Founded by American entrepreneur Frederick Whitney Horn in association with Japanese partners, Nippon Denki Onkyō Kabushikigaisha (which literally translates “Japan Electric Sound Company”) first came into existence in 1910 as part of Nippon Chikuonki Shokai (the Japan Recorders Corporation). The two words – ‘denki’, the Japanese for ‘electric’, and ‘onkyo’, the Japanese for ‘sound’ – would become essential for the future of the company.

As we’ll see, Denon has been in at the beginning of many revolutions in home entertainment, launching disc recorders for the broadcast industry (which captured many historic events) and a cutting lathe for mastering discs to make it easier to mass-produce records, starting sales of Japan’s first LP records at the beginning of the 1950s, and introducing professional tape recorders for broadcasters soon after.

It has led the way into the LP era, pioneered the digital audio technology behind the CD back in the early 1970s, and launched its first line-up of AV receivers more than 30 years ago. Now, with the launch of the 110 Anniversary series, Denon is not just celebrating this landmark, but also marking its expertise in digital and analogue sound, both stereo and multichannel, with a line-up ranging from the AVC-A110, a 13.2-channel AV receiver, through to a special version of its classic phono cartridge, the DL-A110.