Clean, neutral sound that doesn't seem to distort. DTS ES, 5 channel stereo, Direct mode excellent.

????

I already have a review on this product, but I wanted to respond to a couple of reviewers who obviously didn't read their manual or fool around with the unit long enough.

These reviewer (though they liked the unit)gave it 3-4 stars and then complained about various erroneous? things.

1)One reviewer said you can't adjust the speakers output levels with out the test tones. That's not true. All you have to do is press the receiver buttom at the top of the remote, and then press the enter/shift button. That will cycle through the output levels of the different speakers in the appropiate sound mode.

2) One reviewer said "not enough power". Obviously that' a subjective statement. Without getting into specs etc. What is the sensitivity and ohms of this guys speakers. MY speakers are only 87db at mostly under 5ohms. Yesterday, while playing a CD (on c weighting slow on the DB meter) I got up to 101,2,and 103 db at the 00 volume level. I still had the maximum 18 clicks to go. I don't know if I could of, but I know that their was no audible distortion at the 00 103db. level at the listening position (10ft away in my 2x15x7'room). That's loud and powerful to me. Later I played the unit at -17- -10db for hours with out any heating or power problems.

3)One reviewer said you can't adjust tone controls with out the OSD. THat's not true You can hit tone on the reciever and then turn the dial to adjust. The TV doe not need to be on. I'm almost sure you can do this on the remote as well, cause I read about it in the manual.

There was one more which I can't remember. Oh well I will give it 5 stars to help balance the untrue statements of below.

ML

Similar Products Used:

Equivilant HK's, Onkyo's, Yamaha's

Clean, neutral sound that doesn't seem to distort. DTS ES, 5 channel stereo, Direct mode excellent.

????

I already have a review on this product, but I wanted to respond to a couple of reviewers who obviously didn't read their manual or fool around with the unit long enough.

These reviewer (though they liked the unit)gave it 3-4 stars and then complained about various erroneous? things.

1)One reviewer said you can't adjust the speakers output levels with out the test tones. That's not true. All you have to do is press the receiver buttom at the top of the remote, and then press the enter/shift button. That will cycle through the output levels of the different speakers in the appropiate sound mode.

2) One reviewer said "not enough power". Obviously that' a subjective statement. Without getting into specs etc. What is the sensitivity and ohms of this guys speakers. MY speakers are only 87db at mostly under 5ohms. Yesterday, while playing a CD (on c weighting slow on the DB meter) I got up to 101,2,and 103 db at the 00 volume level. I still had the maximum 18 clicks to go. I don't know if I could of, but I know that their was no audible distortion at the 00 103db. level at the listening position (10ft away in my 2x15x7'room). That's loud and powerful to me. Later I played the unit at -17- -10db for hours with out any heating or power problems.

3)One reviewer said you can't adjust tone controls with out the OSD. THat's not true You can hit tone on the reciever and then turn the dial to adjust. The TV doe not need to be on. I'm almost sure you can do this on the remote as well, cause I read about it in the manual.

There was one more which I can't remember. Oh well I will give it 5 stars to help balance the untrue statements of below.

ML

Similar Products Used:

Equivilant HK's, Onkyo's, Yamaha's

Ron,
Just thought you should know, to get the setup menu you
need to have the out to monitor video cable in. Hope it
helps.

Able to bring out discrete sound even at low volume.

Bass not that strong compared to Pioneer VSX-D736S.

Greatest value for money, more than enough for home theater. 7.1 channels and can expand up to 9.1, with Dolby Digital and DTS EX, what more do we ask for for such low investment?

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX-D736S

I've hade same problem Andre has and a kind participant of this board helped me solve it, following the problem and the solution for the benefit of all users.
the problem:
from Andre:
after setting up all cables I followed the instructions on the manual. The first step is " press the setup key on the remote control" in order to activate the on screen menu.. then what happened? nothing...
The solution:
Sender: Matthew Ovens

Ron
I've had similar problems. I have been able to work them out. The problem is not with the remote or the unit but rather with the manual which is a dud!
The LED on the top of the remote must say "AMP" before you can get anywhere, to do this you must use the white "Receiver" button to select AMP, not MULTI or TUNER.
For more info feel free to email me. They should get someone who can speak english and who has decent logic to write those manuals in future!
Best of Luck
Matthew
PS: when you get it going it's a great unit!!!

none

display, remote control

I just acquired a Denon 3802, after setting up all cables I followed the instructions on the manual. The first step is " press the setup key on the remote control" in order to activate the on screen menu.. then what happened? nothing... I never got the on screen menu, so I am returning the receiver... Is it possible someone help me with that? anyone had similar problem? thanks.

ps: I am using component cables between dvd/tv and normal rca cables from tv/receiver.

Features, Bang for buck

Crazy Remote

I bought this as an upgrade to replace my Kenwood 1090VR which had "150" watts per channel. This thing blows it away, my speakers can't even keep up now, so don't believe that this thing doesn't have enough power. Its long list of features which includes DTS-ES and Dolby Digital EX decoding (they call it 7.1 Matrix).
The remote is a little rediculous because you need to push 1 button to switch the input and then another to take control of the device. Also you must push a button on the Unit itself to view a video source and listen to another, but these are small drawbacks.
If you are thinking about the 3801 and on the edge, make the move, you won't be sorry.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood 1090VR

SEE BELOW

SEE BELOW

So far, I'm extremely pleased with this receiver. I've gone through several receivers in the past 2 years searching for one that's reliable and sounds good both for music and for home theater. I think I've finally found it in the 3801.

Before I bought the 3801, I tested a Marantz 7000 in my home for about 45 days. I found it to be way too warm - it rounded off highs to a false degree. For hometheater it was too laid back for my taste. The Yamaha I tested for about 3 days had quality control issues and was too bright - especially for music. I find the Denon 3801 to be just right - detailed & accurate, yet warm & smooth. Both old and new CD's sound terrific. Sources don't have to be perfect to get great sound from the 3801.

The Denon to excels in is voice playback during movies and TV watching. Voices are clear & sound exactly the way they should. Bassy voices such as Mel Gibson in the Patriot or Russel Crowe in the Gladiator are played with chilling clarity and oomph. On the opposite end of the spectrum, high voices for something as simple as Rugrats are clear and smooth.

Music wise, the 3801 is exactly what I was looking for to match my Definitive Technology speakers. As I said before: it's detailed, smooth, and pleasant. Plenty powerful in my difficult 30 x 16 room (even with the vaults). 2 channel stereo is excellent, though I particularly love the 5 channel playback. It simply engrosses the listener with music from all around.

For those that feel the 3801 is a bit bright, play with the delay and bass management settings. I've found that different settings yield vastly different results. First, rather than running my sub through my main speakers, I moved it to to LFE out. Then, I told then the 3801 to use "LFE + Main" to output bass, which seemed to help. Center & Surrounds are set to small, Mains to large. The real audible changes came when the DELAY settings were altered. Expirimenting with these over and over finally yielded a sound much richer and smoother.

The 3801 is great for DTS, Dolby Digital, and surprisingly terrific for Dobly Pro Logic. I was late to the HT scene and never used Pro Logic much, but watching DSS through this mode is quite enjoyable. And, of course, DD & DTS rock! My family & I watched "Sleepy Hollow" the other night... my wife still has the creeps. You could feel the bass when the horseman walked accross wooden floors. Chills were felt as he drew his sword - AWESOME!

The 3801 is a handsome looking unit with an apparently solid build. The front panel has pretty much everything you need - though I do wish Denon had supplied front AV inputs. My only other nitpick with the front is the volume display - Denon should have either made it bigger or supported it with an on-screen display.

I picked up some cordless headphones over Christmas, so the headphone jack is used often. I like the fact that you can use the headphones & speakers at the same time, or just use the headphones. I could only find ways to turn on/off the headphones through the remote though - a minor inconvenience.

The OSD is great and has everything you need to get your system up and running. The manual Denon supplied seems very complete and is pretty easy to understand. I also like the remote, but with a Pronto I rarely use it. The Denon's remote is learnable, is well laid out, partially backlit, and comfortably shaped.

Other Nice Features:

1) Quick Remote Access to Channel Level & Tone Controls
2) Ample Inputs & Assignable Digital Ins
3) 2 Year Warranty
4) Cinema-eq Feature Removes Brightness Found in Movies
5) Usefual DSP Modes (ex: Matrix is Good for Sports)
6) 7.1/Region2 Playback Without Having to Buy a 2nd Amp

To summarize, I think the 3801 is a great sounding unit loaded with tons of features. In this price range, you'll be hard pressed to find anything that compares. I highly recommend it!

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX800, Marantz SR-7000, Sony DB930.

Previouly listed

Previously listed

This is an update on my previous review of the product. I was concerned about the brightness of the sound especially in the area of music. It has toned down some since it has broken in. I also set the tone to -6db which helped greatly.
I can pretty much enjoy this product with both music and HT with this setting.
AS TO THE PREVIOUS REVIEWERS QUESTIONS.
I assume when you mean by the screen you are referring to the window on the receiver. I have mine set to auto and it picks up the input signal and sets the receiver accordingly.
When it plays in Dolby Digital mine says Dolby D DVD and digital in the lower left corner but not in orange as it does with pro logic.
The movies I have played that are recorded in DVD-ES I have had to go into the setting of the actual DVD sometimes its in audio and another time I have seen it in languages. The DVD will automatically default to Dolby Digital and has to be changed in the DVD setup.

Similar Products Used:

Previously listed

DTS-ES and DD 6.1/7.1 processing, 7 channels built-in amplification, 32-bit SHARC processing, very good build quality. It's definitely a great performance/dollar buy.

Setup might be difficult for novices.

The previous reviewer clearly has issues with this receiver but it's strange that I have found the exact opposite to be true. First, the AVR-3801 appears to me to have very good build quality, I'd like to hear specifics to the otherwise. As for the comment of not putting out enough power and sounding weak, come on man, I have this receiver teamed up with an M&K 750 Select/Velodyne F-1500R setup in a fairly large room and I have heard no evidence of strain at very high levels. Maybe I have more sensitive ears:-(). When it comes to music playback I believe the AVR-3801 is a little less "bright" on top than my Onkyo was but the difference is slight if at all. Also, the AVR-3801 seems to be very neutral on music, not upfront or forward as described by the previous reviewer.

I'm sure all of you AVR-3300 owners are wondering how hot it runs, right? Well, it seems to run about the same temp as my Onkyo which I'd call warm. Also, it doesn't appear to have a fan, just a very large cast aluminum heat sink with all output transistors visible through large vents in the bottom and back.

Playback in HT is awesome, easily the equal of my Onkyo and much better when watching 6.1/7.1 encoded movies. This is where the 3801 really shines. I have found T2 S.E., The Haunting DTS-ES edition, U-571 DTS and JP and Lost World DTS all to awesome in DTS-ES Discrete and Matrix modes. The Surround channel envelopment is much more realistic than with 5.1. On music, 7 channel stereo is neat for background listening but that's not really a big deal to me.

Overall I feel this is the best performance/dollar receiver currently available. I'm sure thi sunit will see alot of love it/hate it reviews, to each his own.

Brian

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-DS777 - my previous receiver. I've demo'd countless others from Denon, Yamaha, Marantz and Onkyo.