Denon AVR-3808CI Audio/Video Receiver
When I first made the decision to throw myself head first into the two new high definition video formats I realized that the consequences involved in upgrading my equipment would be substantial. In addition to having to purchase a HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players, I realized I would also need a display capable of taking full advantage of the 1080p images these formats were capable of producing.
Once I purchased a new display and began hooking my two HD players and cable box to it, I suddenly realized that I had a brand new dilemma in that I didn’t have enough HDMI inputs to accommodate all this equipment. Though I purchased a cheap $100 HDMI switcher, I soon found it more of an obstacle than benefit in shifting between the various inputs.
Another problem I had was that running coaxial or optic output through my older pre amp, the Outlaw 950, resulted in not being able to take full advantage of the lossless audio that these new high definition players offer.
It was absolutely inevitable that after putting such effort and expense over the past year to upgrade my home theater, that the job wasn’t quite done. If I really wanted to bring my system up-to-date I would need to invest in a new receiver as well.
Two remotes are included. The main remote control unit features hard buttons with a small visual display of the device being operated and selected mode. A secondary sub remote control unit allows multi-zoning so you can operate the Denon receiver from up to three different rooms. For instance, while someone is watching a movie in one room, you can watch a different video source in another room while an additional person listens to music
in a third room.
My decision to purchase the Denon 3808CI wasn’t a very difficult one. Denon has a superb reputation in the world of audio/video receivers, and since many of our own HTF staff members had such receivers of their own, this particular model came highly recommended. The 3808 is the entry level receiver (followed by the 4308 and 5308) to feature Denon’s graphical user interface that provides a visual guide directly through your display to aid not only in proper setup but as a remarkable integration tool for media playback. I’ll talk a little more about that in a few moments.
Let’s first take a quick look at the specs that make up the Denon AVR-3808CI Receiver
Details:
* 130 watts x 7 into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.05% THD
* Dolby® True HD, DTS-HD™ Master Audio, Dolby® Digital Plus, DTS-HD™ High Resolution Audio, Dolby® Digital EX, DTS-ES™, Pro Logic® IIx, and DTS Neo:6 decoding
* Audessey Laboratories' MultEQ XT eight-point auto setup and room calibration system (microphone included)
* XM Satellite Radio Ready with decoding for XM's HD Surround channels (requires XM subscription and optional XM Mini-Tuner package)
* iPod® integration (requires optional Denon ASD-1R)
* Compressed Audio Restorer for better sound with compressed music sources
* three-room/three-source output:
o powered and line-level stereo audio output with volume, balance and tone control for 2nd room (using powered 2nd room stereo output allows 5.1 home theater in main room)
o composite video output for 2nd room
o line-level stereo audio output with volume, balance, and tone control for 3rd room
* conversion of optical or coaxial digital signals to analog audio output for 2nd and 3rd rooms (PCM signals only)
* Pure Direct modes switch off all unused circuitry for the cleanest possible sound
* 16 PCM1791A 192kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog converters
* HDCD decoder
* learning/multibrand touchscreen electro-luminescent remote
* enhanced remote for 2nd or 3rd listening room (requires remote control extender system, not included)
* 17-1/8"W x 6-3/4"H x 16-15/16"D
Connections:
* 1080p-compatible HDMI digital video switching (4 in, 1 out)
* analog-to-HDMI video upconversion (up to 1080p output via HDMI) with Faroudja DCDi™ video processing and scaling
* HDMI version 1.3
* component video switching (3 in, 2 out)
* component video conversion (composite to S-video, or composite and S-video to component)
* digital inputs: 4 optical (including 1 front-panel), 3 coaxial
* digital outputs: 2 optical
* 7 audio/video inputs, including:
o 1 front-panel input with composite and S-video
o 6 rear-panel inputs with composite and S-video
* 2 audio-only inputs (including phono)
* 7.1-channel analog audio preamp input
* 7.1-channel analog audio preamp output
* front and rear USB ports for audio playback from USB flash drives, hard disk drives, and portable USB music players
* Ethernet port for music streaming from a PC network, and control via a PC
* Denon Link jack (3rd edition)
* RS-232C port for automated control systems
* 1 set of main speaker outputs
* back surround speaker channels re-assignable for bi-amping front left and right speakers
What you are about to read is a brief overview of the Denon 3808CI. Since I have owned it for less than a week to date, I am only covering the initial setup process as well as my first impressions of the unit itself.
