If Santa was exceedingly nice this year and brought you a flat-screen TV and/or a new iPod, Denon may have a little something else for you. The S-301, big brother to the S-101, improves upon its less powerful sibling in many respects. Yes, you can interact with the new virtual iPod interface once an iPod is plugged in (don t worry, it ll play back all your purchased music, but it won't have the iTunes interface); yes, it can play DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD; yes, it can play back JPEGS stored on CDs or DVDs. Most importantly, however, is that it has HDMI inputs. Now you don t have to sacrifice style over subtance. Well, not for $1,600 you don t.

Denon S-301 [Designtechnica]

Purchase options [Amazon]

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