Denon 3806 vs 2807 (1 Viewer)

[Rick Westfall]

Can anyone offer a comparison of the two? I can look at the specs, but I'm wondering if the 3806 is still worth getting since it appears the 2807 basically the same minus 10 watts per channel.

Thanks
Rick

 

[Alon Goldberg]

The AVR-2807 offers superior HDMI features to the AVR-3806, and also has an iPod connection. Personally, I'd wait for the AVR-3807 to be released around September!

 

[mylan]

As you go up in the Denon line the amp section seems to get better and better so there is more than just ten watts. If you can hear the difference is another thing altogether. The 2807 does have superior video switching with regards to 1080P sources but unless you use your receiver to switch video this will not make any difference to you. The 2807 remote is also different, it has many confusing buttons, the 3806 has a backlit touchscreen that many like but others do not. I agree with Alon, unless you need a receiver now I would wait for the eventual release of the 3807.

 

[sb73]

Please explain your comments about the "superior HDMI features" of the 2807 over the 3806. I have a 2807 on backorder and noticed I could get the 3806 for less money now. Comparing the two receivers on Denon's website suggests the 3806 has more to offer and seems to suggest the HDMI switching is the same.

How are the HDMI features better in the 2807?

-Steve

 

[mylan]

The 3806 will not upconvert an analog signal to an HDTV's 720P or 1080i resolution but only pass the signal through. This would only affect you if you still wanted to connect a VCR or use the on-screen display, which is limited to 480i. If you are like most people and have junked the VCR ages ago, this really wouldn't affect you, however, the 3806 is less expensive now as compared to the 2807 because it is due for a replacement (3807) that will have the latest HDMI spec 1.3. If you can wait, I would.

 

[sb73]

Thanks for the reply. This information was very helpful.

 

[goose]

I was going through the comparison b/w the 3806 & 2807. I've got a query about the weight of these receivers. Why does the 3806 weigh about 10lbs more than th 2807 though the power output is only 10watts more/channel pls? If you compared the 2807 with a lower spec receiver in the denon range you wouldn't notice as substantial a difference in weight for a similar difference in wattage/channel.

 

[Rick Westfall]

Just an update. I'm not enough of a professional to give a thorough review so here is my assessment. I bought the 2807 and I LOVE IT! Buy it!

How's that for a review?

Rick

 

[Dan Keefe]

where are you looking? I am looking at the 3806 and the 2807. Where are you finding the 3806 cheaper.

As far as HDMI 1.3, by all accounts that I have read, this technology shows just superficial improvements over current HDMI. What does HDMI 1.3 offer that would justify the assumed increase in price for the 3807?

 

[LUKassZ32]

Some may call these changes superficial, I think its worth it!



Deep Color™: HDMI 1.3 supports 30-bit, 36-bit and 48-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depths, up from the 24-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification.

* Lets HDTVs and other displays go from million of colors to billions of colors.
* Eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors.
* Enables increased contrast ratio
* Can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white
* At 30-bit pixel depth, a four times improvement would be the minimum, and the typical improvement would be eight times or more.

Higher speed: HDMI 1.3 increases its single-link bandwidth from 165MHz (4.95 gigabits per second) to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to support the demands of future high definition display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color™ and high frame rates. In addition, built into the HDMI 1.3 specification is the technical foundation that will let future versions of HDMI reach significantly higher speeds.

Broader color space: HDMI 1.3 removes all limits on color selection

* Next-generation “xvYCC” color space supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals
* Lets HDTVs display colors more accurately
* Enables displays with natural, vivid colors

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Luke - Find me any upcoming movie or game release with Deep Color capabilities, to justify HDMI 1.3 this year.

 

[LUKassZ32]

You are very correct but I would think most people buy their HT equipment expecting to get at least 2-3 years minimum of use. In another year or two I will likely find you a truck load of movies. I guess it's a double edged sword though because in another year or two there will likely be HDMI 4.0 with DTS to the 5th power 3D shit

I feel like the HDMI craze is following in the "first 1 gig processor" craze's footsteps from about 8 years ago. When they reached the 1 gig mark and soon to follow came out with pentium 4, your brand new top of the line desktop was obsolete in a matter of months! I don't personally follow all the new crazes...even though HDMI 1.3 sounds absolutely amazing...thats why I am purchasing a Denon 787 that doesn't have HDMI AT ALL!!

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Yes but you will still need a display that is capable of HDMI 1.3 and supports Deep Color. That's yet another upgrade. Can you imagine what these sets will cost in the first 18 months after they are released?

Also, HDMI 1.3 doesn't sound amazing. HDMI is just a standard. What will eventually sound amazing is DTS-HD Master Audio, though again we have nothing that has been released in this format. If you can live without DTS-HD MA, then any HDMI 1.1 receiver capable of 5.1 or 7.1 LPCM will more than suffice for many years to come.

Search Google for these two threads:

- "5.1/7.1 PCM, HDMI, and DSP - An Explaination of the Future-Proof receiver"
- "Official" "Why you don't need HDMI 1.3" thread

 

[LUKassZ32]

I didn't mean that it literally sounds amazing...I meant in a general overall sense the specs sound amazing. But you are right about everything else.

 

[Dan Hitchman]

With DeepColor support you could, theoretically, get much better 8 bit to 10 or 12 bit processing so HD media and TV would look better with less chroma upsampling issues and banding/fringing.

Since so few players have built in DTS MA support, if you go with a player and a surround decoder with DTS MA (both HDMI 1.3) Fox titles will get their full potential realized. There are a few other labels doing DTS MA as well.

HDMI 1.3 also has included auto A/V synch since video processing tends to get the lip synch out of whack because the video lags behind the audio.

The 3806 does not accept 7.1 PCM audio via HDMI either. The 2807 does. However, the digital to analog converters and DSP processing chips are not as refined in the 2807.

Dan