Denon 3802

Fairzo

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Thinking of upgrading to 3802 but haven't much of a clue what speakers to get. However, layout and shape of room means that 'rears' will be to side of listening position rather than behind. Is this likely to reduce sound experience to the extent that benefit of 3802 will be lost and I may as well get something at lower cost?
 
Fairzo,

I've been running a 3802 for 7-8 months now with Morndaunt-Short 208's for the fronts, M-S 905c centre, M-S MSW20 sub and Mission M7DS for rear sides and rear/centre back.

If you go for one of the Mission M7DS or M77DS style of bipolars then you will get a good spread of sound. I have one M7DS to either side of my ears (about 30cm down from the ceiling / 60-70 cm above my head and circa 3m away) and they give a good spread of sound, especially for movies. I must admit that I found a great difference in thre movement of soudn around the room when when I added the extra rear M7DS. If you don’t have a rear wall to work with have you considered mounting the centre back on the ceiling instead ?

I would think twice about the question of going for the 3802 with 7 separate onboard amps if you won't use the rear back's now or in the future. However, the music capability of the Denon in my opinion is very good and better than friends / colleagues who have spent similar / more on other makes. Though, I must admit that there isn't as great a difference in the movie modes etc.

I use my 3802 60% music & 40% movies and would not swap it for anything, as the sound is perfect. I'm sure that my and the average persons hearing would not be able to tell the difference on amps costing twice as much.

I did briefly use the back rears amps to run speakers in another room so I could have music playing through the house (multiroom mode, allows you to play same or separate source on back two channel compared to other 5 channels.

Regards.

Chris L.
 
What makes you think that the 3802 would be better at driving surround speakers that are behind you, rather than at the side of you ?
Depending on your choice of speakers, and who you talk to, there are arguments for both.
I have the 3802 driving tri-polar speakers at the sides, and i think it is superb. It is the best amp that i have had so far.
I listen to probably 60% music and 40% movies, and for me it is great. You wont go wrong with the 3802, and so versatile with those 7 amps.
I dont think it's so much the amp that dictates where the speakers are placed, but the speakers themselves!!!

Have fun.
Kev
 
Has everyone in these forums own a Denon 3802 !!!!!!!! don't tell me you didn't even listen to it before you brought it.

:) :)
 
Originally posted by Ravi 123
Has everyone in these forums own a Denon 3802 !!!!!!!! don't tell me you didn't even listen to it before you brought it.





Not sure if that's a response to me but, if so, have I said I've bought it or not listened to it? Otherwise, what's your point?
 
First of all my reply wasn't towards and second of all everyone seems to buy denon because some guy on forum said so..........:D :D
 
Originally posted by Ravi 123
First of all my reply wasn't towards and second of all everyone seems to buy denon because some guy on forum said so..........


Not sure what evidence you've got for the last point but it would be more useful to contribute something positive imho.
 
Originally posted by Ravi 123
First of all my reply wasn't towards and second of all everyone seems to buy denon because some guy on forum said so..........:D :D

I think you'll find many people buy Denon AV amps because they offer a great range, perform above average at their price points (which are generally real-world affordable) and also look pretty nice/different in their styling (especially the Gold). The fact that Denon have a strong reputation with mid-price stereo amps, a consistent AV track record and are generally well reviewed also helps with the decision making process.
 
You say you have an L - shaped room can you possible but smaller sized speakers on the wall for kef eggs, Gallos, e.t.c.
Want amp are you currently upgrading from ?
 
But did the reviews tell you that the denon cannot have recording components attached. if you think reviews are quite important have a look at this on the DENON 3802 .........http://www.t3.co.uk/review.asp?rev_id=2180&category=AMP
Im not trying to be an arse but there are many more recievers out there in the same price range that are easier to use and sound better as well.


:) :)
 
Originally posted by Ravi 123
You say you have an L - shaped room can you possible but smaller sized speakers on the wall for kef eggs, Gallos, e.t.c.
Want amp are you currently upgrading from ?



Ah, I was trying to keep quiet about the last bit. I've been making do with a Sony DAVS500 while I get down to decisions about new kit, funding etc. Whatever I get now will have to last a good while.... Kef and Gallos look good options. Not sure whether the Gallos are a bit too 'lifestyle' like Bose, i.e. priced for appearance and status more than performance. Also, the Kefs may need a different sub. What set-up do you have?
 
I currently have the following :


Yamaha RXV - 1200
B & W 601S2
Kef Eggs x 6
Rel Quake Sub x 2
Pioneer 737

Just brought another quake sub arrived yesterday defintely sounds better with 2.
 
Originally posted by Ravi 123
But did the reviews tell you that the denon cannot have recording components attached. if you think reviews are quite important have a look at this on the DENON 3802 .
Im not trying to be an arse but there are many more recievers out there in the same price range that are easier to use and sound better as well.



I don't think many people would make a major purchase just based on magazine reviews, there are too many other potential influences such as advertising revenues, freebie lunches, unknown set-ups etc. It is generally appreciated that there is no better judgement than that based on trying the kit out but I'm nevertheless interested in the (impartial) opinion of others.
 
Originally posted by Ravi 123
I currently have the following :


Yamaha RXV - 1200
B & W 601S2
Kef Eggs x 6
Rel Quake Sub x 2
Pioneer 737

Just brought another quake sub arrived yesterday defintely sounds better with 2.


Are you happy with the Kefs then, and is the Kef sub a bit underpowered?
 
(I don't think many people would make a major purchase just based on magazine reviews, there are too many other potential influences such as advertising revenues, freebie lunches, unknown set-ups etc. It is generally appreciated that there is no better judgement than that based on trying the kit out but I'm nevertheless interested in the (impartial) opinion of others.)



Im also very interested in what people have to say but so many people take views as this product is the bomb...... and what they will do is find the cheapest place on the net and buy it, and having never listened to any other products they will also say this product is great.
Denon is a great manfucture and i don't doubt that at all, but first of all they have made a machine that is not consumer friendly.
For e.g you use a Nokia mobile and then use a Motorola you give these phones to someone without the manuals because lets face it the manuls that come with recievers are crap.......... 9 times out of the 10 the Nokia will be more easier to access and control, my point being that the Denon which most people use as a day to day electronics makes it drag to use...........
 
"Are you happy with the Kefs then, and is the Kef sub a bit underpowered?"

Well the thing i found with the Kef sub that it only goes down to 35hz with the quake you've got 25hz. ?But what i did was actually demo them at a local dealer and hear both, because if you happy with Kef sub theres no point paying extra for the Quake, Not only that the main reason i have still got the B & W's is because for me they weren't good enough for music reproduction the next thing i need to do is get a dedicated cd player.
 
I think what it means you can record between sources. For e.g if anyone wanted to record from radio to cd or tape to cd and so on ......::) :)
 
But it will. The Denon will let you record whatever source you select, assuming you have the relevant equipment attached to it (tape/cd recorder). It will also let you listen to one source whilst recording another.

Some "reviewers" in magazines should take the time to find out what the kit can actually do.:devil: ;)
 
Thats why somtimes i think are reviewers actually know what they are doing ? or is it that they review so many products they get confused or is it they just don't spend enough time with the product ?:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
Originally posted by Ravi 123
or is it that they review so many products they get confused or is it they just don't spend enough time with the product ?

Probably a mixture of both. Wouldn´t hurt them to flick thru the manual or actually ring the manufacturer to find out if it can do something or not.

Shame really, as it´s likely the product will be given a lower score when it deserves higher.
 
Also you normally only have one person reviewing on one product so you only get 1 opinion. Why don't they try to have 2 - 3 people on the one product and maybe we might a better evaluation on the product, or maybe this might just confuse everyone even more. In regards to the actually sound quality of the product the main suspect being the reciever doesn't this actually need a good month to run, surely if it does they would have figured out what the amp actually does and doesn't do.
 
Blind testing would be the best option with a panel of reviewers. They wouldn´t know what they were listening to, so there would be no brand loyalty/disloyalty either. Then they would have to mark on sound quality only. Maybe the models could be revealed after they have been listened to, so any further points could be added for features etc.
 

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