component input and video switching and of course DTS-ES

Operation, remote, 105Watts diveded by 2!, the DSPs on this reciever just shows a little of the prosessing power in this unit..

What a joke this reciever is, and im an even bigger idio* searching the web for reviews on hifi gear concerning my purchase.

Not only that it operates like a z7 calculator, it sound unnatural with its smooth, soft and weak outupt. I seldom listen to music anymore and i who used to love listening to the radio at night. The AVR3801 cant even stand up to my 5 year old Yamaha DPL 60watt reciever wich i miss so much!

Do yourself a favour and steer clear of this product. I bought this unit because of its price, still its not half as good as what i paid for it.

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even the cheapest yamaha reciever is not as bad as this joke. Take a listen!

DTS-ES at this price range. Appears to be a fine quality unit. Component Video jacks

Best way to connect is with Banana Plugs which I don't have or raw wire.One Coax digital in.

I have had this unit 5 days. I was seriouly considering buying the Integra as I know from experience of Onkyo's outstanding build quality. I also considered the Denon 3300 but after reading all the reviews decided against it because of the fan and some overheating problems even though the price was right(700 locally). I ultimitely decided on the denon 3801 as it had true DTS-ES. I didn't feel the setup was particularly difficult considering all the options on an A/V receiver. The manual was pretty straight forward however I have not set up all the remote functions at this writing.
I played Gladiator and mission impossible 2 and was quite impressed with the clarity and bass of the unit(as I didn't put in a sub till the following day.
I also listened to a number of CD's since purchasing the unit and so far my only concern is the brightness of the unit especially with cd's and some in DVD HT. I imagine some of this will improve as the unit breaks in.
I am running the older paradigm compaq monitors (preformance series) on the front end. They were pretty laid back with the Onkyo 2 channel receiver and CD player I was using. I don't really plan to use this for music but will ocassionally play it for casual listening and I cannot stand brightness in a system. I noticed at the audio store listening to the Integra with Gladiator it was fairly bright also.
I have my main audio system in its own room for critical listening. It consist of the Threshold Stasis series amplifier and pre-amp with VMPS Super tower II special editions speakers be-wired with Straightwire Virtuoso speaker cables and Virtuoso Interconnects. This sytem is very musical and more laid back.
Overall I believe the Denon will be a fine piece of equipment when it breaks in and is tweaked.

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Auditioned in store: Integra 7.1, Onkyo 787, Yamaha 1000 and Denon 3300.

warm sound,with great detail

none

This thing is amazing.I just upgraded from rxv-496 and the difference is night and day!I was going to buy thr rxv-1,but after extensive listening i found it to be a tad bright giving me a headache.Then i audioned the 3801 and the sound was exactly what i was looking for,even my other half agreed this receiver was amazing.It has all the latest features and i think it will serve me well for many years to come.MY speakers are all monitors V.2(monitor 9 front,monitor 3 side,mini monitor back,cc-370 centre)and just blend beautifully with this receiver.Thank you denon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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yamaha rxv 1

Great Sound and Amp

Remote

I purchased my Denon 3801 after Christmas to replace my old non (DD DTS) receiver and could not have been happier with my decision. I also was looking at the obvious receivers in the field marantz onkyo NAD and others but for the money the denon was by far the best buy

On to the sound WOW I have read other have complained about the weak amp… I do not find that to be at all and find the contrary to be true the amp is quite strong..
If you are in the market for a new Receiver your search has ended…


System

Denon 3801
Pioneer DV-434
Center Paradigm CC-370
Mains Paradigm 7s V.2
Sub Paradigm PW-2200
Surr To be ADP-370s

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NAD Marantz

Options, Clarity, Price

Manual

The Denon receiver is top notch for the price. There is no other receiver out there that out performs the Denon AVR-3801 under $1000. I really enjoyed my Yamaha and was partial to Yamaha. However, Denon tops Yamaha for this years A/V Receivers. Yamaha's comparative receiver is the RX-V3000, which you can get for about $1500.

The Denon AVR-3801 has many strengths. I like the option of setting up your system with 6.1 or 7.1. Nonetheless, Denon has a excellent feature, allowing you to set the delay of your speakers by just setting the distance you are from each speaker, (either in feet or meters) and the receiver automatically adjusts the delay. Additionally, the Denon has a cool Cinema EQ device that allows you to eliminate the brightness from the front three speakers while watching movies in 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1.

Now moving on to how I feel it sounds. The Denon needed about 20 or so hours to break in, after which the sound much warmer. As compared to the Yamaha, it is a bit clearer and crisper, also a lot warmer in sound when watching movies. However, the receiver is a bit bright when listening to CD's.

Conclusively, if you are in the market for an A/V Receiver that gives you "the most bang for your buck," go and pick up the Denon AVR-3801, your won't be disappointed.

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Yamaha RX-V795

Great Sound...easy to set up...rugged build....quality unit

Needs the Aktis remote to be perfect!

No problem with set-up. Manual was typical techno-ese, but not a problem for anyone with a little electronics saavy. Very pleased with the unit. System includes Mitsubishi WS-65907 Klipsch Microquintet w/ KSW-10 (wish I'd bought the KSW-12!) Toshiba SD-6200 Progressive Scan DVD.

No regrets with the AVR-3801. Denon makes a quality product. Did a lot of research before the purchase....would suggest you do the same!

Great build quality, DTS-ES discrete, Sound

Manual

I recently purchased this unit to upgrade from my Yamaha RXV595 which was my first venture into the world of home theatre and boy am I impressed with the Denon. Firstly the build quality is outstanding and just by picking up the unit, you can feel by the weight that this is a quality product. After unpacking and browsing the manual, which incidentally is not as bad as other people suggest and just needs reading carefully, it wasn't long before I had the beast connected and the setting up commenced.
The set up is reasonably straight forward and being able to input the distances between the listening postion and individual speakers is helpful and effective. I then put in a copy of Gladiator in DTS-ES and was blown away with the clarity and detail that this amp produced. I have tried it with audio CD's aswell and what a difference between this and my previous Yamaha, the whole sound is more natural and can recommend this for people wishing to use the Denon for Home theater and audio.
To sum up, I can recommend the Denon AVR3801 for anyone wanting an amplifier that will decode 6.1 software and is without doubt one of the best receivers out there.
For interest my system Consists of:-

Panasonic TX47 PT1 rear projection
Pace Digital satellite receiver
Sony 336 DVD player multi region
Aiwa VHS player
Denon AVR3801 receiver
B&W 602's Front
B&W CC6 Center
B&W 601's rear surrounds
Yamaha YST 160 Sub.

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Yamaha RXV595

Power, sound, features

Manual

I wrote a pretty extrensive review on this reiever before I bought it and I just want to back it up. The manual is pretty complete, but it does take a couple reads to understand. The sound is very smooth and detailed. If you are thinking about purchasing, you wont be disappointed.

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Yamaha, Onkyo

wonderful 6.1 surround, neutral sound quality, every option a home theater buff would want

The manual is very difficult to understand, remote even harder.

Up until 4 weeks ago I was dead set on getting the Onkyo 787 receiver. It had what I was looking for in a Home theater receiver. 6.1 surround, THX select certification and gobs of power. It was through audio review that I ran across the Denon AVR 3801. All of your reviews really helped me decide which way to go. I listened to the 3801 with energy speakers first. They sounded good, but were a little on the bright side. Next I hooked up paradigm c7 fronts with mini-monitor surrounds, and bingo! What a wonderful combination. Lots of bass with excellent highs and a VERY nuetral sound quality. I found a great price on the unit at lgd.com, so I took the plunge and prepped my media room for the transformation. I went with IXOS interconnects and speaker cable (bi-wiring does help)throughout the room. The hook-up process was quite simple, but you better use banana plugs if you are bi-wiring (there is no way your fitting all that wire into that little cramped connection without grounding occuring). The receiver setup process was not quite as simple as installation. The manual was horrible, and the remote difficult to understand.
1) Make sure to have the lcd read "AMP" by pressing the receiver butten at the top right of the remote or nothing on the receiver will work for setup.
2) Use auto as much as possible when selecting your surround modes (this really helps during initial setup).
3) Make sure your other components are setup correctly if you are changing your audio output from rca to digital coaxial or optical (this one messed me up for a while).

After a 2 day burn in I set up the audio and video by using video essentials dvd and then put gladiator dvd in. Wow, what an experience. It is like being in the movie. Make sure you choose dts on the dvd setup menu! I have been using the system for 2 weeks now,and it just keeps getting better. I purchased a sound level meter from radio shack to adjust the audio output. I was suprised how far off the adjustments were. I wouls strongly reccomend the video essentials dvd and the sound level meter for initial setup. I am looking forward to watching all of my dvd's again like it was for the first time. Buy this receiver, you will not regret it.

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tested the onkyo 787, denon 3300 and pioneer elite 26 thx.

Surround Features, Power handling and sound quality and I liked the remote. Being future upgradeable by default is always a bonus too. I like that it's reasonably compact and light for it's power and features.

Having an s-video switcher built in would be cool. Too much redundance between signal detection circuitry and manual menu selections. One or the other please.

Well, up to the point of demoing this unit, I always considered Onkyo the bomb for price and options. Then I found this unit that offers better options and power for the price compared to similar Onkyo's. Now that I have the unit setup at home, I realize further the superiority of sound reproduction that I couldn't detect at the store.
I was also impressed with the DTS experience, but this is my first DTS receiver, so take that how you will.
This unit does seem to run on the warm side, but after using it for a while, this temp seems to be constant regardless of the use, which I found odd. Whether powering a full DTS surround system at a very high volume for the duration of two full length movies, or just listening to soft music in stereo, it seemed to emit the same constant heat. Maybe I'm just tripping.... I'll hit it with a pyrometer sometime to see if its just me or what.
Anyhow, contrary to what some people have said, I love the remote. Yeah, the back light feature could have been done a little bit better, but it still is a great remote. Its the equivelent of having ten remotes if you used all the input features on this unit to their fullest. And, yeah, I am using full use of all these too. Compared to my last Onkyo, which only let me control three other devices, this is great to not have a table full of remotes anymore.
I also think both the remote and menu system of the unit is logically laid out and easy to setup. Its also intuitive enough that I can make future changes with out having to consult the manual, thank god.
This last statement is more of a rip on the industry standardization than on Denon or this unit. But what's the deal with S-video devices? Apparently it's common for s-video compatable devices to NOT see any other signal input if an s-video cable is hooked up. So then you have all these A/V receiver with multiple video outputs, but no control over switching these signals. How primitive. So the end result is either having to constantly physically switch the cables to go from one signal or the other, or spend the extra beans on a very simple s-video switcher which in my opinion should be built in, in the first place. For such a technically advance component to not have this is just stupid. In other words, the only reason to hook the s-video through the receiver instead of just running it straight to the projector from the player is mainly to get the on screen display. Whee. Have to have that.

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Onkyo 909pro Onkyo 70pro