Earle Decker Posted November 5, 2001 Share Posted November 5, 2001 OK before I start I just want to say that I am not an audiophile, so don't look for a professional review here, just my opinions of the reciever. Now back to business. I recently upgraded my Denon 3200 to the Denon 3802. I really wanted DTS decoding and this reciever seemed to fit the bill perfect. The build quality is good. Seems to weigh about the same as my 3200. The remote is OK, but I use Pronto so the original remote is now in the drawer never to be used. I noticed many people hate the Denon remotes, I never thought that they were that bad once I got used to them. Just my opinion though. Once the recevier was in it place hooking it up took about 20 min. Not to bad considering I had to connect 7 speakers, 2 subs, 4 bass shakers, and the usual hardware(DVD, LD, DSS, CD player). Set up was a breeze, I just hit set up and in 10 minutes was up and running. After a quick calibration with VE I was ready to go and see what it could do. Musically the 3802 is very similar to my 3200 smooth and easy to listen to. I use all Klipsch speakers except the rear centers which are Rock Solid wall mountable speakers(any info on these speakers would be appreciated), so the 3802 had no problems driving these to loud levels. I dont know if the 3802 rated 110 watts/channel is true, but I have no problems reaching 110+db in my room. I love the 7 channel stereo mode, it really fills up my large room with sound. Now for the home theater review: This is where the 3802 excels. The DTS ES is unbelievable. I never thought my HT could sound so good. I love the matrixed rear center as much as the discreet rear center. PLII is awesome. i have to be honest about this, I thought PLII was another dumb DSP and would never use it. Boy was I wrong PLII is great for DSS TV and those odd DD 2.0 DVDs. Mr. Fosgate definatly gets 2 thumbs up for this great new surround format. Some of my nitpicks are: Useless adj crossover 80/100/120, how about 40/60/80/100. The 4802 has these why cant the 3802 at least have 60hz as a option? No peak limiter, I probably wouldnt use it as i have never bottomed out my subs(SVS 20-39's) but a $1200 reciever should have this for lesser subs protection. Not being able to use the double banana plugs. i could with my 3200. This would have made hookup even quicker. Not having a 2nd subout, i know this is a minor issue, but why not, with so many people into getting the ultimate HT experience, tactile tranducers and multiple subs are becoming more common and having to split the subout is a pain. I would give this reciever 2 thumbs up. I'm sure you could get a better reciever, but the next step in the Denon camp is $2400 and I cant belive it sounds twice as good. If anyone has any questions fire away maybe we can help each other get the most out of this great reciever. Earle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBusa Posted November 5, 2001 Share Posted November 5, 2001 Thats a nice reciever! I auditioned (hehe I just said auditioned! I'm becoming a stereo dork!) one at tweeter a while back. As I remember it was capable of playing different components in 2 different rooms at the same time. That was the big difference between the 2802 and the 3802 so said the salesperson. ------------------ My system thus far: 1980 Cornwalls (mains) 19?? Heresy II's (rears) 2001 KLF-C7 (center) 2001 KSW15 (Subwoofer) HK AVR 510 (reciever) Kenwood DV402 (DVD) Sony KV 27V55 (9 year old 27" TV) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earle Decker Posted November 5, 2001 Author Share Posted November 5, 2001 I forgot to mention that I purchased the receiver at Tweeter. They had reduced to price to $999 then I had a $100 off coupon and they then came down another $75. So I got the 3802 for $825. Thats what I call a sweet deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBusa Posted November 5, 2001 Share Posted November 5, 2001 It was $1199 when I saw it. You got a fantastic deal! ------------------ My system thus far: 1980 Cornwalls (mains) 19?? Heresy II's (rears) 2001 KLF-C7 (center) 2001 KSW15 (Subwoofer) HK AVR 510 (reciever) Kenwood DV402 (DVD) Sony KV 27V55 (9 year old 27" TV) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattG Posted November 5, 2001 Share Posted November 5, 2001 the only problem with that whole two room stuff is that is uses the same amplifiers to power the second room as it uses for your rear surrounds. (I think?) So you could not be using the 6.1 or 7.1 formats and power two speakers in another room. I don't know about you but I plan on using those rear channels in the living room. You see, really this is an option that is never used, just one thrown in to be able to convince my wife that it is such a wonderful receiver and that we NEED to get one . This message has been edited by MattG on 11-05-2001 at 07:43 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted November 5, 2001 Share Posted November 5, 2001 $825!!! This is a awesome deal Cant go wrong at that price,its a very easy choice. You will no doubt enjoy the Denon. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earle Decker Posted November 5, 2001 Author Share Posted November 5, 2001 Matt, I have a old 4 channel Adcom amp. Two of the channels dont work, but 2 do work fine. i think you can use the last set of preouts (2nd source outs) and use the external amp to power the other zone. these are my plans, I want to have a set of speakers outside on the deck nest summer. Ears, My thoughts exactly. Too good of a deal to pass up. This message has been edited by Earle Decker on 11-05-2001 at 10:12 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake2 Posted November 5, 2001 Share Posted November 5, 2001 Earle - I also have 2 pairs of Rock Solid Monitors which I picked up at a garage sale (along with a Mirage 12" sub and a Mirage center channel) for $50. I'm using them as remote speakers in our kitchen and our bath. They are built for "unfriendly" environments and they sound pretty nice - nothing like my Klipsch's, of course . They are made by B&W, if you didn't know that. Solid was their "incognito" brand, and they aren't made anymore. Go to www.bwspeakers.com and search the site using "solid" as the search word and I'll be you'll find some old marketing material with your speakers in it. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earle Decker Posted November 11, 2001 Author Share Posted November 11, 2001 Doug Thanks for the info on the solid speakers. i found the model on B&W's web page. Just a update on the 3802: I found that I prefet the PLII music mode over the cinema mode for watching TV and D2.0 dvds. Have others found this to be the way they prefer PLII? Earle This message has been edited by Earle Decker on 11-11-2001 at 09:48 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacevedo Posted November 11, 2001 Share Posted November 11, 2001 Earle - I have found that to be the case too on my 3802. I read on avsforum a post by Jim Fosgate, and he said he always listened in music mode as well. He said that the steering lgoc is still correct, but the music mode will add its ambience - which I really like. The cinema mode, IMO, still collapses everything to the center channel. With the music mode, I could adjust the amount of this collapse. I like my tweaked sound much better. Plus, on TV, there is so much music, that it was pointless to have the cinema mode play all the music out of the center channel. I never realized how much music there is on TV, until I started listening with the Music mode. The other nice thing is now I don't have to switch between cinema mode or music mode when switching from TV to CD's. It makes it easier to operate. Why Denon didn't allow it to remember which version of DPLII you were in for each source is beyond me! You can see my setup below. Bryan ------------------ "... But Honey - I promise this is the last thing I will have to buy for the Home Theater" Mistubishi VS60603 60" RPTV Denon AVR 3802 Receiver Denon DVM 1800 DVD Changer JVC 3600U SVHS VCR RCA DirecTV Satellite Tuner Klipsch RB5 - Mains Klipsch RC3 - Center Klipsch RCW3 - In-wall Surrounds Velodyne SPL1200 Subwoofer Monster HTS1000 Power Conditioner Acoustic Research Pro Series Interconnects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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