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Denon AVR-X3700H AVR Review

Bear123

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Not only XT32, but the accompanying Sub EQ HT which provides *much* better subwoofer eq.
 

SaintButters

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Audyssey XT32 on your speakers should provide a large increase in fidelity unless you have somehow managed an accurate response without eq. Bass management and the ability to add subs will be another significant upgrade to sound quality. 2.0 is a huge compromise if high fidelity is the goal.

Also, based on mfr specs, the PM6005 looks to have a lot less power, and higher noise/distortion.

I absolutely did not managed or even tried to calibrate my setup to my room. I'm really curious to hear the difference it makes. I was satisfied by the bass of my speakers in stereo but maybe I would be suprised by the addition of a sub. I'm still a newbie audiophile, lots of things I've got to find out.
Great to have all your feedbacks
 

amper42

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Glad to hear that. I initialy planned to play music through the Tidal app on my shield, but I will try others options with the DLNA function. Unlike you, I would use only 5 channels, maybe 7 one day (5.1.2) so I'm thinking maybe a X2700h would suffice but I would lose power and Audyssey XT32. I will think about that.
Thanks for your answer :)

The 3700 is a big step up from the 2700. The 3700 is much more capable and you will want Audyssey XT32. For home theatre it makes a big difference. The 3700 also has preamp mode which is another great feature. I would go with the 3700 every time. :D
 

Bear123

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I absolutely did not managed or even tried to calibrate my setup to my room. I'm really curious to hear the difference it makes. I was satisfied by the bass of my speakers but maybe I would be suprised by the addition of a sub. I'm still a newbie audiophile, lots of things I've got to find out.
Great to have all your feedbacks
I think you will find that high quality eq applied to speakers and subs below 300 Hz will provide a drastic improvement in sound quality. Essentially, you are likely to go from a +/- 10 dB response with huge peaks and dips in the response, to +/- 2dB or better. Sounds will all play at the correct level instead of some being far louder and some being almost missing.
Once you hear your speakers paired with good, properly setup subs, you will probably never want to listen to your speakers without them again.

I would rather have the Infinity bookshelf speakers I got for $129/pair, used with my subs and all of it properly eq'd, than my Revel F36 towers with no subs and/or eq. Not even close.
 

peng

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Once you configure "Preamp mode" in Amp Assign with the Denon 3700, 4700 or 6700 then ECO mode is disabled. Pushing the ECO button on the remote will make no change. Once "Preamp mode" is disengaged the ECO function is enabled again.

That's good, glad to know D+M did the right/or smart thing.
 

CoolHandDuke

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Wish I had known all this before I bought my 2600. Lol. Seemed like a good deal at the time. As soon as I offload a pair of Triangle floor standers I bought for black Friday, I'm moving to 3700. Admittedly, even the XT version did a pretty good job integrating my single sub.
 

dmilller

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The 3700 is a big step up from the 2700. The 3700 is much more capable and you will want Audyssey XT32. For home theatre it makes a big difference. The 3700 also has preamp mode which is another great feature. I would go with the 3700 every time. :D

I still find Audyssey not good above 300hz. Fortunately the app allows eq at only low frequencies. My next AVR will be a pre/pro with better room EQ. I have the X3600H. I see no indication that the situation is improved with the 3700.
 

amper42

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Audyssey offers the option to turn if off, determine which frequency range is impacted, create your own house curve, use it with surrounds and not fronts or set EQ up automatically. It has lots of options. Whether you want to use EQ or customize how EQ is setup is your choice. It's hard to find a home theatre receiver that offers the option for 7.2.4 like the Denon 3700 and measures better -- especially near this price point.
 

CoolHandDuke

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I still find Audyssey not good above 300hz. Fortunately the app allows eq at only low frequencies. My next AVR will be a pre/pro with better room EQ. I have the X3600H. I see no indication that the situation is improved with the 3700.
What options exist for a pre/pro with better EQ and bass management without massive price jump? I was considering the minidsp SHD, but there are a lot of drawbacks to consider.
 

dmilller

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What options exist for a pre/pro with better EQ and bass management without massive price jump? I was considering the minidsp SHD, but there are a lot of drawbacks to consider.

None. A pre/pro is more expensive and then you need to pay to power all the channels. The 3700 is a great deal. Audyssey will often be capable of taking care of the bass room peak. But in my experience, letting it smooth out the entire response curve makes my system sound worse.

A surround system is complicated. I found that listening to stereo music on just the front L/R is a good way to judge the quality changes Audyssey makes. In my room with 7.1.4 running Audyssey full spectrum makes simple stereo music sound significantly worse. I don't believe that Audyseey is capable of actually creating a flat response full spectrum. I think it creates pretty graphs will it makes WAG on actual frequency response. But I would like to see a room test of Audyssey with high end test equipment and a qualified operator.

Flat bass response in many seating positions in a non-purpose built room is essentially impossible. The goal, I think, is to make it sound good in the most common seating positions. There's a lot to work with when purchasing the 3700 and the app. But Audyseey is an inexpensive solution (to Denon) for a large and complex problem.
 

amper42

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Hows the thermals in preamp mode? I'm wondering about media rack airflow.

Denon 3700 runs cooler in pre-amp mode but it can still get quite warm. I use the $20 AC Infinity MULTIFAN S7 sitting on top of the receiver while it's running in preamp mode and even after 60 minutes of playtime it's COOL to the touch. These fans are an excellent match for Denon 3700, 4700 and 6700 receivers and they are inexpensive.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JLV4BWC/
 

Velocity

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That's good to hear. I like the idea of adding a cloudplate T7, or a T5. I think it would look pretty good in my rack.
 

Alexium

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What does the ECO mode actually do, in terms of the technical implementation? Its effect is remarkable! When listening to music or videos on a 5.0 system at medium-low volume, which I guess is no more than 2 watts/channel average, or when playing nothing, it reduces the AVR's power draw in half! From 60-65 W off the wall socket down to 31-33. How?? I don't hear any difference in the sound.

The most curious thing about it is that when switching ECO on/off a relay clicks inside the unit, but since the sound doesn't change the only thing it can be switching is something in the power supply circuit, right?
 

amper42

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What does the ECO mode actually do, in terms of the technical implementation? Its effect is remarkable! When listening to music or videos on a 5.0 system at medium-low volume, which I guess is no more than 2 watts/channel average, or when playing nothing, it reduces the AVR's power draw in half! From 60-65 W off the wall socket down to 31-33. How?? I don't hear any difference in the sound.

The most curious thing about it is that when switching ECO on/off a relay clicks inside the unit, but since the sound doesn't change the only thing it can be switching is something in the power supply circuit, right?

ECO MODE DETAILS:
1. When ECO mode is turned on it reduces amplification by more than 50%. It allows the receiver to run a little cooler but dramatically reduces amp power. If the Denon volume is over 50 while in ECO mode amp performance begins to degrade significantly as volume increases. If you listen closely it will be audible.

2. If AUTO mode is selected, Denon volume below 48 will stay in ECO mode, while above 49 switches ECO OFF. You will hear the power relay click as the mode shift occurs. Once ECO OFF is engaged it will usually stay in that mode even if volume drops below 48 for a short period of time.

3. If the majority of your speakers are powered by external amps, ECO mode may offer a reasonable option for just a few height speakers. But, if you are running all your speakers with Denon internal amps I would recommend ECO OFF. There isn't a good reason to handicap the Denon amp section like this when a $20 fan can keep the heat at a reasonable level.

4. No matter what mode you select, I highly recommend this $20 fan for the Denon 3700, 4700 or 6700.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JLV4BWC
You can pay 5x more for an Aircom fan but it weighs over 10 pounds, runs louder and doesn't keep the receiver as cool in my tests.

5. If you configure the Denon 4700 in preamp mode (all internal amps turned off), then ECO mode is no longer selectable. The energy draw from the AC outlet drops to 46W no matter how high the Denon volume control is set or how many channels are in use.
 
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bigguyca

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What does the ECO mode actually do, in terms of the technical implementation? Its effect is remarkable! When listening to music or videos on a 5.0 system at medium-low volume, which I guess is no more than 2 watts/channel average, or when playing nothing, it reduces the AVR's power draw in half! From 60-65 W off the wall socket down to 31-33. How?? I don't hear any difference in the sound.

The most curious thing about it is that when switching ECO on/off a relay clicks inside the unit, but since the sound doesn't change the only thing it can be switching is something in the power supply circuit, right?

The ECO mode is implemented by switching between two AC output voltages from the power transformer. This switch is accomplished by using a relay to switch between two different transformer windings, one with a high AC voltage and the other a lower AC voltage. The switching of this relay is the sound you hear.

The selected AC voltage is converted to +/- DC voltages by a rectifier circuit. These DC voltages are the rail voltages of the power amplifier channels. In a D/M AVR the higher rail voltage will be about +/- 62V and the lower voltage around +/- 25V with no load, depending on the AVR. These voltages of course sag significantly as load is put on the power supply by loading the power amplifier channels.

The resultant power outputs with two channels driven, based on some of Amir's measurements and other measurements, will be approximately as follows for an X6700H. Other D/M AVR's will show similar relative results.

High Rail Voltage

o 8 ohm - 120 watt

o 4 ohm - 180 watt

Low Rail Voltage

o 8 ohm - 19 watt

o 4 ohm - 38 watt

In return for a reduction in the operating temperature of the AVR and electric power usage, the amplifier power output level has been cut substantially.

One way of looking at it this fact is that you're the proud owner of an AVR with an output of about 20 watts into 8 ohm. An alternative view is that if the AVR operates satisfactorily at the lower output level then all is well.

Setting the ECO mode to Auto seems the best choice if use of the ECO mode is desired. When using the Auto setting in a D/M AVR, the ECO mode is used at low output. The AVR switches out of the ECO mode when load on the AVR increases past a preset level.

Note that using D/M AVR's in the all preamp mode will engage the ECO mode. This feature saves power and operating cost that can somewhat offset the power usage of the added external power amplifiers.
 

kejar31

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I know preamp mode is all or nothing but I was considering this receiver and have a 2 channel amp I would like for the pre-puts. Is it possible to only have pre-outs on just the front L & R? I will be setting this up in a 5.2.2 setup for now may switch it up to use more of the onboard amps now that I have them later .
 

ciotime

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I know preamp mode is all or nothing but I was considering this receiver and have a 2 channel amp I would like for the pre-puts. Is it possible to only have pre-outs on just the front L & R? I will be setting this up in a 5.2.2 setup for now may switch it up to use more of the onboard amps now that I have them later .
I too have the 3700 and my setup is a 7.2.4. I'm using an old AVR as external amp to power the 2 fronts as it's needed since the 3700 can only power 9 ch even though it can process 11 ch. From what I understand ALL the pre-outs are hot regardless of what setting you have on the amp assign. Amp assign is just there as a guide so one will know which ch are being used as pre-outs. I'm getting the Buckeye 3 ch soon and will externally power all 3 front ch.
 

ciotime

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Anyone knows why I'm getting no sound when I choose FLAT on the Audyssey setting ( X3700H )? No problem when set to REFERENCE mode.
 
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