If you like the look of the Marantz Model M1 streaming amplifier but aren't so keen on the price, Denon's Home Amp is for you. It's a very similar device – hardly surprising, given both brands are owned by parent company Masimo – but at £200 / $200 cheaper.
The Home Amp is another just-add-speakers streaming amp that can be hooked up to a TV, turntable, CD player or hi-fi system – all you need is speakers of some sort. And it brings all the joy of streaming.
Like the Model M1, it plays nice with Denon's HEOS ecosystem, so can fit seamlessly into a multi-room setup. Also like the M1, it boasts 100W of power per channel into 8 Ohms, and has been tuned by the Denon Sound Master himself, Shinichi Yamauchi.
There are plenty of physical connections: HDMI eARC, a subwoofer out for adding some extra bass, USB, Ethernet, optical and line-in. It's small, too – about the size of an Apple TV 4K – which makes finding space for it pretty easy.
On the wireless side, there's Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth, Tidal, Deezer and Amazon Music. It also has some preset buttons on the front (which don't feature on the M1), as well as controls for play/pause, and volume up and down.
Given the spec similarities but price difference, performance is likely to differ somewhat between the Denon Home Amp and Marantz Model M1. Still, the Home Amp looks like a good option if your budget won't stretch to the £999 / $1000 M1.
The Denon Home Amp launches in early August for £699 / $799 / AU$TBC.
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