Daniel Kumin

Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH A/V Receiver

By Daniel Kumin
Posted January 6, 2008

Pioneer elite VSX-94TXH receiver 12562865607 Pioneer VSX-94TXH Feature creatures, take note: If you like tweaking, selecting, optimizing, and customizing, read on. Personally, I'm usually not big on extras.

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Outlaw Audio LCR Speaker System

By Daniel Kumin
Posted January 6, 2008

Outlaw Audio markets A/V receivers and amplifiers direct to consumers via the Internet (hence, the inside-joke corporate name) and it remains among a handful of hi-fi manufacturers pursuing this "retail channel" exclusively. Consequently, it has from the outset pitched its products on the technology-value-performance troika.

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Test Bench: Pioneer VSX-94TXH A/V Receiver

By Daniel Kumin
Posted January 1, 1989

Pioneer's latest A/V receiver produced uniformly excellent bench results: linearity and S/N were close to perfect on both PCM and Dolby Digital signals, while distortion and frequency response were nearly as good (the latter, in particular, on 96/24 PCM).

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Test Bench: Denon AVR-4308CI A/V Receiver

By Daniel Kumin
Posted February 3, 1989

Denon's AVR-4308CI impressed, with very good power results, and virtually perfect noise and linearity performance. Power with stereo channels driven handily bettered Denon's 140 watts spec, and performance with 5 channels driven was only a scant half-dB shy of that mark, at 126 watts.

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Denon AVR-4308CI A/V Receiver

By Daniel Kumin
Posted February 4, 2008

Denon's Award Winner 81757508087 Denon AVR4308CI Denon has forged a reputation for producing excellent A/V receivers, a status that only gained renown some 3 years ago with the debut of its gargantuan flagship,

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As Good As Gold

High-end preamp/processors from B&K, Lexicon, and Meridian set a new standard for surround sound.

By Daniel Kumin
Posted November 1, 2001

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Test Bench: Meridian G95 DVD Receiver

By Daniel Kumin
Posted December 3, 1988

Meridian's G95 measured excellently in every test. Power was just about spot on its 100-watt spec, though the unit fell a bare 0.8 dB short of this level with all 5 channels driven. True to its high-efficiency Class D nature, the G95 remained at virtually the same temperature (warm, but not hot) whether it was left idling all day, or driven to the verge of clipping for long periods.

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Test Bench: Yamaha RX-V1800 A/V Receiver

By Daniel Kumin
Posted December 4, 1988

Yamaha's RX-V1800 yielded the fine technical performance usual from the firm's A/V receivers. Power exceeded its specs by a good margin and bettered 100 watts all around, even with 5 channels driven.

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Real World Receivers

What you can expect when you spend $1,000 or less

By Daniel Kumin
Posted December 7, 2001

The "trickle-down" economics theory didn't work, but it sure seems to describe what's happening in the world of home theater electronics. Take one of the latest multichannel refinements, those 6.1- and 7.1-channel surround modes that require adding one (or two) back surround speakers to the standard five-speaker-plus-subwoofer array.

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Marantz Drops Another Solid Receiver

Impressive amplifier sonics and power anchor a fine mid-level contender.

By Daniel Kumin
Posted April 5, 2008

Marantz drops another solid receiver 00699927260255 Marantz SR7002 Marantz is one of the grand old names of American audio, and though the seminal hi-fi firm founded by Saul Marantz in 1952 is long gone, the gold-a

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