Capabilities, power, value

Only one coax digital input, binding posts spaced too closely together for easy hookup

Had it since 1/1, had narrowed it down to the Yamaha RX-V2200 and the 3802, the value of the 3802 won in the end (about $200 cheaper). Excellent receiver for the money, highly configurable and flexible. Excellent performance on music and cinema material. Sound quality even impressed my neighbor, who has five $10K (each!) Linn monoblocks driving his death-defying HT setup. Highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX-V2090

Price performance

Love the Denon stuff, almost all of it. They offer excelent quality and value. Although I must admit they did a poor pricing job on the 4802. There is just to big of a jump between the 3802 and 4802.

Anyway I agree with the majority of the reviews here, and all the reviews written on the 3802 by the pros. Everyone agrees, the 3802 is an excelent receiver for the money.


Now Gavin is having a little problem with his 3802, he is obviously, technically inept, as he is incapable of pushing more than one button to achive the desired result. He makes no comments on the reason we all purchase these devices, that of course is SOUND, which the Denon excels at! Hey Gavin, have you ever tried to navagate the menu system on the Marantz or Yamaha and compaired them to the Denon, I thought so, because if you did you should have noticed that the Denon is much easier. Also your problems are further evident by the fact that you must be holding your remote backwards, because mine is fatter at the front then the back, just like an ice cream cone, how about that! No wonder your so frustrated, you can't even turn on your system, now I understand why you made no comment on the sound quality of the 3802.

I come from a family of professional musicians, we know what good music is, and the Denon does an excelent job of reproducing it, sound stage is large, details in the music are repoduced naturally, without over emphasizing any given spectrum. Stereo imaging is superb with very low noise levels (at the theoretical limits). Brian Wilkinson has posted not one, but two reviews with 2 stars. Not sure why your are giving this product such a low rating I can only guess that perhaps you are compairing it to a Bryston, Krell or Omega, then I may be inclined to agree with your statements. However reviews posted here should be compaired to similar product in their respective classes. This is where the 3802 excels. BTW, Brian have a look at the reviews for the Nad T761 that you mentioned, basically it is completly unreliable, now how good is it going to sound if it dosn't work?

Everyone is entitled to their opinions on these products however, I have a problem when there appears to be a hidden agenda.

Thats my rant!

Cheers

Amazing sound, quality and features.

bad manual, weak tuner

I can't tell you how much I love this receiver. It's built like a tank, has just about every feature you could ever want (except for maybe THX certification), has plenty of power and is pretty inexpensive for what you get (in my humble opinion). I wish I had the money for the 4802. I don't know if anyone else does this, but HiFi Buys will let you trade up within 4 months to a more expensive receiver, giving you full credit for what you paid. Maybe I'll try to save some money for the 4802 in the next month or two.

Dolby Pro Logic II is pretty cool, but wasn't important in making my decision. I wanted a receiver that had DTS-ES, 5/7 channel stereo (great for parties), component video switching, multi-zone capabilities and adequate power.

This amp "sounds" like it has much more power than either the Pioneers or the Onkyos. The Onkyos sounded particularly weak, the Pioneers were a little better. I have turned it up to +8, which is WAY TOO LOUD for normal listening (again, in my opinion). I usually keep it around -10 to -15 for enthusiastic movie watching. This thing never gets hot. In fact, it's barely even warm. I've run it pretty hard for 4-6 hours and it's just warm to the touch.

I agree with most that the manual is pretty bad, but I think most could get through setting this receiver up without much difficulty.

The remote does leave a little to be desired. It does get old switching between AMP, DBS, DVD & VDP all the time. I've definitely seen better remotes, but I've seen a lot worse. It does control everything I have (not as well as their respective remotes, but it handles most basics).

I would like to see the video select button moved from the front panel to the remote. This is a nice feature, which allows you watch a different video source from your audio source (example: listen to a CD while watching a baseball game). But you have to go to the receiver to switch back and forth. This should be on the remote. So should the dimmer function (can someone tell me if I'm missing it?).

The tuner is EXTREMELY weak, but, quite honestly, I'll probably never listen to the radio since DirecTV has 30+ music channels and I have plenty of CDs and MP3 CDs to listen to.

Gavin's review is somewhat flawed. Perhaps he didn't read the admittedly bad manual, but some of his problems could have been solved.

1. You can select ANY input source from the remote. So when you're done listening to your CD Gavin, select VCR and watch your tape.

2. He may be right about changing the stations on the receiver itself. Haven't tried this. I guess I don't understand what he has against using a remote control. Does he get up to change channels on his TV instead of using a remote?

3. You absolutely CAN independently change adjust channel levels from the remote. In AMP mode, hit the ENTER button and adjust accordingly.

4. You still use cassettes in your car and you call yourself and audio enthusiast? Sorry, couldn't resist.

5. I've not had this problem at all using DVD or VDP. I no longer use my VCR, so I can't confirm if it happens in that mode. Maybe it does.

6. The design of the remote is to place more of the weight in your palm, rather than at the front. This makes holding it easier. If it was front heavy, you wrist or hand would probably become tired from holding it. Try holding a sledge hammer straight out by the handle. Now try it holding it by the actual hammer. See, isn't that easier?

Minor issues (more personal):
Wish the remote was RF
Wish it had a built in RF demodulator for my LaserDisc player. The Pioneers have this.

Overall, I'm thrilled. I wish Denon didn't price fix their products, but I don't think I overpaid for what I got. I sure wish I had the guts to buy this thing for $665 over the internet somewhere, but I just couldn't do it. If you're concerned about the two year warranty, make sure that you purchase it from an authorized Denon dealer (they have a list on their site). Quite honestly, because of the apparent quality of this unit, you may never need it. Again, I just wasn't willing to risk it.

7 channels of very strong power, DTS-ES, decent DSP modes (big deal), great sound in stereo and surround modes. Music is VERY natural sounding. This may sound dull to a lot people, but it's actually very accurate (once again, my opinion). Movies are just a delight to watch.

I gave this receiver 4 stars for the value rating, which means "Great Deal", which I think it was. 5 stars means "Bargain, Giant Killer". If I had paid $665 and could get a warranty from Denon I would have given it 5 stars. Overall rating is a definite 5 stars.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite 36 and 37, Onkyo 787 and 797

Yes, the reviewer from the audiorevolution web site did mention a bug in the base management when one is playing a dts source with the surrounds speakers set to "small", and the receiver supposedly did not completely route all the lower frequence sounds below the LFE cross-over frequency. He also mentioned some of the weaknesses in the denon receiver that were already mentioned by some of the past reviewers from the audioreview.com site. But his overall impression of the denon receiver was a VERY POSITIVE one. I don't think that many people who reads the audiorevolution article would share Gwen's very negative perception of this receiver. In fact, I am pretty sure that readers would in fact be very impressed with this receiver, and would only re-affirm the positive ratings given by the reviewers from this web site.

I tested my receiver for this base management bug, and it is not prevalent on my system. I wonder whether Ms. Manzer even found this bug in her receiver before given the denon a 1/5 rating? Please keep in mind that sometimes even high end pre-amp processors may have bugs in them and may require firmware upgrade, but that doesn't mean that they are lousy product! You have to weigh all the negatives along with the positives, and to compare them to the other available products that are currently in the market place in its price range and class.

To say that Denon should pull the production of this receiver until this "supposed bug" is fixed is COMPLETELY UNREASONABLE AND UNREALISTIC. It would be wonderful to be able to find products that are 100% glitch free, but they are very rare. If manufacturers had to pull productions of their products if they were less than 100% perfect, there would be virtually no products available, and products would never have the opportunity to evolve beyond a snails pace. It is only when consumer's identify the problems with products do manufacturers have the opportunity to address them in their next generation of products.

I can understand, Ms. Manzer's frustrations, but to knock the Denon receiver with a 1/5 rating is not an accurate reflection of what the Denon3802 is all about. The Denon does have its weakness, but its strengths more than over-shadows it and easily puts this receiver as one of the top 2 receivers in its class and price range, along with the Marantz sr7200. Personally, I would give the leading edge to the Denon3802.

The sound is amazing, especially when listening in PLII or DTS!! Easy to use On-Screen Display.

The Remote Control is a bit tricky. It takes some getting used to.

First of all, this was a major upgrade from my previous receiver. I forget the moel number, but I know that it was a Pioneer that did only 2 channels at maybe 30 watts per channel. No 5.1, no DTS, just straight up, raw 2 channel.

I did research on this receiver for about 3 months prior to purchasing it. It was a toss up between the 3802 and the Onkyo 787. Well, since the Onkyo could not do 7 channel I decided to go with the 3802 and I have not looked back since. This is an awesome receiver for the money.

This is the first time that I have had the chance to listen to DTS at home and MAN the sound is incredible!!! The first DVD that I played was the Eagles in DTS. I actually felt like I was at the concert listening to 'Hotel California'. I then felt that it was time for a little action so I played Gladiator. INCREDIBLE.

I decided to see how it sounds with my digital cable. I tried it first in 5.1 mode. It sounded alright. Once I adjusted the sound level with the O.S.D., it sounded great. I tried the different DSP modes. All of them sounded good. I was really in for a surprise when I listened to it in PLII. I could really hear the separation a lot better in PLII than I could in 5.1, obviously. After some adjustments to the sound level, PLII is the way to go. I listen to everything in surround now, even my CD's.

Prior to purchasing this receiver I was thinking about trading in my 7 year old pair of KLH fronts for a set of Klipsch RF3's. I still have to think about that one because this receiver has brought life back to the KLH's. I am hearing sounds out of those things that I have never heard before.

I have read alot of reviews on this receiver. Even the best reviews can not do justice to this receiver. The best way to find out what it can do is to listen to it for yourself. I hope that you are as impressed with it as I am.

Similar Products Used:

None

Ease of Use and Great Sounding !!!!!!

None

I was trying to choose between the Yamaha 1200 and the Denon 3802. I chose the Denon because it offered more power, options and channels. I have never owned a Denon, my previous experience was with Nakamichi products. I very pleased with Denon sound quality and the features that you get for your money. I first couple of weeks of listening the sound was kind of bright and dry on the top end. Now the sound is clean, full, and with deep bass. I love the ability to control all of the options of the reciever from the remote. I have had no problems having selecting
options from the receiver through the remote.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha and Nakamichi

High power, no distortion, ease of use, great remote control
which is learnable, lot of inputs including ditial (coaxial
/optical) all combination of Video inputs with perfect
detection and switching, elegant look, DLBY-PII with
three different equalization for movie, movie music and
music, DTS ES is just superb at Matrix level and lastly
Speakers (FL, FC,FR, Surr.L, Surr.R, Back L, Back R,
SubWoofer). There is another set of Surround speakers,
so in all 9.1 speakers

Very difficult to memorise so many functions (anyway this
is personal).

This is just a awesome product.

Mr. Gavin please read please read the product's manual, try to get use to it and then submit a review. You can select any function just at a touch from the remote control, no need to turn the Dial.

I was a Marantz fan, but I just got pissed of after having
trouble with two SR7200 units. This receiver has truly
lived upto the reputation of Denon (Nippon Columbia).

Though it takes a little time with setup, and memorising the
controls, but once one gets use to it, one will be amazed
about the number of ways the audio can be controlled using
the various DSP modes together with P-II.

Sound is just neat, and there is a well balanced bandwith,
as regards High and Low is concerned. You can hook up
virtually everything to this great! machine.

I would reccomend this to anyone looking for a High end
product and willing to spend.

ENJOY THE DENON AVR 3802

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR7200, Technics SAX-1050

It's justplain great

None

This is a great product. Don't believe what gavin says. He obviously has not read the maunal and is leaving bad reviews everywhere. Man I can't believe this guy can slam this So incredibly great reciever without reading the manual. This is by far the best reciever I have ever owned. First Denon.

Similar Products Used:

RX-V596

Its a bull

remote

This is the best thing i ever got from my motherinlaw .Mother In laws aren't all that bad

Similar Products Used:

yamaha

Great sound, Nice Setup, Remote is not bad

None that I can think Of

Well first off I want to say something about The reviewer Gavin. I think he needs to make up his mind which damn reciever he has. he has left the same post in the 3801 review as well. Plus if he too the time to actually play with his unit (If he actually has one) he would find a remedy to all his complaints. I don't like guys like him who write reviews and try to drive the review rating down. This unit is a top quality unit. I can't wait to wake up in the morning to get up and throw in a cd. Man 7 channel stereo is great. MOVIES are even better. Best I have ever heard. Pearl Harbour. WOW thought I was right there in the action. Anyone who get's this receiver will not be dissapointed. This is my first Denon and I must say I am very very impressed. PLUS it stays cool to slightly warm. My Yamaha which was a good unit got alot hotter.

Gavin stop leving reviews like that. We know you know nothing about this unit. People like you give reviews a bad rap. Go play with your Denon for a few days before writing such a carappy review and make sure you get your models right. I've seen 4 of your reviews in other places already.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, JVC products