The Brands We Stock — and Who They Suit

Denon: Japanese Engineering from Accessible to Reference

Denon has been making audio equipment since 1910 and their AV receiver range is the most comprehensive we stock — spanning from serious mid-range all the way to flagship territory.

The AVC-X3800H and AVC-X4800H represent the quality step that separates serious home cinema from budget electronics. Both support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, HDMI 2.1 with 8K passthrough, and Denon's HEOS multiroom integration. At these price points, Denon's build quality and the authority of their amplification sections begin to show clearly — particularly in dynamic passages where budget receivers compress and thin out.

The AVC-X6800H moves to 11.4-channel amplification, with a power supply and output stage that deliver noticeably greater dynamic headroom. For larger rooms or more demanding speaker loads, the difference in amplifier authority becomes audible.

The AVC-A1H is Denon's current flagship — 15 channels of onboard amplification, sufficient for complete 9.4.6 Atmos configurations without external power amplifiers. It incorporates a highly specified analogue section and is widely regarded as one of the finest AV receivers in the world at its price. If you want everything in one box at the highest level, this is the benchmark.

Denon suits buyers who want Japanese build quality and comprehensive features at competitive prices, without sacrificing the engineering seriousness that defines the upper tier of the market.

Arcam: British Engineering, Audiophile-Grade Sound Quality

Arcam's AV range is built on the same engineering foundations as their hi-fi electronics — which means the amplification quality is significantly higher than most AV receivers offer, and Dirac Live room correction is included as standard across the range.

The Arcam AVR5 at £1,999 is the starting point — a 12-channel receiver with ESS 9026PRO audiophile DACs, 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos processing, and full Dirac Live support. If audio quality is your priority and you're coming from a budget or mid-range receiver, the improvement in clarity, staging, and low-level detail is significant.

The new Radia AV series steps things up further. The Arcam Radia AVA15 at £2,599 and the AVA25 at £4,499 bring updated processing and HDMI 2.1 to a new family of integrated AV amplifiers, suitable for progressively larger rooms and more complex speaker arrays.

For those ready to move to separates, Arcam's offering is exceptional value. The AV41 processor at £4,499 offers 16-channel decoding, dual ESS 9026PRO DACs, 16 balanced XLR outputs, and Dirac Live with Bass Control — paired with the PA720 seven-channel power amplifier at £2,999, it produces a cinema audio chain that competes with products at considerably higher prices.

The AVP45 at £5,299 is Arcam's flagship processor — 16 reassignable channels, HDMI 2.1a with 8K/60Hz support, Auro-3D decoding alongside Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and balanced XLR outputs on all 16 channels. As a reference processor at this price, it represents an extraordinary specification for the money.

Arcam suits buyers who come from a hi-fi background and won't compromise on sound quality, and those who want the reassurance of Dirac Live room correction included and properly implemented from the outset.

Anthem: Canadian Engineering Built Around Room Correction

Anthem's ARC Genesis room correction system changed what was possible in domestic home cinema when it was introduced, and the current ARC Genesis software remains — by broad consensus — the most accurate room correction available in an integrated receiver.

The distinction matters. Where some systems apply corrections that improve some aspects while inadvertently affecting others, ARC Genesis measures at multiple positions, analyses the room's acoustic behaviour in detail, and applies targeted corrections. The results in real rooms — particularly with bass management, imaging precision, and dialogue clarity — are consistently impressive.

The Anthem MRX series AV receivers are built with engineering standards more usually associated with separates. High-current amplification, over-specified power supplies, HDMI 2.1, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X processing, and ARC Genesis — all included in a receiver format. For those who want the best room correction in a single-box solution, the MRX range is the natural recommendation.

For separates, the Anthem AVM processors paired with MCA multi-channel power amplifiers represent a reference-level home cinema chain. The MCA series in particular — dedicated amplification for each channel, high damping factor, robust power supply — delivers the kind of speaker control and dynamic authority that makes a cinema system come alive on demanding material.

The Anthem STR Integrated Amplifier is also worth noting: a two-channel amplifier with ARC Genesis built in, for listeners who want sophisticated room correction applied to a stereo music system without a home cinema processor in the signal path.

Trinnov Audio: Reference Room Correction for the Most Demanding Installations

Trinnov occupies a different position from the brands above — not a step up the same ladder, but a different discipline altogether.

Their room correction technology is derived from professional mastering and mixing studio practice. Where other systems measure frequency response at the listening position and apply corrective filtering, Trinnov's measurement microphone captures the three-dimensional acoustic character of the room — the directions from which energy arrives, the timing relationships between reflections, and the geometric positions of the loudspeakers. The Optimizer algorithm uses this spatial information to apply corrections that go beyond frequency equalisation, addressing timing and positioning in ways that conventional room correction cannot.

The Altitude16 is the product that established Trinnov's home cinema reputation — a 16-channel AV processor used in professional cinema installations, reference home cinema rooms, and mixing studios worldwide. It pairs with external power amplification (Anthem MCA, Classé, or similar quality multi-channel amplification) for a complete reference cinema audio chain.

Trinnov is not for every buyer. It requires a significant investment and benefits from a room that has received at least some acoustic treatment — very severe acoustic problems are better addressed with treatment before correction. But for those building a dedicated cinema room to a serious specification, with amplification and loudspeakers of the quality that room correction performance becomes the differentiating factor, Trinnov is the standard against which everything else is measured.

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Room Correction: What It Actually Does

It is worth spending a moment on room correction specifically, because it is still frequently misunderstood.

Room correction does not make bad electronics sound like good ones. It does not add artificial bass or process the signal for dramatic effect. What it does is remove the acoustic signature of the room from what you hear — so that the electronics and speakers can perform as their designers intended, rather than through the distorting lens of the room's acoustic problems.

Bass is where the improvement is most dramatic. Low frequencies in a typical domestic room accumulate at specific frequencies depending on the room dimensions — producing a boom at some frequencies and a complete absence of output at others. Bass that feels woolly and unpredictable without correction becomes tight, controlled, and consistent from seat to seat once properly measured and corrected.

Imaging improves because reflections that were smearing the stereo field are compensated for. Dialogue clarity improves because the frequency response anomalies that were colouring the midrange are addressed.

The practical takeaway: any AV amplifier worth considering at a serious price point now includes room correction. The quality of that room correction — whether it is Dirac Live (Arcam, select Denon), ARC Genesis (Anthem), or Trinnov Optimizer — is one of the most important distinguishing factors between products.

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Receivers vs Separates: When Does the Upgrade Make Sense?

A quality receiver at the £2,000–£4,000 price point will satisfy the vast majority of cinema enthusiasts. The convenience of a single box, the consistent build quality, and the included room correction make it the right starting point for all but the most demanding installations.

Separates become relevant when:

- The room is large enough that the amplification in a receiver is working harder than it should to drive the speaker array

- The system has moved to loudspeakers of sufficient quality that amplifier performance becomes the audible constraint

- You want to add channels incrementally without replacing the entire unit

- The cinema room justifies a reference-level investment

The Arcam AV41 or AVP45 with PA720, or an Anthem AVM processor with MCA amplification, represent natural stepping stones for those whose systems have outgrown a receiver. Trinnov is the destination for those building at the reference level.

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Come and Hear It in Norwich

An AV system is not something to buy on specification alone. Room correction in particular needs to be demonstrated — the difference between before and after a proper Dirac Live or ARC Genesis calibration is one of those things that cannot be adequately described in text.

The Martins Hi-Fi showroom in Norwich has AV systems set up and calibrated across multiple price points. Whether you're buying your first serious receiver or specifying a reference cinema installation, come and listen before you decide. Bring the films and music you care about — that is the only useful basis for a decision of this kind.

Browse AV amplifiers at Martins Hi-Fi