Denon is now shipping the AVR-X4800H AV receiver, first announced in September 2022. This is great news for home theater enthusiasts looking to step up their cinema audio game on what it offers. The best Dolby Atmos speakersand should also be of interest to gamers looking for a receiver that is fully compatible with it Playstation 5 And Xbox Xbox X | S keyboards.
A standout feature of the AVR-X4800H, and one that would rank it among The best AV receiversIt supports 8K 60Hz and 4K 120Hz video pass-through on multiple HDMI 2.1 ports. Some previous models from Denon and other AV receiver makers offered either a full-featured HDMI 2.1 input, or even none at all, while promising a full suite of HDMI 2.1 capabilities would be added via a “future firmware update.”
The AVR-X4800H offers 8K and 4K 120Hz compatibility out of the box, and other gaming features include support for Variable refresh rate (VRR), Fast Frame Transfer (QFT), and Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM). There’s also pass-through support for all major HDR formats: Dolby Vision, HDR10+, Dynamic HDR, and HLG.
Denon’s latest receiver is similarly stacked on the audio side, providing Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, IMAX Enhanced, and Auro 3D audio processing. The XT32’s built-in Audyssey MultEQ room correction lets you fine-tune the interaction between your speakers and the listening environment for optimal sound, and it also promises a firmware update that will enable you to upgrade to Dirac Live room correction (at an additional cost) for the future. After using Dirac Live and testing its audio quality benefits, we found the latter to be particularly compelling.
That’s not all that can be said about the AVR-X4800H. With 9 channels of a 125-watt amplifier, it supports Dolby Atmos configurations that use up to four “height effects” overhead speakers. It also has four independently controllable subwoofer outputs. The Denon HEOS wireless platform is used for broadcasting, allowing high-resolution audio to be transmitted to the receiver over a Wi-Fi connection.
Analysis: Receivers with modern HDMI 2.1 features have (finally) arrived
An irony regarding A/V receivers released over the past few years is that many of them lack HDMI 2.1 ports with extensive features to support the latest generation of game consoles, while many soundbars offer such support.
Anyone who buys a new Denon receiver will be able to use it well into the future
Models like Denon’s AVR-X4800H rectify this situation by letting you connect both the PS5 and Xbox series X with full-pass 4K 120Hz video along with support for VRR and ALLM. Yes, it also has both 8K video pass-through and 4K video upscaling to ensure compatibility with your future 8K TV.
AV receivers like the AVR-X4800H are expensive ($2,499 / £2,000 / AU$3,600) audio components you’ll want to hold onto for many years — decades, even — so it’s comforting to know they’re now available with a fully updated feature set. Anyone who buys a new Denon receiver will be able to use it well into the future, or at least until virtual reality replaces all other forms of entertainment.
With four independent subwoofer outputs and support for Audyssey MultEQ XT32 and Dirac Live (coming soon), the AVR-X4800H can be used as the perfect home theater hub, one with deep, perfectly tuned bass output. These features are what make the receiver so interesting and different from other options on the market, we hope we get a chance to test it out in the near future.