Solid all-around AV Receiver

In response to the previous reviewer:

1 and 2. These functions are all available on the remote. Since setting up my home theater last year, I've pretty much never used any of the controls on the front panel of the receiver because the remote can do everything. So I don't think it's such a flaw that the controls on the front panel are minimal. No problem "walking back to the remote" because the remote is on/by the couch where I usually sit. It would be a bigger pain for me to walk to the receiver every time I wanted to change radio stations.

3. Why not just leave your headphones plugged in, and use the remote to turn on/off the speakers when you use them? If it's too much of a pain to "walk back", why not just bring the remote with you?

4. I don't have a tape deck, so I can't comment on this.

5. I have never had this problem. And my remote does have an Enter button (right above the Mute button and below the VCR control pad), Menu button (1 o'clock from the VCR control pad), and Setup button (10 o'clock from the VCR control pad).

I've had this receiver for almost exactly a year, and have never had any complaints about it's useability. I've recommended it to many friends as well, and all have been happy with it.

i've wrote in earlier, wayyyyy down on this page. i still think the 3801 is a hell of a reciever, but i would like to make a weakness list about stuff i've discovered since my first review.

gripe #1. no sleep timer. this kills me!!!

#2. manual sucks, remote took time, but its fine now. i still can't get the system call to work though.

3. can't adjust base via remote w/o using the osd (which brings up a menu on the tv, which sucks when you want to adjust bass/treble during a movie... either you pause and bring up that menu so you don't miss the movie, or you get off your lazy ass and do it on the deck... i prefer to stay lazy)

4. the bass is a little quiet on this thing without a sub. i have 3 subs hooked up to it via secondary amp through the sub-out, so bass is no problem for me, but without the subs the bass is pretty flat. my fronts have 15" and it won't push them at all. a decent sub is a must.

i don't know how or why people say the 3801 sounds flat, unless they don't have a sub (or have a crappy one). you just need a sub that's hopefully over 12" and at least 400W maybe 500W. should also be able to go at least into the 20s in Hz. i have one that goes to 18hz

(human ear can only hear down to 20hz and up to 20,000hz) so pretty much you should have an arrangement of speakers to cover the whole range.

i don't see how people say there's not enough power either. it scares the crap out of me when i have a cd on say -20 or lower... it gets pretty frickin loud. i don't dare go lower than 25ish when playing something with deep bass.

other than these minor complaints, this reciever kicks ass. movies are incredible on this puppy (i use widescreen setting @ -20db with bass & sub at +12 as a standard)
(don't mess with DD or dts neo, they suck)
for music i use the 7ch or matrix
tv i use matrix
pretty much all the other presettings are lame.

i've wrote enough

5 in value
4 in rating only because of the lack of sleep timer. i cannot believe they put all this technology into this box... but can't make it shut itself off.... pisses me off

Sound and build quality

Batteries for remote from factory do not last long

Having demo'd several units the Denon impressed me the most. To some it may sound flat, compared to Yamaha especially and Onkyo. H/K the build qaulity was fair, and the styling was unattractive. Just plain did not like Onkyo. My perseption of Yahama is now not very good. I thought they used to have elite producs, but they introduce too much to the sound and it become artificial. The NAD unit I was looking at was phenominal, the price was more than I was looking to spend. The Denon is very comparable in my opinion.

Before buying the unit I shopped around. Most authorzed dealers want $1199. Locally we have a shop that sells this unit for $999, and are authorized. Prices on the web were much less, but I had concerns about the warrenty from non-authorized dealers. After doing some research, I asked Crazy Eddies about this, in the US a manufacturer does have to honor the warranty. Still uncertain I decided to call Denon and find out for sure. Here is what they told me: They have to honor the warranty as long as the product is new and came in the original factory sealed package. If the package is opened it may be used or stolen, and thus the warranty is void. With one exception, if is is bought at an authorized dealer and is open the warranty is still in effect. Denon suggested that I photograph the factory seal before opening the unit.

I then asked Crazy Eddies if they open the factory sealed package for any reason, they do not.

If I had to do it all again I would buy online(saving several hundred dollars) and would buy the Denon 3801. In hindsight I would have waited for the 3802...

HT Setup:
Denon AVR-3801
Toshiba SD-2200 DVD
PSB Image Speakers
Center - 8C
Front - 6T
Back - 2B
Dishnetwork 4900 receiver(DPL)
Magnavox 27" Console TV(it was free!)
Waiting to get my Toshiba Wide Screen HDTV
Toshiba VCR & a Zenith VCR

Similar Products Used:

H/K, Onkyo, Yamaha and NAD

Sound quality in stereo
Matrix DSP mode

Absurd user interface (front panel)
Even more absurd manual
Terrible remote contol layout

Better sound quality than most competitors (Yamaha, Onkyo, doesn't fall behind the Rotel RSX 965).
Nice set of features (Multi-Zone, DTS:NEO)
Terrible user interface, especially when it comes to the front panel (the manual doesn't help with the complexity of the UI).

Finally - who the hell needs an only-half backlit remote control when the backlight doesn't include the writing on the buttons???

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 696

many

few

it bugs me when people only put 1 star for this reciever.

this is like rating a mustang or vett a 1 when you're dreaming about lamborghinis or ferraris. if the exotics are a 5, stupid stuff like dodge neons or ford focus should be a 1. and the stang and vett should be about a 3..... wouldn't it?

1 star should be used for a p.o.s. rca or something like that. 1 star ("complete waste") means the reciever probably doesn't support dolby D and can't push a pair of crappy speakers, and just plain sounds bad.

i don't know... maybe some people just can't grasp the concept... oh well.

Tons of inputs/outputs and high-end features

Flat sound

I compared this receiver side-by-side with the Yamaha RXV-520. Granted the Denon 3801 has a broader range of support for DTS-ES and other high-end modes, but the Denon 3801 sounded UNBELIEVABLY flat compared to the Yamaha.

I was astounded. Completely astounded. For example, during an early scene in "Cast Away" (when Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt are sitting in their car in the airport), on the Yamaha you can hear much clearer/cleaner plane sounds in the background. On the Denon, it was muffled and the sounds were not as distinct.

I listened to the same Denon unit at a high-end, local audio store, thinking that perhaps it was my set-up. I heard the exact same "relatively-flat" sound.

My recommendation is to check out Yamaha. I ended up returning the Denon and keeping the Yamaha. I honestly thought it was going to go the other way; I had bought the Yamaha first and -- while I loved the sound -- got concerned that perhaps a Denon would sound twice as good. So, to my surprise, the Denon ended up sounding only half as good.

My speakers are Polk RM-6600's with the PSW-350 sub-woofer. Not super high-end stuff, but good stuff nonetheless.

I just wanted to share my experiences. I don't mean to be trashing Denon or ultra-praising Yamaha, because honestly I haven't checked out any other receiver brands.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RXV-520

I have no idea?

Does not work

Perhaps I purchased a lemon. First of all I can't get the Picture in Picture to work. Secondly I just recently purchased an entire set of new speakers and I hooked them up and the receiver does not work? It automaticly shuts itself off???
Has anyone had similar problems?
I have the 3802 model.

Similar Products Used:

none

Clear, detailed powerful Sound

Really None

I have posted a previous review of the 3801. But after hearing the buzz on the 3802, I had to demo it. I did in my living room. I replaced my 3801 with the 3802. I also switched between the two for comparison. Naturally, I used a SPL meter and my exact room measurements etc. to set them up.

Hear are some of my thoughts.

The 3802 overall sound peformance is not as well balanced. Meaning that, the 3802 lacks the low bass extension of the 3801 in direct mode(no tone controls used). Meaning that when I play the 3801 in direct mode, the sub is at the neutral position and everything sounds full. With the 3802, you have to increase the bass on the sub set up(receiver), or increase gain on sub. In Direct mode without adjustments the 3802 sounded weak and unbalanced in the bass dept.

Normally when I set up the 3801 speaker levels, the sub is about 3-4db higher than the satellites db reference setting. With the 3802 I would have to go up as high as 6-8db higher(unless I turned the gain up on my sub). I used that benchmark, because 3801 Volume range is -60 to -18, 3802 is -70 to -18).

This presented a problem (besides knowing that your almost exact same receiver lacks on the bottom end compared to it's ealier predecessor). My Sub setting on the 3801 was set at 0db at 76db (with other speakers) with my subs gain at 12oclock position.

With the 3802,my sub setting was at +3 at 74db (with sub gain at 2 o clock position). The 3802 had less low end oomph, and it's overall clarity seemed the same as the 3801 (when equally calibrated).

This situation took away 3db of terminal output(-15 instead of -18, your never gonna play it that high but still) on the 3802(because my sub had to be set at +3db in receiver set up). I always like to keep my sub equal to or less than 0 to not overload the receiver. I couldn't do that with the 3802 unless I lowered the speakers db settings (lowering overall output).

I was able to get both to sound similar (with various adjustments)but the point was I didn't have to do that with 3801.

Other than that, both sounded the same when equally calibrated (3802, could of had slightly more detail, but was that due to decreased bass, when I first hooked it up I noticed). Dolby Prologic II didn't do much for music vs. DTS Neo or Matrix, but it's a plus for old movies (where DTS Neo will not convert old 2.0 Dolby Digital). 3801 lacks DPLII.

Loudness wise they were both excellent, and I didn't notice any heat difference.

Now for most people,they will not care much about the differences I mentioned above. But for someone who had the 3801 for 5mo, I was suprised the 5watts more powerful 3802, seemed to lack that low end kick and balanced presentation in Direct mode (remember only Default tone adjustments in direct).

That was something I was not willing to give up. They're both excellent.

I hope that provided some insight.

P.S.
I returned the 3802 on the 29th day (and enjoyed the 3801) for most of them when I decided I liked it's sound/hook up better.

ML

Very good DD and DTS Decoders, 7.1 Channels Surrond, 5 Channel stereo.
Much BETTER than my Pioneer VSX908RDS(THX Reciver)

Design, remote (but once you get the hang of it, it´s not that bad), manual

I was a little sceptical, when I swiched my Pioneer vsx908rds, fore the denon avr 3801. But after I got past the remote/manual problems, and got all features set up, I knew I had got a MUCH better product than the one I har before.
Please excuse my pore English, I`s been a while since I`ve used It.
You are welcome to Write my if you have any problems with the setup.

Ian, Denmark

Similar Products Used:

Other Denon A/V Recivers

Just for the record i have the Marantz SR6200 and it works awsome. It does not smoke or burn and the learning remote works great as well. The sound is clean and crisp. I'm powering Monitor Audio Bronze 2's and Bronze 1's and the centre channel of course and the system sounds great. No sub yet but the bass out of the speakers is really good and the bi-wiring makes it all that much better. I'D REALLY APPRECIATE ANYONE ELSE'S REVIEW OF THE SR6200, THANKS. I do not understand how if its made in china means its going to burn down... mentioned by the other fellow.