DESCRIPTION

With a power output of 110 watts per channel, the AVR-988 multizone 7.1 receiver can handle a variety of audio applications.
The AVR-988 offers a power output of 110 watts per channel, but adds a number of engineering advancements to get the most out of the technology. One of the most significant--7-Channel Equal Power--lets you connect seven speakers independently without connecting individual power amps via pre-outs. That's because the AVR-988 comes with a built-in internal amplifier for each speaker in your collection. This makes it possible to do things like connect a second surround back speaker directly off the main amplifier to play 7.1 surround formats. The receiver's Dynamic Discrete Surround Circuit (DDSC), meanwhile, optimizes all elements of the surround processor through the use of discrete high-performance components, including separate analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, with sophisticated DSP surround decoding.

The receiver also offers AL24 processing, which was designed to faithfully duplicate some of the delicate nuances of analog music in digital form--a technology that's particularly effective among next-generation media with ultra-high bit and sampling rates. The results sound particularly good when music quietly fades away or starts again following silence, helping the listener detect some of the low-level details. The receiver further ups the ante with AL24 Processing Plus, which adds support for the 192 kHz sampling frequency of DVD-Audio.

In addition, the receiver is equipped to handle the latest in HD video support, with such features as Deep Color up to 36 bit, 1080p video pass-through, analog video-to-HDMI scaling up to 1080p, and 12-bit video encoding and decoding. The receiver also offers a couple of video essentials: progressive scan technology, which processes approximately twice as much video data to produce a sharper, noise-free image with finer details; and Faroudja DCDi video processing, which employs advanced algorithms to remove the jagged edges that appear when standard interlaced video is viewed on progressive scan displays.

Diverse Sound Modes
As with the best surround receivers, the AVR-988 is capable of reproducing a host of 5.1-, 6.1-, and 7.1-channel audio formats, with several processing technologies layered over the top. In addition to providing standard Dolby Digital, DTS, and Pro Logic II formats, the receiver also supports Pro Logic IIx, which allows 5.1-channel sources to be played in up to 7.1 channels; the expanded multichannel capabilities of DTS 96/24, Neo:6 Surround, and DTS-ES Extended Surround, all of which improve the digital surround impression for 5.1 or 6.1 channels; and DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby True HD, which boost the maximum sampling frequency (up to 96 kHz) and faithfully reproduce the sound of the studio master on up to 7.1 channels.

To assist with film soundtracks, the receiver offers a Cinema Equalizer tha