Denon’s new A/V receiver, the AVR-4311CI, is now available and has been chosen as a finalist in the 2010 CEDIA Manufacturers’ Excellence Awards.

The 9.2-channel Network receiver includes a variety of advanced features. It has the Audessey MultEQ 32 Room Correction, which has 32 times the resolution quality than that of the current MultEQ XT system. Additionally, it has Audessey’s new Sub EQ HT that allows the AVR-4311CI to have access to the highest level of audio playback quality.

The Pass Laboratories INT-30A integrated amplifier doesn't do much, and that's what makes it great!

I've probably reviewed well over a hundred amplifiers, but I can't say I've ever really heard one. I'm always listening to an amplifier driving a speaker, so the sound is really the combination of the two.

I'm pretty sure Nelson Pass has not only listened to more amps and speakers than I have, he's designed more than a few of my favorite high-end amps.

All the bells and whistles

Reading the features list on modern receivers is like some sort of Tolstoy-esque torrent of acronyms and abbreviations.

This is a good thing, believe it or not, at least when it's all implemented correctly. Denon has a strong history at being able to get it all to work together, so we take a look at their AVR-4810CI to run it through its paces.

The best gear of the year, as picked by the editors of Home Entertainment.

Premium Blend

The NaimUniti combines all your stereo favorites in to one unifying package.

Mix together one part amp and one part DAC and you get Hegel's H100 Integrated Amp.

I am loving the influx of high-end audio gear that plays nice with computers.

It's taken long enough, but it seems like the audiophile companies are embracing computer-based digital audio for the future that it is.
    
Whch brings us to this, the Hegel H100 Integrated Amp.

When Digital Met Analog

Ditch the transistors and go tubing with old-fashioned, oh-so-analog vacuum tube audio gear from Peachtree Audio and Fatman.

Wall of Sound: Three new surround formats from Audyssey, Dolby and DTS aim to bring your theater sound to a whole new dimension. Literally.

You want me to buy more speakers? Yeah, I get that. To be honest, that was my first thought when I heard about height speakers. Just a gimmick, right?

Well, to find out, I journeyed up and down the California coast visiting the headquarters of the formats’ creators.

The Light Fantastic

“See me, touch me, hear me!” Those would be the Solista MkII's first words, if it could talk.

The amplifier's flowing lines and voluptuous shape couldn't be from anywhere but Italy. And it is, entirely hand-crafted in Vicenza. The chassis' undulating curves and exquisitely machined knobs show this is no ordinary high-end amplifier. Listen to your favorite tunes and it becomes clear the Solista MkII was designed to preserve, above all else, the essence of the music.

Silver Sounds

Well, it looks huge. Maybe not huge, but certainly hefty.

And yet at 38 pounds, it’s not.

There must be some kind of magic in there doing something.