As we saw in February, Yamaha looks like it's stressing the "feature per dollar" theme for its receivers. But if your ego (or setup) can't stomach the thought of anything less than 100-Watts per channel, today's release of the RX-V1065 will set you right. The new 7.2-channel model cranks out 105-Watts through Yamaha's Digital Top ART circuitry and more codec support, YPAO room EQ, and Cinema DSP gadgetry than you can shake a stick at. The RX-V1065 also adds in support for HD radio and audio files on USB memory devices (WAV, MP3 and WMA). There's something for everyone -- even the haters will find something to like in the 29-pound weight that's the same as the lower RX-V765 model. At just under $1000 mark, we would have traded out the HD Radio and USB support for a second HDMI output, but we're greedy like that.

The VuNow platform is sitting a lot prettier, as it has grabbed an OEM deal to be included in Sherwood's upcoming line of receivers. Already making an appearance as the Netgear ITV2000 standalone unit, now high end amps and surround sound systems will have access to a variety of internet video sources without additional hardware. Verismo's said it will be pursuing many different opportunities for its technology, we'll wait and see where the YouTube / CNN / ESPN and more streaming hardware shows up next, though your cable box would appear to be a safe bet.

It's taken a good long while since Rotel debuted its 15-series AV components, but we're glad to see that a thorough review of the 5.1-channel RSX-1550 receiver has gone up at AVGuide. As a marque that sits at the high end of the spectrum, some quirks are to be expected, but Rotel has finally gotten onboard with HDMI 1.3 connectivity, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, and independent subwoofer crossover frequencies for each channel. Also, it sounds like Rotel changed the "house sound" slightly, with a shift towards a more "gutsy" sound with a bassier presentation. Overall, it sounds like the RSX-1550 turned in a solid performance, but outside of Rotel's loyal following, $2,000 for a 5x75-Watt (conservatively rated, but still) receiver that forgoes auto calibration is going to be a tough sell. Audiophiles who complain about feature creep at the expense of quality, however, should take a look -- the RSX-1550 looks like it bucks the trend.

Much to the unofficial surprise of owners who have been using Pioneer's new receiver models since early this month, they're now officially available. If you've been holding out for seamless integration between the receiver and your iPod/iPhone devices (you do have more than one, right?), you'll take some comfort in the "Works with iPhone" and "Made for iPod" labeling on Pioneer's VSX-819H, VSX-919AH and VSX-1019AH (pictured) models that come in at $299, $399 and $499, respectively. In a nod to lifestyle convenience, Pioneer's press release skips over the HT specs for these receivers and plays up the Advanced Sound Retriever and Auto Level Control features that promise to put some life back into your lossy encoded music. We're a little sad to see the HT side of things didn't get more ink -- these units offer good complements of features, especially at their respective price points; if you've been playing with one of these, let us know what you think below.

Ready for loads of succulent new audio / video equipment that you can likely only afford in your wildest dreams? Fantastic. Today in NYC, Denon has decided to introduce a whole fleet of new kit, so we'll get right down to the nitty gritty. Oh, and we're on hand at the premiere, so expect some hands-on shots shortly.

• DBP-2010CI ($699; shipping in July) - Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player, onboard Ethernet, BD-Live / BonusView support, DivX HD playback, support for AVCHD, Anchor Bay Technologies VRS processing, upconversion and IP scaling to 1080p/24, RS-232c support, HDMI / component / composite video outputs
• DBP-1610CI ($499; shipping in July) - Same as above sans Anchor Bay chip and RS-232c
• Nine new AV receivers, priced from $379 at the low-end to $1,999 at the high; shipping between May and July 2009
• ASD-51W ($299.99) and ASD-51N ($249.99) network-enabled iPod docks, both shipping in August. Both items also allow for Rhapsody streaming, Internet Radio streaming and Napster support.
• AH-NC600 ($199), AH-C710 ($149) and AH-C360 ($49) in-ear headphones, all of which will ship by July

Full press releases and details for each are posted just past the break, and yes, it's overwhelming.

Onkyo's $599 TX-SR607 receiver made its way through CNET's auditioning room, and it sounds to us like it holds up Onkyo's tradition of delivering solid performance at entry-level prices. Even though the receiver got dinged for its big, boxy design (which we like, by the way), additional complaints about the unit running hot strikes us as a bit unfair. Given some breathing room, the Onkyo's audio performance stacked up favorably against a Denon 3808CI. At $599, we wouldn't come down too hard on the video upscaling performance; your display might do a fine job on that task anyways. Ah, but what about that new Dolby ProLogic IIz that's supposed to raise your roof? Well, it didn't seem to work for CNET at all -- on a variety of source material and even with boosted levels fed to the height speakers, the effect fell, well, flat. We'd suggest trying out DPL IIz before jumping into the multi-channel arms race.

Despite the trickle down of advanced features on many manufacturers' lower-end receivers, there's still plenty of room for their upper-echelon offerings as well, and the UK's AVReview put four £1,200 - £1,500 ($1,750 - $2,200) receivers in a matchup. Entering the ring were the Onkyo TX-NR906, Pioneer SC-LX71 (SC-07 in the US), Sony STR-DA5400ES and Yamaha RX-V3900; we only wish models from Denon and Marantz would have made it to the contest as well. That said, matching up four receivers is not to be taken lightly, and it sounds like each of the contestants would serve you well in both features and absolute performance. We won't spoil the ending for you, but even though only one receiver snagged the overall crown, at this price point you should know that things are more nuanced than a single "winner;" your personal priorities are going to be the biggest variable in choosing the best model for you.

[Boxing glove image courtesy germes-online]

If you read Engadget HD, it's safe to say that you're ahead of the curve when it comes to home audio/video. You do your homework before picking out gear, and you know that the PS3 can deliver Blu-ray audio bliss courtesy lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA tracks. One look at all the configuration options in the PS3's XMB (Xross Media Bar) interface, however, and you might find yourself wondering how to unlock the those audio codecs. In this installment of HD 101, we'll briefly cover the reason for the confusion and then go through setting up your PS3 for lossless audio step-by-step.

In a time when most people feel that the sound spilling out of the white earbuds that came bundled with their PMP is "really good," getting people to pry open their pocketbooks for sound quality is a tough battle. That doesn't mean it's not worthwhile -- ask anyone who has experienced a good HT demo and they'll tell you that audio is a significant part of the grin-inducing experience. Where price sensitivity intersects with a desire to experience surround sound, HTIB (home theater in a box) systems have found a nice market opportunity. For its part, Samsung's $500 AS730 HTIB promises a lot -- a compliment of five speakers plus a powered sub combined with a receiver that can accommodate your existing system and leave you with some room to grow with both inputs (three HDMI, two component video and an iPod dock) and outputs (an extra pair of speaker outputs for 7.1-channel rear-surrounds). Read on to find out how the Samsung AS730 managed the features/price balancing act.

Onkyo only kept early adopters of its recently introduced TX-SR507 and TX-SR607 receivers waiting for a month to put the Universal Port (U-Port) 'round back to good use. The company has introduced an iPod/iPhone dock (is there anything that doesn't have one?) and a HD Radio module as U-Port accessories. The $109 UP-A1 iPod dock will allow remote control of the connected device and will output component video to the connected receiver when it ships in May. The UP-HT1 HD Radio tuner will show up in July and for $159 will unlock HD radio reception to your Onkyo U-Port receiver. Neither peripheral is exactly earth-shaking, but it's a safe bet that one of them will enjoy a lot more uptake than the other.

Denon released the AVC-1610 receiver to its Japanese customers, and we can only assume it will make its way to other markets soon as the replacement for, of course, the AVR-1609 model. The specs we teased out of the machine translation look pretty good -- the same 75-Watt (130-Watt maximum into 6-Ohms) amplification as the outgoing model, but HDMI inputs have moved up a notch to three, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD MA and Dolby ProLogic IIz have been added to the surround audio processing support, and analog-to-HDMI video conversion is now onboard as well, which should help clean things up your cabling. Now if Denon would only add preamp outputs to this model, we'd be set. The AVC-1610 is set for mid-May availability in Japan at ¥55,000 ($550), which should give interested shoppers plenty of time to start planning whether to buy a new AVR-1610 or score a deal on last year's AVR-1609.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

When it rains, it pours, and no sooner did we unpack the Paradigm SUB 25 than the new Samsung AS730 HTIB showed up at our doorstep. The AS730 came in its own fairly big box chock full of good stuff -- for 500 clams, you get a 5.1-channel speaker set (four identical front and surround channels, a center and a powered subwoofer), a receiver, remote, iPod dock, calibration mic and even cables to hook everything up. As you'd expect from a HTIB system, all the cables are color-coded to help users get things set up quickly -- unfortunately that color coding couldn't help us navigate the tightly-spaced speaker connections. Sure enough, it's pretty crowded around the back of the receiver, with enough connections to wire up prospective buyers' systems via HDMI, component and composite. Best of all, there's some room for expansion as well, with 7.1-channel analog inputs and 7.1-channel speaker taps. We'll put this package in the review queue and report back when we've got a story to tell; until then, feel free to check the pics of the not-so photo-friendly glossy black kit after the break.

For most people making their first foray into HT gear, springing for a full-blown audio rig to go along with a new TV is just too expensive, and while starting out with just a pair of speakers up front might fit the budget, it doesn't deliver the surround sound thrills that make on satisfied with the new purchase. That's exactly why HTIB systems like Samsung's new AS730 that get you going quickly but don't immediately "dead-end" your system make sense. For $500, you get a 7.1-channel receiver and a 5.1-channel speaker system with a powered subwoofer. With three HDMI inputs, three Toslink inputs, the requisite iPod dock (with analog video support), auto calibration and even 7.1 channel analog audio inputs, you can unbox this package and be set up before the popcorn is ready; better still, there's room to grow with this system. At this price point, some tradeoffs have to be made -- your Blu-ray deck will have to decode any Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA to LPCM, but that's just picking nits, isn't it? Full press release and a few photos after the break.

Sony's STR-DA6400ES, which casually streams high-def content over CAT5e, has finally nailed down a date to mingle with crowds in Europe. Just today, Sony has announced that the aforementioned model will be available this May along with three other new STR-DH receivers: the STR-DH500, STR-DH700 and the STR-DH800. The flagship model boasts 7.1-channel audio, DLNA compatibility, six HDMI inputs (alongside two outputs) and Digital Cinema Auto-Calibration. The rest of the crew ranges from 5.1- to 7.1-channel and are generally stripped down versions of the big papa. For more details on each (price notwithstanding), give that read link a look.

The loveliness that trickle-down is, Pioneer's flagship SC-09TX receiver is no longer the only member of the family packing the B&O-sourced ICEpower Class D amplification. The $2,200, 110-Watt 7.1-channel SC-07 went under review at digitaltrends and to no one's surprise, it was liked. Taking top honors were the clean front panel and powerful, warm sound. The remote, however, wasn't so well-liked and much like other reviews, the lack of HDMI video processing didn't slip by unnoticed for this target market or price point. As much as we admire Pioneer's purist approach and even feel that it's likely that a display paired with an SC-07 is probably more than capable of handling HDMI scaling duties, it's a notable missing check mark relative to the competition.