Denon and Marantz are to release upgraded ‘A’ spec versions of their flagship AV amplifier and processor. The Denon AVC-X8500A is a replacement for its 13-channel AVC-X8500 multichannel amplifier. Marantz is shipping the AV8805A, an update on the 13-channel AV8805 processor.
The two models have been fast-tracked, to replace the AVC-X8500H and AV8805 which suffer from the 8k HDMI bug, which has bedeviled owners.
The Denon AVC-X8500HA features 13ch of 210W amplification with decoding for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, DTS:X Pro, IMAX Enhanced and Auro 3D. The 13 channel flagship supports 7.2.6 or 9.2.4 speaker configurations. In addition to 8K/60Hz upscaling and pass-through, and 4K/120Hz pass-through, there’s new support for HDR10+, Dynamic HDR, and HDCP 2.3, in addition to eARC, HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision.
The Marantz AV8805A, enjoys the same connectivity benefits and codec support for 7.2.6 or 9.2.4 installations. The Denon AVC-X8500A and Marantz AV8805A retail for £3,699 and £3,899 respectively.
Owners of the afflicted AVC-X8500H and AV8805 models can have them upgraded by an authorised Denon or Marantz dealer, for £650. This covers the replacement of an HDMI 2.0 input with a dedicated 8K-capable HDMI 2.1 board (pictured) which supports 8K/60 and 4K/120 signals on one input. All rear HDMI inputs are also upgraded for VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), ALLM (Automatic Low Latency Mode), and QMS (Quick Media Switching).
Source: InsideCI
