Denon Marantz Here With The First DTS Virtual:X Receivers

A sign of things to come? DTS and Sound United today announced a firmware update that integrates simplified DTS Virtual:X processing into seven AV receivers from Marantz and Denon.

This is a technology that makes use of psychoacoustics-based processing for virtual height and virtual surround. It enables the immersive sound possible with the DTS:X standard, with any content, only without the need for separate height or rear speakers.

Virtualization to the rescue, so to say.

And that’s because DTS research showed that fewer than 30% of consumers who purchased multichannel AV receivers actually connected the height speakers. Furthermore, fewer than 48% connected rear surround speakers.

So, there is clearly a demand for a technology like this — particularly for setups with limited space.

DTS Virtual:X is designed to work with all DTS codecs, including the flagship DTS:X, and the technology supports any input source from stereo to a 7.1.4 layout, or 11.1 channels in other words. According to DTS, it plays back an immersive experience over speaker layouts from 2.0 stereo up to 5.1 and even 7.1.

The company also includes an upmixer to provide a natural, immersive experience for legacy content.

Observe:

Anyway, the firmware update is set to become available for a couple of Marantz AV receivers, namely the NR1608 and the SR5012. The following Denon AV receivers also have access to these new bits, and these are AVR-S730H, AVR-S930H, AVR-X1400H, AVR-X2400H, and AVR-X3400H.

Both brands plan to expand the firmware update to other DTS:X equipped models in December and January 2018.

Find out more information on these firmware updates on the official Marantz and Denon US websites.