My local dealer, who knew I would be reluctant to pony up the cash for really good separates, told me about the 3300 more than a month before it was officially released. And I'm grateful he did because it was definitely worth the wait. After shopping around for a while, I've had it now for a couple of weeks and I have to concur with the reviews below: the 3300 has plenty of power; delivers a smooth, warm, clear sound unlike the Yamahas I looked at (too bright and tiresome); and is easily the best value at its price point. I especially appreciate the automatic switching function according to the input source. For the money, I couldn't ask for more. 5 stars, without question.
My system:

Denon AVR-3300 receiver
Dynaudio Audience 8 (main)
Dynaudio Audience Center
B&W DM601 (rear)
no subwoofer ... yet
Denon DCM-340 CD changer
Mitsubishi DD-2000 DVD player
Audioquest Indigo speaker cable
various Audioquest interconnects (Ruby, S-Pro, Video 2)

BTW, I ended up getting my unit from Sound City in NJ for $799. Not quite as good a deal as the $715 below from Uncle's Stereo, but I felt safer buying from an authorized Denon dealer.

I narrowed my choices between the Yamaha 995 and the Denon AVR3300
The Yamaha is a very nice reciever. It had pleanty of features, plenty of connections, analog and digital, and s-video. No Composite video conections though. Sound is bright and liveley. Lots of DSP modes but they probably will need to be customized for personal taste. I had the Yamaha in the house for a week but traded for the Denon AV3300, for which I will post a review. Denon got the nod for the 5 channel Stereo and the warmth and richness of the sound reproduction (I was able to leverage a better price on the Denon because Shop4.com had it for $719. The retailer did not want to loose business by me trading it in for a refund so the lowered the AV3300 from $999 to $825, which was cool with me to have a local Authorized dealer for waranty work).

4 stars for the Yamaha 5 for the Denon. Its close but to my ears Denon sounds more solid. The remote is a lot better on the Denon although no prize.

At $750-$850 for either the choice is a good problem to have.

Purchased the 3300 from a Delaware dealer for $845. Not the greatest price, but at least I have the warrantee. Anyway...I was also between the Yamaha 995 and the 3300. I then had the chance to demo them at a local audio store using the same equipment. I likes the warm Denon sound much better than the brighter Yamaha. Plus...I have no need for 25 DSP modes. I won't use the 5 that came on the Denon. Love the 5-channel stereo. Really fills the room with sound. Also like the automatic switching between surround modes and the on-screen menus. Yes...the remote could use some work...but it's better than what I had before! Just got my first DTS DVD (Dragonheart) and it sounds great on the system. Incredible surround effects.
I give the 3300 a big five speakers for being what I consider the best receiver in its price range.

My system:

Receiver: Denon AVR-3300
DVD Player/CD Player: Panasonic A-120
VCR: Panasonic Hi-Fi 4-head (getting old)
TV: Sony V-series 27 inch
Main Speakers: Paradigm 9SEs (the originals)
Center Speaker: Celestion (want to replace)
Rear Speakers: Paradigm Titans
Cables: All Monster (best I can afford)

I have been slowly upgrading my 8-15 year old equipment and after doing some listening and reading, bought the AVR-3300. First thing I noticed was the silence. In many older systems I've heard(including my old stuff), I noticed a distinct hum in the speakers. The Denon is stone cold silent without a source. I used to think it was my speakers (Infinity Overture 3's) powered sub making noise. The unit has made my surrounds and center (neither one great quality) sound better than I deserve!The biggest complaint I have seen about this unit is the remote. I have found it quite easy to use and very easy to program. This unit has restored my interest in high quality home theatre/music. I found this unit at Audio King (authorized dealer) where they must be losing enough sales to the internet to match some sites as I purchased it for $799.00. Not the $719 I've seen but I still wanted to buy from a dealer if the price was close.

NONE

EVERYTHING

I RETURNED THIS UNIT AFTER A WEEK. I COULD NOT STAND THE DULL, FLAT AND LIFELESS SOUND IT PRODUCED. I CURRENTLY OWN THE SONY 30ES, WHICH OUT PERFORMS THIS UNIT IN EVERY WAY SHAPE AND FORM. AFTER RETURNING THE 3300, I PURCHASED THE ONKYO 777. LET ME TELL YOU, THIS IS ONE AMAZING RECEIVER. THE DOLBY DIGITAL SOUND TRACKS FROM DVDS JUMP RIGHT OUT AT YOU AND GIVE YOU THE SENSATION OF BEING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF SCENE. IT'S AN ICREDIBLE PIECE OF MACHINERY. $770. DELIVERED FROM ONECALL.

Similar Products Used:

SONY 30ES, ONKYO 777

Great Sound, Great Features, Good slection of inputs and outputs, and should easily adapt to new technologies.

Remote is complex and the preprogramed functions for other bands of stereo equipment is only basic.

The Denon AVR-3300 was a giant step up from my Sony 1994 prologic receiver. Although I have not had the chance to try any DVD movies on it yet, it performs great when playing CDs and watching VHS tapes. I strongly suggest using the matrix setting for listening to CD rather than 5-channel stereo. The matrix setting create better imagining than 5-channel stereo.

The only problem I have encountered is a soft, very high pitch noise that will surface once or twice a month for a minute or less. Not sure what it is but hoping that if something fails it does so before my 3 year extended warrenty runs out.

If you are looking for a receiver in the $1,000 range, the Denon AVR-3300 is the one to buy. Look at the number of great reviews it has received!

Similar Products Used:

Sony prologic receiver

Excellent surround imaging, great look, copius amounts of finger space on the back - Sony take heed!!!!

The remote is usualy Denon fair. Why do I have program number codes for the remote?? Oh well.

Well, after years of waiting for the receiver, it finally comes along. Thank you Denon!! I had only wished they had included an RF Demod for my LA-3500, but, only one can dream. I bought a Kenwood DEM-9991 and it works fantastic with the AVR-3300. No hesitation or switching problems whatsoever and the DD and DTS from the laserdisc player sounds great.

Bravo Denon!! My only complaint would be that the price is high in Canada.. but the dollar sucks!!

Cheers,
Andrew

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha 995

quite noise floor

not to crazy about 3 opticals, one coaxial

I have not purchased one of the babies yet, but I will. I (and my wife, always include them, makes purchase much easier)spent 3 hours tonight comparing this receiver and the Pioneer Elite VSX-26. The Elite is a great unit, but the thing I noticed about the Denon is the lack of amp noise. If you put your ear to the speaker with the volume all the way to --, you hear nothing. This lack of a noise floor made music and surround take on an almost unnatural sound. I say that because our ears get used to hearing sound in a signal from stereo equipment. When you remove the noise the sound takes on a totally different characteristic. The Pioneer sounded better at first because of the higher noise floor. We then listened to a song that I have heard several times in a studio so am very familiar with how it is supposed to sound (the hardest part). The Denon came closest (for the money) to reproducing every sound. When the singer took a breath, you could hear the air going into his lungs (wow). Surround was as revealing in every channel. So far this is the machine to get. I can not say I am crazy about the choice of 3 Optical and 1 Coaxial, but take the bad with the good. Going to take a look at the new Integra line as well. I used a surround test disc for sourround comparison. The Denon left nothing to the imagination, if was in the mix you could hear it. The position of the sound was also very accurate. I gave this a four because the lack of seperate surround delay adjustment. Nice to have if you live in a funky shaped house.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite VSX-26

great sound, flexibility, and price

remote is not that bad if you can read

I owned the 3200 for two years and was very happy with it, but I decided to upgrade to the 3300 mainly for the dts and flexibility. I have listened to a lot of recievers in the $1000 price range and in my opinion this is the best. The DD and DTS sound fantastic. The five channel stereo and mono movie options are very nice too. This reciever is also future proof with a lot of inputs that most people will never use. I highly recommend this product to anyone that is thinking about purchasing this or any other reciever. I wish that people would evaluate their products on actual performance only. Unfortunately this is not a perfect world so some products do break, but I do not think that a product should be given lower ratings because it did not work. Return and try another one and write an intelligent review that people can use.

Similar Products Used:

denon avr3200

It's brand name.

Remote sucks, bang for the $$ (doesn't exist) and the damn thing broke on me, and the remote is total garbage. for that kind of money, it should include a really nice remote.

My gut feeling told me not to spend that kind of money ($915.00) on an A/Vd receiver, but I needed to find out why everyone is so crazy about "Denon" equipment. 3 weeks after I brought it home, it started making a loud buzzing sound from inside the receiver and it made a strange noise when I'd power the unit up. Kind of like it was being strained. I will say, for the short time it worked properly it was a decent receiver. I also couldn't stand the remote. It was like the remote was an after thought, but I was willing to deal with the crummy remote, that is until the receiver started making all those little bonus noises I talked about earlier. I have to tell you, for the money I spent on this thing, there is no excuse for the lack of quality this receiver exhibited. Luckily I was able to return this piece without a problem. Now I'm faced with the problem of purchasing another receiver. It definitely won't be another "Denon". I want to explain my ratings. Under value, I'm giving it one star (only because I can't give it zero), because for $900-1000 this thing should be tight and mine definitely wasn't. For an overall rating I'm giving it a two, like I said. For the short time it worked properly it was decent. Even if the thing hadn't broke on me, I would of only given it 3 stars because of the enormous price tag. Hopefully I'll have better luck with my next receiver purchase, ciao!

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-DE925