Denon has released some amazing products this year. The Denon Home Amp was one of my favorite amplifiers this year, and now they have released a brand new A series AV receiver that takes inspiration from its flagship A1H. The Denon AVR-A10H is made in the famous Shirakawa Audio Works in Japan, and tuned by Denon’s Sound Master, Shinichi Yamauchi. I have high hopes for this receiver because the specs on paper are amazing.
Review
When Denon released the A1H, it instantly became popular and is used in many sound systems worldwide. The Denon AVR-A10H takes inspiration from it by having similar features but for a much cheaper price. It has 13.4 channels, and delivers 150 watts per channel at 8 ohms and 190 watts per channel at 6 ohms. It weighs a hefty 52 pounds, which shows that Denon packed a solid power unit inside this receiver.
It has a simple, sleek design with a large volume knob on the right side of the front panel, and an input selector on the left. It has a display in the middle, with a flip-down door under it that hides all the other buttons. The front panel is made of Aluminum, and the side and back panels are metal.
On the back, you have all the inputs needed for a receiver. It has seven total HDMI inputs that are compatible with Dolby Vision and HDR 10+, they offer 4K at 120HZ, are compatible with 8K, and also support ARC and eARC. There are legacy inputs if you want to use older devices, two TOSLINK and two Coaxial inputs, and a moving-magnet phono input. There are also six analog inputs, and Zone 2 and Zone 3 inputs for multi-room audio. The Denon AVR-A10H has preamp outputs for all channels and four independently controlled subwoofer outputs. It has three 12-volt trigger outputs, Ethernet, FM Antenna, Bluetooth, and a powered USB socket. All the connections are well laid out and marked so you won’t have any trouble connecting wires.
For all 13.4 channels, Denon used nine two-channel ESS DAC chips to deliver audio up to 24-bit/192 kHz. The Denon AVR-A10H has full support for DTS:X, Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced, Sony 360 Reality Audio, and AURO-3D. Audyssey MultEQ XT32 is also included, it is a good tool for room correction, and Diraq Support can also be added.
If you have a 7 or 9-channel speaker system, you can take advantage of the Denon AVR-A10H’s Custom Amplifier Assign Mode. This mode will assign amplifier channels not in use to bi-amplify channels in use, allowing you to bi-amp your main speakers with up to 13 channels of total amplification. This helps you take advantage of all the 13 channels even if you don’t have a 13-channel speaker system. You can also save configurations for different listening situations, such as a configuration if you are the only person in the room and a separate one if there are multiple listeners.
Like all Denon Products, the AVR-AH10 has HEOS built-in. It supports Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, Amazon Music, SiriusXM, and Pandora. The home screen of the app has everything related to music, your playlists, recently played tracks, and more content from your music services. You can also make HEOS playlists, combining your favorite tracks from different services into one single playlist. You can also stream music with Apple Airplay 2.
You can use the Denon Setup assistant with the A10H, which only requires a TV connection to get started. After that, the assistant will take you through all the steps required to get the receiver up and running.
The Denon AVR-A10H has the familiar, dynamic sound that Denon is known for. I used it with the Bowers & Wilkins 705 S3 Signature speakers. The bass was deep and detailed, the midrange had great vocal clarity and the instruments were separated. While watching movies, the bass control and sound quality were good, and the dialogues were clear.
Verdict
The Denon AVR-A10H shines in every aspect. It is very similar to the flagship A1H and is a good choice for those wanting to experience the features of the A1H at a lower price. It has all the input and output ports you would need, and the Custom Amplifier Assign Mode helps people with 7 or 9-channel systems take full advantage of the receiver.