Dennon x3300 vs x3700

[Cadmobile500]

Long time listener, first time caller.
Not sure if this is the right section to ask this so sorry in advance
I have a Denon x3300 I use for a 5.2 living room home theater/TV and for streaming Amazon Music Unlimited from my smart TV.
Would the x3700 sound better for music? I understand the x3700 has more bells and whistles, but what I'm mostly concerned with is sound quality when listening to HD music.
My (mis)understanding is that the x3800 does not sound as good as the x3700(sinad is worse) and that alot of the newer AVRs don't sound as good because of a shortage of the better DAC chips.
I plan on upgrading to an external power amp in the near future because I like to listen loud.
How is the DAC and overall sound quality of the x3700 compared to the x3300?
Also, I demoed an Onkyo tx-rz50 for a few days. Imo, it lacked the midrange presence of the Dennon and the overall sound just wasn't as appealing to me. Loved all the bells and whistles and could have probably made it sound better if i messed with Dirac more(downloaded Harman curves, moved curtains, ect), but on the 3rd day it started making noise out of the subwoofers when I shut it off so it's going back.
I love this forum because the reviews go past personal preference in sound and technical specs are posted.
Thank you for your time.
Tom

 

[delta76]

If you buy a new x3700h now it is likely has same sinad with x3800h. They should have same dac.

It does not really matter though. If x3800h is just a bit more expensive than x3700h, I don't see any reason why not. It is newer, has more hdmi 2.1 input, has more sub out, upgradable to dirac if you want it.

 

[Cadmobile500]

What about the difference switching from a x3300 to x3700/x3800?

 

[Bren Derlin]

Long time listener, first time caller.
Not sure if this is the right section to ask this so sorry in advance
I have a Denon x3300 I use for a 5.2 living room home theater/TV and for streaming Amazon Music Unlimited from my smart TV.
Would the x3700 sound better for music? I understand the x3700 has more bells and whistles, but what I'm mostly concerned with is sound quality when listening to HD music.
My (mis)understanding is that the x3800 does not sound as good as the x3700(sinad is worse) and that alot of the newer AVRs don't sound as good because of a shortage of the better DAC chips.
I plan on upgrading to an external power amp in the near future because I like to listen loud.
How is the DAC and overall sound quality of the x3700 compared to the x3300?
Also, I demoed an Onkyo tx-rz50 for a few days. Imo, it lacked the midrange presence of the Dennon and the overall sound just wasn't as appealing to me. Loved all the bells and whistles and could have probably made it sound better if i messed with Dirac more(downloaded Harman curves, moved curtains, ect), but on the 3rd day it started making noise out of the subwoofers when I shut it off so it's going back.
I love this forum because the reviews go past personal preference in sound and technical specs are posted.
Thank you for your time.
Tom

don’t get hung up on the SINAD numbers too much. The difference between the x3700H with the “good DAC” vs the x3700H/x3800H with the “worse DAC” is going to be inaudible.

Gene at audioholics brings this very point up in this video, at the 18:00 minute mark.

My new Anthem 540 8K doesn’t test as well as those old Denons, but I can say it sounds pretty damn fabulous. I love it with music. …and I haven’t even run ARC yet…

 

[Benedium]

Is x3300 compatible with the MultiEQ app?

 

[Cadmobile500]

Is x3300 compatible with the MultiEQ app?

Yes

 

[Benedium]

Yes

Then probably not worth the upgrade.

 

[Dj7675]

What about the difference switching from a x3300 to x3700/x3800?

The X3300 should perform fine relative the the 3700/3800. I would first maximize you have…
-Get the best speakers you can
-Get the Audyssey app and test to see if limiting correction to 300hz or so sounds better than full range correction
-Get the bass right/equalized. Audyssey does pretty well with sub(s). Either use the app to create a room curve (and be sure to raise sub trim too). Or play with DEQ and reference level offset.
-If you use external amps, be sure they get to full power with around 1.2-1.4v and not 2v.

 

[Cadmobile500]

The X3300 should perform fine relative the the 3700/3800. I would first maximize you have…
-Get the best speakers you can
-Get the Audyssey app and test to see if limiting correction to 300hz or so sounds better than full range correction
-Get the bass right/equalized. Audyssey does pretty well with sub(s). Either use the app to create a room curve (and be sure to raise sub trim too). Or play with DEQ and reference level offset.
-If you use external amps, be sure they get to full power with around 1.2-1.4v and not 2v.

I have Klipsch Forte 2.
I have the Audyssey phone app and didnt care for it. My fingers are too big.
I sprung for the MultEQ-X today.
Will see if that is better.
Also have a Crown XLI2500 on the way.

 

[Smitty2k1]

The X3300 should perform fine relative the the 3700/3800. I would first maximize you have…
-Get the best speakers you can
-Get the Audyssey app and test to see if limiting correction to 300hz or so sounds better than full range correction
-Get the bass right/equalized. Audyssey does pretty well with sub(s). Either use the app to create a room curve (and be sure to raise sub trim too). Or play with DEQ and reference level offset.
-If you use external amps, be sure they get to full power with around 1.2-1.4v and not 2v.

As someone that uses an external amp for my front L and R with a x3500 can you explain your last point about 1.2-1.4v?

 

[Chrispy]

Doubtful they'd sound any different, altho IIRC they're slightly different design.

This can be a handy way of seeing differences https://www.zkelectronics.com/compare/denon-avr-x3300w/denon-avr-x3700h/

 

[warnerwh]

As someone that uses an external amp for my front L and R with a x3500 can you explain your last point about 1.2-1.4v?

The reasoning is that at about 1.4 volts the preamp starts to clip in that receiver. However keep in mind that even at 2 volt output you're still only looking at about 73db sinad or about .03 THD+distortion. Unless you have amazing hearing ability it's very unlikely you're going to hear that tiny bit of noise and distortion. People worry far too much about sinad numbers because in reality you're not going to be able to hear the difference.

 

[Cadmobile500]

-If you use external amps, be sure they get to full power with around 1.2-1.4v and not 2v.

How do I check this?
I just got my Crown xli2500 yesterday.
When I first set it up I ran the amp gain on max but got some hiss/hum.
I reset the gain on the amp today so that the Crown would just barely clip with the AVR at max volume and Audyssey set my main speaker gains to -11.
What is the correct method to set the gain on the amp?

 

[Chrispy]

You changed the sensitivity level as well? Sounds like you could lower the gain somewhat on the amp tho, you have plenty of room per the results (or just leave it alone). What do you mean max volume on what avr?

How do I check this?
I just got my Crown xli2500 yesterday.
When I first set it up I ran the amp gain on max but got some hiss/hum.
I reset the gain on the amp today so that the Crown would just barely clip with the AVR at max volume and Audyssey set my main speaker gains to -11.
What is the correct method to set the gain on the amp?

 

[peng]

Long time listener, first time caller.
Not sure if this is the right section to ask this so sorry in advance
I have a Denon x3300 I use for a 5.2 living room home theater/TV and for streaming Amazon Music Unlimited from my smart TV.
Would the x3700 sound better for music? I understand the x3700 has more bells and whistles, but what I'm mostly concerned with is sound quality when listening to HD music.
My (mis)understanding is that the x3800 does not sound as good as the x3700(sinad is worse) and that alot of the newer AVRs don't sound as good because of a shortage of the better DAC chips.
I plan on upgrading to an external power amp in the near future because I like to listen loud.
How is the DAC and overall sound quality of the x3700 compared to the x3300?
Also, I demoed an Onkyo tx-rz50 for a few days. Imo, it lacked the midrange presence of the Dennon and the overall sound just wasn't as appealing to me. Loved all the bells and whistles and could have probably made it sound better if i messed with Dirac more(downloaded Harman curves, moved curtains, ect), but on the 3rd day it started making noise out of the subwoofers when I shut it off so it's going back.
I love this forum because the reviews go past personal preference in sound and technical specs are posted.
Thank you for your time.
Tom

You can compare the bench test results:

Denon AVR-X3300W 7.2 Atmos/DTS:X A/V Receiver Review

The Denon AVR-X3300W 7.2CH Atmos/DTS:X networking AV receiver features the latest in HD audio and video processing, music streaming and offers future expandability with solid preamp outputs.

www.audioholics.com

The 3700/3800 measured a little better but in direct mode they will most likely sound the same if you don't know which one is playing.

 

[Cadmobile500]

You can compare the bench test results:

Denon AVR-X3300W 7.2 Atmos/DTS:X A/V Receiver Review

The Denon AVR-X3300W 7.2CH Atmos/DTS:X networking AV receiver features the latest in HD audio and video processing, music streaming and offers future expandability with solid preamp outputs.

www.audioholics.com

The 3700/3800 measured a little better but in direct mode they will most likely sound the same if you don't know which one is playing.

I use Audyssey for everything, including music as my speaker placement is limited.

 

[peng]

I use Audyssey for everything, including music as my speaker placement is limited.

Not an issue, the 3300 is also compatible with the MultEQ Editor app. So in an apples-to-apples comparison listening test, under the same conditions including same target curves and other settings, if Audyssey is used, the two will still be tough to distinguish themselves from each other.

 

[Cadmobile500]

You changed the sensitivity level as well? Sounds like you could lower the gain somewhat on the amp tho, you have plenty of room per the results (or just leave it alone). What do you mean max volume on what avr?

Not sure what the input sensitivity is set to. I will check when I get home from work. Should it be set to .775 or 1.4?
What i meant by max volume on the AVR means I had the volume turned up as high as it would go. After setting the AVR volume like this I set the Crowns level to where it would just barely clip when listening to music.
I ran Audyssey after this and my main speaker levels came back at -11.

 

[Cadmobile500]

Not an issue, the 3300 is also compatible with the MultEQ Editor app. So in an apples-to-apples comparison listening test, under the same conditions including same target curves and other settings, if Audyssey is used, the two will still be tough to distinguish themselves from each other.

Thank you.
I downloaded Multeq-x and have run a couple calibrations.
Haven't had time to really mess with it.

 

[peng]

Not sure what the input sensitivity is set to. I will check when I get home from work. Should it be set to .775 or 1.4?
What i meant by max volume on the AVR means I had the volume turned up as high as it would go. After setting the AVR volume like this I set the Crowns level to where it would just barely clip when listening to music.
I ran Audyssey after this and my main speaker levels came back at -11.

Set it to 1.4, for lower noise level.