110 true watts per channel!! Incredible Sound Quality!!

Manual as everyone already said, really is bad. Common Denon get real.

Excellent!! I bought the Denon AVR-2802 a couple of months ago. The company I bought it from has a 120 day trade up program so I took advantage of it and upgraded to the 3802. The 2802 will leave most in awe but the 3802?! Un$%#&*#$ beleivable!! It simply blew me away playing "The Matrix" DVD @ -10 and its max volume is plus 11. Take full advantage of all speaker connections for HT, and in my opinion it sounds better than a real theater!!

Similar Products Used:

Denon 1602,1802,2802.

Powerful, has all connections needed for the near future, amp inputs for 7.1 (if/when it comes).

I've used better remotes. Instructions could be a little clearer. But no weakness with the actual receiver.

Let me start off by saying I was researching a receiver for almost 2 years. And I mean researching (I'm actually a professional researcher for a living). I started out looking at the 3801. But it took me until until almost the end of the model year for the 3802 to actually make a purchase. This receiver is a bargain for under $1,000. I've owned receivers by Pioneer and Yamaha and this one tops them both. I was a little concerned about buying another just under $1000 receiver. The Denon has much more ooomph than the Yamaha and is cleaner than the Pioneer. For the price it has no weaknesses. At 110 watts per channel, it has more than enough power and it provides this power for up to 7 speakers. It has inputs for everything, including HD sources, digital coax and toslink. I have a rather small LR (12x15)and this fills the room with sound and I barely have to turn up the volume. I power all klipsch speakers with it and it will make the house shake with most movies. My biigest regret is that I can't really use it up to its full potention because my neighbors would have me arrested (and my wife would kill me). Also does a great job of converting stereo signals to 6.1 for regualr TV listening (although some lower budget commercials seem to trip it up from time to time). You cannot buy a better reciver for this price. There are other good recivers out there, but nothing that outshines it for the same price. I was scared away from Marantz, because they seemed to be having some quality control problems at the time (altrhough I hear they have since straightened themelves out). I also had trouble finding an authorized dealer in my area. But they seemed to be a good choice for the price. I also considered an HK, but (ashamed to admit this) they look cheap. Those backlit displays drive me nuts. I keep envisioning those little bulbs burning out and me not being able to see them and not knowing what mode I'm in. But they also get good reviews. But in the end I decided on the 3802 and have been very happy with it. It makes me wonder what the 5803 must sound like with 170 wtts of power to each channel. If you are undecided as to what to buy, you will not waste your money with this receiver. And with teh next model up costing over $2000, this reciver is the sweet spot of the Denon line.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Pioneer, other Denon and even Aiwa

8 channels, processor.

sound detailed for the price.

I've owner this receiver about half a year. My first impression was the much appraised detailed sound, lots of new things revealed from my old cds; i listen mainly music, cds and tuner; tuner turner out pretty soon to be horrible, flat; so I changed to a real good british one. The result was my disappointment with cd sound after that, so I changed the player to arcam top model. Ok, now it turned out that the denon amplification was not transparent enough, it turned out to be unmusical and flat. Now I use a separate high end status amplification for the front channels,and i'm satisfied. I think the prosessor part of 3802 is quite good, and for cds the dplII mode is really enjoyable. Without sacds now the surround channels will work adequately through 3802. Perhaps later these channels will also need a better qualified amplification. So, this is to say that the 3802 may well serve as a heart of things to come, provided the amplification part of things is uppraised. For the price of 3802, there are not many 8 channel processors at market. For that price, you cannot get really satisfying stereo amplification, unless you invest at least the same money for extra two channel power amplification, too.

Similar Products Used:

yamaha.

You can either set the speakers to large or small. If you set them to large, your subwoofer goes on vacation. If you set them to small you don't get the most out of your speakers, especially if you have medium to large size speakers that are cabpable of good bass production. I prefer setting all of my speakers to small when watching movies and all of my speakers to large except the center channel when listening to music. The optical inputs are too close together. I am using two Monster Optical Lightspeed 200 cables, and I had to put one in the first input and the second in the third input because the cables rubbed against each other when I had them in the first and second inputs. I don't know what I'll do when I get a satelite dish with an optical output. There's an extra input for it, but just not enough room. Maybe they make a high quality cable with a smaller head.

I researched various surrond receivers for about two months. I narrowed it down to the Denon AVR-3802, the Onkyo TX-DS898, and the Denon AVR-4802. I ruled out the Onkyo first because I read a lot of reviews which stated that the Onkyo TX-DS898 was no better than the Denon AVR-3802. Since I could get the Denon for four hundred dollars less, it was a no brainer. Next I ruled out the Denon 4802 because of the huge price increase compared to the 3802. It cost approximately $1,000 more dollars. I would have liked to have THX cerification and a little extra muscle but not at that price. So I decided on the 3802. So far, I'm very satisfied. My favorite feature is the Pro Logic II Cinema capability. I don't have digital cable, yet the sound when played in Pro Logic II is better than I ever imagined it would be. The surround sound effect is terrific through the audio output of the TV or Hi- Fi VCR. The subwoofer does in fact function in Pro Logic II mode contrary to what another reviewer stated. As far as muscle goes. It has plenty for my needs. I am running two JBL LXE 990's (with 10 inch woofers) as my front mains, and four JBL LX 500's (with 8 inch woofers) as my side and back surrounds, a JBL S-Series II center channel and a 400 watt S-Series II 12 inch subwoofer. The 3802 offers plenty of head room for all of my speakers. Set up was a breeze because I took an earlier reviewers advice and downloaded the manual before the unit arrived. I read it all the way through. It was confusing, but after a while I figured it out. Once the receiver arrived, I was up and running in about 30 minutes. I like the remote. It is easy to program, and it has replaced all of my other remotes. It flawlessly controls an RCA big screen TV, a Scientific Atlatic cable box, a Denon DVD player, an RCA VCR, and Onkyo Integra CD player. I still haven't figured out how to program the 3802's remote to control my Onkyo cassette deck. This probably isn't possible because the deck only worked with the remote control on my old Onkyo Integra receiver after I connected an RI remote wire.

I still love this receiver; wouldn't trade it for anything. The sound quality is second to none, and the prologic II is to die for with cable movies.

Don't know why I have a problem with a 90 day-old unit.

This is an update to an earlier review. I have had a problem with my receiver, and I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. When I turn on the power switch, the display goes on for a moment, and then the receiver shuts down. This happens between 10 and 15 times each day, the first time I try to power it up, before it eventually stays on. The manual says this is a result of shorted speaker connections, but that is not the case. I have taken it to Audiolab, where they are attempting to get a return authorization from Denon to replace it for me. I am disappointed, as I had 3 Yamahas in the last 4 years, and never had a moment's trouble with them

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Onkyo

Flawless processing, amplification, quality. excellent user interface.

On screen display signal does not get transmitted through the Progressive Scan connections. So if I am watching DVD, the OSD is unavailable. Its a bit of a drag. Also, there is no line level in/out loop for the front channels.

Receivers are so complex that they are difficult to review concisely. So rather than focusing on the nitty gritty, I'll talk generally. The 3802 has top notch amplification. It has superb processing. Its built very well. Its ergonomics and user interface are excellent. I have a $7000 speaker ensemble, and the 3802 commands it with authority. I had always scoffed at receivers' ability to cleanly drive lots of low efficiency speakers, but the 3802 has aquitted itself with flying colors. I have failed to stress out the amps. The DTS/Dolby Digital/ Pro Logic II processing is fantastic.

Similar Products Used:

Sonys, mostly. An Onkyo. A pioneer.

Sound, features, flexibility, future-proof!

I didn't buy it before now.

Ignor any reviews here that don't rate the Denon AVR 3802 as superb. Of course, with all electronics, there is the odd defective unit. Mine is not one of them. Everything has worked absolutely perfectly. I have owned many recievers over the years. When I first fired up this Denon fed from the digital out from my Toshiba DVD 5700 and playing a favorite CD (Brand X "Masques) I could not believe the sound quality. There was percussion I'd never heard before, new guitar and keyboard tracks emerged, new layers were unveiled - the detail and lack of distortion was truly spine-tingling. And this just a basic CD from a 1977 recording. When I started playing my modest collection of audiophile and HDCDs, it got even even better. I want to particularly point out the utter lack of background noise from this receiver. Every glorious note comes out and an inky blackness I've never experienced before. Magazine review tests confirm these class-leading signal to noise levels. Then I moved on to DVDs. The 5.1 surround modes (I don't have center surrounds yet) sounded as I expected, mind-blowing. At higher volumes the detail and dynamics were almost scary. This machine even makes broadcast stereo sound excellent. Concerning some of the reviewers' complaints about the Owners Manual and remote control: like anything new, these take a little time to get accustomed to. With the manual, you soon learn the style of the descriptions and graphics. Then I had no trouble setting up the vast number of features and parameters you can set and control with this unit. Same goes for the remote. In closing, if you want extremely accurate sound reproduction out of a dead-silent background, plus all the home theater goodies you could ever want, the Denon 3802 is your answer. And it's practically future-proof..

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Technics, Sherwood, Sony receivers.

FYI... I have this 3802 receiver for about 8 months and it sounds good. While playing my CDs(via digital input) and SACDs(via analog input), I cannot stop thinking that something is missing from the sound. To fix it, I have bought a separate amp, PS AUDIO HCA-2, to drive my main speakers, which is the KEF 65.2. It helped bring out more of the details, but still something was still missing. While trying to identify the hum coming from the 3802 with the HCA-2 amp, I have found this tweak by accident. By removing the FM/AM circuit board from the main board, the sound improved a great deal. Everything sound a whole lot better...bass, midrange, soundstage, etc... It was amazing! Now the amp has moved from good to excellent. Try it and you will be also be amazed!

Power, Clean sound

Manual - though it is not as bad as some make it out to be

I recently bought this unit running it with polk speakers all around. Still need to get two more speakers to take full advantage of the 7 channel sound but so far so good. I have to say after reading the reviews here I knew this unit had the guts but I was unsure if it was user friendly. There are some things that are rough around the edges. When you hook up your components make sure they are all s-video or all rca plugs or whatever those generic plugs are. It wont work mixed with some units using s video and some not. Some reviews noted that you can not change the radio stations from the remote ..that is not true. Befor you can use this function one must realize that the reciever remote option has 3 functions, amp,multi and tuner maker sure you select tuner and then read the manual for changing stations. The manual kind of skipped that part! I also had hopes of hooking up my equalizer to this unit which is nearly impossible. Example: dvd to equalizer to reciever but then your other devices would not be going through an equalizer. I was told that with a receiver and speakers this good you do not need an equalizer. Well I really enjoy highs and my polks are not high friendly but will do just fine when running through an equalizer. So my only choice would be to buy three equalizers one for my satellite, dvd, and vcr. Kind of dissapointing on such a high end receiver. Another review mentioned i believe that you have to get up to change the source or only use your remote for it. Wrong the remote's number keys correspond to your various components. The receiver itself has a dial knob that switches to various components as opposed to my older denon which had buttons for each. So far I really enjoy the sound quality and the punch it delivers. Good clean sound! The remote is not awesome, rather it does what it needs to.

Similar Products Used:

denon avr 14000

Power!! Seven channel processing and seven channel stereo. Stereo music.

Manual is difficult to use, making set-up harder than it needs to be. Codes for remote not complete, lots of stuff it won't operate.

I replaced a Denon 2700 with this model. increased power was readily apparent. There is a stronger center image,nd bigger soundstage with stereo music. I had to immediately go out and purchase to new speakers to complete a seven speaker setup to take full advantage of the units seven channel processing, and what I've heard so far has been great; much more of a "you are there" feeling. I'm not one for gimmicky effects, but seven channel stereo through this unit simply must be heard to be appreciated.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 2700, Pioneer VSX498