features, power, looks

remote is just ok

I finally replaced my Yamaha after about 6 months of looking and getting my wife warmed up to the idea. Because of the good exchange rate I was able to get a 3801 in Germany for about what a 3300 costs in the states. Another plus is that mine is gold instead of black (looks much better).

In short, this thing is great. Home theater is excellent with plenty of power. I haven't sampled the 2 ch stereo because I enjoy the 5 ch so much. The quality of the unit is as good as the yamaha 2095 I wanted to buy and it looks better also.

system:

Denon 3801
Pioneer DV-K302cd DVD player
Klipsch KSP-400 fronts
Klipch C-7 center
Klipsch KLF-20 rears
Klipsch KSW-300 sub (The whole apartment building hates me.)

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Yamaha 2090

Sound / Power / Finish & Looks / 5ch Stereo mode

Manual (magnifying glass required?)

After reading all the rave reviews of the 3801 I arranged a demo and compared it with the similar spec Onkyo
I prefered the sound of the 3801 especially on CD music. Stereo sound is excellent for the purists but I was very impressed with the 5/7 channel stereo mode which does an excellent job of mixing the 2 channels into 5 (havent broken the news to the wife that I can add another 2 speakers yet!)
DD5.1 & DTS on movies is top rate and much clearer than my old DPL Yamaha with which I was forced to use the on board DD5.1 & DTS decoders on my Pioneer 626.
I wasnt that impressed with the manual and found setting up the system quite a chore. I downloaded the manual from Denon's US site and at least this gives you each page full size and not half size like the manual.
I'm also not sure about the remote but I will reserve judgement until I use it more.
The 3801 is a beast both in terms of power and size and I had to hack some more off the back of my cabinet to fit it in properly. It also weighs a ton (remember to bend your knees when you lift it!)
Overall I am very happy with the 3801. It looks good / sounds good and any excuse to listen to ALL my CD's again (in 5 channel stereo of course) is fine by me ... Five Stars all round

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Yamaha A592 DPL amplifier

Great...3802 is even better

Why oh why is the 3802 almost 1 lb lighter that the 3801?

There appears to be another difference between the 3801 and 3802. If you take a look at the wattage it's increased by 5 WPC. That may not sound like a lot, but in doing that, that means something had to change amp-wise. I have heard through reliable sources that they have tweaked the sound to be more like the reference 5800 series, after getting feedback that the 3801 was deemed to be brighter-sounding than most Denon pieces. Personally, I *could* hear that in some sources. They have added subtle changes that most people know about including adjustable crossover, the wattage increase, and of course DPLII. However, they have also added a auto-Dialog Normalizing circuit and improvements to the on-screen display both readily seen in the manual. The owners manual is now downloadable from the site so you can compare for yourself to the 3801. I had my last Denon 7 years, so I think the extra $ is worth it--especially for the DPLII circuit everyone is buzzing about.

I AM still wondering about the weight issue though....?

Just my 2 cents.

5 Channel stereo, Remote, Oomph!

Manual, Only 1 Coaxial digital in

I have lived with this amp for the best part of 5 months now and things just get better every time we use it. For the first couple of months it was like watching a film for the first time even if we had seen it several times before.
For me the real strength in the 3801 is the 5 channel stereo mode. I couldn't imagine listening to music any other way.
The Neo 6 leaves a lot to be desired and I find is best avoided. I am not a graet lover of dts at the best of times so for me this takes the biscuit.
I lived with the Onkyo 787 for 3 months before selling it and getting the 3801. I must say that I have never regretted it for a minute.

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Onkyo TX DS 777 & 787

everything listed on this page

hardly any

i'm calling myself an audio enthusiast. i refuse to call myself an audiophile until i have b&w speakers... a long way down the road money wise.

i got the 3801 about two weeks ago... and have been very impressed. at first... the remote was pissing me off something else... but... after calming down... and re-trying... i finally got it working for me, and now i actually like the remote and think its just fine.

this receiver is a step up from my old jvc... and, my old jvc was actually pretty solid... suprisingly!

i'll start with weaknesses. so far... i wish there was a sleep timmer, that could be helpful. i wish the volume was in a little larger font on the reciever. ummmm, i think that's it. oh! i wish that when you did the "test tone", that it would start on a quieter volume. now i know its set at the high level to get an accurate decibal rating... but still... trying to mess with it late at night... ticks off the roomates.
the manual was ok, except when i was trying to figure out the stupid fm antenna... the figure was just rediculous. a box of pictures all scrambled out of order... and i'm supposed to figure out how to do it???

there's plenty of power in this thing, i have the denon pushing 9 speakers, and i have 4 subs. with my old reciever, i used to surround myself with speakers to try and get a 360 feel, but with this denon, i actually get it... and not some fake 360.
after all the research i did, the only other recievers i thought competed was the yamaha 3000 series... but... those go for well over 2 grand as i recall. and... i still wasn't happy with even their numbers.


some people say their 3801 gets too hot. what i do, is i have the reciever on the top level in my tv stand. it has about 6" of open space above it, but i also clamp 2 mini clip fans onto the back of my tv stand that blows right on the reciever, that only get switched on when the amp is on. the #1 reason people have reciever problems is due to overheating. for $20 i have 2 quiet fans that simply won't let my reciver get even get warm.

everyone seems to want to brag about their systems...
so i guess i'll try.. but it won't work =)

i have a 27" sony trinitron (when i'm not poor i'll upgrade)
a Toshiba SD3205 DVD Player
a Toshiba M655 VCR (like i use it anymore)
this denon
a VERY old Yamaha CR-2040 600W Reciever
a JBL Power50 100W Amplifier
a soon to be sold JVC RX-664VBK 500W Reciever

for speakers:
Jensen J-1 4-Way 150W 15" (fronts)
Jensen C-7 4-way 175W Dual 6.5" (suround A)
Cerwin Vega HT-MDC 125W Center Channel Speaker
KLH 900B 100W 3-Way Bookshelf 8" (used as rear backs)
Miller & Kreisel S-7B 80W 2-Way Sattelite (surround B)

for subs:
Dahlquist PDQ-1200 12" 400W Powered Subwoofer

for my other 3, they are non-powered subs that i power with that old yamaha reciever listed above. (using the denon's sub out)
two modified Jensen M1's 15" with tweeter removed (blown)
and my baby... my only THX certified piece
a JBL S1S 18" Subwoofer

my speakers aren't the top of the line by any means, and they take up more space than anyone would probably care fore. that jbl s1s weighs 120lbs even!

reciever gets a value rating of 5 since i got it so cheap
gets an overall rating of 4 (very good product), i would love to give it a 5, but... its not far better than imagined... its about what i thought it would be. but its still a damn good box.

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jvc rx-664vbk

Clean, crisp sound.

Not for a beginner. Av reciever is a lot different than a reciever. Manual is difficult to understand. Setting up remote is difficult.

This av reciever is a monster. The sound is very clean and enjoyable to listen. I am a beginner audio guy so there is a lot to learn. My last reciever was a JVC 40 wpc, very easy to use. I bought the JVC in l984 for 300. I need someone to tell me how to set up the remote. When I want to go from cd to fm listening it doesn't work from the remote. Is there anyone knowledgeable about the 3801? If so please e-mail me at mncswanson@yahoo.com

all decoding,build quility,on screen setup and so on & so on......

none bottom line

i'll keep it short because everyother fan sead it already. no dout the best all around reciver in it's price range and above.remember you can't have it all and denon almost pulled it off at a price that can't be beat. it's almost like lexicon meets denon agree.

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nothing in this range dose as much

Many

No Surround Bass Management, No DPLII (ProLogic II), No adjustable crossover....oh, the the speaker connectors are WAY too close together!

Ok Denon fans...listen up:

I'm giving a 5/5 for the 3801 because it is an OUTSTANDING receiver. It makes my Innovative Audio speakers sound incredible. However, recent purchasers from AUTHORIZED dealers take note: did you notice the recent $200 price drop (which makes the 3801 a really sweet deal)? That usually means another model is coming out...even for something this *new*. In this case, the 3802 is coming which fixes all the "weaknesses" I mentioned of the 3801, and adds about 10 more WPC of power I believe. Best of all it incorporates the brand-spanking new DPLII--possibly the most important music processing news of the decade. GONE is the "center heavy" result of the original DPL when listening to multi-channel music--an effect I loathed. In contrast, the update was designed specifically to handle that process more naturally and was developed by none other than Bob Fosgate. It will also breathe new life into your VHS and LaserDiscs as well. Here's a great internet site that tells you more about it...and actually compares it to the 3801's surround modes (including DTS Neo:6)

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_8_1/dolby-prologic2-3-2001.html

(Also check out their incredibly informative DVD articles and shootout!)

Take my word for it: if you just watch DD/DTS movies, stick with the 3801, but if your like me and want the ultimate in multi-channel sound (I'm 60/40 music-movies)), keep your eyes peeled for the 3802. It should make it's debut within the month!

Here's the "English translated" version of the Japanese introduction. The 3550 will be the US 3802.

http://www.excite.co.jp/world/url/?wb_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.watch.impress.co.jp%2Fav%2Fdocs%2F20010704%2Fdenon.htm&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2

My 3801 just may be going back before it's too late and I'll wait for the new one. It may be back up to the 3801's original retail, but the DPLII circuit is worth it!

Thanks for listening :)

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Previous Denon components

DTS-EX decoder (Matrix and Discrete) Certified, Dolby Digital 5.1 Certified / Dolby Digital-EX Matrix 6.1 compatible!!!

Basically none*!!!

This receiver is strickly awesome as a starter Home Theater system... or even those more serious Home Thearer nutz like me! The selling point for me was it's impressive and complete* functionality. Some may complain about the manual (I did too a little); the manual is basically complete but _IS_ overly wordy in sections, becomes ambigious to both novice and advanced consumers. For an example, read the NOTES in the middle of page 20. The phrase "low frequency signal range" can more clearly be stated as "low frequency content" for example (no I'm not an English major nor do I write manuals in my spare time, is just more in tune with SR vocabulary).

*= in reference to it's weaknesses (none / complete above), I agree it would be nice to have adjustable crossover point(s) (linked or independent HP/LP functions) or the ability to somehow loop it in. For example: turning off sub which forces large mode on front LEFT & RIGHT; this sends/mixes LFE(+low frequency content of all small channels) into the front LEFT & RIGHT channels. If the front LEFT and RIGHT could be looped, a sub channel could be tapped via a crossover in the loop in addition to a Audio Control PCA. Instead an external amplifier must be used in the theoritical external crossover setup (assuming you want to place a HP filter on front LEFT & RIGHT).

Remember that an unpowered "head" unit of equal performance / features acctually cost much more!! If you where to not use the amplifier functions of this unit (use external amplifiers only), you will still make out ahead cost wise. Where will be find a DTS-ES certified and Dolby Digital EX Matrix 6.1 compatible unit for ~$1000 or less???

To those complaining about the AVR-3801 being too bright (defending Denon here!), they probably didn't noticed the Cinema EQ option and the history behind it. Most theaters use HF compression horn drivers (because of their efficiency) which have a very distinct HF falloff. The signal needs electronic EQed to compensate for the horn characteristics (some professional amps even have built in adjustable HF horn EQs). During the print-master stage, the sound mixer oftens adjust for this in the multi-track master (use in both theater and DVDs). Some Dolby decoders account for this 'bright' signal and EQ it out during decoding. Denon's DTS and Dolby decoder give you the option to turn that on or off (not all print-master sound tracks are equal!) nor the digital decoders.

Did I forget to mentions the 3801 is awesome?

I use my coupled with a Peavey CS 1000 amp (1000 watts) to a home built 18" sub (McCauley Sound's OEM Yamaha 9007, no longer in production) so the built-in 80 Hz crossover point is perfect.

The only thing better from Denon is the AVR 5800; you gain certified Dolby Digital EX plus a very cool remote (which can be purchased seperately and I believe used with the 3801). But the remote on the 3801 is far better than the remote on the Denon AVR 4800.

Trust me, Denon outdid themselves on this product once you concider all the little things (very good remote control, good clean power, easy to use on TV screen / OSD, functions and price point).

--Doug

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Similar? There isn't many DTS-ES Discrete decoding A/V units out there yet! (Denon AVR 5800/1 for example)
. Kenwood, Sony...

Build Quaility, Sound, Surrond Modes, Features For the Price is amazing

Remote Not all it could be,

I have been researching receivers for months on this sight and by reading professional reviews. After going to every decent A/V Store within decent driving distance and listening to literally dozens of receivers I narrowed the field down to the Denon line. The only real question I had was which one. I liked the features on this one and its future proofing. So I started listening to it in earnest especially in conjunction with my speakers of choice. Klipsch Reference Series all around. I haven’t been using it long and once I get a few more hours on it I may update this review but so far I love it all around great receiver, especially when you figure features for the price. I would recommend this to anyone who asked me.

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Tested Yamaha, Onkyo, Harmon Kardon, Sony