Good build quality, Over all compataibility, Sounds good on all modes

Not an unit for the purist

I am rather confused to read about all the complaints about the fan noise. I guess some of the users are just unlucky to have the problem; mine is absolutely fine even after hours of hard driving movie or music.

As mentioned above the 3300's over all compatiability is absolutely a killer. It sounds as gorgeous on music as it does on movie sound tracks. It sounds in total control with my B&W 602 S2, even without my Cerwin Vega subwoofer, produces enough foundation rattling slam and bang. But I must admit DVDs played on my Phillips DVD 860(is there any body using this unit besides myself??? I'll be greatful to have your views.)sounds better than CDs played on my Marantz CD 63 MK2 KI. I guess DVDs are inherently more informative than CDs.

I will recommend any body to buy the Denon AVR 3300

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TXDX 575, Pioneer VSX, Kenwood,

good sound. lots of features

cheap rear panel connectors/posts, confusing remote and manual

I haven't had a problem with this unit I bought from Ubid. It's a refurb and I can tell it wasn't new, but it's pretty close.

It stays on all the time with the display turned off. Haven't heard the fan once. I'm not working this amp too hard though. It drives a set of proacs all around.

The sonics are better than I expected. I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting some ear bleed as I prefer tubes, but it's a pretty smooth sounding amp for what it is. It lacks some air and dimensionality along with other audiophile refinements, but it is very listenable.

I compared the internal dacs to the analog signal from my Cal Icon II. I prefer the Cal's dacs, but the built in dacs weren't too bad.

Don't have too many complaints, especially considering price. I read the reviews here and had my doubts, but this purchase ended up okay for me. It fit my need for an affordable good sounding home theater receiver pretty well.

I'd give it 4-5 for value at the price I paid.
I give 3-4 stars for overall performance. It's not the ultimate in audio quality, but it's very good for what it is.

Similar Products Used:

older denon receiver

More power than I'll need right now, incredible sound, DD and DTS is amazing. 5 Channel Stereo mode is great for music.

Remote (haven't quite figured everything out yet with this thing.

OK,
First of all I would like to thank each and every one of you for submitting reviews on this site. I've been reviewing this page for the last 3 months and I have to tell you that I started out wanting the Harmon Kardon AVR500, then I saw the Denon and I was sold. I then kept reading the reviews and found out about the fan noise problem. This made me go look at the Onkyo TX-DS777. After testing this receiver and then going back and listening to the Denon I decided to go with the AVR3300. I have had it for about 2 weeks now and I can't say enough about it. I've noticed that several of the people posting good reviews have the Definitive Technology Pro Cinema package. I bought these about 4 months ago and these speakers (Tower 400s, C2 Center, and Monitor 200s) sound incredible connected to this receiver. I did pay a little bit more for mine from a local retailer ($895 at Dyer Electronics) but I didn't want to take the chance of buying on line after reading about some of the problems. I have been testing different movies in Dolby Digital and I love the sound! Bass is deep and dialogue is crystal clear!! Check out Blade, Clear and Present Danger, Sleepy Hollow (had no idea how good this movie was), The Fugitive, etc.... I could go on and on. The one thing that I don't like is the fact that the receiver only has only 1 coax input. I have an older Phillips DVD player and it doesn't have an optical output. Needless to say that is the only thing coming through digitally right now. I have digital cable and it has a coax output but no optical. I plan on upgrading my DVD player when DVD audio is released so I guess I can deal with it until then.
By the way, I watched the Lakers win an unbelievable game last night on NBC and everyone was blown away with how good the game sounded in 5 Channel Stereo mode. I've been testing music in 5 Channel mode and I have to say that it sounds incredible. Overall, if you're looking for a powerhouse under $1000, this is definitely your best choice. I haven't' heard the "annoying fan noise" at all! I may be premature in this review but I couldn't hold back anymore. I replaced an Onkyo 525 that was only Dolby Pro Logic. That receiver is now in my room. I still love that too but Denon will be my choice for years to come if they keep putting out products like this!!

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-DS777, HK AVR500, Pioneer Elite

Versatility

Binding posts cannot take spades, and aren't very strong

This is my first receiver so I can only compare it to the others that I have listened to at the stores and not in my room. Also I'm very new to the audio scene so I may not really know what I'm talking about. First off I'd say that I am satified with my receiver. The power output is more than enough for my room and most rooms in the neighborhood I live in. The build quality on this seems to be fair. I find the binding posts wobble a bit when putting new bananas in. Luckily I just purchased a good set of cables for my mains and I shouldn't need to touch the binding posts for a while. Originally I thought that my main use for the receiver would be for movies but after the first week I started to listen to more and more music. Now I use it for music maybe 70% of the time. I like the 5 channel stereo mode for music when I'm not in the middle of my room but if I'm there then I just use stereo. I find that the product was moderately easy to set up, all the connectors are labeled in the back and the digital inputs are programmable. I have it set up on my cheesy dvd player (Raite AVPhile 715) which is all I need at the moment since I'm saving for the DVM 3700. When used for movies I find it passes the video signal quite accurately including all the artifacts and anomalies that I saw before using the receiver. The sound quality is unmatched by anything I have heard but that's not saying much since this is really the only receiver I've listened to for more than a couple of hours. Originally I set out to buy the AVR2800 but I was enlightened by multiple audioenthusiast/philes of the versatility of this unit. This is the first 1k receiver with component switching. Also has 7.1 inputs and preouts. Can be used for Dolby EX I believe. Just need a decoder. Can also be use as an 8 channel amp I supposed but I wouldn't know. With these features I guess I could still be using this in 5 years. There are a couple of drawbacks to this unit. Like I mentioned the binding posts are not very strong but I don't know if it's supposed to be like that or not. And a major drawback is that the posts don't take spades. Luckily for me they have BNFs with have more contact to the post than the conventional bananas. I have yet to turn the volume to the max on this system because I don't want to go deaf yet. The highest I've had it was at -2 on the scale if -60 to +18. I've tried the DSPs on the unit but I didn't find anything that I could have done if I route the sound from my computer out to the receiver. I've had some minor problems getting it to accept the Dolby Digital and Dolby DTS signal sometimes but nothing that I couldn't fix. I think that was the DVDs fault anyway. The tuner works great except that when you auto program it only knows to start with the first channel (A1) and go all the way through the band (AM/FM) and just tune and store every single channel there is on the band. What's bad about this is that you can remove a channel from the middle and hope that the rest of the channels move up and fill in the open spot. I don't think this is a major issue since most people don't actually use the tuners on receiver anyway, but I could be wrong. The fan seems to work fine on my unit but when it's just idle I can hear the fan coming on. It's not a major problem unless you have golden ears and that almost inaudible sound really annoys you. In closing I believe that this is a very good receiver for my need and I enjoy my music. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a receiver that is versatile enough to last for a few years.

System:
Paradigm Monitor 7's
Paradigm Mini Monitors
Paradigm CC-350
Will be getting PW-2200
Denon AVR-3300
Audioquest BedRock Single Bi-Wire
Audioquest Jade (for TV/VCR)
Audioquest S1 (for DVD/TV/VCR)
Audioquest Viper (for CD off DVD)*
Audioquest Optilink 2 (for DVD)*
Audioquest Type 4 (Center, will upgrade to CV-4 soon)
Audioquest F-18 (Surround, will upgrade to Type 4 soon)
Mitsubishi HSU-775 S-VHS Hi-Fi
Raite AVPhile 715 with modified DVD Drive
Panasonic CT-27SF36
* = will be getting soon
Retail Price $999 US
I got from a dealer for $750 tax included

Sound quality is above average

The remote control is out of the dark ages

I took the receiver back for a refund within 3 days. The remote control sucks. The sound quality may be good but the remote control ruins this product. I am told this is the same remote included with the 5700, if that is true Denon really needs to put a little of thier profits into R and D. The on screen dispaly is very weak and hardly worth the trouble. I found myself locked out of half the features because of accidentally hitting the wrong button on the remote. Denon give me a break and make a remote that is ready for this century.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DA77ES

The AVR-3300 is a masterful unit but its goodness is partly determined by what it's wedded to. For me, that means the Denon-2500dvd, Overture 2's, Sound Dynamics in the rear, and for the last two hours TINA TURNER, Live in Amsterdam, a dts bonanza. The AVR-3300 and the Overture 2's do this concert JUSTICE! This is Tina at her best (or worst if you're Republican having a fling with the religious on the right). Get this dts program, fire up your AVR-3300 and let those Infinity speakers bring you serious pleasure!

Very detailed. And the dynamics are astounding. Saving Private Ryan in DTS is a good way to really hear what this receiver can do.

awsome digital sound, build quality

subpar DSP modes (except 5 channel stereo mode)

almost perfect receiver. for under $1000, it can't be beat. if denon weren't going to focus too much on their dsp modes, they should have left it out because it sounds weak. other than that, it's a very, very solid receiver. no distortion on the sound at all.

i'd recommend it to anybody.

Similar Products Used:

HK, Yahama, and Onkyo receivers for under 1000

Just about everything.

DSP Modes, Remote

This receiver is an amazing value. Very flexible and a dream to work with in tough room conditions. The 5 channel is worth the price alone but beware, you will need a very good center speaker or you may be unhappy. Hooked up to a pair of Paradigm Studio 40s w/ a Studio Center in the front and a pair of Klipsch 5.5 floor speakers as the rears with a Klipsch sub. I know it is a strange combination but it real works out nicely in our smallish room. The Paradigms being better for very detailed music and the Klipsh winning out on hard rock. Simple turn of the fader and we change the dominate speaker. Given the divergent speakers, the 3300 made it very easy to setup the system.

This receiver is much smoother than my Yamaha. Very clean and sweet. Quite simply, it is a wonderful sounding unit. I never would have thought that the receiver would have made such an enormous difference.

Is there a down side? Only minor items.
The remote could use a bit of improvement. Strongly recommend using it for setup only and then forgeting about it. The DSP modes border on awful. The Yamaha is much more refined.
However, once you use the 5 channel you won't even think about the funky DSP options so it really doesn't matter.

All in all I can't imagine needing more receiver than this. If I ever need more power I'll just get a big assed amp and use this as the pre. Yes, it is that good. Best value in the market. I'll sell my kids before I give up my 3300.

Excellent clarity and overall sound quality, plenty of power

none

I have had this receiver for a couple weeks now and could now be happier. I had a Denon AVR 2700 before this and both units produce excellent sound quality and the 3300 has plenty of power. I have also used the Nakamichi AV10 which is terrific as well, but for the money, I believe the Denon is the one to beat. Definitely give it a listen.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR 2700, Nakamichi AV10