incredible value

weak DSP modes

I have the 3300 paired with the Def. Tech. Pro Cinema 80 system. My room is small (15x16). The 3300 matches well with the Def Techs to provide an amazing 5.1 home theater system under $2000. ($1600 for me). I connected the speakers high-pass (as suggested by DT). I am still in awe of the sound this receiver offers and the features available for under $800.

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Yamaha 995

Clean dynamic sound, complete absence of background hiss.
Flexibility in assigning digital inputs and speaker settings

Not really a weakness, but I would have preferred an easier way to access different tuner presets.

I purchased this unit as my first step into the Home Theater foray. It replaces an 18 year old Akai stereo receiver. Currently only using the unit for 2-ch stereo with a CD player and TV inputs and the most noticeable difference is the absolute background silence. I consider it an excellent value for money and feature laden. I found the remote to be quite intuitive, it easily 'learned' from all of my other remotes, however my wife and daughter haven't figured it all out yet. Next step will be to replace my old CD changer and add HT speakers. Not sure if I'm ready to jump into DVD since I don't yet have a big-screen TV, although I plan to look into the CD-sound from the Denon AVM-3700 CD/DVD changer. No regrets at all!

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None

excellent processor,clean dynamic power,great number of connections(component,digital,etc).

choosing tuner presets could be easier and surround modes should be able to be choosen directly.

Wanted a great DD receiver that if things changed could still be upgradeable. Sound is awesome,clean, quite, great performance in the upper volumes. not quite sure if it 20watts more than the 3200 though. It is a little bit bright but matches fairly well with my energy a2+2 and ac300. i'll probably mess around with some cables to find the right balance. Compared to the rest of the stuff out there Denon has done a terrific job again of providing a quality well built machine at a fair price point.

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HK avr30,pioneer vxd-d703

Great value, great sound and great features

fm antennae plug in is poorly made; remote is clumsy, and no rf demodulator

The best receiver you can buy for ~$800!

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onkyo receivers

Wonderful sound for both audio and video
No backround noise or hiss in any mode
Powerful, clean amps
Ready for the future with tons of inputs/outputs
Excellent build quality

None!

I have only positive things to say about the Denon AVR 3300. I upgraded from the Yamaha 795a, because I didn't care for the way the Yamaha handled music. The Denon cost me $300 more, but it's worth every penny. This is the best all around receiver you will find for under a grand. I've been running it non-stop for three days, and I can can tell you it excells in all areas. Movie soundtracks, all types of music, and five channel stereo sound wonderful. This unit pumps out very clean and dynamic power to all five channels, with ZERO distortion and zero backround noise. Check out the reviews in Sound & Vision and Home Theatre magazines this month for all the specs. The 3300 also has all the inputs and outputs you'll need for several years down the road, including s-video, component video, and an eight channel input and output section. I will follow-up with a thirty day review. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at foleyartist@earthlink.net.

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Yamaha RX-V 795a
Onkyo TX-DS 575
Harman Kardon AVR 45

Bought this receiver six months ago and all I can say is it's worth every penny!

I spent several months researching and listening to receivers in the $1000 price range and in the end, it was a choice between the denon 3300 ($800) or the nakamichi av-10 ($900).

In terms of sound quality, the nakamichi has a slight advantage but the denon more than makes up for it in features. The nakamichi's lack of an external input is it's major weakness, in my opinion. If this is not important to you, then both receivers are excellent values.

Minor complaint: no on-screen display when switching inputs or adjusting volume level. Initial set-up may be a little complicated.

Great features for a reasonable price. 5-channel stereo

None

I have had this receiver for over one month and I enjoy it very much. the 5-channel stereo mode is great for listening to CDs. The DD and DTS modes work great with my Toshiba 2008 DVD player. I am using Mirage FRx series speakers. The receiver's 105 watts per channel is plenty of power for myn speakers.

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Pioneer Elite

Excellent overall sound quality from DVD and CD, surround sound is incredible. Unfortunately, I could not receive video output through the S-Video jacks (no RCA jacks were used). Had to make s-video connections from the component directly to the TV. Receiver is currently in for repair. Build quality is therefore suspect.

Most every thing, but this is my initial review

U guessed it......THE REMOTE

I would just like to say for now, since I have only had this unit for abot 12 hours. Man it sure is nice to hear good clean sound compared to the Onkyo TX-DS777 that I just returned. I was sick when I first setup the ONKYO after owning the DENON AVR-3200 For about six months. But, I think things are gonna be OK now. Full review to come later on the DENON AVR-3300. Initial Rating out of this world for someone on budget minded home theater setup.

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Onkyo TX-DS777, Denon AVR-3200

Clean & unencumbered audio output; Genuine features (for today & expandability for tomorrow; Fewer gimmicks; Unpretentious design; Quality history of company; Availability to add additional channels in the future (adding to the useful lifecycle); I had a positive customer service experience.

Owner's manual not well organized & had unclear explanations; Lack of digital output to make digital recordings; Lack of convenient radio station buttons for preprogrammed favorites & clunky process for programming the stations.

Like many folks here, the Denon AVR 3300 represents my first go at digital audio/home theater. Overall, I have thus far perceived this unit as a definite solid buy. Although some audiophiles pooh-pooh the prospectus of very good audio from a receiver, I think that they are mistaken in the context of a real world cost/performance/value curve. I consider myself one of many who has good hearing and appreciates/recognizes excellent audio response. I also have a family, a budget and live in a home that is far from acoustically ideal. Hence, a flexible, high quality, mid-priced receiver like the 3300 is a value performer in my environment, and I'd bet it holds its own against some of the more expensive seperates and receivers situated in better accoustic environs.

Realistically, the 3300 is not perfect; but it comes close to outstanding. Keep in mind that no company/product is perfect, and occassional production lemons are inevitable. Most things we purchase occurs through a process of making personally acceptable compromises. For this unit I have listed above what I consider its relative weaknesses (compromises) - the most personally distressing is the owner's manual. None of them significantly denegrate its overall quality, performance and relative value for me. On the other hand, its biggest pluses include audio output that is very clean (lack of audible hum, crackles, distortion) with power enough for pretty loud listening without giving the impression of working up a sweat or encouraging speaker distortion. In my opinion Denon minimized the gimmicks (like multiple sound fields/environment imitations, fancy lights) and quietly emphasized the basics and a few useful feaures. For example, the 5 channel stereo is very, very good and continues to grow on me for use in many listening sessions. The digital audio via DVD is impressive, as is the DTS from DVD that I experienced with the Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" concert. I also had a very positive experience calling Denon's customer service after spending the night trying to get the DTS DVD signal to play. The customer service person was patient and conveyed a sense of interest in my success. After walking through most of the trouble shooting steps I'd tried the night before we concluded that the 3300 was working okay. Then he offered me the name and contact info. of a technical person at Toshiba, my DVD player manufacturer. Turns out that I misunderstood the DVD menu and I wasn't turning on the player's DTS mode! But my point is that I had a positive experience with Denon's customer service - a point of great value to me.

I re-discovered Denon on this website. I took a couple of months being possessed by my project of upgrading from 10+-year old stereo (which used to be reassonably high quality stuff) to home theater but still with a high music listening useage. I scoured magazines, test reports, web sites and countless opinions -- the latter of which is helpful for spotting trends and nuances but ya gotta take with a grain of salt as being biased and not 'gospel.' [And don't forget friends, audio is very personal and very subjective, your own ears, listening preferences, important features, manufacturer's reputation & budget should be your strongest guides. Not what somebody else says sounds best.] The combination of Denon features, very solid/clean performance, company reputation and unpretentious design within its price range make the innovative 3300 a great value worthy of serious consideration for expert and casual listeners.