Denon AVR-X4500H Review

As long as users who have used and tried, Denon AV receiver knows the company’s main features. Denon’s receiver not only can show excellent movie surround sound but also the sound quality of music is not inferior to Hi-Fi amplifiers of a similar price. The new product I introduce to you, AVR-X4500H, is a product that most users can afford.

AVR-X4500H can support upgrading to IMAX Enhanced. Besides, it supports Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Auro-3D. As a 9.2 channel AV Amp, AVR-X4500H can be said to be very comprehensive.

Four Major Formats of Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Auro-3D, and IMAX EnhancedThe AVR-X4500H uses a 9.2 channel design, providing 125W output per channel. It is also equipped with 11.2 channel processing. If you connect an additional power amplifier, you can play with 11.2 channels and output 7.2.4 3D surround sound. It is an excellent model. Although Marantz’s SR6013 can be upgraded to IMAX Enhanced and is cheaper, it does not support Auro-3D.

What is IMAX Enhanced

IMAX has always been the “gold standard” of theaters, and it is synonymous with “top theater experience.” In 2018, IMAX and DTS jointly launched the world’s most immersive home theater experience standard, IMAX ENHANCED. The core is to introduce the experience of commercial IMAX into the home environment.

Advantages

When purchasing products with IMAX Enhanced certification, consumers can be assured to experience stunning image quality with more vivid colors, higher contrast, and better clarity, while enjoying powerful and immersive sound effects.

Core Technologies

Users can experience vivid 4K HDR images with the help of IMAX’s proprietary digital repair technology (DMR).

IMAX Enhanced provides a complete and concise solution. The two companies united Hollywood colorists to develop a set of strict certification standards. They digitally remastered the content (movies and documentaries) in IMAX format to present the 4K HDR ultra-clear picture quality and immersive DTS:X sound effects that the filmmakers wanted to express. In IMAX Enhanced certified products, there will also be an exclusive IMAX Enhanced mode to play these contents accordingly.

Therefore, the IMAX Enhanced certification program covers four unique features: high-quality images, excellent sound effects, significant and compatible scales with different ratios, and top-level content.

The Recommended Number of Speakers and Minimum Requirements

To achieve the best IMAX Enhanced movie experience, we recommend using a 7.2.4 speaker system, which contains 7 ground speakers, two subwoofers, and four sky speakers. 5.1.4 The system is the minimum requirement for IMAX Enhanced A/V receivers. Of course, if the conditions are limited, the user can arrange less than the recommended number of speakers. In this case, the spatial remapping engine can remap the audio to the user’s existing speaker system.

Design

Just like the previous generation product AVR-X4400H, AVR-X4500H has nine power amplifier output channels, and each channel has 125 watts of power (with a load impedance of 8 ohms). The powerful output allows you to apply AVR-X4500H to Dolby Atmos and DTS:X speaker configurations, up to 7.2.2 or 5.2.4. The 11.2 channel decoding output processing means that if you add a stereo power amplifier, you can directly apply the 7.2.4 speaker configuration.

Denon AVR-X4500H has a set of advanced 32-bit AKM AK4458VN digital-to-analog converters for each channel. It can also decode lossless audio files, supporting ALAC, FLAC, and WAV format files up to 24Bit/192kHz, and is compatible with DSD files up to 5.6M.

On the front of the AV Receiver is a pair of large knobs for source selection and volume. LCD screen displaying power amplifier information. Open the openable flip, and you can see a series of control buttons: an HDMI and USB interface and a headphone output interface.

On the back of the AV Receiver, you can understand the rich connotation of this Receiver by just looking at the various connectors on the back panel and prove its authenticity.

The impressive specifications include HDMI high-definition interfaces (seven inputs and three outputs), five RCA universal analog audio inputs, and an interface with a phono-amp function dedicated to connecting a vinyl player, as well as a pair of optical fiber and Coaxial digital audio input.

Strengthen Power Supply and Stability

For the Receiver, power supply and body stability are essential, so Denon focused on upgrading these two aspects. Although the positioning is a mid-level model, the configuration of the flagship AVC-X8500H is used.

Denon AVR-X4500H uses a pair of 15,000μF Nichicon custom large capacitors, high-speed Schottky rectifiers, and ELNA input capacitors upgraded from 47μF to 100μF from the previous generation. The pre-stage power supply has also changed from the original 4700μF/16V to a larger 6800μF/25V ELNA high-quality capacitor. Besides, it has also upgraded its own High Current EI adapter, all of which help make the sound more compelling, clean, and transparent.

In addition to the 1mm thick steel bottom plate of the device, a 1mm thick steel plate is added under the AC adapter and the rear circuit to make the amplifier work more stable, with less resonance and interference.

Denon Upgraded its own High Current EI AC adapter, with high-quality capacitors and other accessories, effectively improved Receiver’s performance. 11.2-channel pre-out is also equipped, which can be used as a pre-stage. Although it is only 9.2 channel amplified output, it can also be set to 11.2 channel speaker connection, which is more convenient for connection.

The Home Entertainment Center

Denon AVR-X4500H is not just to power your home theater. It intends to become a home entertainment center. That means that it must support music playback in the second zone simultaneously, and you can also connect a pair of stereo speakers located anywhere in the house.

Denon’s amplifiers have always been “generous” in terms of connectivity, and this time the AVR-X4500H is no exception. 7 Input and 3 output HDMI terminals are all compatible with HDCP 2.2, support 4K/60P (4:4:4) video, Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG, and other HDR formats. Besides, it also provides eAR function, which can be used to transmit audio signals such as Dolby Atmos for streaming videos with the new generation of TV.

Another upgrade is AirPlay 2, making it easier for iPhone and iPad users to control and combine different music devices. Of course, users can also continue to control music streaming with the full-featured HEOS App and use the multi-room function.

Easy to Install

Excellent sound quality is the main reason for Denon home theater AV receiver. Still, its ease of installation is another major selling point, especially for those who are not familiar with the concept of home theater, perhaps it is the first time buying a home theater for them.

When setting up, plug the built-in microphone into the front of the AV receiver and run the integrated Audyssey software. It will guide you through setting up multiple measurement positions of the microphone and then complete the rest for you through a series of test audio and some smart processing. You may wish to make a little fine-tuning after the automatic setting, but we rarely find that Audyssey’s measurement data deviates a lot from our own set goals.

Performance

This test uses the 5.2.4 channel configuration.

First, use the 4K movie “Everest” avalanche scene to try out the effect. The density of wind and snow sound is quite high, and the direction of dense wind sound is strong and detailed. In addition, the low-frequency envelopment of snow mountain collapse is excellent. The sense of volume and impact are stronger. If you want a more substantial low-frequency effect, you may need an additional independent subwoofer, but it should be beneficial for ordinary homes. The control and resolution of the mid-bass are first-class. The sound of the wind and snow is full of texture and level, and will not be muddy. Besides, the human voice will not be overwhelmed, and the restoration is also quite good.

Two prison hijacks in the 4K movie “Deadpool 2”. The fighting sounds are refreshing and compelling. The sense of envelopment of the ceiling soundtrack during the parachuting scene of an airplane is rich and accurate. The continuity of the upper sound field is maintained at the same time.

Conclusion

Denon’s AV Receiver series has been improved in recent years. Although it is not an earth-shaking change, it has continued to grow in terms of functions and sound effects. Although it may not be attracted to upgrades of the previous generation models, users can feel the difference after one or two generations.

This time, Denon AVR-X4500H Receiver’s improvements in power and design also reflect the sound performance. The stereo sound field, control, and resolution are all top-notch. If you want to upgrade in the future, you can easily play with 11.2 channels by adding one more amplifier.

Denon AVR-X4500H Features

9.2 channel AV Receiver with 125W per channel (8 ohm, THD+N 0.05%, 20Hz-20kHz).: 9 powerful amplifiers tuned to provide a dynamic audio experience
Supports IMAX Enhanced, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Auro-3D and DTS Virtual:X: for truly a immersive, three-dimensional audio experience
Amazon Alexa voice control compatibility: Hands-free control of your home theater and wireless music services
8 HDMI inputs (incl. 1 front) with full HDCP 2.2 support and 3 HDMI outputs: Connect to eight of your favorite media devices and output to three displays
4K/60 Hz full-rate pass-through, Dolby Vision compatibility, HDR10, HLG and BT.2020: Provides the greatest picture quality for brightness, clarity and contrast
Award-winning Denon guided setup assistant and graphical user interface: Easy and intuitive out-of-box experience
“ihiji Invision” and “Domotz Pro” remote system monitoring and management technology, RS232 Control: Lets custom integrators monitor and troubleshoot remotely, drastically reducing downtime
Supports Spotify Connect, Pandora, SiriusXM, Amazon Music, TIDAL, Deezer and more: Wirelessly stream and enjoy the most popular music services
Built-in HEOS wireless multi-room audio technology: Listen from any room in your home for connected, whole-home audio streaming
Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) (via future firmware update): Supports the latest 3D audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X from your TV audio signal
High-resolution DSD (2.8/5.6MHz), FLAC, ALAC and WAV support: High-resolution audio streaming
Audyssey MultEQ XT32, Dynamic Volume, Dynamic EQ, LFC and Sub EQ HT: Delivers the ultimate equalization for your individual room including subwoofer EQ
Built-in Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi with 2.4GHz/5GHz dual band support: Solid wireless network connectivity even in congested environments.
Equipped with two 12 V Trigger outputs: Connect devices such as a cooling fan or projector and operate on AVR standby power