Remote Control, Sound Quality, Auto Sound Format Detection, Amp Power, Rear Panel has a sufficient amount of In/Outputs

Price= $812 ($769 + $42 for shipping), Its a little heavy- weights 37 pounds, No AM/FM button on front panel of the reciever, you have to swith from FM to AM with with the remote (which is nothing to cry about).

I'm no good in depicting what superior audio sound is, so I done my research over the net instead of at an audio shop. I choose to buy a Dennon brand AVR because of the rave reviews it has recieved everywhere on the net. I went with the 3802 over the 2802 because of 3 reasons. A better remote control, more Amp power (110w vs 90w), and 7 power amp channels vs 6. The price was the only detractor of the 3802. It cost me around $800. Which ain't bad if you compare it to upgrading to the higher priced THX models (which are $1,200 and up).

The LCD Learning Remote that comes with the 3802 is the best remote I've ever used.

Overall, I'm very happy this unit. It doesn't seem to have many limitations. Everything works well (which was one of my main concerns when I bought it from ldgsuperstore.com). It took just 5 days for delivery and everything was (and still is) in perfect working order.

I'll give the 3802 a 5 star rating, but what do I know. I don't know if it is the best in the $800 price range, but I do know that it meets all my needs and is the best Dennon AVR that I can afford.


My HT-
Dennon 3802 AVR
Toshiba 4205 DVD Changer
Sony DTV TiVo Reciever
old Zenith 27" TV (can't afford a Toshiba Big Screen yet)
Speakers:
6- Acoustic Research AR17 Bookshelf
1- Acoustic Research ARC4 Center Channel
1- Sony WM40 Subwoofer

Interconntects: (I spent about $300 here alone)
Acoustic Research Performance Series-
7 sets of Banana plugs
150' of 16 gauge speaker wire
2 Digital Optical Cables
3 S-Video Cables
1 Audio Cable

Similar Products Used:

none

Sound quality in Stereo and Digital surround.
A lot off features for the money.

Remote.
Volume level on Receiver display to small.

INTRODUCTION. This review is a follow up of a earlier review where i said that had in mind to replace mine Denon AVR 3300 by the AVR 3802 for the reason that it should sound better in stereo (CD’ s), has Dolby Prologic 2 and a better remote (LCD display).
When i switch 2 years ago from Prologic to DD i did want a receiver and a dvd player which sounds also good in stereo because i am listening most off the time to CD’ s. Bruce Springsteen (favorite), John Mellencamp, John Hiatt, Melissa Etheridge, thus mostly pop and rock. The 3300 is still a excellent receiver but the second track on mine favorite CD; Nils Lofgren Every Breath; Tender Love i noticed that on the end off slow drum beats or maybe slow bass guitar hits there is some strange resonance coming from the speakers sounding like; mmmmmmzzzzz… This effect is difficult to describe but i guess it is between the 100 and 400 Hz and can on quiet listening moments sometime rather unpleasant. When i use cheap loudspeaker cable it gets even worse. Mine earlier NAD 716 Prologic receiver and NAD 514 CD player did not have this effect so noticeable. I thought the 3802 could solve this problem. By the way the 3300 plays 98 % off all mine CD’ s very well; Alicia Keys, Songs In A Minor, no problems at all.

INFO. Before ordering/testing i did some investigation in some old and new Audio and Video magazines i read to compare the 3300, the 3801 and some other competitors with the 3802.
From the German magazine AudioVision (www.audiovision.de) i took the following measurements; power in 8 ohm, power in 4 ohm, noise reduction in Dolby Prologic, noise reduction in Dolby Digital en the increase in temperature from a standby situation to a situation where the 5 amplifiers are driven simultaneously (Surround).
Denon AVR 3300; 5x95 watt, 5x118 watt, 80-84dB, 87-88dB, 38 degrees.
Denon AVR 3801; 5x85 watt, 5x50 watt, 80-88dB, 89dB, 27 degrees with fan.
Denon AVR 3802; 5x104 watt, 5x149 watt, 80-84dB, 88-89dB, 1 degree with fan.
Harman Kardon 7000; 5x105 watt, 5x148 watt, 79-85dB, 87dB, 26 degrees.
Kenwood KRF-X 775 D; 5x111 watt, 5x135 watt, 80-89Db, 98-91dB, 4 degrees with fan.
Marantz SR 7000; 5x80 watt, not allowed, 80dB, 82-84dB, 31 degrees.
Marantz SR 7200; 5x41 watt, 5x60 watt, 70-71dB, 79-83dB, 26 degrees.
Onkyo TX-DS 696; 5x56 watt, 5x76 watt, 79-84dB, 86-89dB, 36 degrees,
Onkyo TX-DS 787; 5x90 watt, 5x111 watt, 83-91dB, 84-91dB, 5 degrees with fan.
Onkyo TX-DS 797; 5x62 watt, 5x52 watt, 70-73dB, 73-76dB, 20 degrees with fan.
Yamaha A2; 5x86 watt, 5x78 watt, 77-81dB, 80-84dB, 49 degrees.
German Magazines measure almost every thing; bassmanagement (subwoofer output, routing LFE signals to frontspeakers, speaker setting etc.), power measurement, frequency curves in Prologic and DD, noise reduction, impulsdistorsion etc. Did you known; for example, that the Onkyo TX-DS 797 and the very expensive Lexicon MC12, when there is no subwoofer connected and the LFE signal is directed to the frontspreakers, it gave in DTS mode the LFE signal 10 dB respectively 3 dB to loud!!!!!. It seems that more surround receivers and amplifier have this problem. Also most receivers have a current limiter, which can switch off the receiver to protect the receiver and the loudspeakers but many times much to soon; the Onkyo TX-DS 797 after five seconds during power measurements in the surround mode. In normal use, at home, there are normally no big problems and in stereo mode most receivers have sufficient power and do not have problem with current limiters.

MY SYSTEM;
Surround receiver; Denon AVR 3300.
DVD player; Denon DVD 2500.
Widescreen television; Panasonic TX-PF 36.
Videorecorder; Panasonic HD650.
Frontspeakers; B&W CDM1.
Center speaker; B&W CC6.
Rear speaker; B&W CDM2.
Subwoofer; B&W ASW 2000
Front audio cables; Van den Hul C-122.
Rear audio cables; Unknown cheap brand.
Digital coax cable; Brand unknown.
Digital optical cable; Brand unknown.

SET UP. DVD player is connected via the digital coax to CD input en via the digital optical to the DVD input of the receiver. CD input is set to CD direct en the DVD input is set to Dolby/DTS surround. DVD player is direct connected via a scart cable to the widescreen television. All speakers are set to large and the subwoofer output is also directed to the frontspeakers, cinema-eq is off. Subwoofer level on the receiver is set to 0 dB in stereo and +2 dB in surround mode.Volume level on the B&W subwoofer is set on nine o’ clock, cross over frequency on 70Hz and phase off. For listening to CD’s the volume level is set on –40dB and listening to DVD on –12 to -14 dB on the receiver. I live in a stand alone house and mine livingroom has an L-form and is about 40 square meters big. Watching television from about 3,3 meters distance, rear speakers are seated on both sides of the couch witch is placed in front of a wall (original Dolby set up).

STEREO. The effect mentioned in the beginning off this review is also to be heard on the following tracks;
Sade, Lovers rock, first track; By Your Side.
Bruce Springsteen, Live at New York City, fifth track; Mansion On The Hill.
John Mellencamp, Cuttin’ Heads, second track; Peaceful World.
Sorry to say but the effect did not disappear with the 3802. Testing the 3300 and 3802 side by side and the DVD 2500 between and on top of them i could compare directly (had to switch the digital input and the loudspeaker cables). I used from John Mellencamp' s CD Cuttin’ Heads (exellent CD) the first track; Cuttin’ Heads to compare. Although the 3300 sounds very good I must admit that the 3802 has a little bit more open and lively sound.

DOLBY PROLOGIC 2. Should be better for old Dolby surround movies and for stereo CD’ s, but i noticed that it is no substitute for programs on cable TV or the extra' s on DVD' s recorded in stereo or mono. The Cinema mode has the same problem as Prologic that stereo sound is "placed" in the center speaker, you hear almost no sound from the left and right frontspeaker, except with music sound. In the music mode, watching movies or stereo recordings, it can indeed spread the sound over the three frontspeakers but I really do not understand why Dolby developed two modes for Dolby Prologic 2. The music mode seems to be the better but is not intent to use for movies. For me this test session was disappointing.
In DD i noticed that the 3802 has a little bit more bass power and i also did not hear the fan after a couple of hours listening to CD’ s or watching a DVD movie; the receivers stays hand warm.

REMOTE. This remote is based on the Philips SBC RU880 en is certainly no substitute for the remote belonging to the 3300. Although many people complain about 3300 remote, i like the slide switches (right under your tumb) for the reason that i only control the Receiver, the TV, the DVD (CD) and sometimes the VCR and that function buttons, witch you normally do not use, are behind a flap. I expected that the 3802 remote could also control more functions of the Denon dvd player like; repeat mode, subtitle, audio but it did not and the most important functions play, stop and pause are controlled by the cursor button!!!

CONCLUSION. Two year ago mine 3300 was costing about 1250 dollar and a new 3802 now 1500 dollar, when i switch the 3300 for the 3802 i had to pay 750 dollar. If you do not use the surround back channels (for movies or multi room) it is not worth the money to upgrade, but if you are looking for a new receiver with excellent sound quality, a lot off features, technically very good and you can live with the remote buy the 3802.

Thanks to Hofma Beeld en Geluid in Drachten, The Netherlands an authorized DENON dealer for borrowing the 3802.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR 3300.

Awesome sound, very clean, full spectrum of harmonics, great look, nice remote with lcd and backlight, stable power supply with 110 watts at 8 ohms with less than 0.05% THD for 8 channels, Made in Japan, Prologic II and DTS-ES.

None

I just received it today. I wanted a home theater receiver that had DTS-ES, Prologic II, and that had excellent stereo specifications for music. I have been researching the market for several months and was influenced by the Denon reputation, reviews here, and my recent purchase of a Denon DCM-370 HDCD CD changer. My HK AVR-85 that I considered to be an audiophile receiver for stereo showed the improved sound of the DCM-370, but then I wanted more. I had to turn up the volume to hear the full soundstage that had not been revealed before. I tested the Technics SA-DA 10N since it has a 113 dB S/N in stereo with its VGCA and the depth of sound improved, but it seemed less natural, harder, brighter than the HK. Finally, I decided to go with Denon and I chose the AVR-3802 since the AVR-3801 was so highly rated last year and because it has a 32-bit floating point DSP in contrast to the AVR-2802 which has a 24-bit DSP. The next step up is beyond my budget. The setup was easy: 15 minutes for wiring and arranging and a little more for going through the menu with the on screen diplay. But I had downloaded the complete manual of operating instructions from the Denon website (I have two copies) and read through it making notes in the margins before my AVR-3802 arrived today. Wow, all I have listened to so far is music in stereo. I am hearing details unrevealed by my HK AVR-85. The sound is very warm, natural and balanced throughout the complete frequency range. Voices are so clear and words understood. I have not even cranked up the volume, all the sound is there at low volume. Al Dimeola's Midnight Sun never sounded so dynamic so harmonic so full of presence and sustain, so clean. The same has been true for everything else I listened to today, even FM. My speakers are new again. Needless to say, but I am very happy with this purchase. A great receiver and even better for the price I paid. I'll post another review when I get around to trying out the home theater features of my Denon AVR-3802.

Similar Products Used:

Harman/Kardon AVR-85, Technics SA-DA 10N

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Hi

There are many e-mail to me about Yahoo Shopping. I do not work for them. Please do not send me e-mail about that. Many one asks for the warranty and return policies, I believe the stores there provide it. But each store is different. I usually find a local warranty provider and bring it in if I need any warranty services (to save shipping). I only did that once for my Infinity HPS-1000 subwoofer (got it from uBid, see my review on this site). It is not the same as buying from local store but this is why you save the big buck for less services. (Some local stores are worse than on line purchases !)

Here is the buyer protection policy from Yahoo Shopping:

http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/shop/shop-40.html

They protect from $750 to $1000. eBay only protects up to $175 (just find that out) !!

http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/insurance.html

Again, please do not send me e-mail about shopping but I welcome discussion of the receivers or speakers.

If you are into Tennis, there is the supper store to save big buck too:

http://www.e-rackets.com/RacketSpecials.html

I got the "Head Ti S8 for for $70, retail for $250 or more. Check your local sports store. I love this racket !

Merry Christmas to all !

Similar Products Used:

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Clean Sound, power, and clean look

Clumsy manual, quirky remote.

I did a lot of research on various receivers and for my personal taste it came down to the 2802 or the 3802 (Integra was in the running, but I hated how they looked - cheap). I worked hard to find an authorized dealer who would work with me on the price, I liked the 3802 but didn't want to spend $999. I decided that I didn't want to give up the manufacture warranty by purchasing over the web. I brought it home yesterday and set it up and all I can say is WOW. It's like someone took a blanket off of my speakers. The music reproduction and the movies are amazing. I've actually turned my rears down a little (they were boosted near max on the Yamaha).

Now for the real world stuff. The remote is not the best, however, it does seem to handle almost everything (Hughes DSS is having some problems). The worst part is just figuring out how the remote handles a given command. Ultimately, I will probably use my RCA universal remote instead, but I have seen far worse remotes on receivers (like the one with the 4802). The biggest problem is the manual. It tells you the order in which to do things, but doesn't tell you why or what to do once you select an item, very odd. Really though if that is my only beef than it must be a great unit, I was able to do most things without the manual as the OSD is very easy to use and walks you through the process. I also wish it would convert my non S-video VCR signal to a S-video signal, but of course the price would go back up then.

One thing to keep in mind, is that this receiver is best if you are using your TV as a "monitor" that way you have very little that is not displayed on your screen and it removes the need for different remotes (although I wish they had used Home Theater's MX-500).

Lastly, the sound is stunning and the unit appears to be solid. I cranked it on both music and movies all day and night yesterday, no heat problem no sound blips. As a point of reference here is my system, not expensive but one of the best sounding setups I've heard period, and there are some tweeks coming:

Main speakers: KEF Q35.2 (the 65.2 or 75.2 are also nice)
Center: JBL Studio great center channel, may upgrade to the KEF Q95c.2 but I currently don't feel the need as this one sounds great.
Rear Speakers: KEF Q15.2 perfect match
Subwoofer: Infinity BU-120
DVD: Proscan PS8600P
CD: Yamaha CDC-645

I would highly recommend this receiver and the speakers above (Infinity doesn't make the sub any more, which may be lucky as it appears I have the only good one.)

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX-V393

110 watts by 7 channels.
Sounds better than the Pioneer Elite VSX36TX, Yam RXV1000 and all sony ES recievers.

Simple layout for ease of use.

Bang for the buck.

On screen menu's and manual suck.

If you can afford to get the 4802, get it.

Good buy for the money, but you are still settling. Not much flexibility with inputs, but a great sounding amp- with good dynamic range.

Get it if its at the limit of your cash, but if you can get better- do so.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX33-37tx
Yamaha rxv420-v1200
Sony ES333-555

DPL-II, dts-ES, lots of power!! 2 powered surround-back channels. It looks slick, sounds great and has plenty of rear panel inputs.

Manual is difficult at first, at least for this newbie it was. Remote is not very well designed.

This is my first receiver and I love it!!! I'm still putting my HT system together and all I have right now are two Polk RT2000i's for the front L&R speakers but even with just those this puppy rocks. I'll update this review in the coming months but for now the 3802 gets 5 out of 5.

Similar Products Used:

Looked at comparable H/K, Sony, Pioneer and Onkyo receivers. Still satisfied that I made the right decision.

Sorry to do this, but I feel compelled to respond to Mr. Wilkinson's remarks in regards to the denon 3802. Every one is entitled to their opinion, and I respect that.

I must admit I am a little surprised of the low 2/5 rating for this receiver. I own Krell, Aragon, and Rotel amps and I have listened to other similar high-end amplifiers, and I agree that the amplification stages of the Denon RECEIVER does not compare to that of audiophile amps, but it is unfair to make these comparisons, because audiophile amps are far more expensive products than the Denon RECEIVER - key being receiver with its abilities not only as an amplifier, but with a built-in tuner, and digital av sound processor. With a street price of about US$800-900 from authorized denon dealers, the Denon3802 is one outstanding Receiver. I admit that I use my audiophile amps instead of the Denon's amplification stage, but I have listened to the music from the built-in amp and for the price of this RECEIVER, the denon3802 offers pretty decent musicality. Cd listening with the Denon under "direct mode" is pretty enjoyable for me because of the decent quality DAC's in the unit.

I had considered similar priced Receivers from Marantz, NAD, Rotel, Yamaha but after researching the features, quality, reviews I narrowed it to the Denon receiver and I have absolutely no regrets. I found myself ever more happy with this unit everyday I use it, and truthfully, that rarely happens with me.

For those of you who would consider the NAD t761, be forewarned of its poor reliability and quality, and "popping" issues. My GOODNESS!!!! These facts alone makes me discard this receiver as an option. There is no way I am going to subject my speakers to that kind of abuse, PERIOD!!!! The NAD is an attractive receiver, and it think it has the respectable Crystal DSP processors and Sigma-Delta ADCs and DACs, and they do have 12v triggers, and 3 digital co-ax inputs, but they do lack the ES in DTS nor does it have pro-logic 2. But the the thing that kicks me in the head is the serious reliability and popping problems with the NAD receiver. Recommending the NAD receiver as a better alternative than the Denon is so.... well unbelievable. As Jim had mentioned, please read the reviews for the NAD t761 - it will make you sick to the stomach.


Lets talk about the Marantz SR7200. This is a good receiver. I seriously was going to consider getting this unit because it has dc triggers, video switching, front av jacks for those who want the convenience of connecting stuff like the game consoles, it has DTS-ES, Prologic 2, discrete power amps, a cool remote control, and the marantz reputation for having decent quality audio. The following is the reasons why I eventually swayed to the Denon:

Even though this unit may have been designed by Marantz engineers, it is made in CHINA, while the Deon is made in Japan. I suspect that is why some of the early Marantz units were having some "popping and unreliability issues". The newer production lines are supposed to have address these problems but I wasn't about to take a chance on it.

For me, reliability is the second most important factor, next to quality of sound from theatre dsp rendering and music rendering. The quietness of the Receiver (eg. hissing), was third on my list of factors, and then comes stuff like ergonomics, remote controls, and then manuals. That is why I rated the Denon a 4.5/5.

For those readers that are considering getting a receiver in this price range give the Denon3802 and the Marantz sr7200 an audition. They are both good receivers and both deserve at least a 4/5 and are currently the two best Receivers in its price bracket. It is understandable that people will encounter problems with their units and will leave them very frustrasted with their units and punish these 2 good receivers with excessively low marks, while there are others that may have hidden adjendas to promote their product of choice and demote their competitors. Then ther are others that are just totally out to lunch. Of course there are some individuals do provide a very open minded, unbiased and reasonably knowledgeable postings. Just keep that in mind when you research your Receiver.

Where do I fit in the scope of things? I will leave that to you to decide.

Good luck in your quest for audio/video nirvana.

Ken

Sound, Power, Setup (just follow the on-screen setup and forget the manual...)

Remote Control

First I had a Marantz SR-7200 and I returned it (see my previous review and also at the Marantz revieuws).

In the beginning but I hesitated about the price difference but now I'm convinced it was worth it (difference of about 495 €).

It's sound is still improving every day (normal burn-in period can take some time)

Like I said before the sound is different from Marantz and I missed a kind of freshness in the sound but now I'm convinced that the Denon sound is more natural. My wife is a musician and she says that the sound is more honest. Some can say it sounds flat (in stereo mode) but it's a natural sound.

When it comes to home theater modes (5.1 channels driven by the Denon) then you feel the difference between the Marantz in Power. This receiver is a lot more powerfull that the SR-7200 (tests have shown that the power stays more or less equal for 2 channels driven or 5 channels which is not the case for Marantz).

The soundquality is more or less equal for DD or DTS (except more powerfull) but the additional adjustments for all the surround modes make it more worth (which is not the case for the SR-7200). Dolby-PLII sounds a lot better whit the Denon. I have "Indiana Jones and the Last Cruisade" on VHS and I thought (concerning soundquality and sounddepth) that it really was DD...

The only thing that I don't like is that the sub-woofer is active even in the direct mode (for stereo sources). This mode made a real difference with the Marantz.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR-7200

processing, sound

ergonomics

Setup, sound, processing all excellent; however, 3 items made me return it:

Weak tuner

Inabililty to remember between DPLII movie/music modes when switching sources

Last and most important: No "simulcasting" from remote - In other words if you want to watch a football game and listen to music, you must walk to the unit and select different audio/video outputs from the front panel. This is fine if you never want to listen to the game, but if there's a news break or something you want to hear and you switch the audio to TV from the remote, you have to walk back over to the unit to switch it back to another source. Since my current tv has only 1 s-video input, I use my receiver to switch between my dvd and satellite receivers s-video outputs so bypassing the Denon's video wasn't an option.

I took it back to Tweeter and the guys there gave me absolutely no hassle about returning it.

Bought the Marantz 8200 and so far its terrific