# Denon Says DTS:X Is Set to Land Next Month



## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Immersive Audio has been a headline topic during 2015, and, here in the United States, is a category that’s been completely dominated by Dolby’s Atmos codec. Until now, DTS:X (the other assumed big player in the U.S. market) has remained vaporware. Quite a few manufacturers have released DTS:X-ready products, but all of them are awaiting downloadable firmware to activate the feature (not to mention, only two DTS:X encoded Blu-ray discs have been released). Earlier this year, my DTS contact told me that the company had been planning on a December 2015 release that would push the responsibility of official product-specific firmware releases into the realm of individual manufacturers – definitive dates have been unpredictable.

Having had ample time to soak-in the audio magic of Dolby Atmos titles (not to mention hearing Auro-3D’s phenomenal audio experience), the wait for DTS:X has been rather torturous. That makes Denon’s recent announcement an early Christmas present that should have enthusiasts dancing and clicking their heels with delight.

According to a recent Denon press release, the company is planning on officially releasing DTS:X firmware updates on January 28, 2016 for three of its top Network A/V Receivers (AVR-X7200W, AVR-X6200W and AVR-X4200W). After installing the update, all of these receivers will be able to run an Audyssey room-equalized DTS:X speaker set-up ranging from 9.2 to 11.2 channels.

"This is the first wave of products to receive the DTS:X firmware update; we will continue to deliver this new and exciting technology to the rest of our DTS:X ready line-up into 2016," said Yoshinori Yamada, global business team leader for the company's A/V receiver category. "We are happy today making its first step. It is our mission to bring latest and greatest of the industry to our lineup."

Denon says that customers will be alerted to the update's availability via a video message (AVR must be connected to a television or projector) if their receiver is networked with the “Update Notification” option set to “On.” They also left the door open to a possible date-extension, so stay tuned.

Unlike Auro-3D and Dolby Atmos, DTS has indicated that its new codec doesn’t require a specific speaker array. This means it should integrate with any current Auro-3D or Atmos set-up. If true, this makes DTS:X extremely appealing. 

Owners of other Denon AVR models will have to wait a tad longer for a DTS:X firmware update. As of now, the company hasn’t specified a defined timeframe. Similar firmware update news should be released by competing manufacturers soon.

_Image Credits: DTS:X, Denon, Lionsgate Films_


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## Savjac (Apr 17, 2008)

Why oh why do they always come out with something better shortly after I buy one of their products ??
I guess because they can. :laugh:


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

I can see DTS:x being the better solution.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Hopefully Yamaha will be offering it for download next month too.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

I've always preferred DTS HD-MA to TrueHD. Call me crazy, but the DTS encodes just sound smoother (perhaps not as hot) as the TrueHD. 

Anyone else experience this?

I'm wondering if I'll ultimately feel the same way about Dolby and DTS versions of immersive audio...


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

ellisr63 said:


> Hopefully Yamaha will be offering it for download next month too.


DTS says that other manufacturers will be announcing soon - but the company isn't divulging any details. It all falls on manufacturers at this point.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

DTS certainly has less issues, lately TruHD has had issues with the slight audio dropout on older receivers.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

That dropout is actually coming from the Blu-ray player side of the chain and a player's ability to handle to seamless branching. Dolby uses seamless branching in (a few)TrueHD and Atmos encoded discs. For TrueHD, you can simply switch your BD player to analog audio or PCM and the audio drop issue goes away...but Dolby Atmos requires bit stream and that means the only remedy is to buy a new BD player.


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

Todd Anderson said:


> I've always preferred DTS HD-MA to TrueHD. Call me crazy, but the DTS encodes just sound smoother (perhaps not as hot) as the TrueHD.
> 
> Anyone else experience this?
> 
> I'm wondering if I'll ultimately feel the same way about Dolby and DTS versions of immersive audio...


I, too, prefer HD-MA.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

Todd Anderson said:


> I've always preferred DTS HD-MA to TrueHD. Call me crazy, but the DTS encodes just sound smoother (perhaps not as hot) as the TrueHD. Anyone else experience this? I'm wondering if I'll ultimately feel the same way about Dolby and DTS versions of immersive audio...


 While I agree the TrueHD seems hotter they're some of my favorites. Most notably being Transformers Dark of Moon. To this day one of the best I've ever heard.


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## fokakis1 (Feb 29, 2012)

I just purchased a Marantz AV7200. I saved a lump by not getting the Mkii which is DTS X ready. I haven't even opened the box yet. While I'm exited about the news of a concrete release date for DTS X updates, I doubt I'll get it on my new prepro when Marantz releases it. Fortunately, I had resolved to live without it for the next year or so. I plan to get by with the Dolby Surround upmixer for non Atmos content in the meantime.


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