An AVR, or receiver, is the brain of your home theater — so you should upgrade it often, right? Well, not necessarily. Unless you’re always craving the latest and greatest, if you do a bit of planning when you first purchase your AVR, then you may not need to upgrade for a long time. I’ve had a Denon AVR-S710W in operation for the last 10 years.
So when should you upgrade? When the features of your old AVR can’t keep up with the other hardware you want to use in your system. We’re talking speakers that require more channels and difficult speakers that require more power. It could also be the latest TVs with 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K at 120Hz, gaming features such as variable refresh rate and Auto Low Latency Mode, the latest immersive sound modes like IMAX Enhanced, or powerful room calibration with features such as Dirac Live.
What Is an AVR?
First of all, what is an AVR? It is the brain, the central piece of a home theater or entertainment area that takes audio and visual sources and processes them. In a way, though, it’s also the heart, as it sends power to the speakers. AVRs can combine quite a few different pieces of hardware when compared to your standard stereo setup, and that’s one reason you may want to look at an AVR’s feature set to plan out what you may want to add in the future.
Figure Out What You Need and Then Go a Step Further
When I’m looking for an AVR, I like to figure out what I need for the current setup and then take it one step further. Since I’d rather not constantly upgrade my AVR, I like to get one that’s a little more capable than I currently need so I can keep using it as I improve my setup.
Why Would I Upgrade to the X3900H?
For me, and I would dare say for most people, the X3900H will support the majority of attainable home theater dreams. With nine powered channels and up to 11 multichannel pre-outs, you can make some pretty immersive systems with this AVR. So, if you are looking to future-proof your home theater, then the X3900H will most likely set you up for success for years to come.
Denon has also mentioned that with a future firmware update, the X3900H will be able to support wireless surround speakers with compatible Denon Home smart speakers. For those not wanting to run wires for surround sound in a living room home theater, this is going to be a very nice feature.
One of the most compelling features, though, is the ability to upgrade to Dirac Live room correction, and more specifically, Dirac Art. It is an additional investment, but I love the idea of only buying the upgrade if I truly feel I need it.
For a gamer looking for the latest and greatest, the X3900H is a very compelling option. 8K/60 and 4K/120 with 1440p passthrough and AMD FreeSync give a ton of compatibility options.
So Should You Upgrade?
Is it time to upgrade your AVR? That is going to be a personal question that only you can answer. If your current AVR isn’t able to keep up with your home theater, then the Denon X3900H is worth a close look. And if you have any other questions, then contact your Sweetwater Sales Engineer or browse the other great options available at Sweetwater.com.
