Clear, sharp sound. Excellent DSP processors.

No standby button on receiver. Complexity of menusystem. Too large remote.

I was about to buy a cheaper model until my frend had listened to a bunch of different receivers and said there is a BIG difference with cheap and middlerange receivers. I loaned the Denon home for a day, and was sold (costs about $1100 in Finland). I considered the Sony STR-DA50ES, but the remote really sucked.

The sound is crystal clear with sharp descants and powerful bass. The DSP decodings are of superb quality. Stereo sound is very enjoyable.

No speaker hiss (even at full volume, without music). No problems with the fan, discovered it when I had my ear very near the rearpanel.

There is absolutely nothing to complain about the sound. The remote is usable, but a bit too large, it doesn't fit into the hand. I like the programmability of the remote. There is no standby button on the receiver, you have to find the remote. Didn't find any way to switch places of the radio stations, had to reprogram them by hand. The menusystem is a bit confusing.

I would have given the overall rating 4.5 stars, because of the small design failures.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood KR-V7080

Sound, looks, expandability, component video

Remote, no digital out

Excellent H/T receiver. Lots of power and features, especially for the $$$. No problems to date and I have yet to hear even the slightest fan noise. ??? Also, doesn't run any hotter than any other H/T receiver (e.g. Sony, Yahama, etc.)

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha

Dolby Digital movies, bass response

Fan noise, weak music playback

I purchased the unit at The Good Guys (They did a price match and reduced the unit to 929.00 plus I had a 10% off coupon) I took the unit home and found that it ran hot which made the fan cycle on and off, it was very annoying during quiet times in movies- as I read in a previous review it does sound like a camera flash charging.

I retuned the unit the Good Guys, they replaced it with another one on the spot . I took the new one home and hooked it up. 15 minutes into the movie Lake Placid (dont waste your money even renting that movie) there were several loud pops and it died. The unit had no power at all it was completely dead no lights, no nothing. Another trip to the Good guys – the salesman plugged it in and verified that it was dead and replaced it with another one. This new one seems to run much cooler so the fan does not even come on.

I am unhappy with the music playback, it just does not sound good to me. I feel that my advent 622 speaker /sub system on my computer sound much cleaner to me. I am very happy with the unit on movies (especially bass) which is what I bought it for. I am also very happy with the features and adjustability compared to other units in this price range.


System:
Mitsubishi 60 big screen
Toshiba 3209 DVD
Toshiba VCR
Energy Encore speakers

Similar Products Used:

None

Marketing Hype, Good Bass Response, Quiet Background During Music Playback, Speaker Connectivity Options, Strong Clean Tuner

REMOTE, REMOTE and REMOTE, Terrible Dolby ProLogic Decoding, Sibilance in Highs, Lack of Warmth in Music Reproduction,

I purchased the Denon AVR-3300 after being unlucky with two
Onkyo Receivers. The TX-DS575 seemed weaker in supplying
power to the rears. I upgraded to the TX-DS777 which was
better but had the same annoying hiss from all channels, not
to mention source bleeding on both units.

I was desperate to try anything, so all the rave reviews by 'audiophiles' and the 250+ consumer reviews on this site forced me to give it a try.

I have to admit the sound was the most disappointing of the
3 receivers I have tried so far. Everybody seems to extol
the virtues of the many connectivity options this receiver offers.. NO one admits that it lacks an important digital out!! As some reviewers have commented, the component video feature isn't compatible with some TV's.

The speaker connections are not spaced properly. (this is due to less width and depth of the chassis and the
availability of an extra set of A/B speaker output all crammed into the little space.

My speaker setup isn't all that expensive and fancy. But it's MY setup so any receiver that didn't fit into it wasn't for me, no matter what the critics said.. That understood, I started hooking it up.

Setup was easy and although a lot of people find the manual to be not all together great, I thought it was ok. Front display is more refined than other receivers on the market, the dimmer function has more 'steps' to it. BUT all of us sit at least 6 - 8 ft away from the receiver and at that distance I realized the text was too small to read.

Then I got ready to operate the remote and realized I needed at least 3 hands to be able to even start using it! It's the MOST horrible piece of equipment that Denon has tried to pass on as a remote! SLIDER SWITCHES on a remote in Year 2000??? come on Denon!! give us a break? after paying $800+ on a piece of audio equipment, the least I expect in a remote is simplicity and functionality.. I'll live if it's not backlit.. I'll survive if it doesn't have 100+ macros.. but a simple operation of switching to work with the TV and back to the receiver takes around 6 finger strokes which includes sliding of two slider switches! And don't even get me started on the flip open cover which hides the most important buttons of all..

Connections made! I turned on the Tuner.. Nice Clean Tuner
Section. Plus 40 memory banks which I used the remote to
quickly auto tune. Good clear reception. Just one issue that I couldn't change channels easily since it requires the remote to be able to do it.

I turned on the On Screen Display. Quick scrolling and easy
navigation. So far so good. Set up the speaker sizes, distances, levels. Also set the subwoofer. There isn't more tuning you can do on this section as opposed to the Onkyo TX-DS777 which lets you tailor u'r subwoofer response. I later discovered why. The Denon Kicks Ass in it's bass response.. my sub came to life and I had to cut the sub's volume to half from the sub's amp in order to balance the music.. the AVR-3300 definitely had the best Bass Response of all the receivers.

Moving to Dolby Prologic Mode with my TV as the source through the Analog inputs.. what was THIS??? I knew the material playing WAS Dolby Surround but the receiver only directed ALL sound to the center channel. This went on for some time, but as soon as I changed channels, the rears suddenly came alive!! I listened to it some more and slowly all sound died down and converged back into the center channel.. I decided to investigate.

Using the OSD, I cut the center channel level by -12dB. It was the lowest I could get. just to be able to hear what was being directed to the other channels, and what a surprise everything just seemed to die down. Even the sub was muffled. It HAD to be some problem with MY unit!! How come people don't notice it?? Or maybe no one really listens to Dolby Prologic sources anymore!

I plugged in a Pro Logic VHS tape and played it with similar
results; although this time I had clear sound in the rears but the overall effect was definitely quite disappointing. Most of my listening is done in Dolby Prologic, VHS rentals and TV telecasts, I plan to rent a DVD once or maybe twice a week and listen to my CD's maybe once a day when I'm in the mood. So Dolby Prologic Decoding is important to me. This receiver had the crummiest Dolby Prologic Decoding I've witnessed yet.

On to Dolby Digital and things were better. Clear decoding and great sound as you might expect. Most noticeable was the great bass response. Explosions were not loud but clear! I had to constantly fiddle with my volume knob on the sub to reduce it to match the setup. Quite impressive.

I popped in a DTS audio CD and the receiver handled it well too, but I wasn't going to do critical listening with that. I just wanted to see the switching capability of the receiver and it detected the digital source from the TOSLINK interface quite well switching efficiently between the Prologic on the DVD Menu to Dolby Digital during the movie playback to DTS on the audio CD.

Time for the true test of the amplifier; Stereo Music with Female vocals and Piano with mostly clear background. Not much of bass or drums. The receiver made me want to do something to it to get the sound I wanted. it lacked the soundstage height. No depth in the vocals at all! in fact a distinct sibilance on the high notes! This has been acknowledged by all worthy 'audiophiles' in their reviews of the AVR-3300, but surprisingly NO one thinks it's a big deal and they continue to give great ratings to the receiver.

I think it's a drawback. The lack of warmth and reality in the sound is not to my liking. I moved my speakers around to achieve something that was missing from the music but
failed. The background was very silent and clean. I appreciate that but really I can't sacrifice a warm enveloping sound for that! 5 Channel Stereo was fuller of course but my mind was still hung up on trying to figure out what the vocals lacked. Maybe one requires an extremely efficient set of speakers to be able to enjoy the quality of music the AVR-3300 pumps out.. and maybe my relatively cheaper speakers were no match for it's grand and much acclaimed sound. BUT I wasn't impressed.

No matter what everyone says and rates this receiver as, with a terrible remote, weak Dolby Pro Logic Decoding, and definitely not the greatest reproduction of highs, this receiver was going back to where it came from and I was going to be receiver-less again in my search for the better sounding receiver under $1000.

If u'r going to buy the AVR-3300, make sure you do an A/B
comparison with the Onkyo TX-DS777, Yamaha RX-V995 and the
Marantz SR-7000 and listen to your favourite music before you make your decision. Trust u'r ears, if you like what the Denon AVR-3300 is offering, then it's definitely the receiver for you!

My equipment might not be 'audiophile' grade or anything top of the line, but that's what my budget and listening taste allowed.

Paradigm Titans V2 Fronts and Rears
Paradigm CC-170 Center
Velodyne CT-100 Powered Subwoofer
Pioneer DV-525 DVD Player
A/R TOSLINK and Subwoofer Cable
Cheapo Speaker Cable. (Saving up to buy Nordost some day)

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-DS575, Onkyo TX-DS777

Flexibility, expansion capability, looks, setup ease.

Fan noise flaw; digital inputs limited to three, single front speaker option.

Had the system for only about one month -- despite having to return my first 3300 due to a problem with an ugly cooling fan noise, am very pleased overall with the sound quality and capabilities of the system. I have mated it with the Boston Acoustics System 9000's for what I believe to be a very solid combinition and fully functional result. The Boston react very well to the strengths of the Denon -- I use the Denon primarily for home theatre, and reallize that heavier front speakers would really make the system shine in a music application. Open to feedback/suggestions for options to upgrade the fronts. Looked at going to the Denon 4800, but couldn't justify paying the premium at this time (thoughts?). Overall, I like the system I've put together -- am open to feedback on the components I've put together at the ~$3000 price point...

System

Denon 3300
Boston Acoustics System 9000
Pioneer 525 DVD
RCA 480 Digital DSS Receiver

Similar Products Used:

N/A

Features for dollar, looks, flexibility

Bright sound, potential fan problems

I auditioned the AVR3300 for a month and, after some initial trepidation, ended up liking it very much.
It is far superior to the Marantz SR7000 I tested alongside it from a Home Theatre perspective, much more flexible in terms of tailoring the individual surround modes to your liking. The Matrix and Mono Movie modes were especially helpful when listening to non surround sources. Playing around with effect levels and room sizes made them sound excellent.
Not initially thrilled with the OSD but grew to appreciate it after using the Marantz. Remote is so-so but IMHO that should never be the determining factor in your buying decision.
Build quality seemed excellent, all controls felt solid and did not experience the fan problem many have refered to, though it worries me. Binding posts seemed a little flimsy, like the whole back panel was flexing when I pushed in the banana plugs.
Yes, it runs hot. Much hotter than the Marantz but it never seemed strained during loud movies. I think adequate ventilation is all you need.
Not quite my cup of tea from a music playback standpoint. Very open and detailed...a bit too much detail. Contrary to many opiniions on this unit, I found the highs slightly strident, the sibilants accentuated. The Marantz gave up something in soundstage height, but gained in warmth with out sacrificing detail. In the end I took both units back but as I assess my real needs in buying an A/V receiver, I anticipate going back to the Denon because of it's wonderful flexibility for HT and incorporating into my existing 2 channel system as a pre/pro.
Recommended but listen to the competition and determine what sound characteristics and features are important to you.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR7000

Looks Great

NO Digital out?!? Where does my CD-R or MD go???

Just a word of warning... For some reason these Denons don't
have a digital _out_. I would have bought a 3300 or 2800
but opted instead for an Onkyo because for some reason
the Denons don't have a digital (interlink) output. I have
a MD player/recorder and thought that it was a fairly basic
option on any higher end receiver, but after researching,
found that the Denon didn't have on. Not giving it a bad
rating, just a neutral one so I could bring this to the
attention of anyone with a CD-R or MD recorder.

Clean design, good workmanship, good features, good power

none I can really think of

Lots of folks are describing the Denon3300 as the holy grail: great unit at a good price point (my was just under $800 delivered). Well, I agree. Frankly, I can see no reason to buy a higher priced model. This receiver sounds great.

DTS movies Awesome, better than DD 5.1; 5 Channel surround for CD's etc.; Build Quality; Number of potential components that can be hooked up; Future use of 8 channel inputs and outputs to upgrade for more speakers or to ad a amplifier; On-screen menus are easy to use and clearly understandable

Bass/Treble control is too basic; would of been nice to have an equalizer that the user could manipulate instead of just the bass/treble control; FM/AM setup is overly and unnecessarily complex; Manual can be sometimes confusing

Other components I have;

Toshiba CH32H95 32” TV w/ component video
Toshiba 3109 DVD player
Monitor Audio Silver 5i’s Loudspeakers Bi-Wired
Monitor Audio Silver 10 Center channel Bi-wired
Two older rear speakers (that need to be upgraded)
Panasonic Hi-Fi VCR
Audioquest type 4 cable for the front 3 speakers
Audioquest F-14 cable for rear speakers
CustomHouse DVD component cables
Monster Cable HTS 2000 Surge protector/Line conditioner (It really does work, especially with video!!)

Well I spent about two months trying to decide upon the Yamaha 995, Pioneer Elite VSX-TX26 and the Denon 3300. I quickly eliminated the 995 because I never got a good chance to test it out and also because I liked the features of the 3300 and the 26TX more. I think the only reason that I wanted the 2TX was that I was sucked into the whole THX feature. If the 26TX didn’t have this feature, there would be no contest as the 3300 has more features than the 26TX. Well I never really did get a chance to demo the 3300 with the speakers I bought, so it really was pointless to listen to the receiver hooked up to speakers that I never intended to buy, regardless of how good or bad they sounded. Well towards the end of September I finally decided to get the 3300 on the faith of the many positive reviews, and press that the 3300 was receiving. But the hardest problem I had was finding a 3300 unit. If I wanted to get one locally it would of cost me $1050 (that’s the local retail price. Even if the retail was $ 1200, I still think it would be a fair price for everything that you get with the 3300) Well I decided on getting the unit mail order, but it had to come with the Denon Manufactures warranty. I found many mail order places selling the unit for around $ 700+, but w/o the Manufactures warranty. Well this was unacceptable, so I went to the Denon’s web site and they give companies that sell their products mail order, with the manufactures warranty. So I picked Kief’s from Lawrence KS, and paid $ 825 to get the unit to my door in 2 days. Good packaging and service, no problems so far with the unit. True, I probably paid more than a $ 100 if I didn’t get the unit from an authorized distributor, but the confidence is worth the extra chunk of change. Well it took me about two days before I was even able to get music coming out of my new speakers because I had to spend two days setting up my Home Theater room to make it ready to ‘receive’ (no pun intended) my new receiver. At first I was really disappointed because every audio source sounded flat and suppressed. But I finally came to the conclusion that all of this was to be the new speakers not being broken in yet. All of this came to fruition the first week of October, and only last week (around Thanksgiving) when I played Saving Private Ryan on a DTS DVD disc, did all of my components ‘gel’ together, and I was blown away. DTS is above and beyond anything that Dolby Digital can ever hope to come close to. But unfortunately, I know that DTS will most likely not survive as a viable format in the years to come. It will fall the way of Betamax in the VHS vs. Beta war of the early 1980’s. But I’ll enjoy DTS while it lasts. I really did notice an immediate sonic improvement w/ DTS on the 3300. Well I know this review may not talk too much about the performance of the 3300, but that’s because all of the reviews I read are true, and I really couldn’t add too much more to the magazine and online reviews that hasn’t already been said. But for the price range, this is definitely the reference receiver for the next few months, until the next ‘top of the line’ receiver comes to market in the New Year. The 3300 must really be generating a huge part of Denon’s profit margin. My, only minor, minor almost insignificant complaint would be it seems like dust is attracted to the top of the units grill like a magnet. But that is a fact of life for all electronic products.

Sound Quality
8 channel audio input

Speaker Terminals
Only one coaxal input

The most impressive part of this receiver is it's sound quality. Very clear, smooth, dynamic. The amplifier appears to able to drive relatively difficult loads well. bot the low and high frequencies have good resolution and clarity.
This is a good high performance system with (after a while) easy to use menus and controls.
The peformance of the receiver is very good. The 5 channel stereo is something to hear.
I would recommend it over anything near it's price class.

Similar Products Used:

Sony ES
Yamaha 995,
Pioneer Elite VSX-TX26