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A few different thoughts on the Denon AVR-3802 (1 Viewer)

Chuck Kent

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Nothing earth shattering here, but with most of the 3802 threads talking about sound quality and such, I thought I'd mention a few different things.
1) If you buy or already have a Cinema 7 remote (and the Radio Shack 15-1994 would probably work too), you can apparently generate the remote codes for the Status and Video Select buttons. These control buttons used to be on the older model Denon remote controls and the codes still work on the 3802. You just need a way to generate them, ala the Cinema 7. (I'm using commands I copied from my old Denon AVR-2500 and therefore haven't tested the Cinema 7 codeset. But it should work since the older codes I copied do.) The receiver code is 0160 for Denon. The Status code (then called Panel) is 473. The Video Select code is 474. See Link Removed for the entire codeset.
If someone tries these, please let all of us know if they work ok.
2) The reason I mention the Status button, and want it on the remote (so that it's handy), is that it will show you what type of Dolby Digital you are decoding and, if you're interested, how much (if any) dialog normalization is being applied to the sound. While this feature may have been on the 3801, is wasn't on my 3300 and it is handy info to know.
3) The adjustable crossover is a big letdown, IMO. It's a universal, all or nothing setting. If you don't have identical speakers all the way around, it's really not much better than the old single setting. (From what I've read in the 4802 manual, it's also a universal setting. YUK!)
Hope some of you 3802 buyers or potential buyers find this a little helpful...
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John Garcia

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My Marantz displays the decoding information on the front panel of the receiver, as do all the current generation Sonys. There is a small section that has 5.1, stereo, etc... showing what type of signal is being fed to the receiver, and if it is analog or digital. :)
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Lewis Besze

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Jul 28, 1999
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Chuck,
regarding the "Status" button on the 3801.
Where is it? Is it part of one of the menues?
I have the remote front of me and I don't see it on it.
Thanks!
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Trevor H

Second Unit
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Oct 18, 2000
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336
The Status button is on the front of the 3801, now another question, if playing a DVD and the status says "offset -3 db" does this mean you should turn the master volume up 3 db or down 3 db
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NickSP

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May 8, 2001
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Are you talking about the 3801? I have never seen offset -3db. Do you normally see this or do you always have to press the status button first?
 

Chuck Kent

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May 29, 1999
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983
Lewis: Both the Status and Video Select buttons are only on the 3801/3802 units, not on the remote. Older Denon AVRs had remote buttons/codes for them and the new units will respond to the old codes.
In running my system, I've found that I use the Video Select button quite often. Listening to the tuner or CD player and still wanting to see what happening on the TV.
And the Status button is kinda handy when you want to see what type of digital stream is being decoded. I mentioned the Dialog Normalization offset because it used to show up (once in a while) for a few seconds on my old Denon 3300 when a DD program first started. When the 3802 didn't show it at all, I went looking for it. As I noted above, knowing how much DN is being applied doesn't really affect anything, but it also doesn't hurt knowing if there is any anyway...
Trevor: Dolby Labs included Dialog Normalization as a feature so that as users switched from one DD source to another (DVD to Direct TV for example), huge volume levels differences wouldn't occur. Going from an average level to either too high or too low volume. Something that is all too common for many analog sources when switching from say, FM to phono. DN allows the person (or persons) who encode the program into DD to slide the average level up or down in relation to specified reference. It's also my understanding that overall dynamic range is unchanged.
Should you adjust your volume to compensate for DN? Nope. If you do, you would actually be defeating the purpose of DN.
And if you're wondering why I want to know if DN is being applied, it's because I have lots of problems and I think everyone is out to get me and I want to know EVERYTHING about everything...
eek.gif

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Lewis Besze

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So is there anyway to load the code up to the Pronto?
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Chuck Kent

Supporting Actor
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May 29, 1999
Messages
983
Lewis: Good question. I don't have a Pronto so I have no way to get the codes into a digital format. I suppose that one of the newer Prontos that have the extensive code library might already have them. But short of that, my best guess is to try a Cinema 7 or RS 15-1994 (or track down an older Denon receiver remote that has the codes.)
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[Edited last by Chuck Kent on August 16, 2001 at 05:25 AM]
 

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