Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

You are likely to only get a few hundred bux for that 3803 and whatever you buy with that money to replace it will simply not be as good.

If you decide to go Blu-Ray, there is a definite advantage to the audio tracks available on the BDs. I myself have a 3803 and have just resorted to using the 5.1 analog outputs from the BR player to "ext analog inputs" on my 3803." This allows me to play the lossless tracks on most BDs and the sound is amazing to say the least.

I would suggest doing that for a while and wait for the pricing on the HDMI receivers to come down in the next year.

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

You have to use 6 RCA cables which run from the analog outputs on the BR player to the analog "ext in" inputs on your 3803. It's one cable for each speaker in the 5.1 setup. Check out the back of your Denon and you will see a section of inputs called "EXT IN."

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

No problem.

I used to think that as well, but it's anything but the truth. Some might even say analog is better.

Good luck!

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

I didn't know you could do that either! Hacker!

I have a 3805 that I just got a couple years ago too, and I know what frustration the OP is talking about. Unfortunately HDMI was just coming into the picture at the time.

So to be clear, I thought you had to use HDMI, but you can actually use 6 RCA cables? Same as connecting SACD or something, right?

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

I have a 3300 and use its analog inputs for my Blu-ray player as suggested by other posters. This same setup can be used for SACD & DVD-A players if you have a player that has analog outputs (Oppo for example).

When I first tried using the 3300's analog input I noticed that the audio was much lower than when using a DVD player connected via optical. After much grief, I finally determined that the 3300's analog input was 4dB lower than all other audio inputs. After I increased the analog input levels to match the optical input levels it sounds great!

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

I have not had this issue. BR lets you switch tracks in the middle of the movie and the optical 5.1 track is just as loud as the uncompressed track through my analog outputs. I'm sure it's different from receiver to receiver though...

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

You are correct. For some unknown reason, the analog inputs were factory set 4db lower than the other inputs. It had to have been factory set that way because it took me nearly eight years to find the place where I could see, and change, the settings (and the analog inputs were set lower than all the others). FYI - - I see comments from folks on other forum boards nearly everyday complaining about low analog levels so I believe that it is a common problem and not specific to Denon.

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

A common misconception - "Digital good", "Analog bad". (Or at least "Digital better") It simply isn't the case.

Digital has yet to truly match the qualities of 35mm or 70mm film. No electronic instrument can match the sound of a first-rate piano or violin.

Digital and analog are simply two methods of recording and delivering data and have no affect on the quality of the data itself. (Shakespeare wrote King Lear with a quill pen - analog. Whoever wrote Ishtar used a computer and a scriptwriting program. The defense rests.)

And by the time it gets to your speakers (and hence your ears) it has been converted to analog. We can't hear or see digital. (Unless you like looking at a Matrix-like screenful of 1s and 0s.)

In the case of the 6.1 analog outputs the DVD player does the digital-to-analog conversion and the receiver simply amplifies the analog signal and sends it to the speakers. In the case of the digital outputs, the DVD player sends the 5.1 or 7.1 channel digital signal to the receiver, which then does its own digital-to-audio conversion and sends the result to the speakers. It is true that some DACs are better than others, and the one in your player may not be as good as the one in your receiver, but you have no real way to test that. And if you have an older receiver and a brand-new Blu Ray or HD-DVD player, odds are the DACs are comparable or that the edge goes to the players.


I have a feeling that when these things were designed the assumption was that the incoming signal would already be amplified to some degree, hence the need to lower the input volume. In practice this hasn't turned out to be the case.

Regards,

Joe

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

is this 6 RCA meathod doable on the ps3? i dont think so but....thanks in advance

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

Panasonic has a Blu-ray player with 7.1 analog outputs.

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

Well it all ends up being analog, the only thing that changes is where the D/A conversion takes place. Say you get the Denon AVR-3806. It has HDMI and can process multichannel uncompressed PCM, but the HD player has to process the bitstream HD audio format. The AVR-3808CI has HD decoders built in, and if paired with an HDMI 1.3 ready HD player can be sent the bitstream HD audio for decoding, so the Decoding and D/A process occurs inside the receiver exclusively in this case. If connected via analog, the Decoding and D/A process occurs inside the HD player. It is all highly relative, as it is almost impossible to audibly tell the difference between DACs anymore as well as the decoding. The audible difference should be slim to none.

Re: Do I need to replace my Denon 3803??

No need to use both types of connections, I just use the analog ouput from the P1400 to my Denon 3300.