We're typically envious of all the products that get rolled out to the Japanese market early or exclusively, but this is one case where we just don't feel like we're missing out on much. Denon has introduced the SYS-56HT 5.1-speaker system for Japan, and it just fails to get us excited. Of course, this assembly could pump out mind-blowingly-good sound, but somehow we doubt it's anything exceptional. The ¥37,800 ($357) kit is comprised of SC-A56 front/rear speakers and an SC-C56 center channel, each speaker packing a pair of 5.7-cm drivers. The bass is filled out by the DSW-56 subwoofer -- a 16-cm driver backed by a 30-Watt (50-Watt peak) amplifier. Again, this kit probably sounds fine, but it's one SKU we won't be disappointed if it doesn't take up residence in the already-crowded HTIB aisle. [Warning: PDF link]

[Via Cybertheater]

Talk about needing a roster to tell the players apart! RHJ International -- which owns some 49-percent of the D&M Holdings hydra (Denon, Marantz, Boston Acoustics, Escient, MacIntosh and Snell) -- has accepted an offer from Bain Capital to the tune of ¥510 ($4.74) per share in a buyout bid. But earlier reports that pinned Kenwood as a partner to Bain in this effort have been denied by Bain. There's some goings-on here, for sure. First, we haven't seen any dealings involving the 12-percent stake that Philips has in D&M. Also, the soon-to-be JVC Kenwood Holdings states that it has not decided on whether it will invest in D&M; which corroborates pretty well with the latest Bain statement that Kenwood is not involved, and there are no ongoing talks of future involvement. Corporate squabbling and conspiracy theories aside, we just hope that the D&M brands come out unscathed.

Because it covers just about every price point in its receiver lineup and doesn't want to leave anybody feeling slighted, Denon is bringing updates to 10 models in the heart of its offerings. The company is emphasizing bang-for-your-buck in the AVR-589 ($299), AVR-689 ($399), AVR-789 ($599), AVR-889 ($749), AVR-989 ($1199), AVR-1909 ($649), AVR-2309CI ($849) and AVR-2809CI ($1199). It's a good-looking refresh: on the video side, the emphasis on more HDMI 1.3a inputs and 1080p video upscaling. On the audio side, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA decoding, Audyssey room tuning (MultiEQ) and volume regulation (Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume) get sprinkled through the lineup liberally. All this goodness should be finding its way to your dealer soon; expected availability is July. If you're in the market for a new receiver, hit the link for the details and decide if you want to wait on these new models or score a deal on the outgoing ones.

Denon has introduced the DVD-1800BD Blu-ray player to the low side (relatively speaking) of its lineup. As we've seen from high end makes lately, this unit continues the trend of a Profile 1.1 feature set at a price point that's sure not to "dilute" the brand luster. The DVD-1800BD is expected to ship in October with an MSRP of $749. Depending on whether you're a "glass half full" or "glass half empty" sort of person, it's $450 cheaper than the next-up-the line DVD-2500BTCI (pictured) or $350 more expensive than a PS3. Either way, it's pricey for Profile 1.1 player that does not have onboard decoding of DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD (but does output the bitstreams). We might cut this unit some slack if it were shipping immediately, but an October date makes us think this will be for Denon loyalists only.

While the roster of storied high end names is pretty long, don't think for a minute that the blue-blood part of the market has not experienced consolidation. D&M Holdings is a prime example of this: D&M's owner, RJH International, has managed to fit Denon, Marantz, McIntosh, Boston Acoustics, Snell and Escient under one umbrella over the years. And now RJH is looking to cash in on the concentrated dollop of high end, offering up 49-percent of its shares in D&M. Philips has agreed to offer its12-percent stake to a winning bidder as well. Our math tells us that's more than a controlling percentage. Harman International, apparently satisfied with its own high end roster (including Harman Kardon, Infinity, Revel and Mark Levinson), has bowed out of bidding. That leaves Bain Capital (Kenwood) and Best Buy as the most prominent bidders, both of which scare us a little. One of the things we really enjoy about the D&M brands is the individual "personalities" behind them, and that's a credit to the management overlords. There's no guarantee that this variety of flavor will survive an en masse transition to new ownership.

Just in case you were worried that not every flavor of Denon's upcoming premium priced Blu-ray player would play your DVD rips totally legit content, the DVD-3800BDCI is the latest to add DivX certification. Why Blu-ray manufacturers are in such a hurry to put allow DivX playback on their preciously-DRM'd devices is still unclear, but the Certified seal keeps spreading.

Apparently, 100 million certified DivX video devices simply isn't enough, as a half dozen new standalone players have just had the coveted "DivX Certified" seal bestowed upon them. Joining the DivX-friendly PlayStation 3 is the Panasonic DMP-BD30 (no surprise here), Philips' BDP7200 and Denon's own DVD-2500BTC1B, DVD-3800BDC1B, DVD-3800BDSP and DVD-2500BTSP. According to In-Stat, worldwide shipments of BD players is "expected to reach 23 million in 2011," so we're betting that quite a few more units receive this badge of honor in the not-too-distant future.

Bad news for folks holed up in Japan and anxiously awaiting the release of Denon's forthcoming high-end Blu-ray player -- let's just say your patience will be tested even further. Reportedly, the relatively gorgeous DVD-3800BD will be missing its ship date by about two full months, as now it's not slated to land until sometime in "early March." Interestingly, no reason is given for the holdup, but rest assured, Denon won't be hacking back the price as a symbol of sympathy.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Denon cares about you, movie-buff, and you need only look at the company's two latest Blu-ray player offerings to realize that. Enter the DVD-3800BD and DVD-2500BT, the former supports 1080p, 12-bit DAC at 297MHz, the exciting acronyms of D.D.S.C-HD (or Dynamic Discrete Surround Circuit-HD), and D.P.I.C. (Denon Pixel Image Correction), plus HDMI, RCA / BNC, and RS-232C connectivity. The latter is a slightly more stripped-down version which axes some of the capital-letter feature flourishes. Both players will be available in Japan in January of 2008, priced at ¥336,000 for the DVD-3800BD, and ¥231,000 for the DVD-2500BT.

[Via Akihabara News]

Denon has loosed a pair of new semi-HTIBs on the world, with the compact (and admittedly stylish) 2.1 systems catching most of our attention. These additions to the S-series both tout DVD playback (sorry, no Blu-ray action here) and 1080p upscaling via HDMI, but the higher-end S-302 adds WiFi for streaming audio and a slightly more powerful amplifier. Reportedly, the DVD player within is the same drive found in the firm's DVD-2930 player, and while both units reserve 100-watts for the subwoofer, the S-102 pushes 35-watts to its satellites while the S-302 cranks out 50. Both sets are scheduled to land soon for $1,699 (S-302) and $999 (S-102).

[Via Pocket-Lint]

We've certainly seen no shortage of Blu-ray players at CEDIA, but it just wouldn't feel right to neglect the uber-expensive, ultra-desirable DVD-3800BDCI. This player was found in numerous locales within Denon's fanciful booth, and while the setup may not have been ideal, the image quality of Speed was noticeably lacking. Nevertheless, we stooped down to snag a few images for those still wondering what a $2,000 Blu-ray player really looks like, so go ahead and quell that curiosity, won't ya?

Nah, Denon's futuristic Blu-ray player / receiver concept didn't show up at CEDIA, but a whole host of other players, speakers, and receivers sure did. Among the highlights were the S-52 wireless multi-zone music system, the ASD-3N iPod / Network Client Dock, and racks of home theater gear we could only dream of affording. Check out Denon's small but sufficient booth below.

Right on cue, Denon has gone and launched the oh-so-snazzy RC-7000CI remote, which we had the pleasure of seeing a tad early thanks to the FCC. The fully programmable, ZigBee-based remote allows for universal command and control of all Denon remote controlled products "as well as products from other manufacturers," and those with internet access (that'd be you, hot shot) can simply connect the remote to a PC via USB and "program the functionality of all the products in their system" care of the online IR database. Paired up with one or two RC-7001RCI RF/IR Remote Bases (pictured after the jump), the duo creates a multi-room remote control system that allows for "both two-way communication and IR functionality." As with everything labeled Denon, don't expect either of these August-bound niceties to come sans a premium, as you'll be asked to cough up $299.99 for the remote itself, while each base station adds another $199.99.

[Via TrustedReviews]

Denon has launched a pair of tabletop music players with plenty of features, including wireless streaming and the nearly-ubiquitous dock for your iPod. The $500 S-32 can decode MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, WMV, and Rhapsody subscriptions, while the $700 S-52 adds a CD player, HD radio tuner, satellite radio support (no mention of which service, although won't that be a moot point soon, anyway?) and a USB port for future expansion. Both players will start rocking your desk in October.

Denon has announced its first real Blu-ray player, with an appropriate assortment of never-before-seen features and price tag to match. The DVD-3800BDCI will launch this fall as the first high definition player to include Silicon Optix's 10-bit Realta HQV video processor, recently seen in Syntax-Brillian's $10k LCD and the big brother to the Toshiba HD-XA2's Reon. The first Profile 1.1 Blu-ray player we've seen, it supports separate picture-in-picture audio and video streams. Unfortunately, $1,999 isn't enough to provide an Ethernet port, so any online content will need to be downloaded on a PC and sneakernetted to the player via SD card. Finally, internal decoding for all Blu-ray surround sound formats is included, and it's the first player with an HDMI 1.3a output, providing enough bandwidth to pass sound natively to a receiver for decoding. Announced but unfortunately unpriced for $1,199 is the DVD-2500BTCI Blu-ray Transport, dropping the advanced audio and video processing for those with their own receivers and scalers. Coming from a company that sells a $3,800 DVD player, the price isn't too surprising, but we hope there are cheaper (& network-enabled) new Blu-ray options forthcoming.

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