denon 3802 vs. 4802 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick_T]

With the 4802 going a little more than double the price of the 3802 is it really worth it? What does the price of the 4802 get you? I am in no need of the 4802 THX processing (just the THX like crossover frequency and slope). For the money it seems like it would be better to go with the 3802 and external amplification. Anyone have the 4802 and think it is worth it over the 3802?

 

[Phil Wyeth]

I’m faced with the same dilemma Pat. I’m not an expert with hometheater, so the following is my rationalization to go with the 3802.
With the 4802 you get the fancy Atkis remote so right off the bat there is #300 or so jump.
I have heard more bad than good about the remote
Alpha 24 (AL 24) processing -- A quote from Denon:
“The AVR-4802 includes Denon's renowned 24-bit ALPHA processing
technology that reproduces digital signals in a waveform with the
smoothness of analog signals. This technology thoroughly suppresses
annoying quantization distortion and faithfully reproduces the delicate
musical details of low-level signals. AL 24 processing works in 2-channel
Stereo, Direct, Pure Direct modes.”
In a nut shell, if your into turning off the surround and listening to pure stereo music…..this feature may be kinda nice -- Personnally I don’t see myself doing this that often
Bit more power -- 100 vs 125 really gonna matter
THX Cert, as you already pointed out --- Over rated feature IMHO
96/24 playback -- A quote from Denon::
24-bit Analog To Digital Conversion
High-quality 96-kHz, 24-bit (96/24) sound playback from ordinary
DVD-Video recordings is limited to only two channels and there are
also limitations on the picture. DVD-Video recorded in DTS 96/24,
however, allows high-quality 5.1-channel sound playback in full-quality,
full-motion video. DTS 96/24 lets you enjoy both digital output and video
output from your existing DVD player. Denon's AVR-4802 A/V receiver is
the first in the world to come equipped with a DTS 96/24 decoder.
For this feature to come into play, the DVD must be recorded in DTS 96/24 format. How many DVDs in the future will have this feature in the future? Will this be a widely used recording format? Is there an audible/visual improvement?
Chassis adopted from 5800 --- Bid deal
Here again, this is for the pure direct/stereo only lovers. Analog and digital circuitry is partitioned to avoid interference
Hope all this banter helps. Save yourself the 1K and put it towards speaker or TV upgrade (personnaly, I am taking the 1K I was gonna blow on the 4802 and getting a Def Tech CLR 2300 center for $600)

 

[jason celaya]

I went with a 3802 myself i used another 400 to buy a 2 ch. POA 5200 amp for the front channels. I believe that I have cleaner power than the 4802 for a total price of 1200.00

 

[Geo]

This question will be asked when the 5803 hits the market.

Is the 5803 worth twice the price of the 4802?

geo

 

[Patrick_T]

phil,

I appreciate your feature for feature check list. Now, if the system this is going into is for Movies/Music at about a 80/20 ratio and the main speakers are M&K S-125 speakers that are nominal 4 ohm speakers and I'm crossing them over at 80Hz....then is it worth it to even upgrade the amps via external amplification? It seems that the M&K speakers, while a somewhat difficult load, will be easier to drive than their specs might show due to the lack of bass information being sent to them. Also, as I found out in a different thread, the 3802 uses the THX crossover specs(24db/ocatave low pass and 12db/octave high pass)...which is a feature I am determined to use with the M&K speakers. It seems the best deal for the money will be to go with the 3802 and possibly add external amplification if needed...thought that might not even be necessary. Lastly, this system will not be put together until mid-summer....would everyones recommendations stay the same given that info...or at least do you think your recommendation will stay the same?

 

[Ron Alcasid]

A significant difference between the two is the 4802 has enough bandwidth to pass 1080i.

 

[Patrick_T]

A significant difference between the two is the 4802 has enough bandwidth to pass 1080i.

On Denon's website it lists both the 3802 and 4802 as able to pass 480p,720p, and 1080i. Is this not correct?

 

[Ron Alcasid]

On Denon's website it lists both the 3802 and 4802 as able to pass 480p,720p, and 1080i. Is this not correct?

This has been a subject of great debate but I think the consensus is yes they will both pass 1080i. However, the 3802 will have small signal degradation. Denon argues that you probably won't notice since most current displays devices cannot display all 1080 lines.

 

[Sebastien David]

guys, could you take a look at the "Denon 3802 with separate amps?" thread? it's kind of related and I think that with the amount of people interested in the 3802 with separate amplification, it would make sense to pull all our brainpower together to arrive at a definite (or almost) concensus on the question...

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I am also contemplating the 4802 vs. the 3802. There are a couple of other feature comparisons that concern me:

1. The 3802 only has four digital audio inputs -- one coaxial and three optical. I will use three of these up on day one (coax for DVD player, optical for CD player and HD tuner), so there is not much room for growth.

2. More flexible bass management on the 4802 (40Hz and 60Hz crossovers added). However, it appears that this crossover is applied to all channels, so I cannot set my mains at 60Hz while the center/surrounds would be at 80Hz. If that is the case, then the 80Hz setting (available on both the 4802 and 3802) would be my only option anyway.

3. The 3802 does not have front a/v jacks, but I cannot tell from the picture on Denon's website whether the 4802 has this feature. I use this feature on my current receiver to connect a Hi8mm camcorder via s-video for dubbing to an SVHS vcr (which only has a composite front video input).

I planned on starting with just the receiver, and then possibly add external amplication later if needed. The receiver would replace a 3+ year old Sony DA50ES receiver. The other option would be to add external amplification to the existing receiver, but I was interested in DPL II and 5.1 analog inputs to try out the DVD-Audio feature on my Panasonic RP-91 DVD player.