Denon AVR3802

Although now a little old in the tooth, the 3802 still makes a sound buy for either DVD or CD playback, even if it's radio capabilities are limited - ie just analogue. You can probably pick one up at a steal on ebay, and it's well worth considering.

From the home cinema point of view, it will accept Dolby Pro-Logic2, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, DTS-ES/Neo6.0. It will even emulate 7.1 with a 5.1 channel souce. It has also a built in ...
...- such as THX, although it is not THX certified.

For music surround sound, it will even allow the connection of a differently positioned set of speakers to optimise music playback, although I can't imagine that many people will have used this faclitity.

It allows several different options for component video switching - as well as composite video and "S" video, there are 2 sets of component video (Y, Pb/Cb, ... more

Although now a little old in the tooth, the 3802 still makes a sound buy for either DVD or CD playback, even if it's radio capabilities are limited - ie just analogue. You can probably pick one up at a steal on ebay, and it's well worth considering.

From the home cinema point of view, it will accept Dolby Pro-Logic2, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, DTS-ES/Neo6.0. It will even emulate 7.1 with a 5.1 channel souce. It has also a built in 7.1 system, to allow for future developments of movie surround - such as THX, although it is not THX certified.

For music surround sound, it will even allow the connection of a differently positioned set of speakers to optimise music playback, although I can't imagine that many people will have used this faclitity.

It allows several different options for component video switching - as well as composite video and "S" video, there are 2 sets of component video (Y, Pb/Cb, Pr/Cr).

So, whatever combination of other equipment you wish to connect, it's almost certainly possible. Your main problem will be on deciding on the optimum....

Setup is relatively simple, thanks to the comprehensive manual - but don't think of buying one without this!

It would take more space than I have to detail all the fine tuning options that are available, but it's worth mentioning that setup can be achieved either via the remote, or a series of well explained on-screen menus. Perhaps the most crucial setup detail is the opportunity to enter the distance in feet and inches of each speaker from the main viewing position to allow the system to adjust in micro-seconds the timing of output to each speaker to optimise the listening experience. However, it is also possible to adjust the sound to suit the dynamics of virtually any room.

Once in operation, there's a handy "auto" input circuit that will recognise the format of the signal being delivered, and automatically select the correct de-coder.

But what's it like to listen to? Well, ultimately, this will be affected by your speaker system and DVD player, but I doubt that the 3802 will be the weak link in virtually any system. It delivers 105watts per channel, which I doubt you'll ever come close to using without first experiencing severe ear pain.

You'll probably hear stuff you've never heard before - in particular, for instance, at the start of "Gladiator", the sound of a hand moving amongst ears of corn.

CD reproduction in multi-channel mode is outstanding, with a wide choice of aditional effects. Anyone who is used to listening to a high-end stereo system will be surprised at the quality of a 5.1 stereo alternative. It's not the same, it is different, but it's also very engaging.

Finally, the FM section is excellent, with the opportunity to store up to 40 presets, search for them automatically, and display content using RDS. It's worth mentioning that you'll almost certainly need to install a high quality FM aerial to make the most of this.

Lastly, it's worth mentioning how large it is - 434w x 171h x 416d. It also weighs a rather massive 16.5 kg.

Anyway, it's never let me down (or several other friends who have one), and does have the look of something that will go on for ever.......

 

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