One Point Four Kilowatts

An A/V receiver is arguably the most important component in a home theater system surpassed, only, perhaps by speakers.

It has a big job: Take in all your sources, process them, and then the "little box that could" has to amplify the signal and send it out to your speakers.

An Audio Lover’s Video Player.

Over the past year, Denon has quietly assembled an interesting array of Blu-ray players designed to suit a host of budgets and systems—from the digital-only DVD-2500BTCI transport ($999) to the recently announced “entry-level” DVD-1800BD ($749).

Residing at the top of the chain is the reference DVD-3800BDCI ($1,999), a beefy unit whose build quality and high-end components befit that higher price tag.

Where most upscale components flaunt bravado and power, the Classé Audio CAP-2100 Delta Integrated Amplifier’s gracefully curved metalwork and sky blue touchscreen display send a very different message. Better yet, the beauty is more than skin deep—fresh thinking is evident in every aspect of its design.

The Denon AVR-5805 audio/video receiver embodies the super-size concept in ways even McDonald’s must envy.  This product weighs 92 pounds—as much as 368 Quarter Pounders. Denon has squeezed more ingredients into the AVR-5805 than any past receiver has held. And it measures 11 inches high—more than an inch taller than the previous record holder, Sony’s STR-DA9000ES.

For an audio receiver to be worth its salt today, it must be able to handle the intricacies of video with the same precision as it does audio. So rather than waxing poetic on how nicely the GFR-700HD's controls blend into its industrial-tech black and silver finish, I'll start instead with the integral video scaler. It accepts video signals from legacy sources such as VCRs and DVD players, converts them into whatever resolution your video display prefers, then outputs the video to your display through an HDMI digital video jack.

“That’s it,” art director Tony Fox insists when I call up Rotel’s website. He and I are scouring the Internet for audio components that will complement the look of the interior on this issue’s cover. Tony is relieved to find products that rise above the basic-black Model T look. I am relieved that he has chosen Rotel.

Jack White, the guitarist and singer-songwriter half of rock’s reigning power duo, the White Stripes, records his music the old-fashioned way—on analog tape, and then edits his tapes with a razor blade. No computers are used recording and mixing the White Stripes’ music, and when asked why he stubbornly avoids the benefits of digital technology, Mr. White sums up his approach this way: “It’s all about soul.” For him, the immediacy of the sound is what matters most. Methinks Arcam’s all-in-one CD player/radio/stereo amplifier, the Solo, was conceived with a similar mindset.

In metaphorical parlance, the “elephant in the room” is an issue that occupies the forefront of everyone’s mind, yet goes ignored because nothing can be done about it. Perhaps it is unfair to hint at the pachydermian proportions of Harman Kardon’s new top-of-the-line audio/video receiver before exploring its merits, but I must. If the real estate in your home theater is limited, you might never give the gargantuan AVR 7300 a second glance.