Denon AVR-X4800H AVR Review

[AdamG]

More stuff to buy that I'll never use but it will save me time ;-) How do I calibrate the sound card? Do I need to do that for 2 channel?

Start a new thread and ask for help there. This us an Official Review Thread and posts need to remain on topic and about the product tested and the test results.

Thank you for your cooperation and support.

 

[kryptonite]

Anyone got a native auro-3d file to play in the x4800h? I downloaded a demo disc and it displays as DTS-HD + Neural:X.
Maybe that's correct? I expected it to say Auro-3d.. I can always chose that manually, but once I go to the Auto mode it always goes back to DTS-HD + Neural:x.
I run a 9.1 setup in the amp assign saying it's capable of Auro-3d. Feeding it with a Nvidia Sheld (Dolby Atmos and DTS:X works perfectaly btw).

DTS-HD is being used as the transport medium. Once you start playing the Auro3D file and you see DTS-HD, on the remote under Sound mode, click the Movie button and select Auro 3D. It will then switch to use Auro3D decoding, and you can confirm that by pressing the Info button the remote. What used to say DTS-HD under the Input source, would have now switched to Auro3D, and you'll also now see Auro3D controls under Setup->Audio->Surround mode

Typing all this from my laptop, I'm not with my X4800H, but should be close enough for you to figure it out.

 

[rocketroberto]

Just for information, if you bought an Integra 8.4, you would have a separate SW output for both zone 2 and zone 3.

Thx guys. Man, I’m bummed. I just got a pair of KEF R7 metas to use for dedicated music listening; they are in the same room as my tv (the tv left/right speakers are separate bookshelves…it’s a large room) So, I have 3.1 for my tv/movies. And I want 2.1 on a zone-2 for music. (Using the KEFs in zone2, but using the SAME subwoofer)

If my music is coming in through an HDMI-2 input, does the denon allow you to select 2 different speakers (the surrounds or heights) to use instead as left and right? Meaning, reassign different speakers to use on different channels, for each input? Probably not…

Or is my only option to get something like the integra which allows subwoofers on zones 2 and 3? Hmmmm.

 

[antcollinet]

Thx guys. Man, I’m bummed. I just got a pair of KEF R7 metas to use for dedicated music listening; they are in the same room as my tv (the tv left/right speakers are separate bookshelves…it’s a large room) So, I have 3.1 for my tv/movies. And I want 2.1 on a zone-2 for music. (Using the KEFs in zone2, but using the SAME subwoofer)

If my music is coming in through an HDMI-2 input, does the denon allow you to select 2 different speakers (the surrounds or heights) to use instead as left and right? Meaning, reassign different speakers to use on different channels, for each input? Probably not…

Or is my only option to get something like the integra which allows subwoofers on zones 2 and 3? Hmmmm.

Can't you just use the R7s for movies also? Or are they in a separate listening space in the one room? If so, do they need to be?

 

[evert]

DTS-HD is being used as the transport medium. Once you start playing the Auro3D file and you see DTS-HD, on the remote under Sound mode, click the Movie button and select Auro 3D. It will then switch to use Auro3D decoding, and you can confirm that by pressing the Info button the remote. What used to say DTS-HD under the Input source, would have now switched to Auro3D, and you'll also now see Auro3D controls under Setup->Audio->Surround mode

Typing all this from my laptop, I'm not with my X4800H, but should be close enough for you to figure it out.

Thanks!
Changing output to Auro-3d actually also displays Auro 3D under input. And I can select Channel Expansion or Direct under Auro-3d settings.

 

[rocketroberto]

Can't you just use the R7s for movies also? Or are they in a separate listening space in the one room? If so, do they need to be?

Separate listening space.

I realized I could also get a simple 2.1 dac, have my mac go into that, and hook that up to 2 of my amplifier channels. But still no solution for the subwoofer in that case: I’m using a wireless SVS subwoofer transmitter. So I can’t run a sub cable with an rca switch, for example. (And I don’t want to get a second sub…nowhere to place it).

I wonder if the anthems can have a 2.1 in a zone 2. (Anthem MRX or AVM models). Sigh…

 

[ban25]

Separate listening space.

I realized I could also get a simple 2.1 dac, have my mac go into that, and hook that up to 2 of my amplifier channels. But still no solution for the subwoofer in that case: I’m using a wireless SVS subwoofer transmitter. So I can’t run a sub cable with an rca switch, for example. (And I don’t want to get a second sub…nowhere to place it).

I wonder if the anthems can have a 2.1 in a zone 2. (Anthem MRX or AVM models). Sigh…

They do not. You need the DRX-8.4 for that. To be fair, I don't think it's a great idea to try to hook the same subwoofer up to two different zones because you could have both of them playing at the same time and I'm not sure what that would do to your subwoofer -- probably nothing good.

 

[rocketroberto]

They do not. You need the DRX-8.4 for that. To be fair, I don't think it's a great idea to try to hook the same subwoofer up to two different zones because you could have both of them playing at the same time and I'm not sure what that would do to your subwoofer -- probably nothing good.

Thx. Gosh, this Avr limitation seems crazy to me. So I think best option is to :

- get a separate 2.1 dac for music listening (mac mini running iTunes lossless will go into this dac), and run its left/right preouts into my amplifier (and this will power my separate KEFS).
- get an rca 2-into-1 connector. Have the dacs subwoofer out go into 1 of those inputs. Have the avrs subwoofer out go into the other input. Have that 2-into-1 cable’s output go into my SVS wireless subwoofer transmitter input. (I’ll only ever be using music listening through the mac mini into the dac. Or I’ll be watching tv. I’ll never ‘accidentally’ do both). Basically, I’m creating my own separate zone 2, in a sense.

Yes? Am I cooking with grease? Am I a genius? Or is this a fail. Hahhh.

 

[ban25]

Thx. Gosh, this Avr limitation seems crazy to me. So I think best option is to :

- get a separate 2.1 dac for music listening (mac mini running iTunes lossless will go into this dac), and run its left/right preouts into my amplifier (and this will power my separate KEFS).
- get an rca 2-into-1 connector. Have the dacs subwoofer out go into 1 of those inputs. Have the avrs subwoofer out go into the other input. Have that 2-into-1 cable’s output go into my SVS wireless subwoofer transmitter input. (I’ll only ever be using music listening through the mac mini into the dac. Or I’ll be watching tv. I’ll never ‘accidentally’ do both). Basically, I’m creating my own separate zone 2, in a sense.

Yes? Am I cooking with grease? Am I a genius? Or is this a fail. Hahhh.

I would not recommend a Y-splitter. A Y cable with two different sources could cause problems. What you want is an RCA switchbox, something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Switch-Passive-selector-switcher-Splitter/dp/B089FX2NRR?th=1

That way, when you want to switch from listening to zone 1 to zone 2, you just need to turn the switch to get your subwoofer input.

 

[popej]

- get an rca 2-into-1 connector. Have the dacs subwoofer out go into 1

Most subwoofers have stereo inputs, you can connect 2 different mono outputs. Just consider how to match volume level.

this Avr limitation seems crazy to me

Some people like tube amps, some prefer vinyl. IMHO bypassing SOTA AVR to get plain old stereo is the same category. No offense, just an observation.

 

[techsamurai]

I bought and set up a Cinema 70 to compare against the SR8002 and Denon 4800h - lovely AVR especially with an amp with a nice remote.

Here's the order:
SR 8002 (vocals of the gods and custom made guitars)
Cinema 70 + SR8002 (stellar music)
Denon 4800h
Onkyo TX-RZ50

The Cinema 70 + my amp delivers stellar music - I know 3-4 people that have reviewed it and have confirmed my experience which was immediate so I'm not alone in that ... Stellar... drumroll... until you hear the 8002.

In Lenny Kravitz's tribute song to Johnny Cash:

Just hold me like Johnny Cash
When I lost my mother
Whisper in my ear
Just like June Carter

The sentence "when I lost my mother" on the 8002 carries the pain associated with those words, the words "whisper in my ear" sound like a whisper and the word "Carter" has so much nuance on the 8002 almost as if it's a different singer or version of the song. I was stunned by how good the Cinema 70 sounded and I didn't expect the 8002 to beat it but here we are and I'm adding components and getting a lower sum. In other parts of the song, they may sound similar in their quality but when these important moments come up, the 8002 shows its class.

I ran into a hilarious problem - the Cinema 70 is controlling the volume on both the 70 and the 8002 so I don't think I can keep it unless I can stop it from messing the 8002's volume

I'm going to enjoy the Cinema 70 over the weekend and report back. Maybe I'll hook up the 4800h again although I don't need to as I know its sound by now.

 

[techsamurai]

I haven't talked about dialogue and the center channel but I'd like to switch to that. I noticed that my center channel had the clearest sound withe Cinema 70 than even the 4800h which was also clearer than the Marantz 8002. I didn't have to use subtitles at all in movie clips which was crazy. I didn't know my center could be so good for dialogue I do wonder if the use of a tripod instead of my outdoor pillows cleaned it up.

I should also mention that the RZ50 with Dirac Live had excellent dialogue too and it seemed to be dependent on measurement quality.

Here are the center measurements and it's clear that Audyssey Mult-Eq on the Cinema 70 is not as flat as the Audyssey XT32 on the 4800h and is louder in the midrange which I guess explains its extra clarity in voices.

A few questions:
Why is Mult-Eq not flattening the curve? I looked at the curve editor and it's as flat as the 4800h so what is going on there?
Is Audyssey XT32 capable of a real flat curve which would entail hundreds of eq bumps?

Which will get us into heat as the Marantz stays ultra cool while the Denon is working as hard as the 8002 (which is doing amplification) in stereo - what on earth is it doing to get so hot?

Denon 4800h Center

.


Marantz Cinema 70 Center

Any thoughts?

 

[phn]

MultEQ is the most basic version of Audyssey, less hardware with less filters than MultEQ XT let alone MultEQ XT32. Those graphs you shared look very much what I had with XT vs XT32 when I switched from X2700H to X3800H. The simpler version just does not have the bandwidth to do what the better versions do.

MultEQ-X is then an additional step up as it takes in addition of the more capable software per se the computing itself from amp to computer instead.

 

[techsamurai]

MultEQ is the most basic version of Audyssey, less hardware with less filters than MultEQ XT let alone MultEQ XT32. Those graphs you shared look very much what I had with XT vs XT32 when I switched from X2700H to X3800H. The simpler version just does not have the bandwidth to do what the better versions do.

MultEQ-X is then an additional step up as it takes in addition of the more capable software per se the computing itself from amp to computer instead.

Yeah, I'm quite familiar with them - here's the infamous chart.

XT32 and XT measure similarly in REW based on some comparison.

Based on this, satellites are speakers and it only does 512 for XT32, 16 for XT and 2 for MultEq.

That's definitely not true as we can see from the charts above and also from the Audyssey UI on the AVRs which have multiple filters.

 

[techsamurai]

Okay, I just realized that I use STEREO mode on the SR8002. Here's the description from the manual:

STEREO This mode bypasses all surround processing. In stereo program sources, the left and right channels play normally when PCM audio or analog stereo is input. With Dolby Digital and DTS sources, the 5.1 channels are converted to two channel stereo. 96 kHz PCM source material can be played back in stereo mode

I just assumed that the 4800h and Cinema 70 have stereo modes but come to think of it, that's what they now call 2 channel playback but all it does is just play the music directly with Audyssey or without Audyssey.

The Stereo mode on the 8002 sounds completely different than Direct and Pure Direct and Audyssey.

Does the 8002 have a special music mode that modern AVRs don't use?

Reading the following review:

Power and panache
Now, if all this makes this Marantz sound like something of a beast, it is; but it's a beast that's about as house-trained as Lassie. Pushed hard, the top-end stays smooth and refined, while the midrange has a hint of warmth that's rare in the world of multichannel amps.

Play a movie with a low-key soundtrack such as The Proposition and this Marantz is right at home, making the most of vocal nuances and small-scale effects of the kind that create an atmosphere rather than make your windows rattle.

The good news continues with music, where the company's reputation of making fine, musical-sounding kit remains intact.

Which is exactly about what I've been talking about so it's just not me - the midrange of the 8002 coupled with a FST driver is to die for. No one would ever say this about the 4800h's music playback even if it had Audyssey Dirac Live DLBC XPA running in tandem...

 

[galego100]

Hello ,

I have the chance to buy 4800 for 1200€ or he 3800 for 800€ , both new with europe Denon ´s warranty. Besides the 4 subwoofers, produced in Japan, a little more amp power , it´s worth the 400€ difference?

 

[FrankF]

Hello ,

I have the chance to buy 4800 for 1200€ or he 3800 for 800€ , both new with europe Denon ´s warranty. Besides the 4 subwoofers, produced in Japan, a little more amp power , it´s worth the 400€ difference?

Use the search function to get a plethora of information on both pieces.

 

[ban25]

Hello ,

I have the chance to buy 4800 for 1200€ or he 3800 for 800€ , both new with europe Denon ´s warranty. Besides the 4 subwoofers, produced in Japan, a little more amp power , it´s worth the 400€ difference?

Both the 3800 and the 4800 have 4 subwoofer outputs. The 4800 is produced in Japan and has a component video input. If that's worth it to you, then pay the extra 400.

 

[techsamurai]

Hello ,

I have the chance to buy 4800 for 1200€ or he 3800 for 800€ , both new with europe Denon ´s warranty. Besides the 4 subwoofers, produced in Japan, a little more amp power , it´s worth the 400€ difference?

The answer to this will vary person to person which is why the 3800h will outsell the 4800h because the 3800h is almost the same while the 4800h is 50% more expensive.

You're getting a little bit more but not a massive amount so it won't justify the difference. It also depends on what you had before. I have the 4800h and I just bought a Cinema 70 to use in preamp mode to try and replace my old AVR - neither is up to the task in music. I'd gladly return both for a better musical experience. So in my case, I'm screwed. But if you had an entry-level AVR and you're upgrading to either the 3800h or 4800h, then you would be over the moon with either one.

Ultimately it's up to you and how you want to spend your money.

 

[galego100]

I guess 3800 for 800€ is a better value . But Amirn review of 3800 is not so favorable instead 4800....