Denon S-301 Review

[dang]

Checkout our latest review of the Denon S-301 (http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review3354.html)Add style to your flat panel TV with the Denon S-301. This mini-system looks great and will play tunes from your Apple iPod.

[Ioman]

Best Buy has this for $1399. I think the price seems pretty steep, but Denon is a high-end brand and has never really been cheap. Plus you get speakers, HDMI and component video output etc for that price which isn't bad.

[snowplow7]

The article erroneously states that the lower-priced S-101 lacks ipod compatibility when, in fact, it actually includes the same proprietary dock cable and on-screen interface. I'm not really sure what the extra $500 gets you for the S-301 besides more power and the HDMI output.

[Ioman]

Thanks for pointing that out, I will update the review.

Looks like the main difference between the two units are a couple things:

1. More power in the 301, 170 watts versus 50 watts
2. The 301 plays DVD-Audio and SACD where it doesn't look like the 101 does
3. USB input for portable players and Flash memory devices on the 301, not the 101
4. HDMI output with selectable scaling (480p/720p/1080i) decoders on the 301
5. Dual Discrete Video Circuitry (DDVC) on the 301
6. DVD section features DCDi from Faroudja FLI-2310 decoding engine on the 301 (super important for movie buffs)

[Ioman]

Review updated, thank you for pointing this out.

[Ioman]

Here is another good review: http://www.hometheatermag.com/hometheaterinabox/206denon/

Mark writes a monthly column for us, he is such a great writer.