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Denon AVR-X4800H AVR Review

Rate this AVR

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 10 3.0%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 72 22.0%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 178 54.3%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 68 20.7%

  • Total voters
    328

teknoraver

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That is the very point, that there is in fact a difference electrically, and negligibly, so not noticeable by even golden ears. Those youtubers, and other online "experts" should stick to debunking the misconceptions based on psychoacoustics, and leave the electrical part to people who actually know EE.:D Dogs, birds, dolphins etc., probably could hear the difference but I doubt they are not interested.
Right. But my original question was the opposite.
Since I already have two couples of wires fastened in the living room, and given that I lost the jumper (so I need to do a tiny wire by hand), can bi-amp worse the quality somehow?

I don't remember where (and I might be wrong, at least on the X4800H) that not all outputs on the amplifiers are equal, and that the front speakers have a different components.
In this case, I would avoid using bi-amp here.
 

popej

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All channels should be the same for Denon. At least I haven't noticed differences on available schematics for older models.
 

peng

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Right. But my original question was the opposite.
Since I already have two couples of wires fastened in the living room, and given that I lost the jumper (so I need to do a tiny wire by hand), can bi-amp worse the quality somehow?

I don't remember where (and I might be wrong, at least on the X4800H) that not all outputs on the amplifiers are equal, and that the front speakers have a different components.
In this case, I would avoid using bi-amp here.

All channels have the same output, the amps are identical, and all share the same power supply. The simplest way for you is to make a couple of pig tails for each speaker that likely have binding posts that allows you to hard wire the pig tails. Use the same gauge wire as the speaker wires. If bi-wire is easier, then go ahead and do it, no downside whatsoever, as long as you use the same wire gauge size for both the highs and the lows. It will not worsen sound quality at all. I have been doing it, not for sound quality, but I have tons of wires so it is better to use them up this way then to throw them somewhere in the basement to collect dust or for the spiders to build webs.
 

ivo.f.doma

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Right. But my original question was the opposite.
Since I already have two couples of wires fastened in the living room, and given that I lost the jumper (so I need to do a tiny wire by hand), can bi-amp worse the quality somehow?

I don't remember where (and I might be wrong, at least on the X4800H) that not all outputs on the amplifiers are equal, and that the front speakers have a different components.
In this case, I would avoid using bi-amp here.
In D+M I saw two kinds of DAC inside. TI PCM5102 and TI PCM5100. The latter are of lower quality. It's questionable which channels the worse ones are applied to... Here on the forum there was also a photo of a printed circuit board with different DACs.
 

teknoraver

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Most probably PCM5100 are used for Zone2/3.
Zone2/3 are the assignable outputs used for bi-amp? The ones labeled "Height2"
AVCX4800H_gallery_4.jpg
 

Jack B

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And let us not forget Roseanne Rosannadanna (Gilda Radner, Saturday Night Live, RIP)
 

Mausse

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Oct 6, 2023
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Hi audio lovers,

Have the 4800 for a couple weeks now and I;m very happy with stereo image with the pure direct mode with a wiim pro plus connected by coax TIDAL hi res ( tried analog as well but sounded the same to my ears). Movies/ Netflix Atmos all sound very tide crisp with the standard auddyssy calibration. Love the Dynamic EQ functie as well. I think it's way better than the older Denon models which I had.

As we look out for nirvana of sound we want to maximize our system so I bought the Dirac Live full bandwidth, the UMIK actually I upgraded to the 4800 to make use of Dirac! So yesterday I took the off to do all the measurements wide/focus etc. But I feel like a clown, it just isn't any better than Audyssey to my ears, it sounds thinner and do my speakers right. My setup: 2x B&W 702s2 HTm71S3 sub SVS2000 and two rear and height speakers its a 5.1.2 system

I read al the rave reviews about dirac so wonder if I'm doing something wrong? Strongly thinking about a 350 refund :confused: Maybe wait for ART expansion. Any one else with same experience?
 

ban25

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Nov 5, 2022
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To fix the 'thin' sound, you just need to adjust the target curve from the default. Add a bit more bass and it should sound 'fuller'.

Since you have a UMIK1, you can download REW and take a measurement from the main listening position. If you do so and post the frequency response graph, members here can help you dial-in the EQ.

 

mattsrs

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Jun 24, 2022
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Hey guys, I have been busy with life and haven't had a chance to keep up with this thread. Whats the consensus on whether getting Dirac on 4800h is worth it? Would I notice a difference in sound clarity and details? Would it sound better overall noticeably? I had Dirac Live on RZ50 so I know what it can do but my question is on this particular receiver, if its worth the $350 over Oddyssey
 

techsamurai

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Hey guys, I have been busy with life and haven't had a chance to keep up with this thread. Whats the consensus on whether getting Dirac on 4800h is worth it? Would I notice a difference in sound clarity and details? Would it sound better overall noticeably? I had Dirac Live on RZ50 so I know what it can do but my question is on this particular receiver, if its worth the $350 over Oddyssey

Do they have a trial for it? It's kind of silly that Dirac wouldn't let D+M owners try it for 1-2 months to see if they like it and buy it. It's such a missed opportunity - everyone is afraid that it might not add much but Dirac should feel confident that it does make a difference and people will want it once they try it. Plus, there's also the fear that Dirac may not work (I couldn't get measurements without question marks for the life of me and I did about 100 positions) so folks wanna hedge their bets.
 

phn

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Jul 31, 2023
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I paid nearly the same for the 3800 this past summer. Shoulda waited...
EUR300 difference for me. Would have pulled the trigger with that difference. Not too unhappy about X3800H though, that was a good deal at the time as well. Now of course even better prices available.

This fall is turning out to be a great time to upgrade, at least with Denon AV amplifiers.
 

RMW_NJ

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Apr 26, 2020
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I paid nearly the same for the 3800 this past summer. Shoulda waited...
I’m iffy on it. It’s a $400 difference from what I paid for the 3800. I’m just using it as a preamp/processor so I doubt any of the differences would mean a lot to me. The savings can cover the Dirac license.
 
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abdo123

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Audyssy’s Dynamic EQ is FUNDEMENTAL to a Hi-Fi experience once you get the tonality of your system just right.

Can’t think that Dirac can compete with it. I had it before with a miniDSP and while correction wise it’s better it will sound perfect on only sound level. And you never listen at only one sound level.
 
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