Denon AVR-X3400H
FOR Great power and punch; plenty of bass; fast and dynamic AGAINST Tough competition
Like the beleaguered headmaster who’s been at the same school for far too long, we often see a number of family members pass through our offices.
Many of these familiar names are prefixed with a sigh of, “Oh, not another…” – that very same sigh as our thankless professors must have breathed while wearily eyeing yet another Bloggs, Smith or Jenkins on the new term’s register.
But there are also those names that elicit a lift in the spirits for the coming term or, in our case, the next few weeks.
As far as its AV receivers are concerned, Denon is a happy example of the latter. That's down to both the company’s prestigious lineage, and this set of siblings in particular. The older model, the AVR X6400H, picked up the 2017 What Hi-fi? Award for the best home cinema amplifier over £1000, while the AVRX2400H earned its own five-star honours in our review last summer.
Two samples does not an entirely comprehensive experiment make, but the shared characteristics and talents of these first two siblings leads us to believe our high hopes for the AVR X3400H are peeked at from behind a loose blindfold, rather than completely sightless.
After the fact that the X3400H costs around a third of its premium Awardwinning relative, the next most obvious difference between the X3400H and the older model is that it has fewer speaker connections. The X6400H facilitates up to an 11.2 configuration, including four height channels. On the X3400H, this is stripped back to a more mainstream realistic 7.2.
Double versatility
After the staples of centre and front and surround pairs, it means the final two channels are assignable either to surround back speakers or to use as a pair of height channels. Denon has stripped back its features to offer a more affordable amp, but has also doubled down on versatility to ensure those features are customisable options, rather than lost altogether. The X3400H is equipped with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and, for those without dedicated
“Denon’s focus – for this entire family, in fact – has evidently been on a coherent performance that hits the mark in every respect, excelling in as many as it can”
height or surround speakers, DTS Virtual:x technology to aid a similarly immersive cinematic experience nonetheless.
In terms of viewing experience, each of the X3400H’S eight HDMI inputs feature HDCP 2.2 compatibility, meaning they are able to support 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range and even 3D programming, if you’re one of that declining format’s remaining supporters.
Indisputably flawless
For a modern AV amp hoping to be taken seriously, connectivity no longer exclusively means cables, so even at this price, Denon’s inclusion of wi-fi, Bluetooth, Airplay, Spotify Connect or HEOS (for potential multi-room action) in its list of wireless features, is to be expected rather than applauded.
Those tempted to use the X3400H as a dual-purpose amp for home cinema and traditional two-channel errands will be pleased to find that there is a facility for decoding high-resolution audio files including ALAC, FLAC and WAV at up to 24-bit/192khz, along with compatibility for 2.8/5.6MHZ DSD files.
We lift the X3400H from its box, but stop some way short of staring in slack-jawed astonishment. Much like other people's babies, AV amps do tend to look much the same: at least Denon is one of the more handsome-looking families around.
Denon’s genes are sturdy and broadshouldered, with a face blessed by the symmetry of its bold features. The X3400H doesn’t require a flip-down lid to conceal its minimal front-facing controls: there are just a few slim buttons underlining a familiar display, and separated from the headphone, HDMI, USB and set-up mic inputs below its midriff. It is the kind of aesthetic and build quality that, in this realm, is almost indisputably flawless.
The automated set-up is straightforward, in the same pleasingly intuitive vein as the other Audyssey routines we have encountered with Denon. Make sure you have your speakers correctly assigned with the X3400H, as it is a bother going through it again if you later realise you’ve set your height channels to act as surround back or the other way round.
This is a far easier mistake to make than merely plugging cables into the wrong terminal on the larger models.
Tremendous soundstage
Ready to go, we select a Blu-ray of the Coen Brothers’ unparalleled Fargo, and once the film’s iconic titles play out, the Denon’s combination of power and expression helps envelop us in the prelude music’s portent of the bleak narrative to follow. It’s a tremendous soundfield, almost on the scale
“Let off the chain, the X3400H proudly presents its muscle, punch and whiplash timing, but what’s most impressive is its remarkable ability to act the lead and not just the sound effects”
The company has done a fine job with the manufacture of this amplifier. The build quality feels solid and it is neatly finished too. It's also easy to use. This amp powers seven speaker channels – le , centre, right, surround le and surround right, plus another two for surround backs or Dolby Atmos speakers There are seven HDMI inputs on the rear, and another on the front. All are HDCP 2.2 compatible and so are able to handle all your 4K HDR sources. Denon has worked hard to make the 3400's wireless performance stable. It works well, but if possible we'd always wire directly into the home network for extra stability. of the snowdrift all-but whitewashing our projector screen.
There are gunshots, moments of sonic excess where the X3400H is let off the chain and proudly presents its muscle, punch and whiplash timing, but what is so impressive about an amp that so evidently prides itself on those abundant talents, is its remarkable ability to act the lead and not just the sound effects.
While much of it is slapstick, the true beauty in Fargo’s black comedy is found in those offbeat speech patterns, the flapping panic implied rather than hammed home by the cast. Without a delicate understanding of dynamics, that expression is lost, and it’s the kind of thing we are used to experiencing with AV receivers focused on packing so heavy an arsenal.
Not in the X3400H’S case, though. Each quavering lilt is delivered wryly, and with a gloss coating, thanks to a wonderfully rich midrange and dose of bass weight giving voices their natural tone. We are unlikely to find a product that beats all others in every regard, but Denon’s focus – for this entire family, in fact – has evidently been on a coherent performance that hits the mark in every respect, excelling in as many as it can.
Top student
As an example, we put the X3400H side-by-side with the Sony STR DN1080, our 2017 Product of the Year, and run through a number of our favourite test discs. The Sony is stunningly agile, insightful and, in terms of overall dynamics, reveals marginally more emotion in each performance – but it lacks the power, the drive and the warm balance offered by the Denon’s low-end. For many people, that will render the latter more listenable over prolonged periods.
But the point isn’t that one of them is better than the other; rather that here are two truly exceptional amps in the same price bracket, yet with immediately recognisable differences in character.
So that’s now three of Denon’s AVRX400H amps we’ve seen, and given the results so far, we’re sure we’d only delight in hearing the others. Why can’t all of our students be like this?