SOUND AT THIS PRICE POINT

NONE SO FAR

MUCH BETTER ON THE EARS THAN THE YAMAHA.HAS ALL THE SURROUND FORMATS THAT I WILL EVER NEED FOR A WHILE.JUST CANT SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THIS RECEIVER,HOME THEATRE JUST TOTALLY EXCELS AND BLOWS AWAY MY FRIENDS WHEN THEY COME OVER.ANOTHER GREAT PRODUCT FROM DENON.

Similar Products Used:

YAMAHA

Sturdy. Very well build. Controls feel good to handle.

Speaker connectors very near to each others.

Before I bought the receiver I downloaded a manual for
AVR-3801 from Denon web-site and read it trough couple of times. I found out that everything I needed from the receiver were in AVR-3801.
I ordered a receiver from Acoustic Sound Design and I was
very happy for their service. They answered all the questions I had before my order very quickly, which impressed me.

I am very happy with the receiver. It was really easy to setup especially because I had read the manual couple of times before I got the equipment. I never usually read the manuals until I have to. AVR-3801 sounds great on my B&W CDM7NTs and I can blast it very loud without any problems with sound quality. I also like the idea that I can later on add two more speakers to the system to go 7.1.

Denon name , Build like a tank

Too early to tell

I did read very carefully all the revious about the Denon 3801 , along with some other AV amps.
After much consideration I decided to buy the 3801.

Before tell you my first impressions let me tell you that the reviews here cannot be 100 percent accurate.
Why ? coz there are to many variables.
If you want to compare 2 A/V amps you have to use the same speakers , speaker stands , cables (very importand) , room (ceiling height is very importand) , warming up time , furniture , curtains, temperature.
Be certain that this same product (3801) will be several things to several people.

After bying my B&W 603s2/601s2/cc6s2 and some cheap cable , I eagerly waited my 3801 to arrive.
What really got my attention was how Heeaavy the beast was.
21 kg build Like a tanks , beatifully finished , with positive feedback from keys on the main console.
Since I had no cables to connect my DVD with it , I just hooked the 2 603s , and used the tuner to listen to some music.

the 603s were receiving input for the first time , and the AV was working right out of the box.
Yet the music was detailed , and I could hear sounds I didnt knew existed.The base was a bit boomy , but I easily rectified by fiddling with the tone seting on the main Amp.

Some peeople complain about the manual... This is bull , Everyone can set this unit if he has a minimum amount of logic.
The remote , is not great , but ok , and can be programmed to fuction with any set.

I ll be testing this AV amp , and will come back with a full detailed review (always personal).
I ll just rate it with 4 * until I submit my full review

Similar Products Used:

none

105 watts per channel, discrete amps, DTS

I can't seem to program different speaker distances for 5 channel stereo and DTS/Dolby Digital modes.

First, I love this Denon receiver. I bought it mainly because of the great reviews from this site. I decided to go with it and 4 Paradigm Titans, and a Definitive Tech 15 inch Powerfield sub. WOW! Not bad for my first real system. For one thing, this setup works great in whatever I decide to throw at it. I play video games, and the explosions and effects are awesome. I watch TV and the sound of the Hannity and Colmes music rattles my walls (lol). But the best part is the kick ass performance I get from watching DVDs (using a Pioneer 525). This reciever sounds clean. I have not heard any annoying hiss, it doesn't run hot (it gets warm) and I have never heard any annoying fan or anything kick in. It has always done what I want it to do. The unit is fairly heavy, so it is intimidating once it is in place (I was wanting to hook up the FM antenna, forget that!). I can't (or am too lazy) to figure out the "universal" remote. The remote has an LCD, but I hope to get a really cool universal remote decked out with a touch screen display. I mainly use the remote for volume and changing between TV/DBS and DVD input. Other than that, the remote is piled with all the others.

Anyway, I love the Denon 3801. It rules. I've heard about how terrible the manual is--it seems like most manuals I've seen for electronic equipment. For the most part, I asked the guy at the AV store how to hook it up. It's not really that hard. Some people rag on the remote. But how many products don't have crappy remotes? I think this is settled by going out and purchasing a Pronto (or whatever). All remotes (in my opinion) are just waiting to be absorbed by one of these 'super' remotes. Their day is near; so why should Denon worry about making a spiffy remote when it will (and should) be eventually absorbed. Another thing some people mention is that it isn't THX Certified. I'm guessing Denon didn't want to pay royalties to Lucas and decided to pass the cost to the consumer. I can live without Certification if the thing sounds good to me. The owner of the AV store and I were laughing at how everything had to be "Certified". I think it's getting out of hand. Don't buy into the certification crap!

Anyway, the Denon 3801 is a no brainer. Five stars all the way.

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This is my first AV reciever.

Outstanding DD and DTS, lots of power

none

This's by far the best receiver I have ever owned.for the price you get your money's worth and then some. Good for music and even better for movies

Easy setup. Good remote. Great for Music.

None so far

Just got this receiver 3 weeks ago. It was a breeze to hook
up even though this was my first receiver owned.
After auditioning Yam V1000, Marantz SR7000, Onkyo 787
chose denon since I was more interested in Musicallity of unit but did still need DTS HT. CD music in 5 channel surround is awesome. Fills the entire room with clear chrisp
sound. HT movies are good, but not perfect (still playing with settings). Seem alittle weak when separating sound
in DD AND dts. Yam was better for this, but I had a headache
after 5 minutes of listening to music. Of course, the tweaking may also be my speakers (Polk RM6600's with 350 sub).
Remote took less than a day to program, but I had downloaded the manual ahead of time and read it twice.
Unit does run warm (not hot). Plenty of power. Running at about -10 to fill my 17X13 two story family room with sound to the point you can't hear anyone talk.
Unit took awhile to arrive by UPS ground (8 days), but acousticsdesign gave a tracking number the day it shipped, double boxed (thank god for that), and required signiture to be delivered.
Overall, this is a great unit. All the feature I could need for the near future and a good price.

Many

Software availability

Just letting everyone know that there is no such thing as 7.1 discrete. 6.1 discrete yes, 7.1 no. The 7th channel is the same exact signal as the 6th channel and in most applications will only be used in a room that would justify using it for seperation. Your rear channels (to include the left/right and backs) should all be no less that 6 feet apart for the aural ablilties of the signal to be heard with the seperation intended by the engineer. If your wall is less than 20 feet wide then the 2nd rear channel is not really needed.

The second thing is that the 6.1 discrete is way overblown by almost everyone. The software is extremely limited in release. A reviewer below commented on this already. The only way you will currently even get a discrete rear center is with DTS anyway and Dolby Digital releases outnumber DTS about 25 to 1. If you are considering buying this product based on the discrete option alone than you are overlooking what should be the most important feature....performance vs. price. This is a fine product as is most products in this price range. Just don't buy a product because of features alone. It's like the old saying "Jack of all trades....Master of none". Listen to it, look at it, feel comfortable with how you interface with its operation, and most important, don't pay too much. Remember, that guy or gal in the store who's pretending to be your buddy is looking at the amount of money they are going to make on you at the same time.

Alot of people on this site and also on some of the competitors sites tend to get their aggravations out on products that you didn't even buy. Just because you bought something that others didn't doesn't mean that it is better. Just because you don't like Yamaha or Onkyo does't mean that you should bomb another site ( Just like they do to this site). There is almost 5 billion people in the world and we all aren't going to like the same thing.

This rating is for Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha, Marantz and other manufacturers for making excellent products at the $1000-$1500 price range. We are all benefiting from excellent performing products that 5 years ago would have cost at least 3 times what they do now. We all win with what we can hear in our homes. I own an Onkyo 787 and must admit (as I'm sure it's the same with the 3801) that my system (to include about $4000 in speakers) sounds better than any movie theater that I've ever been in, Imax or not!

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha,Onkyo,Marantz

Does everything well

Not perfect

I've owned this receiver for about six months now and it has performed very well. The DTS decoding brings movies to life. Overall this unit has good power and sound for music and movies. Music DVDs such as Santana's Supernatural are superb. Music CDs have clear and natural sound.

However, I do agree with a previous reviewer that this is an entry level receiver for quality home theater; in my opinion the best for entry level(If you can buy it at a circut city or best buy i would consider it below entry level). After reading many of the previous reviews I can't help but wonder what is expected of a receiver at this price point.

I am driving a pair of Mirage OM-5s(6 ohm nom 4 ohm min) for mains, an OM-C2 center, OM-R2s and Polk M-3s for surrounds. I've had no trouble with the power delivered by this receiver. In fact I believe, at this price point, you will not find a better amplifier. The receiver does get warm but it has never overheated and I LITERALLY shake the walls listening to music and movies.(Saving Private Ryan-the beach landing scene and Pink Floyd's-Welcome To The Machine come to mind)

Thats my two cents worth. Bottom line, for the money the power,sound quality, and features of this receiver can not be beat.

rick

My equipment:

Sony DVD
Mirage Speakers
mains OM-5
center OM-C2
surrounds OM-R2
Polk Monitor M-3 rear surrounds

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Onkyo, Sony

AWSOME SOUND! LOTS OF INPUTS, AWSOME SOUND!

Manual sucks,

Ive had this unit for about 2 months now and I have to say im glad I spent the extra money and got it. the sound quality is amazing and I love has the 6th channel, rear center. The unit is very quite because of the heat sinks. I did not want cooling fans. I think there are enough inputs to get me through for a long while. Tha manual is a pain in the ass but read it a couple times before you try somthing and youll get it. I like having the on screen display also, makes it a lot easier. As for the remote i didnt pay much attention to it as I like using my original remotes anyways. Makes eveything a lot easier and you get all the funtions that you paid for. Thats my review. I love this unit....... you will too, BUY IT!!

My system:
Denon AVR 3801
TV 38" ProScan
DVD Pioneer DV-606D
Sub Polk Audio PSW1200
Fronts Polk Audio RT1000i's
Front & Rear Centers CS245's
Rears FX300i's
VCR....... Whats a VCR???

Similar Products Used:

Was thinking about Yamaha.

Features & Sound

Not as musical with 2 channel music as NAD's T761 and Arcams AVR100 but more exciting with movies than both!

For the guy (I forgot your name already) two postings below. Make sure your input, where your DVD is plugged into, is set to Dolby Surround. Make sure that your DVD player has DTS playback capability. Make sure that you are using a true 75 ohm digital coax (marked as a digital wire like Monster's Interlink 100) and not just a regular coax cable. Make sure that you go into the menu of the DVD you are watching in order to tell your receiver that you want to listen to DTS. Most DTS movies automatically play back in Dolby Digital 5.0, 5.1, or 2.0 (or Dolby Pro-Logic). Once you've adjusted the menu of the DVD to play back DTS, your receiver will automatically switch itself to DTS (only during playback- when you pause or stop to go to the bathroom, for instance, the receiver will switch back to Dolby Surround mode). I hope this helps. Enjoy DTS... DTS has spoiled my. I can tell whether a movie is being played back in DTS or not. DTS offers a larger soundstage, better clarity, and more excitement than Dolby Digital. The one thing that I like about Dolby Digital more than DTS (movie dependant) is that voices are more focused.
I've owned a 3801 for a while now and am very happy with it. Contrary to what others have said about the remote, I think the remote is one of the factory remotes on the market. Check out what NAD, Arcam, Harmon Kardon and others have to offer! The only complaint that I have regarding the remote is that it can use a few more buttons in order to designate DVD menu buttons appropriately.
Dolby Digital, DTS, DTS-ES, and Dolby Pro-Logic sound incredible with this unit. Two channel music through the units analog inputs (using the unit as an amplifier) is not as good as NAD's T761 or Arcam's AVR100, but better than my old Sony... with my Arcam CD player... in my opinion.
Now for some nitpicing. The unit should have a set of inputs on the front panel. The front fascia is looking dated. The unit should have more than one digital coax input. I wish the unit could be told to can the subwoofer in CD mode but keep it on during DVD, VCR, and TV mode. I'm not a fan of subwoofers for two channel music. Mind you, I've yet to listen to REL subwoofers- they are supposed to be very musical.
Anyway, the 3801 is a well built and excellent sounding receiver that gives you tonns of features for your money.