Denon 3803 Analogue Pathway

Bails

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Could someone please explain to me how the Denon 3803 receiver deals with analogue inputs?

I have a good cd transport and a good external DAC. Would these be wasted on the Denon? I believe some av receivers convert analogue inputs to digital and then back to analogue again, which would negate the value of the external DAC. Does the Denon operate this way?

Or does the Denon have a 'pure' analogue pathway, bypassing digital conversion for analogue inputs? Presumably, in this case, the Denon would act as a analogue integrated amp.

If the latter is true, any comments on how the Denon would perform with a high quality analogue input? Am I much better off with a separate integrated amp (Arcam, for instance)?

Thanks for your help.
 
IMO you really do need to get a dedicated HiFi amp to get the best from music.
I've got the 3802 and the Arcam amps I got made a hugh difference to music compared to going through the 3802.
Most receivers (including the 3803) do convert everything to digital to perform all processing ie bass management. It is then converted back to analogue and then sent on to the amps. AFAIK only the high end processord have a pure analogue path.

Mark.
 
Use the 7.1 External Decoder Inputs and that will bypass all bass management, A/D conversion etc. The 3803 also keeps everything in the analogue domain when you engage Pure Direct mode for an analogue input (as per info below which I got from Denon). This also applies to the A11SR, A1SR and I believe, the upgraded A1SE.

Quote from Denon:

"Stereo with an analogue input, stays analogue as it passes through an analogue High-Pass Filter (if the speakers are configured to small) while a seperate but parallel signal goes to the DSP for Low-Pass filtering. In DIRECT Mode the Hi-Pass Filter is bypassed, while the digital Low-Pass is still active. In PURE DIRECT Mode, both the analogue High-Pass and digital Low-Pass are bypassed, however an analogue Low-Pass takes over, so in PURE DIRECT it is 100% analogue"

You can switch OFF the sub output in both DIRECT & PURE DIRECT Modes if you wish too as well. :)
 
I have a 3802 with an old Philips CD850 (one of the first bitstream players) as my CD player.

I have good analogue interconnects but I was wondering with the age of the CD unit (about 1991) if it would be better to use the CD unit's optical output and let the 3802 do the DAC work?

Although the CD850 was about £400 in it's day I assume it would be surpassed by much cheaper player today. FYI my Sony DVD505 (about 4 years old) is noticeably worse for CD playback with the coaxial connection than the Philips.
 
The best advise I can give on that is to try both and see which sounds best to You!

In theory the CD's DAC should be better, but its your ears that need convincing.

Mark.
 

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