Incredible sound, nice appearance, great price for a refurbished item (price includes shipping), expandability, quantity and variety of inputs

Fan noise, some complexity in set-up

I purchased my refurbished AVR3300 from UBid and guess I am among the lucky ones. Mine seems to be functioning well, and sounds fantastic. I am letting it run for the week I have to return it and am only turning it off once in a while. 90 day warranty is a little scary. It is not “perfect”, so read on.

Setup
I agree with some of the criticisms that the back of the unit is a little weak. This, coupled with the fact that the RCA jacks must be FIRMLY engaged to work, it is an issue I suppose. I was scared at first when I seemed to have only one channel that was working when I hooked up the CD player – I switched speaker wires in vain and was gearing up to send it back. A friend suggested I check the RCA jacks, and while I am not a HUGE audiophile, I thought I knew how to do that properly. I was wrong – it really needed to be pressed in hard. And a switch to a higher quality cable and connector helped too. However, I don’t plan on doing a lot of switching anyway, so it is not an every day, or even every month (year?) issue. I used banana plugs and like the results for the speaker hookups. I also used an optical cable from my DVD player and think it is kind of cool too.

The fact that you need to use the onscreen display does not bother me and I feel those criticisms are out of place. This is, after all, a Home Theater unit and 99% of people would use this in conjunction with a TV. Setting up the unit using the onscreen stuff is rather complex, but doable with time and the manual. The remote is not terribly easy to figure out either, but I will get over it.

Hooking up the FM antenna is interesting. You get a cable with an odd connector. I couldn’t figure it out, so I went to Radio Shack and got a booster that supposedly fits the connector on the back of the unit. Ooops, it doesn’t. So I tried the supplied wire again, and managed to slide it onto the center pin on the FM connector and it works just fine.

Sound
Simply phenomenal in comparison to my Sony STR-D515 Dolby Pro-Logic unit. Music and movies are awesome. Music is clearer, more fluid. I am using four Infinity Overture 2s and an Overture 1 as my center channel. I also have a JBL 12” self-powered sub.

Fan Noise
Yup. It is a bit of a drag. My plan is to try to get an auxiliary fan (hopefully a quiet one) that will help keep the internal fan from kicking on. The unit gets warm, but not crazy warm. I have it on an open wire rack with at least 6” of clearance on top and nothing beneath it, and I imagine that helps.

Conclusion
For what I paid, I am happy. It sounds great, looks nice, and was a lot less expensive than a “new” item. Getting an auxiliary fan is not a big deal to me considering I did not pay even close to retail. I like all of the inputs on the back and the expandability for the future as well. Overall, I am very happy so far.

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-D515

plently of power(large volumn), sweet sound(small volumn) , clear mid range and bass

Fan,setup, tuner.

This is a steal!I agree with most of the reveiwers said here that Denon did a great job on AV receiver.I bought
this unit from ubid ($450) , actually , i had already
had an onkyo receiver before i bided this one on ubid.
Even though Onkyo's receiver tx -777 has a bigger transformer and larger electric capacitor (18000ufx2) comparing to Denon av3300 (12000ufX2), it doesnt sound
good at all.The sound comes out from Onkyo is too soft and
hollow and i can say they dont even have a deep bass!
you can realize this weakness from Onkyo's amplifier when
you use it with any speaker that the bass unit is larger
than 8"inch.Onkyo doesnt has enough electric current for
speaker at all even they have Thx logo .The reason why i am so familiar with Onkyo 's amp is because I have already
listened to almost all of it's Amplifiers (Integra or Av).
I returned the Onkyo's amp rightaway after i bought the Denon. I am so lucky that this refrubish unit works very
well except the fan is kind of noisy . Denon , you are the winner of Av amplifier!if you want to share the hi-end
audiophile equipment from Denon Avc A10se (avc 5800), avc 3300 and 3801 (same sweet and powerful sound) are the best choices for you .They have at least 75% of their brother's
performence.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo tx-777av receiver

Inputs and Power.

Fan, Remote, Made in Korea & CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I got a lemon. Sent it into Denon 2 times for service to fix the fan problem. The first time, they made the fan work. Yes, the unit's fan didn't even work initially. The second time, they replaced the fan with a new "silent fan" they got from Japan. Equally as loud, different noise sound and tone-closer to a vacuum cleaner's sound then to a car engine's sound. Finally, they let me upgrade to the 3801 (paying the MSRP difference) after they admitted to the design fault. Their marketing guy told me that I am one of thousands who have complained of fan problems. Nevertheless, I am disguntled for getting the run around for 6 months, for eating over $70.00 worth of shipping costs, for having to pay for an upgrade after 6 months of hastle and most importantly, 6 months of lacking the use of a receiver.

The 3300 is made in Korea. The 3801 is made in Japan. There is a huge difference in performance and heat disposal. The 3801 doesn't have a fan, it has heat sinks. It also has 2 amp's whereas the 3300 has one, which has to work 2 times as hard. Most importantly, the 3801 produces pure and clean sounds. If you can, pay the extra money, if not, Denon told me the 2801 doesn't have a fan and is cheaper than the 3300. Otherwise, buy a different maker that producers a similar product in terms of quality, features. I recommend anything else.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 3801

Sound cuts out when switching between modes

I have used this Receiver for almost a year with no problems (had to bring the first one I bought back due to the fan noise problem and a second one back that did not work at all-the good guys were great to deal with!) I recently switch modes pro logic DVD to 5 ch Stereo and the sound cut off –basically the same problem Ron has (see his review) and did the same thing that Ron did with no luck. I tried it the next day and it worked for a little while then did the same thing. I took it in for repair. The repair guy said it was working when he hooked it and he left it on all night with no failures. Seems like an intermittent problem. Its still working so I am going to leave it alone for now. I still rate this receiver high I really like the features and the sound.

sweet sound, versatility of room set-up

remote

I'm writing mainly to respond to Matt. The balance controls and input selections are chosen through the on-screen menus. So get your monitor connection set up.
After that, enjoy what is a truly lovely sound in whatever configuration appeals. Five channel stereo is indeed fun, except that for me, my surround speakers are not up to par with my front speakers, so my sound quality improves dramatically when in true stereo mode. I've even found some recordings that sound charming in pro-logic. Typically, I've found that this receiver is absolutely wonderful--providing tremendous detail yet with an enchanting sound quality--for single voices such as guitar or organ or video-sound, but is a bit muddy for orchestral pieces. Then again, this is a receiver, not $4000 worth of separates, and a great value at that.

Very clean sound. Powerful.

The fan.
Now I have to buy better speakers.
No video select on the remote.

The fan made the famous high pitched squeal. I took it back and exchanged it the next day. No problems since then. Makes my old Pioneer sound terrible.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer vsx-4900s

Clear Sound and Digital input

Surround Sound - How do I activate the center and rear speakers?

After reading all of the reviews, I decided to purchase a Denon AVR-3300. The Denon complements a new purchase, the Denon DVM-3700. At this point, I'm not well equipped to judge the output of the AVR-3300. This is primarily due to the receiver’s inability to connect to my only other digital component, the DVD Player. I have purchased optical and coaxial cables, and the AVR-3300 doesn't recognize the audio input. This has reduced me to utilize the analog output that limits my listening to stereo (front and sub only). The purpose of this purchase was a complement to the new DVD player (DTS audio). At this point, I had better luck with my first generation Denon AVR-1100. It supported 2.0 Dolby Digial. If anyone knows how I can remedy the digital issue, I would welcome your feedback.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 767

Digital Input, On Screen Display and Plenty of Power

I purchased a refurbished machine which has problems

This is a follow up to a review posted a few days ago. As I mentioned, my experience with Denon has been extremely positive. Denon (DVm 3700, Tape Deck, AVR 1100, and a 2nd Tuner) manufactures all of the components in my house. The reviews posted on this site support my experience. However, the product purchased from Ubid was a problem when it came out of the box. The rear and center channel speakers produced no output, DSP and 5.1 channel stereo did not work, and my only digital component DVD/CD Player) could not be heard from the AVR3300. After doing 2 days of homework and working with the people who read this site (by the way, the people who frequent this site are both helpful and extremely knowledgeable), I was forced to speak with a local Audio technician. They told me the AVR had blown output and could not receive digital input. The price at Ubid was very attractive and I'm half way tempted to purchase another unit from them. In Ubid's defense, they handled my defective unit very professionally (to date). I do understand, however, that I will not be reimbursed for shipping ($40+). I have not received a credit on my charge card as of yet. That will be the true test. If anyone has a recommendation as to where I can purchase a replacement Denon AVR3300 or a ONKYO (I'm not a trader) at a good price, I would welcome your feedback.

Similar Products Used:

ONKYO 777

Sound Quality

Remote,Rotary Switches,Setup (through monitor),tuner

Very good AV receiver, for both music and cinema, quite up to its specs
I bought this two months ago. Actually I was going for one of the 1801, 2801 or 3801. I had checked all the reviews on the site but not those for the 3300. At the last moment I decided for the 3300 since it was actually a 3801 with only 5 chanels, and cheaper. After I had placed the order I thought I might as well read the reviews about it. I was shocked at first reading all those reports about the overheating problem, but also very curious since there were either very good or very bad reviews. I actually called the dealer to change the order to a 2801 or even 3801 but it had already arrived. To make things short, it does get more than warm but not overheat. I also measured its temp and never went more than 43 degrees celcius. The fan does come on and off for a while but even then it is quieter than the dvd player (Pioneer 535).
This is a receiver that could replace my Arcam D290 for stereo listening. But at the moment I drive my B&W 602 fronts with the Arcam, and the center B&W CC6 and rear B&W LM1s with the other denon cahnels.
The phono stage of the Denon is of very moderate if not poor quality. So there is no chance in using it since I use the Arcam for vinyl.
At the moment I am not impressed with the tuner section also. But I am using an indoor antenna so I can wait for a while to have a better opinion. But changing stations with the remote is also not user friendly.
The DSPs are somewhat like on other brands, that is doing nothing (for music). At least here they are only 6. Only 5 chanel stereo is worth mentioning and that only to fill the room with music. Good stereo listening is with stereo direct.
I found it dificult to set it up and edit the settings. This can be done only with a tv monitor and not with the display. This is not very helpful either.
The remote is good in general terms, it can control anything, but those sliding switches are dificult to use to change between sources. The remote was able to learn the basic functions of my Sony 930 cd player since there are no sony supplied codes. In fact there are only for denon machines. The remote also cannot control my pioneer 535 dvd even though it has the proper codes for it. It can just take control for play stop etc but not for the menu settings. Summing up for the remote which is the weakest point in this receiver, I will try to buy a backlit remote like the pronto as soon as I can.
Also the rotary switches on the Denon could have been changed with just push buttons to change a source. Now to go from cd to dvd you have to pass through tuner and all other sources listening to them also.
I am very happy with this receiver so far and I will try to form a more accurate opinion after some months. But I can say thanks to the site which helped me even though some irresponsible people (I do not want to use something else) try to create a fuss when they are unlucky in their decisions. Like most people here say, buy it from a decent and respectable store. If there is some crazy discount you should be aware that something is going on. Also follow the instructions and leave room behind and on top of the unit. The unit has not shut down on me once. Also another thing for the site. This is a place to share opinions and to hel other from what we found out. If something you bought is not what you thought then say it moderately leaving your anger outside. The same if you made a good buy. That's the way to help others. Believe me I read all 400 so reviews here to be able to read between the lines and form an opinion.
Summing up, a very good receiver (not only for cinema) and one you will be happy with. I had to give 4 stars for the reasons above. I would give 4.5 if possible.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 940

Superb DTS and Dolby Digital. Super duper 5ch stereo for music!

Didn't like remote much, but that's it!

Before buying the Denon, I did alot of research and listened to many other recievers out on the market. What really pulled me away from the AVR3300 initially were the abundant reviews with the overheating problems. But the demo recievers just sound so musical to my ears, and the movie demos were so incredible! I held off on the purchase a bit, and finally met an old friend who works at a company that is supplying DSP chips to some of Denon's equipment. He promised me to hold back a few 3300's and do some testing before handling it to me. After purchasing the reciever two weeks later, I cannot complain one bit and have to say that my money was very well spent! I have never had any overheating problems with this unit and have never heard the noisy fan go on. I did have a broken remote, which was promptly replaced by Denon in 2 weeks. I suggest that if you are thinking of getting this unit, ALWAYS buy it at a local place where you can have the full warranty in case anything goes bad! It's really worth it! It really makes my Paradigm mini-monitors, CC-350, and ADP170 surround sings!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Pro-Logic reciever(5yrs), which the Denon blows away!