Denon AVR-4308CI Vs Denon AVC-A11XV Vs AVP-A1HD Vs A11SR VS A1SR All First Rate reference outstanding Models!!!

marcd5123

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Hi Everyone, I owed my Denon 4308 scene December 2020 purchased it from a private seller in virtually mint condition. I owned several Denon amps over the past 25 years being Denon 3803-3805 and X4100W.

Out of all those amps the 4308 more or less wipes the floor with them sonic wise. To the extent that I can honestly say the 4308 is by far the finest AV AMP iv ever owned its that bloody good!!. I listen to alot of 2-channal audio with my current Marantz SA-15S1 Player and they together an absolute dream team the sonic quality of the 4308 is nothing short of outstanding its that fxxing good.

Possibly because of the very special "Advance AL24 Processing Plus" DAC's it uses which was exclusive to this model and the it's bigger brother....

Anyhow... How does the Denon AVC-A11XV A compare as its a few year before the 4308 came out which was 2007-08.

Any idea would the Denon AVC-A11XVA be night and day difference sonic wise. Remembering the 4803 was around £2K + when it came out.

Be great to here some comments with folks that have owned these amps.

The 4308 has HDMI 1.3a which surports Lossless Formats such as Dolby True HD & DTS-HD Master which is a must. Also the 4308 has HDMI-CES a pre-runner to ARC uses 2 cables but it works. 😊👍
 
There's many that would argue that the AVC-A11XV is the finest AV amp that Denon has ever produced. Your problem with both units if you want to run video through them is that HDMI 1.3. For many new discs and broadcast pass through needs HDMI 2.0 for HDCP 2.2. If you can work around that, which is easy enough then as long as you can connect a player via HDMI for your HD audio then all is fine.

With TV and streaming services then your limited to SD audio anyway and seeing that neither is capable of Atmos your not going to be bothered with Dolby Digital Plus.

I was way down the tier ladder with my Denon when the 4308 was being produced so can't comment. I can refer to AL24 having had it on an X6200 and now have AL32 on an X6500 and AL32 is a noticeable improvement. AL24 was touted as a top of the range processor for music but I have to say that stereo music is a let down on modern Denons and as such I don't use my X6500 for that purpose.

I have AL32 plus on my DCD 2500 NE SACD player and damn it's good.
 
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@gibbsy. I was both amazed and gobsmacked that the 4803 trumped over the 2015 X4100W!. I expected it to be different but not night and day. So yeah I can definitely vouch with your comments.

It certainly looks to me that from 1999 to around 2008 Denon produced it finest quality amps from A11SR to A1SR to 3805 & 4803 I may have missed out 1 it 2 extra their.

For me not having Dolby Atmos or HDR10 or Dolby Vision and even as far as HDMI-ARC frankly could not care. I have a 2019 LG 55SM8600 and Amazon 4K Firecube connected to the 4803 using QED Optical cable and Atlas HDMI Hyper Cable using the amp with its HDMI-CES its fantastic I can use my LG remote to control the volume for the amp and TV at the same time so it's it ARC just with using 2 cables instead it one hardly a negative.

I have a Studio flat and simply don't have the physical room for a proper Atmos setup. Also my TV has more than enough HDMI ports for my connected peripherals.

So not having the so called "modern processing standards" and instead having an AV AMP that can produce serious reference sonic levals of 2-channal pure direct stereo is a huge plus for me. When using the 4803.
 
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If you have a chance try borrowing a good stereo integrated amp, and see how that compares the demons for music.

Typically hifi purists don't use avrs for two channel music systems.

My stereo dac / stereo analogue pre amp system certainly outclass my av pre amp.

I may get a Denon avr 3700/4700 and use it as av pre mode, but I'll have my audiolab/tag two boxes to the side just in case the Denon isn't as good (so Denon just be used in av mode only for multi channel)
 
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I waas a prior denon 4308 owner it was last of made in japan quality units of the time. its replacement the 4311 was really a 3 series denon moved up ranks to include their 1 series for the box mover chain stores.

few things with the 4308 it had the 4 series of time processing, dacs, analog stages and power supplies and step up from already pretty decent 3808. the later denons had al32 and also audyssey xt32 which is a step up...

if wanting to improve on the 4308... id look out for a 5308 or denon AVC-A1HDA this was al32 processing,

you will need to find one that had the full audyssey xt32 upgrade... which can be a challenge... as it is confusing for folk where some never had the upgrade and others did including the hdmi board to pass 3D video.

taking a step back to AVX-A11XA would also be an excellent unit but is also going a lot of years back...

note parts on these and getting service on these is going to be challenge given vintage as well....but does mean buying 2nd hand can be a bargain....
 
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Hi @alebonau thank you for your reply. No offence to the others who have kindly replied as well. Your answer seems to be bang on the buck!.

Its very strange even through my previous 2015 X4100W which is now to one side in my flat for now untill I decide what to do with it.. As its more or less mint condition as well. I seriously was not expecting the 4803 to more or less totaly outclass the X4100W. Iv played god knows how many of my CD's & SACD's and more or less it out classes the X4100W each time. Still now I play some of my SACD from my Marantz SA-15S1 the other day playing ELP 1973 Brain Salad Surgery or Genesis Selling England By The pound in absolutely gib smacked just how much scale of dynamics it masters let alone the sheer amount of clarity I mean this amp is able to control bass response incredibly well so well defined. The midrange and top end aka HF is where the 4803 truly out classed my previous X4100W it soooooo clear open extremely clean and very focused. The top end is seriously Sharpe defined and so well rolled out . It seems to be that for the very first time in my life iv manged to get and amp and a cd/SACD player that are a perfect true match for each other. Iv gotten close in the past as its pretty difficult to do but I feel for me Iv hit the jackpot.

I am and have been an Audiophile scene my teen years I'm now 40 years old. Yes you definitely correct as the 4803 was pretty unique for its time for 2007-08 as Denon fitted thankfully what they called "Advanced AL24 Plus" as opposed to the standard AL24 which I had on my previous 3805 and that amp was absolutely first rate as well.

I believe in doing my research just before I purchased the 4803 back in December 2020 Denon told me the "Advance AL24 Processing Plus" was only fitted to 4803 and its big brother 5308. Also it had fitted Wi-Fi, DAB Radio, Internet Radio. So looks like Denon at the time went all out with this model to try and throw out the competition and I believe they seem to do it in droves. Oddly enough even through the X4100W has adyssey Multi XT32 filters for 8 different positions. The 4803 has Adyssey MultiXT and also has for 8 different positions the 4803 was far more accurate with it measurements and gave a rock solid image. Clearly shows that Denon units from that period they were at their peak along with Marantz, Arcam and Even Sony untill they stopped producing their QS and ES ranges.

I am aware of the AVC-A1HD and yes if I can grab my self one at some point over the next year or so as a Bargin I'm definitely going to . However untill then I'll get sell my X4100W if I can.

I have been trying to buy another 4803 cheap for spare parts if I can. The one I have I was fortunate to obtain from a private seller who had it in his storage lockup for the last 8 years. So he only ever used it very lightly for the first 4-5 years. I absolutely jumped at the chance. I read the reviews here on Avforums and the sister company AVS Forums in the US and it gave the 4803 very high quality reviews all round pretty much.

Anyways it has now shown me that one can certainly obtain some really nice high end or reference quality kit for a resly good price 2bd hand without breaking the bank. It's a matter of spending time doing your research and a asking the right questions and finding the amp you want from a seller that took the time to take good care of their products. The amount of times I still look on ebay people selling their gear asking for a ridiculous amount of money and they can't be bothered to clean up their units before they take pictures. After all you would not sell your car like that. Beats me why folks don't clean them up before hand. So they always look grubby, dusty fingers prints dirt marks ect.

Anyways 😊👍
 

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Its very strange even through my previous 2015 X4100W which is now to one side in my flat for now untill I decide what to do with it.. As its more or less mint condition as well. I seriously was not expecting the 4803 to more or less totaly outclass the X4100W.
yep am not surprised ...the 4308... thinking you are having some auto replace going on :D was indeed in the AVRs top pegging before going to the A line flagship... in my country the 4308 sold for $5499 ! which was quite a jump up from the $3k 3808.... my dads 3808 is still going strong. these made in japan machines were very well made and signature denon.

Still now I play some of my SACD from my Marantz SA-15S1 the other day playing ELP 1973 Brain Salad Surgery or Genesis Selling England By The pound in absolutely gib smacked just how much scale of dynamics it masters let alone the sheer amount of clarity I mean this amp is able to control bass response incredibly well so well defined. The midrange and top end aka HF is where the 4803 truly out classed my previous X4100W it soooooo clear open extremely clean and very focused.

really not surprised about this either ! the denon - like the marantz cousins got better 2ch wise as going up the ranks...and i know a friend of mine who infact had the exact same marantz sa15s1 of the time and was getting great results as well in quite an elaborate 2ch system ...people often denigrate denon for 2ch but dont realise that do get what pay for and they are indeed pretty decent as go up the tree. if you go the denon 1600 or 2500ne 2ch integrated that i suspect will do better 2ch wise but wouldn't be an integrated solution the 4308 is.

Anyways it has now shown me that one can certainly obtain some really nice high end or reference quality kit for a resly good price 2bd hand without breaking the bank. It's a matter of spending time doing your research and a asking the right questions and finding the amp you want from a seller that took the time to take good care of their products. The amount of times I still look on ebay people selling their gear asking for a ridiculous amount of money and they can't be bothered to clean up their units before they take pictures. After all you would not sell your car like that. Beats me why folks don't clean them up before hand. So they always look grubby, dusty fingers prints dirt marks ect.
it is amazing how affordably these older units go for ...and they are blinders still in my opinion.... if looking current range I think you'd be looking at possibly marantz 8012 or in the denon the 6700 or 8500 for the made in japan models and to be as good or better id suggest :)
 
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Hi @alebonau. Yes spot on buddy.! I'm very passionate about this as iv never up untill now ever been able to obtain this sort of quality.

Build wise all the Denons from A11SR, A1SR, 3805 and 4308 units and 3808 have the same tank like build quality. My previous X4100W from 2015 is not built to those standards at all.

I also forgot to mention that those 4803 used Denons higher grade EMI-Transformer which was fitted to the 4803. I looked inside the unit and it seems to have 3 PSU. 1 very large PSU which must be the EMI-Transformer and slightly smaller PSU to the front of the AMP and I surpose you then have the Standby PSU. So that was very interesting.

So I'm wondering when the amp is in 2-channal mode it's using a separate transformer maybe for the audio stage in pure direct mode🤔. Also another big advantage that I found out the 4803 and 5308 were exclusively had the option not only to Bi-AMP mode but a BI-WIRE mode which you can assign. Wooow!!.


Well I have biwired speakers and switched the amp into Biwire Mode or you can tell the amp to switch to just 2-channal Biwire mode. I prefer to have Biwire mode all the time as I only have a 5 channal setup.

For me their is a definite difference in using Biwire mode as I believe the amp is distributing the power in a much more optimised way. Its obvious the same amount of power but as the front channals are been driven via a cleaner signal parth within the amplifier it self iv noticed a much clearer cleaner neutral midrange and top end so for me I know iv got the amplifier working at best format or having the amplifier working in a much more efficient way. I have also noticed scene I have the amp in Biwire mode the heat generated seems to be more distributed evenly and not to just one side of the amp as with it conventionally wired up.

Well that is what I noticed. I had it wired up with standard format for 3 weeks or so then I changed it and reprogrammed the amp within its setting re-ran audyssey setup from scratch and I definitely had a noticeable improvement to how the amplifier preformed.

If I ever get an opportunity to grab my self a Denon AVC-A1HD then I will as that definitely seems to be the next logical upgrade parth if I can get a Bargin price that is . 😊👍
 

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I also forgot to mention that those 4803 used Denons higher grade EMI-Transformer which was fitted to the 4803. I looked inside the unit and it seems to have 3 PSU. 1 very large PSU which must be the EMI-Transformer and slightly smaller PSU to the front of the AMP and I surpose you then have the Standby PSU. So that was very interesting.
if i recall there were actually 9 ! independent power supplies with the 4308 ! (see flyer below) ... catering for digital analog and what not keeping the power for right things seperate... these are kind of attention to detail you just find as go up the range...


at the time i moved to using as a processor and exploring other options, i did a side by side with the cary 11a processor at the time and found the denon a better. ended up upgrading to the denon avp-a1hd flagship processor at the time to improve on the 4308 ! :)
 
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Hi @alebonau Thanks for all that information it's very much appreciated. I'm definitely going to read that info thank you 9 PSU woooowy.

What a coincidence! I have seen a few AVP-A1HD surface on ebay from time to time.

Would you mind telling me what are the major improvements or advantages as an upgrade to that flagship beast 😊... As you said the A1HD obviously must build on the 4803 succession sonic abilitys. I believe it was around 2011 I'm I correct their. Also how much was it at the time evidently.
If I grab one of those at some point as I'm absolutely gobsmacked at the 4803 ability sonic wise with 2-channal play back how does that compare. As 4803 for that time did someone that no other AV amplifier could do and that is give true Hi-fi reference Stereo at a AV AMP leval to be Frank even now in 2021 how many can acutally do that it's pretty darn rare. Arcam I surpose are the only other brand that would be able to match it.

I acutally find it puzzerling and strange that my previous Denon 2015 X4100W on paper does slam down the 4803 on a technical aspect, however when it comes to acutal sonic ability real world experience the 4803 absolutely trumps it! Yet they are around 12-13 years apart how does that work out. 🙄😒. For the first time for me it truly tell me that "newer better" technology does not always out preform an older model. Yes folks have been saying this for many years now and I have read it on avforums for years but this is the very first time I have delved into the 2nd hand market and experienced it my self first hand. Iv got the bug back now. And I find that freaking awesome.

I spent weeks months doing my research on looking at an upgrade. Normally people move forward to a newer model or a model within let's say 5 years as a form of upgrade. I never throught that acutally going back just over 10 years I would achieve this. I remember selling my Denon succession 3803 back in 2004 only owning it for less than a year when Denon released its grown braking 3805 completely reworked model brand new look an absolute gob smacking gorgeous electro luminescence remote control all I still have in near mint condition that was a day I was very excited when I got that home I was like a small boy in a candy shop I was 23 back then I will never forget that day! From that day on I resly became a big Denon Fan then I purchased an Arcam CD Player CD93T which I still have in its box almost mint condition as a backup player then upgraded to Marantz SA-15S1 2007 which still serves me 100% to this day works a dream. 😍.

So I'm I to understand that the Denon "4" Series of 2007-08 is a very different leval beast and can't realy be compared to the "4" Series of the past 5- 10 years then??.

With owning the 4308 for around 6months now I feel like that 23 year old once more and I love it. That's some of my journey anyway. 😊👍
 
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Hi @alebonau Thanks for all that information it's very much appreciated. I'm definitely going to read that info thank you.

What a coincidence! I have seen a few AVP-A1HD surface on ebay from time to time.

Would you mind telling me what are the major improvements or advantages as an upgrade to that flagship beast 😊... As you said the A1HD obviously must build on the 4803 succession sonic abilitys. I believe it was around 2011 I'm I correct their. Also how much was it at the time evidently.
hi marc, i owned one(avp-a1hd) from day one of release... cant believe i somehow ended up with one and can't believe even more ended up owning some 8-10 years ! the avp-a1hd is a whole another beast... the likes of which denon has never repeated... infact since its time, there is literally nothing on the market like it... Gene from audioholics owned one too, and on record very recently saying it is still THE best measuring pre amp he has ever come across.... they just dont make them like they used. it cost $15k in my country back in the day ! and spent about $1500 on top of it for updates denon regularly brought out for it to keep it upto spec with hard ware and software. eg latest audyssey for the time, Audyssey XT32 pro and the like.

2008 actually when came out around same time/jsut after the 4308... the 5308 was the AVR and also called the AVC-A1hd. the dedicated processor was the AVP-A1HD... to put into perspective what a beast this was... it weighed more than my hulking 7 channel power amp i had the time...massive processing board...massive discrete dac board.... huge capacitors in audio stage. TWO ! huge for a pre amp torroids... class A pre amp and a true balanced design(can count on your hands how many av pre amps like that have ever come out)

all that said i am not sure now ... i could recommend buying one... age has not served them well. in my country there is literally one technician that can work on them and parts are no longer available... i know some folk who have one and bought a 2nd for parts ! :D the other issue is some dumb fools never had their units fully upgraded... so can be quite confusing if buying one if it is fully upto spec or the original base model....

I acutally find it puzzerling and strange that my previous Denon 2015 X4100W on paper does slam down the 4803 on a technical aspect, however when it comes to acutal sonic ability real world experience the 4803 absolutely trumps it! Yet they are around 12-13 years apart how does that work out. 🙄😒. For the first time for me it truly tell me that "newer better" technology does not always out preform an older model. Yes folks have been saying this for many years now and I have read it on avforums for years but this is the very first time I have delved into the 2nd hand market.
as i mentioned the 4 series now ... is really at 3 series level from back when you had yours and you really have to go to 6 series now to get the made in japan units...newer doesnt mean better... especially if dont need all the new bells and whistles..that unnecessarily paying for...

I spent weeks months doing my research on looking at an upgrade. Normally people move forward to a newer model or a model within let's say 5 years as a form of upgrade. I never throught that acutally going back just over 10 years I would achieve this. I remember selling my Denon succession 3803 back in 2004 only owning it for less than a year when Denon released its grown braking 3805 completely reworked model brand new look an absolute gob smacking gorgeous electro luminescence remote control all I still have in near mint condition that was a day I was very excited when I got that home I was like a small boy in a kandy shop I was 23 back then I will never forget that day! From that day on I resly became a big Denon Fan then I purchased an Arcam CD Player CD93T which I still have in its box almost mint condition as a backup player then upgraded to Marantz SA-15S1 2007 which still serves me 100% to this day works a dream. 😍.
indeed 3805 was a major deal for denon...i know folks bought it just for its processing capability . ! and yes the marantz sa15 is a lovely thing... dont let it go...

With owning the 4308 for around 6months now I feel like that 23 year old once more and I love it. That's some of my journey anyway. 😊👍
keep the 4308... especially if does all you want HT wise... if its music ability look to improve on with your marantz sa15... look at the denon NE models 1600NE or 2500NE and like... these with ht bypass will elevate your 2ch further being dedicated 2ch amps...alternatives are the marantz 8006 2ch integrated which is also very good. in the new marantz models if want to stick to one box AVRS... you'd be looking at something like the 8012 made in japan model at the minimum... that would be a very nice match to your SA15...

but otherwise be happy with the 4308... will cost a bit of cash to improve upon it.. sometimes it worth reaching that point of happiness and contentment ...which i think you have and then just sticking with what you love :)
 
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I've had Denon's second tier X6200 and now the X6500 for seven years. They have been faultless and utterly reliable but their stereo music performance, to me, is pretty poor. The X6200 had AL24 and the X6500 has AL32 and as I said there is a boost in performance with AL32. I will not use the X6500 for stereo music.

At the moment I use my Marantz sa8005 SACD player into my Rega Elicit-R stereo amp that is used alongside the X6500 in HT by-pass. Completely different beast to the Denon and far more satisfying to listen to.

I also have the Denon DCD 2500 NE SACD player and that is superb and a better player than the Marantz. That player at the moment is connected up directly to my Lehmann Linear headphone amp as I tend to play far more music through headphones than I do through speakers. Every now and again I'll swop the two units around.

If you are considering a change from running the AV amp in a pure stereo mode then I'd be looking at a standalone stereo amp.
 
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Hi @alebonau and @gibbsy both of your comments are greatly appreciated! It makes me realy happy to belong to a community with other Audiophiles alike what a fantastic community to share this information.

I have one futher question do any of you have any throughts experience or comments with regards this unit... If I were to try and track this down or if I see one on ebay at some point over the year when I have some extra funds.

Denon DVD Player DVD-A1UD is this as good as the reviews are saying. They are saying that the DACs on this unit are super great even for using it as CD Player and SACD...

As ussal all comments will be greatly appreciated 😊👍
 
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I have one futher question do any of you have any throughts experience or comments with regards this unit... If I were to try and track this down or if I see one on ebay at some point over the year when I have some extra funds.

Denon DVD Player DVD-A1UD is this as good as the reviews are saying. They are saying that the DACs on this unit are super great even for using it as CD Player and SACD...
excellent top end player ... but being a universal and cutting edge at time it had reliability issues that were transport and disc support related... i wouldn't touch it... stick to the top end marantz or denon NE units as Gibsy has suggested :)
 
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Denon DVD Player DVD-A1UD is this as good as the reviews are saying. They are saying that the DACs on this unit are super great even for using it as CD Player and SACD...
I've had two Denon UD players have to be repaired during their first year of life. The first one was dead and was replaced by a DBT 3313, that also had to be repaired in it's first year. I now keep it as a 'just in case' and has been stable ever since. I've had the stereo DCD 2500 NE for coming up on two years now and it's in use almost every day. No problems.

My Marantz sa8005 was also repaired for a drive unit failure, that was about three years ago and again it's been running perfect ever since and gets regular use as well. It's odd with units with moving parts, I gave my son my old Sony blu ray player about 12 years ago and it's still going strong.
 
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Hi @gibbsy... Agree with you their. Oddly enough when I purchased my 3805 back in 2005 I also part exchanged a DVD2900 for around £700 did not own it for long as Denon realised the DVD 3910. Just had to have it new Denon Link ext. Anyways after the first year the laser started playing up, would read SACD'S and DVDs fine but CD after the unit got warm with use after a few hours to fail reading disk. I made a bad mistake that I stupidly did not get the dam thing replaced under the 2 year warranty as I did not use it that much for CD play back I had my trusty then new Arcam CD93T. I still have that 3910 to this day in a box I still need to just swap out the laser pickup the rest of the machine is more or less mint.

Oddly enough when I purchased my 2015 X4100W now in its box I then purchased Denon 3313UD never had a problem with it. And that's a player worth bragging about. It reads every dam disk you put in it. And it's probably got the quietest transport ever made in my opinion. Shame Denon stoped making them years back now. Why they pulled out the market I don't know. Well Denon & Marantz are made and produced under the same roof company and are now Sound United.

However sonic wise it does not get a millions miles away from the Arcam its pretty close. Using the internal DACS. for 2013/14 model it's acutally fitted with a 32bit /192khz DAC very advanced for its time. They are getting very hard to come by now. I would definitely keep it never sell it. Its built to an incredible high standards!!. I also believe the reviews for the 3313UD from all round Avforums & Audioholics what Hifi were very high for this unit. Possibly the very very last high end player Denon made I believe after Denon Blu Ray DVD Player 3800BD. 😊👍
 
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The Denon AVP-A1HD is a processor only - it does not have any internal power amplifiers. It is a fully balanced design, one of the very few in the AV processor world. However, it was not without its design flaws. HDMI was not implemented well and the digital board has a tendency to fail (see the many, many posts about it on AVS Forums).

The A11XV, as I have alluded to on your other thread, is a much better device on the whole than the 4308, but it is less flexible and has fewer processing and connectivity options. On pure sound quality, there is no contest.

I agree with the assessment above that the A11XV is probably the last 'good' powerhouse Denon built. After that point a series of regulations were introduced in Europe that imposed environmental and other constraints on constructions which, in my view, worsened product longevity and sound quality.

The A1SR, whilst very long in the tooth, also still gives fabulous sound quality if you can live without HDMI.

The main problem with ALL the Denon kit is that Denon provide appalling aftersales support and withdraw servicing almost the very second they are legally entitled to. A lot of A1HD users, despite spending many, many thousands on their kit, have found Denon have washed their hands of providing spare parts etc.
 
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Don't forget the AVC-A1XV(A) / AVR-5805(CI) and matching DVD-A1XVA. The A1XV(A) was a beast. Still have my DVD-A1XVA but I ended up giving my AVC-A1XV away after several components failed.
 
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From memory the AVC-A1XV had no performance advantage over the A11XV beyond more power amps. In something that large effective heat management and longevity become problems. I am not surprised yours failed Jase!
 
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From memory the AVC-A1XV had no performance advantage over the A11XV beyond more power amps. In something that large effective heat management and longevity become problems. I am not surprised yours failed Jase!

The A11XV was a cracker as well. Had 'lesser' DAC's and power supplies etc but was probably the more sensible option.

The HDMI board on my A1XV failed and not long after so did the Pre-Outs and both sets of External Decoder Inputs. That rendered it useless for me although the coax/optical inputs still worked.

The AVF member who collected it had a bit of a surprise when he went to pick it up. Hefty old lump.
 
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The A11XV was a cracker as well. Had 'lesser' DAC's and power supplies etc but was probably the more sensible option.

The HDMI board on my A1XV failed and not long after so did the Pre-Outs and both sets of External Decoder Inputs. That rendered it useless for me although the coax/optical inputs still worked.

The AVF member who collected it had a bit of a surprise when he went to pick it up. Hefty old lump.

I had the A11XVA and regret selling it. If I had a gun to my head I'd reluctantly admit it was better than my Arcam pre/power with movies, and got very, very close with music.

I hated that touch screen remote though!
 
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I had the A11XVA and regret selling it. If I had a gun to my head I'd reluctantly admit it was better than my Arcam pre/power with movies, and got very, very close with music.

I hated that touch screen remote though!

Ah yes, the remote. What a battery munching b*stard that was! :rotfl:
 
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Ah yes, the remote. What a battery munching b*stard that was! :rotfl:

Thank god that fad is over. I much prefer buttons!

One other thing to mention - the A11XVA HDMI switching is not transparent to the video source. With mine there was contrast crushing and a shift in black levels, phenomena also reported by Paul Miller. The 4308 has a similar, but different, problem in that it slightly alters the colour profile of HDMI video signals.
 
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Hi @shug4476 Woow iv just come home and had the time to catch up. I'm impressed iv acutally created a thread with loads of comments!! This is absolutely fantastic.. I absolutely love all this realy do. Some serious comments here and it's such invaluable information for me.

I am now looking towards at some point the
DENON AVC-A1HD AV! Not the AVP as I presume that's the processor only.

The DENON AVC-A1HD AV is fully fledged amp and the successor to the 4308. I am aware the the DACS used and most part of the technology used in the AVC-A1HD Denon trickled down only to the 4308.

Guys.. If I can lay my hands on a DENON AVC-A1HD I'm assuming this is a very sort after AV and Denons last "real" battle ship flagship " as this exhibits" Advanced AL24 processing Plus " which hearing on my current 4308 is nothing short of outstanding for 2-Channal Pure direct mode & SACD's AMP putting aside the A11XVA which was around 2006. Btw in not saying anything wrong with the A11XVA guys... 😊👍
 
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Hi @Jase Well oddly enough I was one of those folks that absolutely loved the electroluminescent remote control when I got my 3805! Draw dropped and drolled like Homer Simpson.. Lol. Very very cool indeed. How I new Denon has issues with them hence not long after 3806 was released and remote is half and half. Each to their own I suppose on that front but yes the remote did eat battery's up. I still love it and glad Denon did that at the time it absolutely smashed the the competition wide open I still have all the review magazines from the time. Pretty much every magazine and review could not rate the 3805 enough anyways.

Some very intresting comments here and comments I will definitely be taking note of.

I am very familiar with Avs Formus US cousin website. And Audioholics.

Btw guys I follow this fantastic gentleman from Brooklyn New York name is Steve Gutenberg and not the guy from Police Academy lol😂. He used to write for Stereophile & CNET up until the 00's I believe he is absolutely first rate and his channal is worth subscribeing to. He does a daily show on all sort for "real hifi".

I absolutely highly recommend him.

 
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