Denon AVR-X3700H AVR Review

[davidc]

No one's mentioned how Denon removed the front HDMI input making it an almost non-starter for those of us who hook up a laptop often for REW or other uses.

Actually, it's been mentioned a couple of times. A workaround is to connect a cable to the back and just leave it sitting next to the AVR for use when you need it.

 

[davidc]

I still have my 201 watt(?) cube, Carver magnetic field amplifier, from 1982.

Cool. And believe it or not, there is a big following and market for Carver amps from the late 80's into the 2000's, where they have been expertly refurbished (new caps, fixed cracked solder joints, etc.) and even upgrades to increase power. For the money, you can't get anywhere near the power with today's equipment. I have 2 PM-1.5a's that put out 465 watts RMS per channel that I bought for $300 each with the refurbishment. https://thecarversite.com/

 

[davidc]

I wonder if there is correlation between number of speakers in owner's home theatre, and divorce rate?

It's more about the size...of the speakers. I call it the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor).

 

[MarkyM]

Cool. And believe it or not, there is a big following and market for Carver amps from the late 80's into the 2000's, where they have been expertly refurbished (new caps, fixed cracked solder joints, etc.) and even upgrades to increase power. For the money, you can't get anywhere near the power with today's equipment. I have 2 PM-1.5a's that put out 465 watts RMS per channel that I bought for $300 each with the refurbishment. https://thecarversite.com/

Yep. I have an M1.0t with the Mk2 upgrade. It will do 400 w/ch. It has been driving my main L/R speakers since 2012 and has been fed from my 3400H since 2017. It is lightweight, cool running and has more power headroom than I’ll ever need.
With my speakers, the amp’s -20dB LED lights at 90dB SPL. The input sensitivity for full power is 1.75v so no SINAD issues for me!

 

[Bear123]

I'm puzzled by the app use, Pure Direct disables Audyssey completely. And also all bass management unless you are using LFE+Main mode.

A more accurate name for the Pure Direct button would be "Silly Audiophile Mode"....turning off Audyssey, bass management, and subs will significantly degrade sound qualtiy. A useless feature IMO. But a company has to cater to their market, many of whom are audiophiles with outdated beliefs.

 

[davidc]

That is a very good question : how to stream Amazon HD music to the 3700h internal DAC with higher resolution?
I am surprised reading that the Heos implement of Amazon music is not the best way. Is it a sound quality issue?
It was one of the reasons that are a purchasing point for the 3700h.

Many people talk about using ROON to manage the streaming as a way to not lose quality. People have mentioned it for Amazon HD.

But on ROON's website they state this:

Roon is B.Y.O.M. (bring your own music). Roon does not come with any music but has great support for your digital media files. Roon also supports TIDAL and Qobuz. Just log in with your TIDAL or Qobuz account in Roon and all your music will automatically get synced in Roon. Roon does not support Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon HD Music, or YouTube Music.

So, how does that affect using Amazon HD Music with an x3700h?

 

[Dj7675]

Many people talk about using ROON to manage the streaming as a way to not lose quality. People have mentioned it for Amazon HD.

But on ROON's website they state this:

Roon is B.Y.O.M. (bring your own music). Roon does not come with any music but has great support for your digital media files. Roon also supports TIDAL and Qobuz. Just log in with your TIDAL or Qobuz account in Roon and all your music will automatically get synced in Roon. Roon does not support Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon HD Music, or YouTube Music.

So, how does that affect using Amazon HD Music with an x3700h?

Couple of things about Roon:
-It doesn't work with Amazon HD, just Tidal and Qobuz
-You can use Roon to work with Denon and Marantz receivers as they work with Apple's Airplay 2. However, note they won't do anything over CD quality (no hi res if that is of interest)
-You don't need Roon to "not loose quality". I believe the built in streaming app heos supports streaming services that do hi res audio. Not completely sure which ones as I don't use them
-Roon costs $119 per year or $699 for lifetime. You need to run the server software (included with subscription).
-There are a ton of great things in Roon... very slick looking interface, very good ways to discover new music, multi zone support, integration of your local music and Tidal/Qobuz, and their fantasic dsp/eq. It isn't for everyone, but for many it is worth it. I really like it.

 

[circumstances]

Cool. And believe it or not, there is a big following and market for Carver amps from the late 80's into the 2000's, where they have been expertly refurbished (new caps, fixed cracked solder joints, etc.) and even upgrades to increase power. For the money, you can't get anywhere near the power with today's equipment. I have 2 PM-1.5a's that put out 465 watts RMS per channel that I bought for $300 each with the refurbishment. https://thecarversite.com/

I think mine is the M400a

Bought new from Hi Fi Buys in Buckhead (Atlanta) in 1981 or 1982.

 

[rccarguy]

A more accurate name for the Pure Direct button would be "Silly Audiophile Mode"....turning off Audyssey, bass management, and subs will significantly degrade sound qualtiy. A useless feature IMO. But a company has to cater to their market, many of whom are audiophiles with outdated beliefs.

My two channel hifi has no room correction or bass management. Sounds great.

 

[Bear123]

My two channel hifi has no room correction or bass management. Sounds great.

Nice! Can you share your response, and what you had to do to achieve it such as speaker and/or listening position placement?

 

[rccarguy]

Put in cd.

Press play.

Sounds great

 

[Bear123]

High fidelity is certainly not a requirement for satisfaction.

 

[rccarguy]

High fidelity is certainly not a requirement for satisfaction.

Neither is looking like this with REW on your laptop

 

[Bear123]

Neither is looking like this with REW on your laptop

Actually, your kind of right, since my AVR does a great job with bass management and eq without needing REW. However, REW was helpful in figuring out where the subs needed to go in order to get a high fidelity response.

Subjective satisfaction and high fidelity are two different things. I've got a friend with a pair of Pioneer bookshelves(the $99/pair AJ), and a small polk sub. He thinks it sounds great. And he's right, what he perceives is true. But its not high fidelity. I guess we agree?

 

[rccarguy]

Actually, your kind of right, since my AVR does a great job with bass management and eq without needing REW. However, REW was helpful in figuring out where the subs needed to go in order to get a high fidelity response.

Subjective satisfaction and high fidelity are two different things. I've got a friend with a pair of Pioneer bookshelves(the $99/pair AJ), and a small polk sub. He thinks it sounds great. And he's right, what he perceives is true. But its not high fidelity. I guess we agree?

Typically avr's sound lousy in stereo. My audiolab 8000q and tag dac trounces my lexicon mc-8.

I've got a Yamaha avr upstairs it's ok but it's not high fidelity.

 

[Bear123]

Typically avr's sound lousy in stereo. My audiolab 8000q and tag dac trounces my lexicon mc-8.

I've got a Yamaha avr upstairs it's ok but it's not high fidelity.

Some AVR's may sound terrible, I'm not sure.

My first AVR was a base model RXV-375. YPAO didn't work well at all....it did almost nothing to the measured response anywhere in the frequency range. This is especially bad under 300 Hz where it is needed most.

My Denon AVR does a *great* job with eq under 300Hz. Now that I have a high quality pair of subs, proper bass management, and good eq, I would not be happy with a system that doesn't have it. Even though my towers are flat into the mid 20's, I strongly prefer crossing at 80 Hz for better sound quality. As far as sound quality of the AVR itself...I'm confident the .007% SINAD the AVR sends to my speakers is transparent in real life.

The Yamaha does fine down in the workout room. I think the $85/pair ebay closeout DCM TP-160s speakers and JBL550P sub actually sound far better than I need for just picking things up and putting them down. Not high fidelity by any means, but good enough.

 

[Arran]

Does anyone know about a good wirless streaming dac for plugging into the x3700h av or does it plug in before hand with power amp. I am a bit confused and trying to work it out. Will a nvidea shiled pro work as a good enough for music streaming via tidal considering it supports atmos???

 

[Arran]

Audioengine B-Fi whats everyones thoughts and connect it to avr im also using and emotiva power amp but simplicity is preferred for connectivity

 

[Benedium]

Does anyone know about a good wirless streaming dac for plugging into the x3700h av or does it plug in before hand with power amp. I am a bit confused and trying to work it out. Will a nvidea shiled pro work as a good enough for music streaming via tidal considering it supports atmos???

What's wrong with x3700h's built-in heos spotify and tidal stream?

 

[Arran]

What's wrong with x3700h's built-in spotify and tidal stream?

Well for one it doesnt do mqa songs...