Finally hear DSOM loud and undistorted
Written: Nov 23 '02
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Pros: Great sound
Cons: Remote still has a bug or two
The Bottom Line: The best A/V piece of equipment I have ever purchased. I am confident it will withstand the test of time.
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| adc-1's Full Review: Denon AVR-3802 7.1 Channels Receiver |
I did a lot of reviewing of surround receivers on the web and at local electronics stores. The other brands I was considering were Yamaha, Onkyo, and Harmon Kardon. I chose the Denon primarily because every review that I read had positive things to say about the brand (people with 30 year old units that they still loved) and its unerring sound delivery from low volume to very high volumes. This is a sturdy, serious, full featured receiver. Overall I am very happy with my purchase and it is clearly the heart of my audio video setup.
My receiver is connected to
1) DirecTV TIVO unit (digital audio connector)
2) Toshiba progressive scan DVD player SD5700 (digital audio connector)
3) Sony CDP CX255 CD Player (200 CD unit with digital audio)
4) Mitsubishi VCR (RCA plugs)
5) Toshiba 50HX81 Rear projection TV
6) Bose AM-15 speakers (my wife made me do it, but they really do sound good)
7) Single B&O speaker at center rear for 6.1 sound
I chose only to run the VCR video through the receiver, as I would need at least three video sources anyway at the TV to support component, s-video, and RCA connector types because the Denon doesn't combine different input types into a single output. If I were using two component video sources I would probably route them through the Denon.
The Denon is driving a set of Bose AM-15 speakers with the powered sub. This was the most agonizing part of my purchase because everyone (but my best friend, who also has the AM-15'S) was warning me away from them. For purely aesthetic reasons, my wife overruled me on the speakers (I was drooling over some Klipsch honkers) because they came in white and would blend into the background and we wouldn't have to look at them. I managed to sneak a little Bang & Olufsen speaker into the mix as the center rear to add a little color, though.
When I got everything set up I started to run through all my classic CD's. Beatles, Who, Zeppelin, etc. I was pretty happy with the results when I got to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. I cranked the sound up to about 20 or so, and I heard the album as I've never heard it before. It was the very first time (in the 30 years I've been listening to it) that I heard it loud, and clear. It was amazing. For this experience alone I would buy the receiver again.
The bug that I mentioned in the remote occurred when I was doing something obscure, following the manual, but the system refused to cooperate. I was finally able to do what I needed to do at the front panel of the unit.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 850
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Epinions.com ID:
adc-1
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Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
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