Denon AVR-X3800H Review

[EWL5]

For an x3800h

1. new is $1500 with 3yr warranty
2. refurbished is $1400 with 1yr warranty

Which do you get?

$100 more for new makes a lot of sense.

 

[Toni71]

Something subjective. Going back and forth in this audio hobby. The love for toys and the chase for better, this old fool. Although deep inside, experience, knowledge and because of this forum, I know it is better to stop the chase. I will save you the years with all receivers and equipment before this adventure.

With subs, without subs and again with subs because I was missing that with my latest KEF speakers. Some low end.

X3800H, X4800H DLBC, Fosi ZP3, Fosi P4, Onkyo P-80 DLBC (reimbursement). Ordered a Marantz Cinema 30 changed that to an AV20. What an amount of money actually.

Canceled the order and now listening to Anne Sophie Mutter and it sounds marvelous back to a new X3800H with directional left/ right bass and Auddysey. No Dirac, but hey, can I complain for € 832,00. One upon a time there was only Auddysey and we lived long and happy. Soon, I will try A1 evo for the fun.

No hum or hiss in my system with the Rotel poweramp. Nice.

Next year with the new receivers, I will check for something new. Perhaps with Dirac included. DLBC is nice.

I can't say, I enjoy the X3800H stereo setup any lesser than my AV10 surround setup with DLBC. Bought ART for that setup, still not used.

 

[Geertidow]

So hypothetically I could connect my KEF R3 meta with woofer and mid/treble separately. So I'd have '4' speakers and my subs.
Would that be in anyway beneficial when using OCA's software or Dirac ART?

Feels like it either shouldn't matter or make things worse, but I'm curious.

And..
In a 2.2 setup where the subs are under the speakers. Is ART needed over DLBC?

 

[Scytales]

I think the Parasound P7 was the closest component to something like that. It is no longer being made, but previously-owned units, or new old stock, can be found on eBay or an online vendor like Safe & Sound. It has two sets of 7.1 multichannel unbalanced inputs. However, it is a preamp and you'd have to combine it with a multichannel amp, of which there are many. My main problem with the P7 is that I'm not sure if it will convert the unbalanced inputs to balanced, even though it has both kinds of outputs.

It does: the outputs are all based on Fully Differential Amplifier (FDA) integrated circuits (Texas Instruments OPA1632). The "natural state" of all line outputs of this preamplifier is thus balanced. For unbalanced, only one output of each FDA is routed towards the corresponding RCA.

 

[delta76]

Been eyeing x4800h for a while and actually bought one, but i don't trust doublepoint.nl will ever send my x4800h, so I switched camp and bought a x3800h instead. Should arrive in less than 1 week.

 

[Geertidow]

Been eyeing x4800h for a while and actually bought one, but i don't trust doublepoint.nl will ever send my x4800h, so I switched camp and bought a x3800h instead. Should arrive in less than 1 week.

It's actually a reliable company imo, I bought two svs subs there.

 

[delta76]

It's actually a reliable company imo, I bought two svs subs there.

They are legitimate company but the communication has been about delay and deceiving. A lot of similar reports from mydealz.de. (Very slow to ship, repeatedly delays/missed deadlines/etc.)
the theory is that it used to work with them in the past but they got into trouble with credit and have had to delay any order from distributors until new credit is available. You did not mention when you bought from them but I would assume a few years ago. Situations might have changed.
I did a due diligence check on them before ordering, but a fellow asr member PM'ed me about it (too late for me). I then digged deeper and then a lot of complaints from mydealz.de. I would advise to stay away from them, for now.

 

[Geertidow]

They are legitimate company but the communication has been about delay and deceiving. A lot of similar reports from mydealz.de. (Very slow to ship, repeatedly delays/missed deadlines/etc.)
the theory is that it used to work with them in the past but they got into trouble with credit and have had to delay any order from distributors until new credit is available. You did not mention when you bought from them but I would assume a few years ago. Situations might have changed.
I did a due diligence check on them before ordering, but a fellow asr member PM'ed me about it (too late for me). I then digged deeper and then a lot of complaints from mydealz.de. I would advise to stay away from them, for now.

I bought a few subs in June this year. I did see some mixed reviews, but I found the service helpful.
I also see good reviews, most of the negative comments are about incorrect delivery dates (much later then communicated).

 

[delta76]

I bought a few subs in June this year. I did see some mixed reviews, but I found the service helpful.
I also see good reviews, most of the negative comments are about incorrect delivery dates (much later then communicated).

yes, and people complained about 6 to 12 months of delivery dates, and repeatedly lies about the inventory (oh next week, oh the day after tomorrow)
I think they are legitimate but you should only buy things that are in stock. waiting for "deliveries" to them is a nightmare

 

[EWL5]

yes, and people complained about 6 to 12 months of delivery dates, and repeatedly lies about the inventory (oh next week, oh the day after tomorrow)
I think they are legitimate but you should only buy things that are in stock. waiting for "deliveries" to them is a nightmare

If a business is constantly taking "short term loans" from their customers, I'd stay clear of them!

 

[delta76]

If a business is constantly taking "short term loans" from their customers, I'd stay clear of them!

Exactly. Delays are inevitable in distribution network but if you use it systematically to not deliver what you have to, it is big red flag.
Deep down I still hope they would deliver, because it is a good price and we need more good shops, not less. But time for me to be realistic.
X3800h will do just fine until there is a killer deal on x4800h

 

[jimmyjames8]

If a business is constantly taking "short term loans" from their customers, I'd stay clear of them!

Been there and done that. Took me a year to get the balance of my money back from a supposedly legitimate HT dealer installer that was even listed as a authorized dealer for ML/Harmon on their website. Never again. I'll pay "too much" to buy from a local who I can confront face to face. Theres lots of sharks like that hanging around AVS forum.

 

[delta76]

Been there and done that. Took me a year to get the balance of my money back from a supposedly legitimate HT dealer installer that was even listed as a authorized dealer for ML/Harmon on their website. Never again. I'll pay "too much" to buy from a local who I can confront face to face. Theres lots of sharks like that hanging around AVS forum.

Most companies like that often respond very quickly to bad reviews from trustpilot and similar, they need to retain a good image. Glad your problem is solved now but if someone is still struggling
That will be my next step

 

[delta76]

My x3800h finally arrived yesterday. Was a breeze to put x2800h back to box to return and set up this one.

I can hear absolutely no difference. The remote control is better than the one with x2800h but still a headache to deal with, especially to set up HEOS. Wish they allowed setting up via app instead

 

[tackleberry]

My x3800h finally arrived yesterday. Was a breeze to put x2800h back to box to return and set up this one.

I can hear absolutely no difference. The remote control is better than the one with x2800h but still a headache to deal with, especially to set up HEOS. Wish they allowed setting up via app instead

I just replaced a 2600 with a 3800 yesterday. Is the 3800 also significantly longer than the 2800? I was surprising that my furniture is actually a bit too short for the 3800 now. -.-

 

[delta76]

I just replaced a 2600 with a 3800 yesterday. Is the 3800 also significantly longer than the 2800? I was surprising that my furniture is actually a bit too short for the 3800 now. -.-

I think they are fairly same size, maybe x3800h 5cm/2" deeper. I had x4700h before so both were no problem.
Will set up my height speakers today but center will be another month

 

[ban25]

My x3800h finally arrived yesterday. Was a breeze to put x2800h back to box to return and set up this one.

I can hear absolutely no difference. The remote control is better than the one with x2800h but still a headache to deal with, especially to set up HEOS. Wish they allowed setting up via app instead

When I set up my AV30, I seem to recall that it just asked me to download the app (via QR code) and I did the rest of the setup there. Of course I didn't link any services to it, so it wasn't much of a setup process for me.

 

[delta76]

When I set up my AV30, I seem to recall that it just asked me to download the app (via QR code) and I did the rest of the setup there. Of course I didn't link any services to it, so it wasn't much of a setup process for me.

I was not asked to download any app. I could use my iPhone to connect my x3800h to wifi (as airplay speaker), but then it asks to setup HEOS account.
There is an app named Denon AVR remote but it is just a remote and I can't use them during setup.
Maybe Marantz is a bit different or higher end models have better support for setup.

My biggest complaint is with the remote, the navigation buttons feel cheap and very slow to respond. It is fine to, say, switch inputs, but if you need to input somethings like email or password, boy, it is like torture.
Once I am done and switch to nVidia Shield Pro remote, it is a such difference. It feels solid and very responsive. A joy to use

 

[EasyC]

I was not asked to download any app. I could use my iPhone to connect my x3800h to wifi (as airplay speaker), but then it asks to setup HEOS account.
There is an app named Denon AVR remote but it is just a remote and I can't use them during setup.
Maybe Marantz is a bit different or higher end models have better support for setup.

My biggest complaint is with the remote, the navigation buttons feel cheap and very slow to respond. It is fine to, say, switch inputs, but if you need to input somethings like email or password, boy, it is like torture.
Once I am done and switch to nVidia Shield Pro remote, it is a such difference. It feels solid and very responsive. A joy to use

You could use the web remote (in a browser), or the remote app for your phone.

 

[VinylMechE]

Does anyone have a workaround to Pure Direct mode whilst retaining subwoofer output on the X3800H? I want to avoid changing subwoofer arrangement to LFE + main as my speakers are small Klipsch R-40Ms and don't want to risk damaging them by running through frequencies <70hz.

I want to be able to squeeze as much analogue juice out of my turntable and also avoid any Denon DSP/Internal DAC when using a CD player in the future.

Anyway to have my cake and eat it?