The manufacturer believes AV professionals will appreciate the eight true balanced line-level outputs and the device's ability to decode digital surround sound signals and output them to their specific speaker output. The DN-A7100 is compatible the with most advanced surround sound formats and because of its unique design, is ideal for any installation that requires high-quality, channel-separated audio outputs - especially those installations where adapting unbalanced RCA preamp outputs is unacceptable or the extra weight of ill-purposed, unused consumer power amps is not required.
In addition to the eight balanced line outputs, the DN-A7100 has been thoughtfully equipped with a pair of stereo XLR inputs. Switchable between +4dB and -10dB input levels, these inputs are ideal for any source such as a professional CD player in a boardroom or an outboard microphone mixer in a conference hall.
However, the DN-A7100 is not just a surround sound decoding preamp - it is a fully-featured AV source switcher. All audio and video sources in an installation are easily hooked up to the rear of the unit and from the front panel, the included IR controller, or from RS-232, and the end-user may easily select whatever source they wish to view.
As many boardrooms and conference rooms still rely on source products such as VCRs and analogue TV tuners, the DN-A7100 is also geared up to convert to component. Simply by plugging the TV tuner into the composite TV input and the S-VHS into the S-video VCR input, the DN-A7100 converts the signals to component output, allowing just one set of cables (rather than multiple) to the display.
The DN-A7100 has also been future-proofed, say Denon, ensuring compatibility with any future component, audio format, or external equipment with decoded outputs (i.e. SACD, Blu-ray player, HD-DVD player) via its 7.1 direct audio inputs.
Finally, in addition to IR remote and RS-232c serial controllability, the DN-A7100 (which begins shipping this month), contains a 9-pin D-Sub connector, which allows for integration into any installation with a Crestron or AMX master control system.
(Lee Baldock)
