Clean Crisp Sound and Power.

You'll get fat if you use it as much as I do. It should come with an exercise bike. Its a perfect 5 star reciever, but the remote gets only 4 stars. I like the remote for its functionality to the AVR and the system call buttons. I never did expect it to replace all my other remotes and either should anyone else.

The Denon 3802 is a 6.1 reciever that has 7.1 amplifiers. (the .1 is the subwoofer) * There are 7.1 external inputs on the back of the AVR to upgrade to a future 7.1 decoder.* Right now, 2 rear speakers does make the system sound more rotund, but there is no Left to Right distinction in the sound, YET. ( I have the ext. inputs connected to my computer's sound card (Audigy) for 5.1 gaming and multimedia).
The Dolby Pro Logic II mode is great for watching TV and uses all 7 channels. When watching DTS DVD's the sound is amazingly crystal clear. Just be careful because the subwoofer in DTS mode can rattle down shelves, paintings, and knock you out of your chair if the volume is too high. Of coarse, none of this can be achieved without a more than good set of speakers and setting them up properly. My speakers arn't perfectly posistioned, but to help others out, there is a basic configuration for speaker set-up on page 66 of the manual. If you don't have one, you can find the PDF version of the manual at this address. -
http://www.del.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/AVR3802DFU.pdf

Don't tell you know who, but this manual will also decipher all those secret features that this AVR beholds. Learning is part of the equation when building a home theatre. There are alot tough choices to be made in this process. Good luck..
My HT-
AVR- Denon 3802
Center- Acoustic Research ARC4
Fronts, Surrounds, and Backs - Acoustic Research AR17
Sub- Sony WM40
This time I know how to spell Denon.

Amazing Sound, clarity, look. DPLII

Remote should be all back lit, not just about 1/2. Also the manual should have been written by people who can speak and read in english.

I original bought the 3801 in February 2001. This was my first home theatre receiver. I never even bought a DPL receiver before. I spent over $10000 renovating my basement into the perfect home theatre. Even got Lazy boy massage sofas and everything.
Anyway I really loved the 3801. Though I had 2 problems with it.
1. With my speakers (Energy Encores) I found the 3801 a tiny bit on the bright side. Every guest including my partner never heard what I heard. Just a extra screech during an exclamation when certain people on TV spoke. Though I never heard the sound through my DVD, and again, I could not get any of my guests to hear it. It was something my ears could only pick up.
2. It did not have Dolby Pro Logic II. And once that came out, I had to have it. I mostly watch Satellite movies and TV programs, maybe once a month I rent a DVD. Getting the best sound out of DPL encoded programs was a priority for me.

Well I finally sold it to someone who did not care about DPLII, and was mostly interested in DVD and music, not regular TV. Then as soon as I could find the extra cash to pay the difference I went and bought the 3802.

Everything I loved about the 3801 was still in the 3802. I liked the menus, easy to use. The way to setup the speakers etc. was also great. The sound from DD and DTS was still as amazing. But on top of this, DPLII seems to have removed the extra brightness I heard when watching TV. On top of that DPLII is totally amazing. It totally encompasses you in sound. And it definetely sends bass to the Sub. Energy says to set the speakers as large, and I send bass to all the front speakers as well as the sub.

The receiver is in one word: AMAZING.

Whatever you get, you must get DPLII on whatever receiver you buy. MAKE SURE to get it with the DPLII:MUSIC variables adjustable. The Marantz and lower end Onkyos do not let you adjust the DPLII:MUSIC variables. It is a must. I now watch all my TV programs and movies with DPLII:Music and just adjust the variable, so the sound stage is a little wider then the cinema setting, but the depth is more then half way back. You will want to watch all your old VHS tapes again.

The receiver is extremly strong. I now have all speakers set up. I bought a set of Energy e:XL-R surround dipole/bipole speakers for the back wall. So with the energy encore set, the receiver is now driving 7 speakers + a sub. I still never watch TV above -15, and when I watch DVD, I never raise it above -3. Remember it can go all the way to +15. So it has alot of power to spare.

Get this receiver you will not regret it.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 3801

Good overall quality, Quite a lot to play with

Only one Digital Coax Input

Feels like a small upgrade from my former reciever (2700).
Biggest difference is DTS and DPLII. Havent used any DSP before but now i find MATRIX a great mode for music (better than DPLII).

If you want to upgrade to DTS/DPLII and like Denon this reciever is the alternative.

It does everything my old reciever did + more and it does it better....

A little bit to expensive in Europe...

Similar Products Used:

AVR 2700

makes any cheap speaker sound great

the price it should be higher for the sound quality

i just brought another one for my brother for christmas wait until he open up his present..theres not enuff words in a dictonary to say how wonderful this model is.just go to any store that has it and at less try it and you will be convinced by the power of this a/v .as a tech who fixes these thing i give a a 10 on a scale of 10..

Similar Products Used:

yamaha

The sound, oh my god, the sound! And surround switching! And setup! And...

Oh my god, the sound this receiver makes is sweet. I have a couple receivers in this price range. I consider them high end, but I guess the folks with $10,000 receivers would disagree. I struggled to get DVD-A to sound good with my Yamaha receiver, even though it did an awesome job with movies. I bought the Denon because of it's incredibly cool feature of being able to switch between different rear surrounds based on whether you wanted to listen to music or watch a movie. It also switches manually for whatever reason you choose. What I didn't count on was how good it sounded, even playing DVD-A through the movie surround speakers. WOW!! I am blown away with the sound. Setup was incredibly easy with the on screen menu, and the remote does everything you could want. The prior reviewer took great issue with the front panel controls. I wouldn't know as I have never used them. Everything I want is on the remote. I love the clean uncluttered look of the Denon's face. The thing I hate about my Sony receiver is there are too many buttons and dials and it is not easy at all to set up. Hurray Denon for simplifying without taking away features or flexibility. But most of all, thanks Denon for the sweet sound this receiver brings me.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX-V1200, Sony STR-DE945

Adequate power, phono input

Terrible control design, missing critical functions from front panel, CAN'T RECORD DIGITAL SOURCES!

Unfortunately, most of the positive reviews simply regurgitate what you could get from the specs (no offense to the reviewers). They fail to reveal what you will deal with once you set this receiver up and use it day to day.

This product is so hampered by design blunders that it can't even perform as a decent receiver. The features that do work are incredibly cumbersome to use. I'm not talking about complexity; I'm talking about astoundingly poor design decisions. It's almost as if Denon has never used a receiver before.

Let me list the gaffes:
1. There's no straightforward way to select a source. Let's say you're done listening to a CD and now you're going to watch a videotape. You can't just press a button to select the VCR as the source.

Instead of having a separate button for each source (like CD, VCR, tape), Denon forces you to turn a dial and watch the display for your choice to come up. So you regularly end up hunting through every input to find the one you want. Dials are for wide-ranging adjustments, like volume or frequency. They are not for choosing from six or seven possible options. When you have a small, constant set of options, you use BUTTONS, Denon.

Denon actually makes its bad decision worse by not showing the list of inputs anywhere. The knob would be more tolerable if it moved an LED indicator from one source to another on some kind of list. At least you'd know which way to turn the knob. Jeez, Denon, I've seen gear from the '50s that had selector knobs with five LABELED positions on them. You're telling us you can't figure that out in 2000?

2. There's no way to change radio stations on the receiver. Unbelievable. Again, instead of having a row of buttons for your favorite stations, Denon has...NOTHING. Not even an up/down pair of buttons for scanning. You have to walk back to your remote control, change its mode, and then use its keypad to select your stations.

3. There's no way to turn off speakers at the receiver. Think about it: To plug in headphones, you must be standing at the receiver. But to turn off the speakers (which you undoubtedly will do for headphone listening), you have to walk back to your REMOTE CONTROL and switch the speakers off. Why would you even have this control on the remote? This isn't just pointless; it's inventively stupid.

But it gets better: You can't turn the speakers on and off from the front panel, but you CAN independently adjust CHANNEL LEVELS. This is the one thing that it's IMPOSSIBLE to do properly while you're standing at the receiver. You must be seated in the listening area to properly set your channel levels, don't you think? But Denon puts this feature on its mostly non-functional front panel. Incredible.

4. This may be the worst one: Let's say you have a CD or DVD player connected to the receiver digitally (very likely, and certain if you have a DVD player without built-in surround decoding). Now let's say you want to make a tape from a CD, to use in the car or your Walkman. YOU CAN'T. If you connect a source to the receiver digitally, you can't record audio from it. The receiver sends nothing to the analog outputs that go to your tape deck or VCR, so you can't tape music from a disc onto cassette or copy a DVD to videotape. A Denon rep verified that this flaw exists with almost all the receivers in their line, and is only corrected in the 4800 series. It makes the switching and I/O capabilities of this receiver a SHAM. Disgusting.

And this has nothing to do with copyguarding. Copy restrictions only apply to digital copying.

5. The remote simply stops issuing a command at random points. This comes up when you're scanning through a videotape (or disc too, probably): You'll be holding the fast-forward button down, the remote display will say "FF", but it will eventually just stop sending the command. Your VCR will drop back into Play, and you'll have to re-press the button and wait for the VCR transport to go back into fast-scan. This is incredibly irritating when you have to press FF 10 times to get through four minutes of footage. Of course, it could be a defect in my control, but somehow I doubt it.

The remote also follows the ignorant trend of being fatter at the back and getting thinner toward the front. Ever try holding a cone upside-down? This remote design fails for the same reason, folks. Hand-held controls should taper into the palm, or not at all.

And, like many so-called "universal" remotes, this one lacks critical buttons. Come on, Denon, where is the Enter button? Where are the Menu and Setup buttons? So many VCRs and other devices need these buttons that it's a fraud to call your remote "universal." Hell, I wouldn't even call it "flexible." I think "unwieldy" would be best.

Just about any entry in this class of receiver is going to sound fine. The prices are pretty competitive. So you're left with two major criteria: inputs and outputs, and usability. The only extra thing Denon gives you is a phono input, which Yamaha irritatingly does not. But do yourselves a favor: buy the Yamaha and a phono preamp if you need it. Because Denon's products are a pain in the a s s.

Similar Products Used:

numerous recievers

Superb power, tons of features, Got an AWESOME deal

remote sucks, I'm getting a Pronto

Well, I spent two months researching receivers and I'm extremely happy to say that I love the Denon 3802...no regrets at all. Everyone is right about how the remote sucks but I'm already used to it. The best thing was that I got a great deal from an authorized internet retailer, which means I get the warranty. The trick is to use your AMEX (I have the Delta SkyMiles Platinum) and take advantage of the "Best Value Guarantee" plus they extend your warranty for an extra year. So, I bought the 3802 for $950, including shipping from an authorized internet retailer and submitted my receipt with a copy of an internet price from a unauthorized retailer for $730 and they sent me the difference ($220). Essentially, I got it for $730, shipped and with a factory warranty. Getting the warranty was a big deal for me that's why I didn't bid on one on Ubid (90 day warranty only). Anyways, I love it. The only other receiver I would have gotten was the Integra DTR 7.2, but there are no authorized internet dealers so I couldn't use the Best Value Guarantee.

Plus, I found out on the Denon website that they can run 4 ohm speakers. The owner's manual says to not use 4 ohm speakers and I almost went with the Onkyo because of this, but I found the info under Denon's FAQs. I'm looking to buy some planar speakers soon. I've never heard my cheap Bose speakers sound so good. I had an old 1994 Kenwood VR-8090 receiver.

It is awesome for HT and equally as well for music. I've got my Intel Pocket Concert Cradle attached to it as well to play my mp3's.

Bose Acoustimass V
Soundline SL-7 Center channel
Infinity IL100s Sub
Infinity Sterling Series Rear Surrounds

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 797, Integra 7.2

Strong, clean, loud. Drives low sensitivity speakers (86db) well without straining or getting hot. Personal Memory feature is good (and not on all maker's receivers).
Can change bass and treble settings via the remote.
Pseudo-THX parameters work well (especially for toning down overly harsh soundtracks).

Cannot reproduce drum, cymbal sounds accurately at all.
Rolls off highs as trade-off to playing at very loud levels cleanly.
Cannot display volume level on your TV via the OSD.
Cannot select a video source to view, via the remote, while listening to an audio-only source.
My unit exhibited an unfriendly "popping" sound when changing from DVD movie menu (a Pro-Logic source) to/fro the movie's DD track (not many in other forums experienced this).
The rear panel speaker binding posts are too closely clustered (holy cow, and I don't have fat fingers).

This unit is worth owning.

You go looking to buy the latest AV Receiver mostly for the decoding capabilities to playback DVDs (gotta have 7.1?). And for some reason you decide that under $1000 you want good stereo sound ta boot. I returned the Denon because I could not stand the way it tried to reproduce drums and cymbals (if you don't what to listen for, I will not point it out; actually, I believe someone below already mentioned it). I was impressed with everything else related to playing DVD movies. Properly setup the unit throws some serious sound volume around. Setup is actually more straightforward than the Yamaha unit.

I really wasn't ready to give up some features I'd become accustomed to having on the AVR80, namely, ability to select a video source to view, via the remote, while listening to an audio source. Not a biggie feature, but absent on this Denon (for $1000 maybe not a huge ergo boo-boo). I couldn't see the volume level display on the front of the unit since I sit nearly 20 feet away; no biggie, let's just see the OSD display it on the TV --- oops, it doesn't do it.

You decide on what is important in a purchase, what features you gotta have, and those you can live without.

The Denon was supplanted by the Yamaha unit (which does what I wanted ergonomically-speaking, and does faithfully reproduce drums/cymbals). I'm still considering walking up the quality line...

Similar Products Used:

HK AVR80 (still own); Yamaha rx-v2200 (in home now, but...); other 2-channel integrated amps from the 80's.

Dolby Digital, DTS, ProLogic II, Multi-room

Would prefer direct buttons to select sources instead of rotary knob

After getting a DVD last year and down-mixing the output to my older Onkyo ProLogic receiver I really got the bug to upgrade to a Dolby Digital setup.
I was happy with the Onkyo and initially looked at their 787 but that was replaced with the 797 which had the ProLogic II upgrade. I really liked the ProLogic II because I still rent VHS tapes, especially if Blockbuster is out of the DVD's. I was also using the multi-room/source feature of my 727 to drive a small pair of Klipsh speakers in the living room. They are nice for low-volume music while we entertain guests and I needed my new receiver to have that feature. The new Onkyo 797 only had pre-amp outs for the multi-room and no way did I want to add an amp to the room.

So I found the Denon 3802 could use 2 of the 7 channels for the multi-room and I only have room for 5 speakers in my family room so I listened at Tweeters and bought it over the Internet. I still have fears about the warranty issues but knock on wood, all is working.

I made sure I tried every mode, DD, DTS, PLII and all worked as advertised. The DTS sound was very good especially being able to switch the DVD from DD to DTS. The sound is about equal in direct mode for Music to my Onkyo but the DD and DTS modes really kick a$$ and make DVD movies so much more enjoyable. I can cleanly hear the dialog as opposed to the old ProLogic. I was ready to spring for a whole new set of speakers as well but the upgrade to the receiver for Home Theater was all I needed.

Having worked in the audio industry for Madrigal (makers of Proceed, Mark Levinson) in the early 90's I know that musically there are much better components but to get to that next level requires much more money than I care to invest. The Denon offers a very fine, clean sound and tons of features without breaking the bank. For value, all the features at this price I gave it 5-stars. Overall, it was not "far better than imagined" it was just as good as I imagined so it gets 4-stars.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo SR-727 (replaced by this AVR3802)

Crystal clear sound. I feel like I am at a concert when listening to music. I feel like I am part of the action when watching movies. In my opinion, you cannot find a better deal for the money.

It will take a little bit of time to learn all the controls and settings, but that can be expected with any new product.

When I decided that it was time to upgrade my old system, I committed that I would find the best deal that was within my budget. I was willing to spend up to $1200 for a new receiver, so that offered a very wide range of products. In my search for a receiver, I was not willing to buy anything that I had not listened to previously, so I went to several of the better sound and home audio stores in the area. These included the Home Theatre Store, The Great Indoor, and Tweeters. I also looked through the reviews in this forum to get opinions of others. When it came to listening to all of the different systems above $600, the differences in sound were fairly subtle, but what sold me on this receiver was the fact that it did tend to have a little better and more realistic sound to it, as well as the availablity of many inputs in the back and DTS-ES and component video support. When I got the receiver and hooked it up to my Klipsch RP-3 speakers, I knew I had made the right choice.

I can't say that what I liked best is what you will like best. However the opinions of scores of people in this forum should carry some weight. All I can say is that this is an excellent receiver for the money and that before you buy anything, you really should take some time to go listen to the different brands (hooked up to identical speakers).

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Harmon Kardon, Sony, Pioneer, Yamaha, Kenwood