Features at the price, Clean sound, wonderful imaging (after the break-in)

remote a bit confusing, can't mix S-Video and composite inputs

I've been running Denon receivers in my home theater since the beginning - I started with an AVR-1000, upgraded to the 2700, and have now taken the leap to the 3801.

The 3801 runs cooler (still fairly warm, but nowhere near the BTUs that the 2700 used to put out) and sounds much cleaner. I'm hearing things on DVDs that I never did before (yes, I know, it could be DTS vs. Dolby Digital). The unit sounds much better now that it's been broken in for about 100 hours.

Overall, I'm very impressed by the combination with the Def Tech speakers (bp10s, pf1500 sub, clr2300 center, bpx rears)

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Upgrade from Denon AVR-2700

Nice power, future proof in a lot of ways, great price point

Sometimes cryptic interface, Average manual(might be remote's problem)

I like this receiver a lot. The 7 channel stereo is a nice feature and helps my wife justify the 2K we spent on boston Acoustics speakers. It would have killed her to buy 8 speakers and only use 2 - 3 of them when watching TV or listening to the stereo.(cable tv sigh:( )

Out of the box it worked well. I easily configured the amplifier and calibrated the speakers. My only issue was that for some reason I could not get TV generated sound to play through the TV/DBS input. Not sure why though I am going to try it again until my Digital cable box gets here.

Sound from this is amazing for the price point. There is little to no noise when nothing is running. Remote makes more noise than the speakers do, though only when backlighting is on.

I would recommend it to anyone that did not feel the need for THX-EX. If you must have it go up to the 4801. Oh, the component video switching was a primary reason I bought this. Now all I have to do is get a Pronto remote to run all the equipment.

System:
Toshiba 40H80 High Def RPTV
Denon AVR-3801
Pioneer DV37 Progressive Scan 3/2 DVD
Pioneer CD Changer(Real old but works well)
Boston Acoustics System 10K
Boston Acoustics VRS-W dipole surrounds
Boston Acoustics PV800.

Derek
ps The speakers are amazing and overshadow the amplifier's value in the system. They are by far the best audio piece of the system. The Toshiba 40H80 is without a doubt one of the best HDTV Ready RPTVs out there. WOW

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Pioneer 501

Sound is excelent. User interface is great, system set up had great features. Front panel controls great. Component-HD input switching!!!

Remote control is a bit confusing at first. Lack of coaxial inputs makes hookup of audio expensive.

For approximately the same price at I got the Marantz receiver, I got component input switching as well!!!!!!

O.k. I don't have many component inputs... right now, but it's nice to know I don't have to buy a new receiver in a few years.

Menus and displays are nice, setup was easy. The thing was working in a few minutes "out of the box". Speakers calibrated in a few minutes after that.

One drawback on this receiver is that it only has 1 coaxial audio input. I've actually used a AES/SPDIF analyzer and I get equivalent jitter (insignificant) on both my coaxial and optical outputs on my gear. With only 1 coaxial input, it's now pretty expensive for me to hook up my other gear. Can't use a uber-cheap RCA patch cable any more, now I have to use fancy colourful Tebetian moulded, German engineered, Swiss designed imported optical fiber cables.

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Marantz SR-7000

Everything

None noticed yet

To David below who claims this receiver is an entry model.
I thought the 1801 was Denon's entry level model and not the 3801. Weak power? According to S&Vs lab test, the Denon could crank Theater level volumes in the home at ease. With all channels driven, it measured at 92W/channel. What is weak about that?
This receiver is everything but an entry level receiver. It has ample power, will decode everything you throw at it and do it well. Maybe David did not have it configured well because believe me, this receiver has plenty power.
DTS-ES discrete/matrix, DD EX matrix, DD/DTS 5.1 and a whole lot more this receiver can do which David claims is an entry level receiver? Give me a break!!

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Onkyo 787, Sony 555ES

versatility
sound quality
build quality

without a doubt, the manual
length of time it takes to get the most out of the rcvr
bass management in Direct mode

This is a follow up review to one I placed a couple of months ago. First off, let me say that I love this receiver, I am very happy with my purchase and would buy it again. However, being a home theater nut and an electronics engineer, I must say, the manual for this unit is way to vague to get the most out of this receiver. I have spent countless hours researching DTS and Dolby Digital technical articles to fully understand how they work with this reciever. The problem with the manual is, it does not go into any detail on which decoding modes should really be used with what software. Furthermore, it does not give you a clear enough picture as to what is happening with the surround back channels and how they are utilized and derived from what sources. After doing a lot of homework, I know fully understand what is happening. I must say, I really don't think there are many out there that do. I only say that because included in my online research, absolutely NONE of the people I talked to (sales people etc) could give me an answer for the questions I asked. Except for the Sales Manager at Denon. I'll leave him nameless so people don't drive him nuts. Thanks to him if he should read this. Anyway, the reason sales and others couldn't help me was because they don't really understand the difference between DD 5.1, DD-EX (THX) 6.1, DTS, DTS-ES Matrix and Discrete themselves. I would not rely on them. Once you yourself fully understand how these sources are created, coded and decoded, you will then fully appreciate and understand how to use your receiver to it's full potential.

Here are some links to look at that will assist you. One thing I would also do, download the 5800 manual, it has some things explained in there that are the same as the 3801 but not covered in the 3801 manual, big help. Sorry for long links.


http://db.widescreenreview.com/equiprev/FMPro?-db=eqrev.fp5&-format=record%5fdetail.htm&-lay=eqrev&-sortfield=Product%20Name&-op=cn&Product%20Name=3801&-max=10&-recid=32780&-find=

http://www.dtsonline.com/consumer/dts-es.pdf

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/SoundAndVision/Article01/TestReports/Denon0501/Denon0501p01.html

I hope I didn't sound to critical above. I guess the thing I want to stress is, after learning some of the in's and out's of DD and DTS in all their formats, I was able to tune my system beyond belief. Some of the mistakes I was making was using the matrixed 6.1 Dolby Digital for 5.1 sources. If the "EX" is not there to begin with, applying matrix decoding to it will complete ruin the whole surround effect. This has to do with the decoder using a Pro Logic type method to recreate the surround back channels and it's cancelling effect if there is no surround back to begin with. Hope you get the idea.

Another thing I think people should pay particular attention to is speaker placement and level control. You must must must do this right or forget about it, you'll never get good sound. Visit www.psbspeakers.com. They have a good lesson on how and where to put your speakers. It is similar to Denon's advice. Well, hope this helps you out the way it did me. Sound imaging has come alive now!

PS, remember to turn the back channels off if the DVD is only 5.1. Turn them on if it is DD-EX, DTS-ES Discrete or Matrix.

regards

Marcel

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see my review below

Hmm.... pretty much everything, but too many to list. I'm afraid Denon has Onkyo beat here (at least in this price range).

Only one coax input. Remote is impractical--why does only one half light up?
No fun to listen to MP3's anymore cuz this receiver exposes ALL of their flaws.

Well, I've been upgraded my receiver for the 3rd time, and I can say that this baby is a far cry from that first Kenwood. Jeez, I thought my Sony was nice until I used this thing. Shows how much I know, huh?

The remote is cumbersome at first but it does what it should do. If you want something fancy, buy a pronto. That's what I'm gonna do eventually.

This receiver decodes Dolby Digital surround EX DVD's perfectly.

Don't listen to anything people may say to you telling you why you shouldn't buy this receiver. It runs warm, not hot. If you want a receiver that doesn't get warm while you're using it, immerse it in liquid nitrogen. I don't care.

Right now, prices are steadily going down all over the place. Just buy the thing. You won't regret it.

In closing, I feel I should share with you what I said to myself the first time I listened to this beauty after setting it up in my home.
I said, and I quote, "Holy Shi+!"

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This is a great product. Dolby Digital works great (once I figured out how to use it) but I can't get DTS to work. I'm using the same coaxial digital input as the Dolby Digital.

Any ideas what's wrong guys?

Please post here.

Thanks.

Sound and features are outstanding. DTS is incredible, DTS ES is even better.

Remote control could be better...doesn't work well when trying to use it as a universal remote.

After seeing this machine in action, I was convinced that I needed this for my home theater. Another reviewer asked about how loud to have the volume set to really feel the sound...and I turn my unit up to the same -25 to -15 db range when I want to show it off. I own Gladiator and listen in DTS ES, and the experience is unbelievable. Hopefully more movies come out or get re-released in DTS ES format, because you don't know what you are missing until you experience it.
My components:
Sony 36 Inch Wega-XBR400
Toshiba 1700 DVD Player
2 Klipsch SF-1 Front Speakers
Klipsch SC-1 Center Channel
Klipsch KSW-10 Subwoofer
2 Klipsch SS-1 Surround Speakers
2 Sound Dynamics Rear Standing Speakers.

The machine has enough inputs for all the A/V components you could possibly want. There is only one digital coaxial output, but there are plenty of optical inputs.
I had troubles getting the remote set up to use as a universal remote. It would not access the menu features on my DVD player, and I couldn't set it up to change the TV/Video on my TV. Unfortunately, the remote was even difficult to use with my Denon CD player. I broke down and bought a Pronto remote and now everything works like a dream.

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7 channel, dts es

none so far

everyday this product impresses me, wether for movies or music use it continues to excell.. i was gonna wait for the new model (AVC-3550) but its almost double the price and the only difference is a newer D.D.S.C and increase of 10 or 15 watts on power per channel other than that its almost the same even cosmetics.. by the way i have the gold color unit w/ removable cord. I bought mine in akihabara,tokyo and the cheap price is due to high dollar to yen rate...The newer model 3550 or 3802 in u.s. came out last week here in japan. Check denon site at WWW.denon.co.jp

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sony 555es

quality, decoding, on screen display, clean power

manual lacks detail on setup

After reading a ton of reviews on different receivers in here I went with the 3801. After the intial frustration of hooking the thing up, I was amazed. The sound quality was outstanding even at house shaking levels. I am only running the Energy Take 5's with the 10 inch sub at this time and it played both soundtracks and music superbly. Would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good mid range receiver.