Product Review

Secrets Benchmark Product Review

Denon AVR-4806 7.1 A/V Receiver

Part V

December, 2005

John E. Johnson, Jr.

On the Bench

First, the Benchmark Results. The AVR-4806 scored spectacularly well. As I said previously, this receiver has just about everything, and does it beautifully.

Secrets Benchmark Results

Function	Score	Notes
Time Alignment
Global A/V Delay	10 Points	Delay up to 200 ms, in 10 ms increments (must have at least 60 ms delay to get 10 points).
Speaker Delay	10 Points	Each channel is independent. Increment is 0.1 foot or 0.03 meter (0.5 foot increment is minimum for 10 points).
Volume
Muting	10 Points	Muting is available at several dB levels.
Power-On Volume / Max Volume	10 Points	Power-On volume and maximum volume can be set.
Input Level Trim	10 Points	Each adjustable from -12 dB to +12 dB.
Volume Scale	10 Points	Relative scale rather than absolute. Scale is from - 80 dB to + 18 dB.
Speaker Calibration	10 Points	± 12 dB, adjustable in 0.5 dB increments (must have 0.5 dB increments to get the full 10 points).
Headphone	0 Points	Cannot monitor a different source from the main zone.
Dolby Digital
Basic Functions	10 Points	Meets basic requirements for Dolby Digital.
DRC (Dynamic Range Control)	10 Points	Three button presses required to activate.
Dialogue Normalization	10 Points	Shows DN offset value.
Lock-on Time	10 Points	Fast.
640kbps AC-3	Not Tested
Dolby Digital EX
Basic Functions	10 Points	Meets basic requirements for Dolby Digital EX.
Flag Respect	10 Points	Detects flag and actually displays the flag identification when Input Signal is viewed with the OSD.
Pro Logic
Basic Functions	10 Points	Meets basic requirements for Dolby Pro Logic.
SurrEnc Flag respect	Not Tested
Pro Logic II
Basic Functions	10 Points	Meets basic requirements for Dolby Pro Logic II.
Non-mandatory Music mode features	10 Points	Panorama, Dimension, Center Width.
DTS
Basic Functions	10 Points	Meets basic requirements for DTS.
Bass Management
Crossover frequency selection	10 Points	40 Hz to 250 Hz, in 20 Hz - 50 Hz increments. 10 Hz increments is best.
Crossover Slope selection	0 Points	No slope selection.
LFE Trim	10 Points	10 dB to 0 dB.
DVD-Audio
Bass Management for 5.1 Analog Input	10 Points	Allows digital bass management.
HDMI DVD-A Input	10 Points	Three HDMI inputs.
Link DVD-A/SACD Input	10 Points	Link connection will process SACD digital bitstreams when version three software becomes available.
THX
Certification	10 Points	THX Ultra2-certified.
Re-Eq Defeat Option	0 Points	Non-defeatable in THX Cinema mode.
Audio Customization
Parametric Subwoofer Eq	5 Points	Does not go very low. Nine band EQ for all other channels.
Surround Mode Pre-Set	10 Points	Default surround parameter for each input can be stored.
Multiple Surround Management	10 Points	Amplifier channels can be assigned to duplicate or re-route.
Academy Mono Filter	0 Points	None offered. It has a Mono Movie mode, but that is not the same thing as Academy Mono Filter.
Downmix	10 Points	Stereo Mode and 2-Channel Direct dowmix 5.1 to 2-channel.
Miscellaneous
Front Panel Dim	10 Points	Four levels - Bright, Medium, Dim, Off.
Settings Storage	10 Points	Settings are retained.
Preamplifier
Maximum RMS Output Voltage at Pre-Out	6.34 volts RMS 10 Points	We prefer at least 1.0 volt RMS, and 2.0 volts RMS is best. The AVR-4806 has outstanding voltage output. The maximum pre-out voltage was obtained using 1 kHz analog input, 2.44 volts RMS output from the sound card, and a volume setting on the AVR-4806 panel of +11.0 dB.
Power Amplifiers
2 Channel Maximum RMS Power Output	182 watts x 2; 0.14% THD; 2.44 volts RMS input 10 Points	To get the full 10 points, the 2-channel maximum output must be at least 30% above the rated output for all channels driven. This would be at least 169 watts per channel for the AVR-4806. This capability is tested with a variable transformer that keeps the input voltage at 120 volts when the amplifier is delivering its maximum output.
7 Channel Maximum RMS Power Output	114 watts x 7; 0.06% THD; 2.44 volts RMS input 0 Points	Output with all channels driven must be at least 95% of rated output, when testing with a variable transformer that keeps input voltage at 120 volts. For the AVR-4806, this would be at least 123 watts per channel (the 4806 is rated at 130 watts RMS x 7).
Video
Up-Conversion of Composite Video, S-Video, and Component Video to DVI/HDMI	10 Points	Can be set to up-convert any analog video input to HDMI output.
DVI and/or HDMI Switching	10 Points	Has DVI switching and HDMI switching.
Component Video Switching Bandwidth	10 Points	100 MHz bandwidth. Must be at least 100 MHz.
Total Score	335 Points out of 390	Ratio = 0.859

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