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Denon AVR-X3800H Review

Rate this AVR

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 88 18.1%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 217 44.7%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 140 28.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 40 8.2%

  • Total voters
    485
Probably are just returns from the buyer's remorse thing, as opposed to repaired, hopefully.
ASR SINAD test result returns :p .... though based on what I have learned here, I doubt most ears/listening room combos could tell the difference between 87 and 100.
 
ASR SINAD test result returns :p .... though based on what I have learned here, I doubt most ears/listening room combos could tell the difference between 87 and 100.

Agreed, $2000 for a 4800 refurb with Denon warranty seems like an unbeatable deal especially for those using 4 subs, they can retire their minidsp with the spahgetti junction like wires.
 
Agreed, $2000 for a 4800 refurb with Denon warranty seems like an unbeatable deal especially for those using 4 subs, they can retire their minidsp with the spahgetti junction like wires.

Exactly my thinking. I would give Audyssey a go on my four subs, and if it does not cut it put miniDSP/MSO back in place. I can't wait to start setting up my new room!
 
Exactly my thinking. I would give Audyssey a go on my four subs, and if it does not cut it put miniDSP/MSO back in place. I can't wait to start setting up my new room!
I can't wait to see your rew graphs. Is that an update for the app to align 4 subs yet?
 
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I can't wait to see your rew graphs. Is that an update for the app to align 4 subs yet?
No idea on the app. I'm at least a few months out from starting on the room, have priority "new to us" house projects to do first.
 
Amir has my X4800H for testing, awaiting his test results. I may add to the Refurbish Inventory for Denon. Meanwhile, the A1H was released for sale.

I bet.. The 4700 measured the same as the 3700, the 4800 vs 3800 will likely be the same too. The C50 measured by a member also showed comparabe numbers as Amir"s. Hope to be wrong..
 
I bet.. The 4700 measured the same as the 3700, the 4800 vs 3800 will likely be the same too. The C50 measured by a member also showed comparabe numbers as Amir"s. Hope to be wrong..
I am hoping the new Amp section has cleaned up some of the SNR, any improvement would be helpful. Still not sure if I want to compromise with 15 year old DAC's when the performance of newer chipsets are becoming commonplace in new product availability.

Even the A1H has a 10 Year OLD ESS DAC chipset. Flagship, not sure if I agree for $6.5K
 
Amir has my X4800H for testing, awaiting his test results. I may add to the Refurbish Inventory for Denon. Meanwhile, the A1H was released for sale.
Look forward to seeing the results of this. I'm upgrading at the end of March and currently considering paying up for an Anthem (likely 740 8k) but I could definitely use the savings if the 4800 shows decent results. I assume, however, that it will be similar to the 3800 (and maybe I'll ignore the results and save the money either way; just want to buy something that I'm not going to regret)
 
I am hoping the new Amp section has cleaned up some of the SNR, any improvement would be helpful. Still not sure if I want to compromise with 15 year old DAC's when the performance of newer chipsets are becoming commonplace in new product availability.

Even the A1H has a 10 Year OLD ESS DAC chipset. Flagship, not sure if I agree for $6.5K

That is true, but a) the A1H's ES9018K2M's specs are almost as good as the ES9038Pro, and edit: 9029 9039 Pro, only 2 dB lower in SINAD. Its SINAD spec is 10 dB higher than Yamaha's ES9026Pro.

Aside from the Anthem AVM90, I am not sure if there are other AV processor that uses a better spec DAC chip at the moment, than the AV10 and the A1H, may be Arcam's flagship, I am not sure.
 
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That is true, but a) the A1H's ES9018K2M's specs are almost as good as the ES9038Pro, and 9029 Pro, only 2 dB lower in SINAD. It's SINAD spec is 10 dB higher than Yamaha's ES9026Pro.

Aside from the Anthem AVM90, I am not sure if there are other AV processor that uses a better spec DAC chip at the moment, than the AV10 and the A1H, may be Arcam's flagship, I am not sure.
That's a great point, I was not aware it was so close in SINAD. I have a greater sense of reliability with the Denon build for an AVR due to their longstanding presence in the AVR market. This experience within the industry and the dovetail features of all the add-on product features by licensee applications offers me some confidence in the product. My experience with Denon has been mostly positive (with one exception of an early "Reference" CD Player Model the dropped it's Laser after warranty around 2001). We will see what Amir finds in the test. Thanks @peng, I appreciate your experience and the knowledge you share.
 
That is true, but a) the A1H's ES9018K2M's specs are almost as good as the ES9038Pro, and 9029 Pro, only 2 dB lower in SINAD. It's SINAD spec is 10 dB higher than Yamaha's ES9026Pro.

Aside from the Anthem AVM90, I am not sure if there are other AV processor that uses a better spec DAC chip at the moment, than the AV10 and the A1H, may be Arcam's flagship, I am not sure.
It appears on Arcam's website they are using the ESS9026Pro for all of their AVR's
 
I'm looking to be talked down from my recently adopted luddite perch. I've read more of this thread than is probably good for me, and my takeaway is that these companies have nothing but contempt for their customers. Much greater transparency is needed, in both their materials and methods, which is of course what this site is all about.

But that prospect seems dim at the moment, with the abrupt reversal in course of Denon. Perhaps it is only a supply line issue, we'll have to wait to see. But in the meantime, I can't help but notice that the DAC in my 4k Blu Ray player (Panasonic UB9000) is much better than most of what is on offer in the current crop of AVPs and AVRs, that it has 7.1 analog outputs, and my AVP (Marantz AV7005) has 7.1 analog inputs.

The result sounds very good to me. I have of course given up almost everything the AVP has to offer. But my player has all the necessary decoding, and allows for trim levels, audio delays, even speaker size (big or small). But no EQ, and no bass management.

My room is small, the listening positions are limited to one row. The results of letting Audyssey try and fix things are very consistent and pretty disappointing. Going to Audyssey Flat was an improvement, but turning off Audyssey altogether was still better. I'm tempted to conclude that my close listening position simplifies the situation considerably. Near field listening is the most satisfying discovery I've had in recent years with regard to stereo music, but I've not heard too many singing the praises of near field multichannel home theater.

So please talk me down before I replace my AVP with a multichannel preamplifier. If you succeed, I expect I'll still want an AVP or AVR with multichannel analog inputs, something that now appears to be restricted to the very top end of market...
 
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I expect I'll still want an AVP or AVR with multichannel analog inputs, something that now appears to be restricted to the very top end of market...
Think you are very right. In fact the only processor/preamp I know that has multichannel analog inputs is the Trinnov Altitude 32 (very expensive). None of the new AVRs have them. That's why I bought both the Denon AVR-A110 and the Marantz SR8105 very recently in slightly used, but very good condition (before they become hard to find). I wanted their 7.1 multichannel input capabilities to use with my multichannel DAC.
 
So please talk me down before I replace my AVP with a multichannel preamplifier. If you succeed, I expect I'll still want an AVP or AVR with multichannel analog inputs, something that now appears to be restricted to the very top end of market...

Try to setup Audyssey properly. Spend the $20 on the app and tune the sound to your liking. There are also some guide to be found on how to do it properly. Turn out that when you follow the on-screen guide while measuring, you’ll probably get a sub-optimal result.
 
Your response reminds of that from the Stephen Fry character to his underling in Absolute Power, "When I said, do it again, I meant do it better..."
 
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Your response reminds of that from the Stephen Fry character to his underling in Absolute Power, "When I said, do it again, I meant do it better..."
Then go spent your money …. No one is holding you back.
 
Here are some pics of the internal hardware of the current (X_800H) and previous gen (X_700H) lineup so far. X3700 apparently doesnt label its internals.
Though it does look like the X3800H & X4800H internals no longer have the fancy "High Current Power Transformer" badging. X4800H also looks like they changed the amp layout to be similar to the X6700H with different independent modules per channel. No pics of the 6800H internals at this time. Looks like they improved cooling across the entire lineup though.

denon-avr-x2700h-6.jpg

x2700H^​
g033AVX2800-o_other20.jpg

x2800H^​
avr-x3700h-1j_19102020.jpg

x3700H^​
X3800.thumb.jpg.8d5315c4ffacf14b77f06cee22cd52c1.jpg

X4700.thumb.jpg.6a183c8adc1e0e752fc0b7cb6c8ec0d7.jpg

X4800.thumb.jpg.998877715cba1fdf1002adac1660481d.jpg
X6700.thumb.jpg.e3eb75351033016824f0318ab7a939a3.jpg
 
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