You can't release any piece of electrical equipment these days without boasting iPod connectivity. So it's about time that high-end specialist Denon released a DVD system that will link up to Apple's little box of joy. The S-101 is a 2.1 movie system at heart, with two speakers and a subwoofer filling your bedroom with 200W of sound. It's also got a radio and will play MP3 and WMA music, but Denon's cool brand will probably appeal to the vast majority of iPod owners so the company is really pushing this new feature.
When you plug in an iPod via the included cable, the Denon system jumps on board Apple's player like a pirate and cheekily raises the Denon flag on its screen. It then transfers the same iPod interface across on-screen in a celebration of its mutiny, allowing you to play every song on there. It will even grab your Playlists, and it charges the iPod itself while you're playing music.
It's strange, then, that despite the main unit being drop dead gorgeous, the iPod interface looks like it was programmed on a Commodore 64. It has a basic reproduction of the white iPod made out of three separate colours -- you certainly don't get to see album artwork. Anyone who's stylish enough to own a Denon system and an iPod is probably going to be embarrassed to have this showing on their 40-inch LCD screen.
As a DVD player the system offers the usual flashes of Denon class. It features progressive scan video outputs, has a super-powerful 100W subwoofer and Dolby Virtual speaker technology. It will also filter your MP3 music and DTS movie soundtracks and make them sound better than ever. The S-101 looks like an ideal DVD system for the discerning bedroom buyer, and it's available now for around £850. We'll have the full review up on the site soon. -GC
Update: this review is now live here.
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