- Dolby Atmos Configurations: The following speaker configurations are supported for Dolby Atmos:
- Denon AVR-X6700H: 5.2.2, 5.2.4, 5.2.6, 7.2.2, 7.2.4, 9.2.2 with internal amplifier and 7.2.6, 9.2.4 with addition of external 2 channel amplifier.
- Yamaha RX-A4A: 5.2.2 with internal amplifier.
- DTS:X Configurations: The following speaker configurations are supported for DTS:X:
- Denon AVR-X6700H: The speaker configurations for DTS:X are the same as for Dolby Atmos - 5.2.2, 5.2.4, 5.2.6, 7.2.2, 7.2.4, 9.2.2 with internal amplifier and 7.2.6, 9.2.4 with addition of external 2 channel amplifier.
- Yamaha RX-A4A: The speaker configurations for DTS:X are the same as for Dolby Atmos - 5.2.2 with internal amplifier.
- Configurations without height channels: There are also other speaker configurations available which do not include height channels:
- Denon AVR-X6700H: 5.2, 7.2, 9.2 with internal amplifier.
- Yamaha RX-A4A: 5.2, 7.2 with internal amplifier.
- Front Wide Channel support: With the presence of two front wide speakers you can enhance the front surround stage. The following speaker configurations are available for front wide channels:
- Denon AVR-X6700H: 9.2, 9.2.2, 9.2.4.
- Yamaha RX-A4A: Does not support.
- Bi-Amp: Denon AVR-X6700H is able to bi-amp up to 5 and Yamaha RX-A4A is able to bi-amp up to 2 main channels simultaneously. During bi-amplification two amplifiers are used for one speaker. One amplifier powers the midrange and tweeter section of the speaker and another amplifier powers the low frequency woofers. Each amplifier is less loaded and performs better. In order to use this feature speakers must have 2 pairs of connectors.
Dolby Atmos
Denon AVR-X6700H and Yamaha RX-A4A support Dolby Atmos. It is a cinematic audio format in which sounds exist as individual entities, called audio objects. In Dolby Atmos, any sound can exist as an independent audio object, free of channel restrictions. They can be precisely placed and moved anywhere in your room, including overhead, to flow above and around you in three-dimensional space. Through the use of audio objects, overhead sound, and all the richness, clarity, and power of Dolby sound, Dolby Atmos turns your room into an amazing place for entertainment. The format supports up to 128 simultaneous independent audio objects in a mix for rich, realistic, and breathtaking sound. It recreates the director's original concept through descriptive metadata to provide customized playback for home theater and delivers sounds above you through overhead speakers, special upward-firing Dolby Atmos speakers, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar.
- Dolby Surround Upmixer: Both models support Dolby Surround Upmixer. If the content is not mixed in Dolby Atmos then the Dolby surround upmixer will expand the audio to all channels including ceiling speakers. The upmixer has replaced the Dolby Pro Logic II family with improved upmixing algorithms.
- Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization: Both models support Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization which is a digital signal processing solution that leverages Dolby's deep understanding of human audio perception to create the sensation of overhead sound from the listener-level speakers.
DTS:X
Denon AVR-X6700H and Yamaha RX-A4A support DTS:X. A technique used in DTS:X is similar to the one used in Dolby Atmos. Instead of a fixed number of channels, DTS:X defines object locations from the listener in polar coordinates. An a/v receiver then dynamically renders sound according to the current speaker configuration. The speaker layout employed by DTS:X is the sum of Dolby Atmos and Auro-3D. It has standard 7.1 channel base layer, a 5 channel height layer above the base layer on the front and side walls, and 3 rows of speakers on the ceiling.
- DTS:X Pro: Denon AVR-X6700H supports DTS:X Pro which is an upgraded version of DTS:X and is no longer limited with 11 channel processing.
- DTS Neural:X: Both models feature DTS Neural:X which is an advanced upmixer that can take non DTS:X content and upmix it to the DTS:X speaker layout. It has replaced the DTS Neo family with improved flexibility.
- DTS Virtual:X: Denon AVR-X6700H supports DTS Virtual:X which bridges the gap between DTS:X codec and the reality of so many consumers' homes, allowing you to enjoy multi-dimensional sound regardless of room size, layout, or speaker configuration. If you have a limited speaker setup you will miss a full immersive potential of your entertainment system. DTS Virtual:X adds height and surround audio effect to your system without adding height speakers. It works with multiple configurations and delivers immersive sound experience out of 5.1 or even 2.1 speaker layouts.
- DTS Dialog Control: Both models have DTS Dialog Control. This function adjusts the dialog levels during playback of the DTS:X stream. It allows you to separately increase the dialog levels in contrast with the background sound and hear dialog easily even under noisy circumstances.
Auro-3D
Denon AVR-X6700H supports Auro-3D. It is an immersive 3D audio format developed by the Belgium-based company Auro Technologies. It consists of three layers of sound - surround, height and overhead ceiling. The base horizontal layer uses 5.1 or 7.1 format, the height layer is on top of the base layer and its information is extracted from the standard 5.1 surround PCM carrier. The a/v receiver decoder then extracts this information during playback. In home cinema Auro-3D comes with different listening formats - Auro 9.1, Auro 10.1 with added Top Ceiling channel ("Voice of God"), Auro 11.1 with added Front Height Center channel, and Auro 13.1 with added Left Rear Surround & Right Rear Surround channel.
- Auro-Matic upmixer: Auro-Matic upmixer takes non Auro-3D sound and upmixes to the current speaker configuration.
Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC)
Denon AVR-X6700H and Yamaha RX-A4A support Audio Return Channel (ARC) which allows the compatible TV to send audio signal to the a/v receiver through the same HDMI cable which is used to send audio and video signals to the TV. So one HDMI cable is used to transfer audio signal in both directions. New Enhanced ARC will support uncompressed audio formats such as Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio whereas the previous ARC could support only Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, DTS HD, and PCM.
Sound Processing
- Audyssey: Denon AVR-X6700H comes with Audyssey Dynamic EQ, Dynamic Volume, LFC and Sub EQ HT.
- Dynamic EQ: selects the best possible frequency response and surround volume levels moment-by-moment. This ensures that the bass response, tonal balance and surround impression remain constant despite changes in volume. This is the first technology that carefully combines information from incoming source levels with actual output sound levels in the room, a pre-requisite for delivering a dynamic volume solution.
- Dynamic Volume: Your Listening experience can be greatly diminished when there are significant shifts in volume between television programs, commercials and within the program material itself. When this happens you must constantly adjust the volume to maintain your desired listening level. Audyssey Dynamic Volume monitors the volume of program material moment-by-moment and automatically adjusts it, maintaining the desired listening level for all content while optimizing the dynamic range to preserve impact.
- LFC (Low Frequency Containment): While high frequencies are easily stopped by walls low frequencies pass right through. After identifying the frequency range that most readily passes through walls Audyssey developed a technique, called Audyssey LFC (Low Frequency Containment) that reduses the volume at those frequencies and applies psychoacoustic processing to restore the perception of low bass for listeners in the room. The result is no more angry neighbors and no loss of enjoyment for listeners.
- Sub EQ HT: Placing two subwoofers in the room can cause problems, they can create standing waves or even cancel each other out resulting in even less bass than a single sub can produce. Audyssey Sub EQ HT allows two subwoofers to be properly used in a home theater system. The process is automated and takes only a few minutes. The result is rich, full bass for everyone in the room.
- Surround:AI: Yamaha RX-A4A features Surround:AI artificial intelligence which in real time, automatically optimizes surround-sound performance for each scene in a movie or any piece of content. Surround:AI analyzes a scene's audio characteristics, focusing on soundtrack elements such as dynamic range, amount of dialog, the degree of sound effects, background music, and channel balance. Surround:AI then compares the scene's audio characteristics to a reference database of movie scenes and automatically processes the scene's sound to optimize performance. Surround:AI makes dialog more intelligible in scenes with lots of background noise, delivers massive, full-bodied sound for scenes with immersive sound effects, and ensures that you hear softly spoken dialog and soft background sounds. Scenes with big musical scores deliver the best possible musical experience.
- D.D.S.C. (Dynamic Discrete Surround Circuit): Denon AVR-X6700H has 32-bit D.D.S.C. A single IC chip is generally used in processing A/D, DSP, and D/A conversions that are vital to sound quality. The D.D.S.C. uses separate components to process the important sections of the A/D, DSP, and D/A conversions and therefore significantly improves signal processing capability and performance. In addition, the approach of developing and incorporating high-quality dedicated elements in the sections that configure the circuitry makes it easier to develop a high-grade, advanced surround circuit compared with the method where all processing is concentrated within a single chip. Denon’s proprietary digital audio technology that had for many years been developed for pure Hi-Fi components is now also alive in each block of the D.D.S.C.
- ALPHA Processing: Denon AVR-X6700H has Advanced AL32 Processing.
- Advanced AL32 Processing uses a unique data interpolation algorithm to achieve high-bit, high-sampling output performance. The volume of information has been dramatically improved without any loss in the original data. The clean playback sound free of interference makes it possible to enjoy delicate details, accurate localization, and rich expression in the lower range. Advanced AL32 Processing has three functions: 1. High-bit up-conversion (Adaptive Line Pattern Harmonized Algorithm), 2. Advanced ALPHA Processing and 3. Adaptive digital filter (Automatic Low-Pass filter Harmonic Adjustment).
- Compressed Music Enhancer: Denon AVR-X6700H and Yamaha RX-A4A feature Compressed Music Enhancer which enhances the quality of the music files with lossy compression.
Room Calibration
Denon AVR-X6700H comes with Audyssey MultEQ XT32 and Yamaha RX-A4A comes with YPAO with R.S.C., Multipoint, 3D, 64-Bit High Precision EQ Calculation, Low Frequency mode and Angle measurement room correction system.
- Audyssey Room Calibration: Audyssey is an acoustic measurement technology which automatically restores the acoustic distortion caused by the acoustic behaviour of a room with only a push on a button. Audyssey equalization provides an clear, accurate, natural sound with voices and dialog that become focused and intelligible, restoring the musical balance. Musical instruments and sound effects become precisely localized and the surround soundstage is made seamless and enveloping.
- YPAO: The Yamaha Parametric room Acoustic Optimizer (YPAO) function detects speaker connections, measures the distances from them to your listening position(s), and then automatically optimizes the speaker settings, such as volume balance and acoustic parameters, to suit your room.
