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Denon Ditches Subwoofer Launches DHT-FS5 Soundbar In Australia
Posted by Nick Broughall at 11:50 AM on June 17, 2008
Last month, Blam gave us a lightning review of the DHT-FS3 soundbar from Denon, and this month, we're seeing the DHT-FS5 land in Australia. The difference between the two units, aside from the number at the end of the product code, is that the FS5 doesn't feature an external subwoofer for those lower frequencies.
Considering that Brian's opinion of the FS3 was that the bass gets a little cloudy at higher volumes, I'm not entirely convinced that ditching the sub would correct this. At the same time though, the people interested in buying a soundbar generally aren't the hardcore audiophiles who rely on pristine sound with a full range.
The FS5 comes in both black and silver to match your setup and costs $999.
[Denon]
Considering that Brian's opinion of the FS3 was that the bass gets a little cloudy at higher volumes, I'm not entirely convinced that ditching the sub would correct this. At the same time though, the people interested in buying a soundbar generally aren't the hardcore audiophiles who rely on pristine sound with a full range.
The FS5 comes in both black and silver to match your setup and costs $999.
[Denon]
Denon is selling the AK-DL1 cable to link up your Denon-link audio components, and apparently it's able to "bring out all the nuances in digital audio reproduction." How does it achieve this magic? By having "high purity copper wire and high performance connection parts" plus a woven jacket to "reduce vibration." Vibration? M'kay... Best of all, if you're a 
So, here's the thing. My stereo components have been in boxes gathering dust ever since I became a fully fledged member of the iPosse. Ditto for my CDs, cherished cassette tapes and even a few essential vinyl record. Since Jesus and I are relocating to London, and I've ripped everything I really listen to, you might say it's a no-brainer to throw it all out. But it's not that easy to do, is it?
Instead of blowing out all the stops with a big mama pajama queen of all Blu-ray players, Denon appears to be playing 
The Gadget: A soundbar by one of my favourite A/V companies that includes a sub. It is one of the rare soundbars NOT to block your TV if mounted on the same table. Processes DTS and Dolby surround through optical and coax and stereo inputs (But no HDMI). The sub draws power off the main unit at 40 watts, and the six 3-inch drivers get 22-watts each. It comes with a glow in the dark universal remote.
The war between Blu-ray and HD DVD takes centre stage, but now we're starting to see rumbles within the vast Blu-ray coalition. How long did you think a truce between longtime rivals Sony and Panasonic could last, anyhow? To be sure, everyone is being perfectly civil to one another, but while Panasonic, Samsung and Denon are blazing the way with "standard" Blu-ray players, Pioneer and Sony still remain hung-up on the "initial" Blu-ray spec. After talking to top brass at all of these companies, we have pieced together a sense of where Blu-ray hardware is headed, and why it's taking so long.
Their stereos are some of the best in the business, so the news that Denon is launching a range of headphones should be music to... no, I can't stomach that cliche. But yeah, this line up looks excellent.
Yesterday, at Denon's line show in Jersey City, three pairs of noise-isolating earphones and three pairs of updated performance over-the-ear headphones were on display. However, they were not part of the presentation and there were no press releases. They're nice looking, and nice sounding, so I did some digging for more information, which you can check out after the jump.
Denon's compact home theater systems just got some big improvements. Both the S-302 ($1699) and the S-102 ($999), which are due in September, can upscale DVDs to 1080p; the S-302 bumps up all analog incoming video to 1080p as well. The S-302 also has built-in Wi-Fi and can display cover art of the music streaming from a PC or Mac. The new S-32 and S-52 are in the "clock radio" or iPod dock family, though they are far more loaded than the typical competitor. Both the S-32 and S-52 are wireless and networked; on top of that the S-52 will have an HD Radio tuner, a slot-loading CD player and a USB jack for local content.
