenna), which doesn’t do the system justice. Here, I would like to see something better like the classic “T-wire” aerial like what most manufacturers use for their receivers and tuners or the “rabbit’s ears” aerials that were always used with portable TVs. Even the Internet radios that I have reviewed used that telescopic aerial that most portable radios use as their aerial. On the other hand, I would recommend users connect the CEOL to the outdoor TV aerial or buy an indoor TV aerial like the classic “rabbit’s ears” if they want to use it for FM broadcast radio.

The USB port on both these systems can only supply power to peripheral while the equipment is fully on, which can be a limitation if you wanted to charge that Android smartphone overnight. It supports “remote IOS” behaviour where you can connect Apple iOS devices to this port and they behave as if they are iOS devices connected to the docking connector on top of the console unit. This is important when you use an iPad, iPod Shuffle or any newer iOS device that uses that Lightning connector for power and data connectivity.

The USB connections on both systems can also work with Mass Storage Devices like USB flash drives but can’t support MTP functionality which is important with some MP3 players and newer Samsung Android phones.

The speakers that come with the Denon CEOL systems are very well-built and have that piano-gloss finish. The grille is of an unusual shape but the cloth is fixed to a removable plastic frame.

Of course, they yield a clear tight sound with that proper bass response that can do a lot of music justice. Here, you could notice that punchy sound through the newer dance tracks or hear the whole of the sound mix with clear vocals.

Also, I have found that I could run the Denon CEOL systems to 80% of the volume level before they started to clip and sound awful. At that point, it is loud enough to fill a medium-size room. This shows that they are very capable for a small music system.

The CEOL systems do work well for Wi-Fi network reception if they are picking up a good signal from the access point. They also have an Ethernet connection which would allow them to be connected to an Ethernet or HomePlug AV segment for more reliable operation.

As for Internet media reliability, they don’t handle things well if the Internet media source isn’t working well for quality-of-service, which can happen at peak times for Internet-radio streams. Here, they give up the ghost on the stream and require you to re-select that stream if you want to continue listening to it again. This is unlike a lot of Internet radios that provide a better allowance for failure by having a longer wait time.

The CEOL systems work properly as a part of the DLNA Home Media Network in that they can either pull up content from a media-server device or can accept content that is pushed to them. The interaction for this feature is very quick, including advertising their presence to a control point.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

I am finding that it is hard to look for limitations that concern the Denon CEOL music systems, especially for the kind of user that it is targeted at. It works to the DLNA standards and is easy to use from your smartphone, remote control or the unit;s control panel.

Like a lot of these systems, the USB port could have a user-selectable mode which allows “always-on” power so it can charge mobile phones even while it is on standby.

Denon could also supply models in to this series with a DAB+/DMB tuner or HD radio tuner for markets where these digital broadcast systems are in situ. This is because I have noticed the Sony CMT-MX750Ni being able to work with DAB/DAB+ broadcasts.

Similarly, they could offer a variant of the CEOL with a DVD or Blu-Ray player, an HDMI input and HDMI output with Audio Return Channel, and “two-speaker surround”. This would be pitched as an answer to Yamaha’s MCR-755 micro A/V system and build out the “quality” home entertainment system for a dorm room, studio apartment or similar application.

Here, this could be a way for Denon to build out the CEOL range as a series of high-quality micro-form-factor 3-piece AV systems.

Conclusion

I would recommend the Denon CEOL or CEOL Piccolo as an option for any  application where you value good sound quality but desire a music system that doesn’t take up too much space. This could range from something that would work well in that nice studio or one-bedroom apartment in the city to something that could work as a personal music system for that master bedroom or den.

Here, I would value the CEOL for anywhere that you place importance on CD playback, FM broadcast radio or “walk-up” device connectivity. This is important with hotels and serviced apartments who want to have a system that best suits their premium offerings. The CEOL Piccolo would be of importance if you just value file-based audio, online audio services like the “new shortwave” as in the Internet radio or want something for that MP3 player.

Introduction

I am reviewing the Denon MusicManiac AH-D600 audiophile headset which is a pair of closed-back circum-aural headphones pitched at those who value their music. They have a long replaceable cord to connect to the computer, amplifier or CD player but they also have a separate mobile cord with an integrated microphone pod that converts them in to a headset that works with your smartphone or laptop for communications purposes.

Price

RRP AUD$600 / US$499.99

Type

The headset itself

Connectivity

The headphones with the regular cord for use with your hi-fi

The Denon MusicManiac AH-D600 headphones come with two separate cords that plug in to the earcups. One of these cords is a long one that has a cloth-effect insulation for use when listening to your hi-fi or laptop whereas the other is a short headset cord with a pod that houses three control buttons and a microphone, thus making it become a mobile headset for your smartphone.

Gold-plated equipment plug as expected for good headphones

All the plugs are gold-plated for optimum connectivity to the headset and the device you are using. As well, the separate mobile cord can work in “headset mode” with both the Apple iPhone and the Android handsets, the latter of which I tested for myself where it worked properly with my Samsung Galaxy Note II during a test call.

The headphones working as a fully-fledged audiophile headset for your smartphone, tablet or computer

I also like the concept of the detachable cords because you can easily repair broken plugs or replace broken cords, thus allowing you to gain a lot more mileage out of these headphones.

Comfort

The Denon MusicManiac AH-D600 headphones are comfortable to wear for a significant amount of time even though they do feel heavy. This is brought on through the use of leather earcups, which can be sweaty at times with hot weather. Of course, you can’t feel the headband when you wear them due to a well-cushioned headband design.

The earcups with a cloth-lined grille and leather-wrapped foam rings allowing for long-term comfortable wear

Even for a pair of circum-aural headphones, you don’t find that the speaker grille in the earcups doesn’t touch your ears at all and you have a cloth speaker grille rather than the typical plastic or metal-mesh one that can be par for the course for this headphone class. This makes it appeal to you wearing the headset for a long time compared to most headphones of this type.

Sound

The Denon MusicManiac AH-D600 does satisfy the expectation associated with a pair of good circum-aural hi-fi headphones.

A soft and comfortable leather-lined headband

I have listened to a range of different music content on these headphones and have noticed tight bass with clear sound for the popular music including the current dance and R&B music. Here, the bass didn’t dominate unnecessarily while you could hear the vocals and lead instruments clearly. For classical music and other music that requires detailed listening, the Denon headphones still lived up to that ability, allowing the instruments to be heard individually.

I placed a “confirmation call” to the public-relations agency who lent me these headphones using my Samsung Galaxy Note II and the headphones with the “mobile” cord to observe how they performed as a headset for a mobile phone. Here, I heard the staff member’s voice very clearly through the headset and they heard me clearly from the microphone on their telephone equipment. This feature comes in to its own for use when you use your smartphone as a music player while you are on public transport. As well, the centre button on the microphone module works as a call-control button for Android handsets as well as iPhones. But you don’t have audio control for anything other than the Apple iOS platform.

You do have very significant noise reduction which may be a boon for noisy transport environments, but it may be at a disadvantage if you are walking along the street and need to hear the traffic.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

The Denon AH-D600 with its mobile headset cord could appeal to some teenagers and young men as a gaming headset due to reduced ambient noise so you could hear that other player talk to you. But this ability is limited by Denon not supplying a headphone / microphone breakout cord or USB communiactions audio adaptor to allow it to work with a PC for talking with your comrades while playing that MMO game. Here, they could offer the gaming interface cables and adaptors for PCs or consoles as optional accessories.

Other than that, I have found very little to fault this headset as a premium all-purpose pair of circum-aural headphones

Conclusion

I would position the Denon MusicManiac AH-D600 as an all-purpose music-grade circum-aural headset that cam be used where you want to concentrate on the audio content. It doesn’t matter whether you are on the train or plane listening to music on that smartphone, tablet or laptop; you want to listen to that CD or record in detail through that good amplifier, you are doing some serious recording in the studio or with that good recording device; or are wanting something as an alternative to the fashionable DJ headphones as cue / monitor headphones for your DJ work. The headset cable will also come a long way with communications devices (including mixing-desk talkback setups) that exploit the standard headset plug wiring used for mobile phones.

For that matter, I would recommend these headphones as a major-special-occasion gift for someone in your life who loves their music very much. This could be something like a major birthday. graduation or retirement gift and could be best purchased by a group of people like a family.

Article

Denon intros Cocoon Home and Portable AirPlay docks, will transform songs into musical butterflies — Engadget

My Comments

Another example of the trend in supplying network-ready “boomboxes” is Denon with its latest “Cocoon” series of speaker docks. Like the recently-announced Pioneer speaker units that I covered in this site lately, these support Apple AirPlay and the universal DLNA standards for audio playback from a PC or smartphone via a Wi-Fi network.

But these units also support access to the global fun of Internet radio with 3 local presets as well as playback from USB Mass-Storage Devices i.e. memory keys or directly-connected iPhones and iPod Touch devices. They have an integrated display and a dockable remote control so you can manage the tunes from Internet radio, DLNA Media Servers or other sources without having to use the source device’s control surface.

One question I have about these devices is whether they can be set up to become a Wi-Fi Direct “master device” for ad-hoc music-playback wireless networks. If you are not sure about this, you could use a “MiFi” as an access point for these networks if the location doesn’t have a suitable network.

The series is finished in a black or white finish and comes in two distinct variants – a larger “Cocoon Home” unit which can only work of external power and a smaller “Cocoon Portable” unit which can run off a battery pack for 5 hours as well as external power. Of course, I would expect the smaller unit not to put out much in the way of sound output due to its size but the Cocoon works with a classic bi-amped two-way speaker setup with a woofer and tweeter per channel while the Cocoon Portable has a full-range speaker per channel.