3802 vs 3803 (1 Viewer)

[Yogi]

Any one compare the 3801 or the 3802 with the new 3803. I am curious if anyone did an A/B comparison between the two.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Yogi]

I know some of you upgraded from 3801 and 3802 to 3803. None of you did an A/B comparison between the two in your setups?

 

[David Judah]

I did a brief comparison just last night. Overall, they are similiar, as expected, with the 3803 sounding a bit smoother & more refined(treble)in pure direct mode.

Functionally, I was suprised that Denon took off the ability to adjust channel levels on the front panel.

I also compared it to the Pioneer 45TX. They definitely have different sonic signatures, again as expected(Denon more neutral--Pioneer a bit foward of neutral). Of course, speaker selection and personal taste will dictate preference.

Unless you want some of the new features the 3803 has(like upconversion to component), I wouldn't say it would be a huge step up sonically.

DJ

 

[Yogi]

Thanks DJ, I have a 3802 used purely as a prepro and was wondering if the 3803 was a big enough step from the 3802's prepro section to warrant an upgrade. Looks like it isn't.

Thanks again.

 

[NickSP]

Yogi, are you happy with the 3802 as a pure prepro and have you pondered about using a dedicated prepro or the does the 3802 do a good job?

 

[Yogi]

The 3802 does an excellent job. I bet you you would be hard pressed to find any difference between the 3802 as a prepro and any other sub 2K prepro in straight 5.1/7.1 movies. 2 channel direct may be able to delineate differences between the 3802 and others in that $$$ range.

If movies is your prime interest dont look beyond the 3802. It will keep you happy for a long long time.

 

[DanS]

Yogi -

I'm new to this forum, and am reading your Denon 3802/in a pre-pro format comments. I am thinknig of upgrading an old Adcom GP560 to the 2802/3802/3803 receiver,and will be using the new av receiver to pre-out tomu L & R Front Mains.
Problem is, each speaker (PSB Goldi) is driven by a two channel Aragon 2004 "bridged"amplifier - (bridged as in left channel feeds high freq, and R feeds low freq speaker input). These are connected to a B&K Sonata stereo pre-amp. Fairly nice 12 year old setup.

Most A/V pre-outs only provide one L and one R channel out, so it looks as if I'll have to "Y" adapt out of the A/V box directly to the each Aragon's L & R inputs.

Will this degrade the sound?
Should I leave the B&K in the path?

I had one vendor tell me to pass on the whole Digital experience until I could afford components that were of equal $ value to my amp - preamp combo.
So that's not going to happen any time soon.

I'd appreciate any input.

Thanks,
DanS

 

[Yogi]

Dan,

Why do you want to add the 3803 to the mix. I think you have an excellent 2 channel setup and if it is the latest 7.1 formats that you are interested in then you can add the 3803 to the mix, but I suggest you leave the B&K pre in the setup.

The best way I can think of integrating the B&K with the 3803 would be to have your CD/DVD player hooked via the analog outputs into the B&K and its pre out signal fed into the external-in on your 3803. The optical 5.1 signal will ofcourse go directly into the 3803. Then you can Y-adapt the preouts of the 3803 into your Aragons and drive the remaining speakers off the 3803.

When you want to listen to two channel music you can switch the 3803 to external mode so it does no processing and acts only as a straight gain path. This way you will have the excellent musicality of your B&K/Aragon combo. When listening to HT you can just go to the 3803 to do all the preamplification and processing.

Hope that helps.

 

[DanS]

Thanks,

I think I'll have to tinker

This is a lot of money (relatively speaking) just to compromise my current setup.

I don't want the Y connection to adversely affect the 2 channel sound quality. I really wanted to reduce the gross number of boxes on the shelf, cosmetic issue, but may not be able to do so if the Aragons don't get along with the 3803 as preamp.

All this for better center channel quality, and stereo surrounds. And yet another remote. . .

Dan S

 

[Chuck Kent]

I have been happily using my 3802 as a pre-pro since Aug. 2001. I have been very pleased. Today I picked up a new 3803 at a local retailer for $1k and have been tinkering with it for a couple of hours.

So far, I am VERY pleaed. Ergonomically, they have solved a couple of things that always bugged me with the 3802.

First, the volume is now more visible when you are changing it. It shows up on the TV and is larger on the receiver display for a few seconds. Much appreciated by these ever older eyes!

Second, It now treats Pro Logic II Cinema as a separate mode from PL II Music. So if you want Music for your FM tuner and Cinema for the VCR, it remembers what you last had and stays there the next time you go back. Slick!

One other thing I noticed is that you can now turn off the sub in some modes (if you want) and leave it on in others. Previously, the only mode you could do this with was Direct. Now if you want it off on Mono Movie, but on with PL II, you can do it. Again, pretty cool!

Sound-wise, I haven't got to spend much time with it yet. Truthfully, I sometimes struggle to hear differences (where others seem to hear things much easier than me.) But one thing I have noticed is regarding DTS 96/24. WOW! My Queen A Night at the Opera DTS 96/24 DVD sounds noticeably better than standard DTS did. It's like hearing it for the first time. I can only hope everything else sounds so good...

 

[Tige]

Chuck,
I am very happy to hear you are pleased with the 3803. I ordered one last week and it arrived last night. While I haven't yet had the time to set it up, I was a bit concerned because I kept hearing others say that the 3803 wasn't as warm sounding as the 3802.
I have had a Yamaha RX-V995 for several years now. One reason I bought the Denon 3803 is because I had always heard they were warmer sounding.
I am curious about any differences you noted between the 3802 and the 3803 in regards to bass response, etc?
Thanks!
Tige

 

[Chuck Kent]

Tige: I ran my 3802 with an external 5 channel amp and have hooked up the 3803 the same way. Under these conditions, I have not noticed any particular tonal change, bass or otherwise that I could reliably report. The DTS 96/24 mode (that I mentioned above) does seem to be "more there" than regular DTS.

I'm sure you'll be very happy with the 3803. It is really a slick unit!

 

[Chuck Kent]

One other physical difference I noticed between the '02 and the new '03 is that the 3803 no longer has an internal cooling fan.

The 3802 (and the 3801 and the 3300 before it) had an internal termperature/volume sensitive ventilation fan. Over the last few years, the fan was a source of occasional difficulties for some (mostly noise related)...

 

[Gil D]

Hey Chuck,
Is it worth upgrading my 3802 used as a preamp to the 3803 for another $200? I only care about audio as I don't switch video thru the reciever. Is DTS 96/24 (of which I have none) the only diff your finding? Is the remote still the same?

BTW what's your amp and speakers.

 

[Chuck Kent]

Gil: Yeah, for $200 more, I do think it is worth the extra $$$. In addition to the things I have already mentioned, it can also insert an audio delay of up to 200ms for lip sync problems and the universal subwoofer crossover frequencies can now be set to 40 or 60 Hz. Both usable additions. And I haven't even mentioned that fact that all of the processing circuitry has been upgraded to some of the latest chips that are available (192Hz/24bit dacs and the latest 32-bit SHARC surround processor that Analog Devices sells.)

Now if you're upgrading from something you already own and would have to shell out more than $200 to make the change, then it would be a bit cloudier. For me, I wanted to have the latest version in the 3803's price range. The fact that Denon improved some of these features is icing on the cake for me...

Th remote is different. Not an issue for me since I use an MX-700 universal. The stock 3803 remote looks ok though and is backlit.

(My setup includes a Carver 705x 5 channel THX amp, Vandersteen 2CE Signature mains, an Atlantic Technology 273mc center, Infinity Edge surrounds (they sound good but are still the weakest part), an Outlaw Audio ICBM and an M&K MX-125 subwoofer. While the speakers aren't the same brand, I think they mesh together fairly well...)

 

[Chuck Kent]

One other observation...

I'm hearing a little better Pro Logic II decoding (on the 3803) on 2 channel analog signals than I was before on my 3802. The sound seems a little clearer and I seem to be getting better rear separation. Maybe this has something to do with the ADC now being a 24-bit chip? (Wasn't the 3802's ADC a 20-bit chip?)