Lots of switching facilities and great sound (when it works)

Dies after only a few minutes of use

I purchased a new, sealed in the factory box, AVR-3300 a few days ago. After only a few minutes of use, it shut itself off apparently sensing an overload situation. This was at very low volume. Turning it off and back on again resets the protection circuits, but then it just dies again. If I turn the volume up, it dies almost immediately. Since Denon has had this model in production for some time, I would think that they would have worked out the bugs by now! Obviously they have not, which to me says that Denon is not much of a company if they continue to ship products with known design flaws. This is obviously an ongoing design flaw, because I read here that many others have had the exact same problem and also the noisy fan defect (my fan is quiet). Thanks a lot Denon! This is my first Denon product, and based on this experience, I doubt I'd ever buy another. I certainly wouldn't recommend the AVR-3300!

Lots of switching facilities and great sound (when it works)

Dies after only a few minutes of use

I purchased a new, sealed in the factory box, AVR-3300 a few days ago. After only a few minutes of use, it shut itself off apparently sensing an overload situation. This was at very low volume. Turning it off and back on again resets the protection circuits, but then it just dies again. If I turn the volume up, it dies almost immediately. Since Denon has had this model in production for some time, I would think that they would have worked out the bugs by now! Obviously they have not, which to me says that Denon is not much of a company if they continue to ship products with known design flaws. This is obviously an ongoing design flaw, because I read here that many others have had the exact same problem and also the noisy fan defect (my fan is quiet). Thanks a lot Denon! This is my first Denon product, and based on this experience, I doubt I'd ever buy another. I certainly wouldn't recommend the AVR-3300!

Great sound (when cool!)

Fan noise

Took a chance on a no warranty 'ex-demo' unit. First impressions were very favourable, then the unit warmed up and the fan cut in.... It was like having a fridge running in the same room!

Dealer initially suggested I might like to let Denon look at it and he would go halves with the replacement fan costs, but I decided to cut my losses and exchanged it for a current model, the 1801, at the same price. (He also offered a refund, so no complaints there).

Incidentally the dealer said they'd had 8 refurb units and mine was one of 2 that had been returned with fan noise. Guess I just wasn't one of the lucky ones!

Similar Products Used:

none

Great value at the price paid.

Fan noise.

Took a chance on a no warranty 'ex-demo' unit. First impressions were very favourable, then the unit warmed up and the fan cut in.... It was like having a fridge in the same room!

Dealer initially suggested I might like to let Denon look at it and he would go halves with the replacement fan costs, but I decided to cut my losses and exchanged it for a current model, the 1801, at the same price. (He also offered a refund, so no complaints there).

Incidentally the dealer said they'd had 8 refurb units and mine was one of 2 that had been returned with fan noise. Guess I just wasn't one of the lucky ones!

Similar Products Used:

None

Great Sound

Overheats

I really enjoy the sound generated bt this receiver.
It is however, hard to justify the heat it creates. I have tried just about everything short of putting it in the
Fridge. You just can't keep it from over heating. I hope
no one else buys this box. There can't be anything worse
with respect to home theater viewing when it shuts off
after about 1 1/2 hours consistently!

Think about buying something else.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo

Clean sound at all volume levels, Power, Versatility

Remote(but not that bad)

There is not much that I can say that hasn't already been said. I spent a couple of months trying diferent receivers and based on reviews from this site as well as litening to it and several other receivers in the soundroom of my local Audio/Video store, I settled on the Dennon. It souned better than the other units that I tested. It has a very clean sound with enough power for most speakers. It also had a lot of nice features for both Home Theatre and Music listening. I have not had any fan noise like so many others on this site have experienced. I could honestly recommend the Dennon to anyone who wants an exceptional reciever and can't afford a to spend a fortune.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Onkyo

amp power and 5 Ch stero and DTS

remote hard to get used to

Have no problems with this receiver have had for few months. I have compared it to Pionner models and sony but have made the chose with Denon for their quiality and price. Plus the features that it has I would recommend anyone to listin to this receiver first before buying a sony or pionner.

Similar Products Used:

pionner THX

Clean sound, ample power, DSP, price

Only 1 Coax input, bulky remote

I have used the 3300 for about 1 month and am very pleased with its performance. I am using it in conjunction with separates via a tape loop in order to get the benefits of DD, DTS, and remote switching with the power to drive my planar ribbon speakers for direct stereo. I was able to pick it up from a distributor who had the products in stock, even though its been on back order for most of last year!

I had a little trouble setting up the 2 systems initially, but after reading the manual, it was relatively straight forward. I am using the remote for the receiver only, as I already have a Sony multi remote for my other A/V gear; with plans to program the Sony to control the denon as well. I have been running the receiver from midnight to 8am, at low volumes, to break in my new HT speakers; and did not experience any of the fan noise or other problems discussed in other comments. The unit does get pretty hot, but I am used to "hot" components from my amp so my cabinet has adequate ventilation.

I do wish the 3300 came with more digital options, like 2 coax & 2 Toslink input, with an output as well. I also think they should look at the remotes which comes with Marantz as an example of a competitive benchmark. I was debating whether to get the 4800 vs the 3300, but could not justify the significant price delta just for the new EX surround and THX certification. Bottom line, I am very happy with this receiver, with its high quality built, power to drive most speakers, and Sharc DSP which is similar to the 5700, for a lot less money.

BTW, here is the system configuration:

AVR 3300 > Energy Encore HT system
Adcom GFP 555 > Hafler XL280 > Carver Amazing Loudspeakers
Toshiba 3109 DVD, Pioneer LD player, HK495 Deck, Proscan PSR73 VCR, Panasonic GAOO TV, Pioneer mixer(Karoake)

Most sources are directed to the 3300, except the HK deck, which goes directly into the preamp. The 2 system is linked via a tape loop so signal can pass through both systems. One question I have is whether anyone have been successful routing digital input to a tape loop or analog bypass? I found I can not pass coax or Toslink signal through the 3300 to my preamp. I know this is true for S-VHS vs composite video, but didn't know if audio signal had similar limitations. Would appreciate any feedback on this.

Cary

Similar Products Used:

Denon Pro Logic receiver, Adcom & Hafler pre/amp

Good, Clean reproduction of sound.
A ton of inputs for future upgradability
5 channel stereo sounds awesome
DTS music CD's come through very nicely

Bass comes through very clean but sounds a little weak -- could be the way the music is actually recorded though...I know that Yamaha and Sony (and others) 'digitize' and exagerate the bass in their units.
Manual is a nightmare and the remote does not make life any
easier.

I've owned this unit for about a week now and so far, I remain impressed with its performance. I've run 7 or 8 VHS movies through it (no DVD player yet) and a couple of DTS cd's and it handled them all very nicely. I do miss the DSP modes from Yamaha but I realize now that the only time they were ever used was to show friends the different sounds the unit could make. I rarely used them on my own. Pro-logic is better on the Denon than the Yammie (995 or 592)... I've heard sounds on the Denon that I never knew existed on either of the Yamaha's. The DTS decoder is about the same on the 995 and 3300. The true performance of this machine comes from it's handling of 'good' music (I don't mean dance or big bass music because the Denon does not pump out alot of 'reverb' style bass sounds). Everything comes out clean and full without the typical 'brightness' associated with alot of receivers in it's class. The bass (despite my griping) is full but without that 'punch' (and sometimes 'thud') that you get from other brands (e.g. Sony).
All in all, for the $1,030 Canadian that I spent on it, I'm quite impressed! One star off for the lousy remote (and I used to own the Yamaha horror-show remote and liked it more!!!) and really crappy manual ... they could have done MUCH better on these two things (a remote is not something that you should have to spend 3 months "getting used too")

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX-V995
Yamaha RX-V592

Overall sound qualities in every mode

remote

What a awsome piece of audio/video equipment
pioneer dvd
M & K Sub
Klipsch Reference RF-3 Fronts
Klipsch Center channel
Definitive research Bipolar rears
Rca sat dish
You should hear this thing make the horns on the klips sing
The 5 channel mode for music just fills the room with sound
The remote is a pain to program but does a good job when you finaly get it working right(can anyone say pronto)