A great Receiver, but worth the price?

I decided to upgrade my audio/video receiver (a/v receiver) to take advantage of the new surround sound formats available on HD DVD and Bluray discs: Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio. My previous a/v receiver, a Denon AVR-1804, has served me well for the past 3.5 years, so I decided to stick with Denon (I almost went Yamaha). With that decision made, I had to decide which Denon a/v receiver I would get.

Since I was upgrading my receiver, I wanted to do my best to avoid any future upgrades for at least 5 or 6 years, but I didn't want to spend more than $2000. I wanted at least 100W per channel (up from the 75W per channel output from my Denon AVR-1804) and I needed at least 3 HDMI inputs so I could connect my Bluray player, HD DVD player and my DVR to take advantage of video switching. That led me to select the AVR-3808CI. I decided that the extra HDMI inputs the 3808CI had compared to the 2808CI was worth the money (if you're thinking about buying a Denon you can review their new receiver line at www.denon.com). Now I had to decide from whom I would purchase this expensive machine, which cost more than my TV.

If you search online, you can find this receiver heavily discounted (I think I saw if for $1200), but I wanted to buy from a company I had done business with in the past and knew I could trust: Crutchfield. Using their Web site was easy and they promised quick shipment. No one in my local area sells this thing.

I placed my order Thursday afternoon, December 27, 2007. Later that day I received a phone call from a Crutchfield representative confirming the order (I suppose for security reasons due to the price) and was informed the order would ship out that day. According to the UPS tracking, the order information was sent to UPS on Friday, but UPS didn't pick up the item until Monday, December 31, 2007. That was disappointing. Due to New Year's Day, I didn't receive the a/v receiver until Friday evening, January 4, 2008. To me, that was a week and one day after placing my order. Apparently, UPS doesn't ship on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays, so in reality, the only days my order could have shipped are December 28, December 31, January 2, January 3 and January 4. That's 5 business days; a far cry from the promised 2 to 3 business days (although Crutchfield did warn of a possible 2 business day delay due to the holidays). Still, I did get impatient toward the end, and it was disappointing that UPS didn't pick up the package on Friday or deliver on Saturday.

Anyway, the first thing I noticed was that the foam holding the Denon in place was cracked as if the box had been dropped pretty hard. Not to worry, all was fine, but it was disconcerting. The second thing I noticed was how heavy this thing was. The AVR-3808CI was about the same size as my previous AVR-1804, which was great since it fit into my rack, but it was much heavier. It must weigh about 40 pounds, but it's heavier on the left side so it's awkward to pick up. Be wary of that.

Prior to its arrival, I downloaded the owner's manual from Denon's Web site so I could get started on figuring it out. I was a little intimidated by what I thought was the complexity of this thing, but I am happy to report that after a few days I feel very comfortable operating it and adjusting the settings. Let's talk about that.

The first thing I did was hook up all my gear (obviously). You can view pictures of the machine on Denon's Web site, so you can view all the inputs and outputs, so I won't list them all, but it does have 4 HDMI 1.3a inputs, 3 component video inputs, 3 optical audio inputs and an Ethernet input. This last input is especially important for firmware updates.

Through HDMI inputs 1 through 3 I hooked up my Bluray player (PS3), HD DVD player and my DVR, and I still have one input left just in case. That's important for future purchases and is why I selected the 3808 over the 2808, which has only 2 HDMI inputs. I also hooked up my Denon DVD 2200 and Nintendo Wii through 2 of the 3 component inputs. Of course my Denon DVD 2200 is also connected to the receiver via the analog inputs for SACD and DVD-Audio playback (unfortunately I don't have a Denon Link cable and it wasn't included in the box). Then, and here's the best part, I have only a single HDMI cable connecting my receiver to my TV. Yes! I never have to switch inputs on my TV because the Denon AVR-3808CI automatically switches and upconverts lower non-HDMI signals and sends them via HDMI to my TV. This is fantastic.

I also was able to connect the Denon to my modem through its Ethernet connection to download firmware updates. Please note that there are two firmware updates already available depending on the serial number of the machine. The update took about an hour, but was so easy with the Ethernet connection.

The first thing I did after connecting the components was to set up the Audyssey MultEQ XT. Basically, you plug in the little microphone and via on screen display (OSD) the system walks you though the process of detecting and calibrating your speakers. First, the Audyssey will detect your speaker set up. I was intially frustrated becaues I couldn't figure out why the Denon had a hard time recognizing the surround back speaker in my 6.1 set-up. I went back and forth with Denon's customer service about this. Admittedly, I had the surround back speaker plugged into the wrong speaker terminal (I misunderstood the manual and customer service rep in regards to which speaker terminal to use) and I hadn't performed the firmware update regarding this specific issue; however, after performing the firmware update and plugging the speaker into the correct terminal the Audyssey was able to deduce that I was running a 6.1 set-up. The problem was further compounded because it wasn't clear to me how to select a speaker configuration other than 5.1 in the Audyssey set-up menu.

I thought the Audyssey process would be more difficult that it was. I attached the mic to a standard camera tripod (nice) and followed the OSD instructions. After about 10 minutes the system was calibrated according to my room's acoustics. Prior to this calibration I really couldn't hear my surrounds that much and now they seem so lively. It's like everything is new again.

I won't lie; it took me a while to get my head around Denon's entire menu system and get my components so they'd work with the proper input selected. It doesn't matter what factory labeled input you select for any given device because you can rename them and assign any input. For instance, I don't use a VCR, so I selected the VCR input from the menu, renamed it Bluray and assigned it to HDMI input 2. Now when I want to use my Bluray player, I put the Denon Receiver on Bluray. I renamed other inputs HD DVD, Wii, TV and DVD. The inputs I'm not using I deleted from the menu so when I toggle through my inputs I only see inputs for what I have. With my old Denon, I had to toggle though several unused inputs like VCR-1, VCR-2, CD, CDR, etc. Yes, I actually have an input the Denon displays as Wii. So cool.

To get as comfortable with the 3808CI as I am I had to spend a few hours messing with the options in the menus as well as reading the manual twice and doing some Googling. Let me tell you, the manual is lacking. For instance, under RGB Range, you can select either normal or enhanced, but nowhere in the menu does it say what RGB range is or what it does. I had to Google that and it apparently has to do with mixing red, green and blue colors. I guess Denon feels if you're buying this receiver you are not a novice.

The remote is a different story. You can't rename the inputs like you can on the receiver, so I have to remember that Bluray on the receiver is VCR on the remote. It's a pain. I'm not overly excited about this remote. It does have a touch screen, but again, I don't have a VCR so I have to remember that I renamed them. It's just something you have to memorize.

So how does it sound? Well, it sounds good. Unfortunately since my Bluray player is a PS3, it can't pass through any DTS surround fields (this has now been changed with a PS3 update). My HD DVD player on the other hand will; however, according to Denon's manual, the 3808 should display Dolby TrueHD when it receives this type of signal. When I select Dolby TrueHD from the menu of "V for Vendetta" in HD DVD I get what sounds like improved sound but the Denon displays "MULTI CH IN" rather than "Dolby TrueHD." My research into this has revealed it's because the HD DVD player is doing the decoding and the signal is not being sent in bitstream format (my Toshiba HD-A30 can only send via PCM). Personally, I'd like to see a Denon firmware update to address this as I have seen lots of people who are also confused by this. I think my problem is that if I pay this much money for a receiver that can decode the new lossless sounds, I'd like it to acknowledge that by having the Dolby TrueHD light illuminate even if the receiver isn't doing the decoding, if for nothing else than peace of mind.

I honestly can't rave about how the Denon fills my room with the best sound I've ever heard in my life. I just don't have enough experience to know if this sound is better than other receivers. For instance, I can barely hear a difference between SACD and a standard CD. If I sit in the optimum listening position and concentrate on the SACD, I think I can perceive a higher quality to the sound, such as notes and things that I don't think are in the standard CD, like the twang of a guitar as the musician changes notes. With that said I do think it sounds very good. While in the Dolby True HD mode, during the title scene of "V for Vendetta," when the "V" symbol is drawn in fire, the sound is a little sharper than in standard 5.1 surround. I don't think the average consumer will notice a huge improvement. To me, the improvement in sound was comparable to going from S-video to component video; barely noticeable. I'm not going to take the time to do any side by side comparisons either. I just don't have the inclination to switch back and forth between this new receiver and my old one. That would be a huge pain.

Considering my AVR-1804 cost me $350 3.5 years ago and the Denon AVR-3808CI cost me $1600, I can't say I really hear a $1300 difference in the sound quality. It is a little better and the 3808 certainly has more functionality but the extra wattage (130W per channel) is lost in my small living room. If I had to do it again I would simply because of the HDMI switching. If the 2808 had 3 HDMI inputs I would have purchased that one. As such, if you don't need the extra HDMI inputs or wattage, do yourself a favor and buy the cheaper 2808.

I would consider myself a novice when it comes to home theater. I know just enough to be dangerous. With that said, I found the Denon AVR-3808CI a little complicated at first, but the learning curve isn't too difficult if you're used to rummaging through menu systems to tweek the settings. If you hate adjusting menus then avoid this a/v receiver like the plague. This is not a plug and play device. It will require some knowledge and patience to learn.

There are many other features I haven't touched upon because I don't use them, such as XM radio, internet radio, iPod connections, and USB connections. There are also a ton of other inputs included on this machine, but I have no need of those either. Really, this machine was more than I needed but Denon's receiver line goes from 2 HDMI inputs with the 2808 to 4 HDMI inputs with the 3808.

I could have bought a different brand with similar features for much less, but I've had a great experience with Denon products, and in my opinion Denon is a litter higher end than Onkyo or Sony. I wanted to make sure I was purchasing good quality circuits.

Visit www.denon.com for details on the 3808CI's features.