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PC play lists have to be created in Windows Media Player, not iTunes.It's a good receiver and has no trouble filling my room with clean sound. The front door isn't very easy to open.
Suddenly I have very realistic surround for the 1st time in years. It's nice that it can stream music off any PC in the house.
Pros: the Audyssey sound setup showed me that I had my rear speakers out of phase. It can play MP3's off USB sticks.Cons: the web interface looks like it was written in the 1990's.
The online radio is easy to setup on the PC. You can edit settings from your PC since the receiver plugs into your network.
It's pricey. It'd be a great deal if it cost about $500.
I replaced my previous Denon receiver (2802) with this gem after upgrading my speakers to an Infinity Nine system. Plus, its direct-in handles my SACDs and DVD audio with great care. and even Comcast's crappy audio, the Denon 3808 seems to have a setting and a sound that offers amazing warmth and clarity. Other reviews I read noted that these speakers take a lot to drive (preferably somewhere between 120-150W) - which was the primary motivation for moving up. I was able to sample 5 different locations in my room (could've done more) and - Voila - the receiver did an amazing job providing the right balance, delay, and levels. A bizarre lightning strike sealed the deal. And what a great move. Regardless of the source I use: DVD Dolby, Blu-Ray, PS3, or iPod (yes, even the iPod sounds amazing).
After reading several reviews online between the Denon and Onkyo lines, I decided to stay with Denon. This is mostly because I've been so impressed over the years with their own stereo-to-surround circuitry - which frankly produces the best stereo-enhanced audio reproduction I've heard from regular CDs. Plus, you cannot imagine how well this receiver sets itself up with the special tuning microphone and Audyssey sound processing. And the TV-based menu system is a major improvement from Denon's historically cryptic menu system.This receiver makes it easy to NOT spend $5,000 on an amp and still get heart-pounding movie action along with soul-pleasing jazz from one receiver.
That is so rare these days. For the Amazon price of under $1000 this is probably the best receiver in the world under $1K. I went from a late model Yamaha to this and the difference in sound quality is very noticeable. It turned out to be a firmware on the DVR problem but when I called Denon, a knowledgeable technician in the USA answered quickly and was of great help. Also the on-screen user interface is a bit quircky and at times certain selections are difficult to make - you actually have to go one level further down in a menu and then back out to get some of the functions to become selectable even though they should have been up-front. This has a much richer and natural sound.
The main touch-screen remote control was designed by somebody that has never actually used a remote - it is next to useless. Retail is $1600 so it should be pretty great. So why didn't I give this a 5. The unit is fairly easy to set. I did have one problem with my DVR not passing the signal through the receiver regardless of what I tried. Fortunately, Denon includes a secondary remote of a more traditional design that works well.
Once you get past these small issues, this is one great receiver for the money.
The touch screen remote and owners manual are no help either. I have this pushing 2 Monitor Audio RS8, and the combination of the 2 is truly amazing. The power that this receiver puts out is amazing. I would suggest to Denon that they make their products more user friendly. I am not a tech person but really enjoy having very nice stuff. When setting this receiver up everything seemed very confusing even something as simple as changing the radio station. Over all I am satisfied but am wondering if a Martanz would have been easier to set up.
This is my 10th amp and the best I've ever bought. It works as advertised and allows you to consolidate all your video inputs into one HDMI output (great for driving that flat panel TV mounted on the wall). Some reviewers claim this amp doesn't work with Sony TVs - this has not been my experience. The amp works fine with my Sony Bravia LCD and drives it at 1080p.
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