Denon AVR-X1300W
FOR Lots of features; Dolby Atmos support; weighty sound AGAINST Tough competition; flaky control app
The old adage ‘if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is’ crumbles in the face of in-credit electricity bills and all-you-can-eat buffets for a fiver, but is still relevant when it comes to the Denon AVR-X1300W, the brand’s entry-level 7.2-channel AV amplifier.
It’s cheaper than its big brother, our Product of the Year AVR- X2300W, yet the two models have much in common. The AVR-X1300W decodes the latest surround-sound formats (Dolby True HD, DTS HD and Dolby Atmos, with DTS:X coming soon via a software update); it can stream popular two-channel formats from DSD 5.6MHZ to AIFF and 24-bit/192khz FLAC and WAV; it’s further equipped with wi-fi, Bluetooth, Airplay, Spotify Connect and multiple 4K-supporting HDMI inputs. The AVR-X1300W appears to be good value, and it is. Only when the two machines are together in a sonic shoot-out do the differences, and the benefit of spending more for the AVR-X2300W, become apparent. But the 1300W is more than decent as a first buy.
Caught in the crossfire
We play Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the presentation is warm, weighty and articulate – and not without the punch and authority to get your hands rubbing together as the epic symphonic orchestration scores the space-opera’s opening crawl. It surges through our speaker package with a bang, the brass section enthusiastic and the theatrical strings rising as resolutely as the words on the screen.
The village-raid scene is an onslaught of crossfire and commotion, yet, even at the soundtrack’s densest, the Denon never sounds bewildered. It has the space, cohesion and precision to track the trajectory of gunshots as they are fired from one speaker and make contact with a poor soul in another.
For an amplifier, there’s a balance to be struck between having the muscle to punch with power and enough agility to avoid ponderousness. It needs to afford clout to exploding ships and clunky machinery, as well as execute crisply to sound fast and exciting. The Denon nails the balance better than both the Yamaha RX-V381 and the Pioneer VSX-531, giving explosions impact and hovering spaceships a big and consuming sound, while still allowing BB-8’S robotics and the fizz of lightsabers to peep out above the hum.
There’s great authority and solidity across the board, most notably through the midrange. Voices have a pleasing mix of clarity, weight and warmth, even if the Yamaha reveals a layer or two more expression. During the interrogation scene, Kylo Ren’s voice sounds deep and intimidating, but the sarcasm in Poe Dameron’s voice when he’s initially confronted (and the desperation it carries during the torture) aren’t as deftly communicated.
Switch to a Blu-ray of The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years documentary, and we can’t fault the AVR-X1300W’S innate musicality. The opening 1963 performance of She Loves You is full of fervour, and everything from the thrashing cymbals to melodydriving guitar lines can clearly be heard above the screaming crowd that fills the rear channels. The Denon’s pleasingly spacious, well-imaged soundfield does wonders for vocal separation too, so Mccartney’s inflection can be clearly distinguished from Lennon’s, and from Harrison’s harmonies underneath.
To test the Denon’s two-channel presentation, we play Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on CD. It doesn’t take more than the eponymous opening track to ascertain it’s just as listenable with music as with movies. As expected, there’s less subtlety, crispness and openness when we stream the same song via Spotify Connect, but still it’s snappy and tonally consistent.
Shorter sibling
Naturally, we would recommend your first task after unboxing the AVR-X1300W is to calibrate it to your room and speaker set-up. It runs Audyssey auto set-up software to measure eight positions around your listening area and, while it requires a fair amount of audience participation, it doesn’t take long.
Want to take advantage of internet radio, Spotify Connect or music streaming from a NAS drive? Then your next stop should be establishing an internet connection. The Denon can work on a 5GHZ waveband or a 2.4GHZ, but we’d go down the ethernet cable route for optimum stability.
Last but not least, up to eight sources can be connected digitally through either of the Denon’s two optical or six HDMI
“The X1300W appears to be good value, and it is. Only in a shoot-out do the benefits of spending a little more on the X2300W become apparent”
inputs (all six of which are HDCP 2.2-certified to allow pass-through of all the latest display technology such as 4K and HDR). Legacy connections cater for any retro kit you might want to hook up and, as with the AVR-X2300W, a USB input and 6.3mm headphone output on the front panel are pretty convenient.
The similarities between the two façades don’t end there. The AVRX1300W looks near-on identical to its sibling – just slightly shorter, lighter and without the high-density feet. It keeps things visually simple and functional by sporting a bright and coherent text display between two large, easy-to-grab volume and input dials.
Status symbol
The remote control is more modest than that of its sibling, but the differences are mostly aesthetic: a plainer matt-plastic replaces a brushed-effect finish, and labels painted next to the buttons. It’s basic, but we’ve no major complaints.
Sadly, we can’t say the same for Denon’s mobile app. It connects instantly and has an easy-to-follow interface, but has all the reliability of a UK weather forecast.
Had the X1300W offered similar features to its big brother and the lion’s share of its performance, we’d be forced to question the Product of the Year status we recently awarded to the AVR-X2300W.
As it turns out, there’s no need. Denon’s decision to drop the AVRX1300W’S price to put a bigger gap between it and the AVR-X2300W is sensible, but ultimately the extra dollops of power, authority and scale of the AVR-X2300W deem it the better buy.
But of course, if you have a strict limit of £300, you could do a lot worse than this well-rounded AV amplifier.