After the hi-fi stereo products, headphones and portable audiophile devices that received an EISA Award for the 2023/2024 season, let’s take a look at the selection of home theater products. The jury of the Expert Imaging and Sound Association The division is made into two sections: the section is dedicated to “Image” home theater products (mainly televisions and video projectors) and the section is dedicated to “Audio” home theater products (multi-channel amplifiers, sound bars, subwoofers, speakers, etc.) we start here.
Onkyo TX-RZ50: Best value for money for a home theater amplifier
The Onkyo TX-RZ50 receiver is characterized by its comprehensive range of functions, including Dirac Live for detailed calibration. It offers great value for money and impressive performance, revealing the smallest details of movie soundtracks in Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Equipped with a 9-channel output stage with dynamic audio amplification, it guarantees powerful playback and rich bass. It supports bi-directional Bluetooth, DAB+, AirPlay 2, Chromecast and DTS Play-Fi.
Price: €1600
Primare SPA25: best home theater amplifier
The Primare SPA25 is a Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio-video amplifier that appeals to both music and cinema lovers. It is designed to power 9 channels and is based on energy-efficient Hypex Class-D amplifier stages that support bi-amplification of the front speakers. The device offers a combination of smoothness, excellent transients, powerful bass and an impeccable soundstage, all optimized with Dirac Live software. We can also count on the Prisma Hi-Res audio streaming platform and a high-quality USB DAC integrated into the device.
Price: €5500
Presentation on ON-mag.fr
Denon AVC-A1H: best high-end home theater amplifier
Denon’s AVC-A1H combines 15.4-channel processing with 15-channel amplifier stages to adapt to the most comprehensive home theater systems. It shines with its build quality, from the massive toroidal transformer to the dedicated power supply of its DAC section, including the 32-bit DSP engine and optimized circuit layout. This industry-leading technology, combined with Audyssey MultEQ XT and Dirac Live calibration options, ensures the highest level of audio performance for movies and music.
Price: €7000
Presentation on ON-mag.fr
JBL Bar 300: Best value for money for a soundbar
The JBL Bar 300 features a compact and easy-to-integrate design. Thanks to its six speakers and built-in amplification, combined with MultiBeam processing and Dolby Atmos decoding, it stands out well beyond its price. This creates a balanced and full sound with remarkable sound effects in terms of placement and orientation. The remote control has been improved and we can expect a new application for more precise control, including the introduction of an automatic calibration phase.
Price: €400
Presentation on ON-mag.fr
Loewe Klang bar3 mr: best soundbar
This very stylish and Dolby Atmos compatible 3.1 channel soundbar offers impressive, detailed sound. Its musical performance is also excellent and thanks to its two top-mounted woofers it produces a powerful sound without a subwoofer, which can, however, be added if necessary. The same applies to the surround speakers. With DTS Play-Fi it’s multiroom. It features advance outputs for five channels, a unique feature for audiophile installations with powered speakers.
Price: €1000
Presentation on ON-mag.fr
Bang & Olufsen Beosound Theater: best high-end soundbar
With its numerous cleverly placed speakers, the Beosound Theater takes you into another dimension. It delivers spacious, well-defined sound with crisp details and extremely punchy bass, all in a stylish, customizable and upgradeable package. Film mixes are truly impressive, while listening to music in stereo or Dolby Atmos benefits from exceptional playback. Rely on four HDMI ports and Powerlink jacks to add additional B&O speakers, wireless or wired.
Price: from €7,000
Test on ON-mag.fr
Yamaha True X series: best soundbar set
Yamaha is true. Note that the battery-powered surround back speakers can serve as independent Bluetooth speakers. The whole ensures a particularly enveloping and powerful reproduction, with excellent performance in both films and music.
Price: €1300 per set
Presentation on ON-mag.fr
Musical Fidelity M6x 250.7: best home theater power amplifier
The M6x 250.7 delivers dynamic power reserves, rich bass and an effortless feeling of energy thanks to its 7×250 watt amplification. Inside the metal casing is a pair of “Super Silent” toroidal transformers that power seven independent amplifier modules, each with its own heat sink. Bi-amping is supported by cascading rear panel outputs as well as balanced and unbalanced inputs.
Price: €3500
Presentation on ON-mag.fr
Perlisten D212s: best home theater subwoofer
The Perlisten D212s features two brand-exclusive 300mm woofers arranged in a push-pull configuration and powered by a 2.4 kilowatt (yes, you read that right: 2400 watts) amplifier stage that provides bass extension up to below 20 Hz promises. It offers extremely dynamic performance and impressive performance. It features ambient bass details. Its advanced DSP plays a crucial role, allowing precise adjustments to the listening environment via Perlisten’s control app.
Price: €7000
Presentation on ON-mag.fr
KEF R series: best home theater speaker set
Building on the cutting-edge technologies developed for KEF’s high-end speakers, the R Series introduces the latest generation Uni-Q driver, equipped with Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT). This series consists of seven models, including floorstanding speakers, bookshelf speakers, center speakers and Dolby Atmos effect speakers. These different models are suitable for both films and music and deliver particularly precise and natural sound.
Price: from €7,360 for the 7.2.0 set
Test of the KEF R7 Meta on ON-mag.fr
Magnetar UDP800: best home theater disc player
The Magnetar UDP800 offers playback of DVDs, Blu-rays and Ultra HD Blu-rays as well as the music formats DVD-A and SACD. When playing UHD discs (including Dolby Vision or HDR10+) via HDMI, the player delivers crisp details and smooth color transitions. It is also impressive when listening to music via its analogue Cinch or XLR outputs.
Price: €1700
Source : https://eisa.eu/