Denon S302
07 JAN 2008
Launch price
£1,250.00
Stuff says
The best-specified, most high-performance 2.1 system we’ve ever seen
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Stuff.tv hot buy
Denon’s first ‘Smart Life’ 2.1 home cinema systems have garnered plenty of praise and sales since their launch in late 2005, so it’s no surprise to find Denon launching revamped and powered-up versions for 2008.
The new S302 has the better spec of Denon's two new Smart Life systems, with the S102 sticking to built-in Ethernet rather than Wi-Fi. In fact, it’s quite possibly the most highly-specced 2.1 home cinema package ever.
What a lot it’s got
Denon certainly hasn’t left anything to chance in the features department. For starters, thanks to Dolby Virtual Speaker processing, it can play your DVD soundtracks in surround sound, despite providing only two front speakers and a subwoofer.
What makes the S302 special, though, are its multimedia talents. Critical to these is an Ethernet LAN interface allowing it to integrate into computer networks, plus support for all wireless security standards.
The S302 is a fully DLNA-certified network client for streaming audio, meaning it will play music from PCs, Macs and network storage devices whether it’s encoded in WMA, WMA Lossless, MP3, AAC, FLAC or WAV.
It can also play iTunes files using optional TwonkyVision or Eye Connect software, and can access internet radio via its Ethernet port. Yet more multimedia friendliness comes from a built-in USB port and optional iPod integration via Denon’s ASD-1R docking station or AK-P100 cable.
Generous connectivity
Sockets are plentiful, too. There’s an HDMI output, for instance, as well as three analogue audio inputs and two digital audio inputs, allowing loads of other external sources to enjoy the system’s audio capabilities.
Although the S302 doesn’t carry a Blu-ray or HD-DVD deck, it can upscale your current DVD collection to 1080p. In fact, it has the same upscaling engine as Denon’s impressive £650 DVD-2930 standalone DVD player.