To really appreciate how simple it was to set up this Denon receiver out of the box, you need to know two things....

First, though I have a very generalized knowledge of installing home theater gear, I don’t consider myself to be the most tech-savy individual when it comes to getting these things hooked up right the first time.   It took me under 10 minutes to unhook my Outlaw 950 pre-amp and rewire everything into the Denon 3808.  The best thing about hooking this receiver up was throwing away all the previous video component and coax/fiber audio cables.  A single HDMI cable now handles both audio and video signal.  It’s astounding to see how much less wiring is being done with this receiver compared to those that most people still own.

What you also need to know is that somehow I managed to misplace the Denon’s main remote control right out of the box.  Instead of spending valuable time looking for the remote, I opted to attempt to set up all my inputs and settings by using the menu and cursor buttons located inside the flip panel located on the front of the receiver.  Although setting up the receiver in this manner is a bit more primitive than using the remote, it proved to work wonderfully thanks to the accompaniment of the GUI interface on my display.

Within a very short period of time I was easily able to scroll through the GUI assigning my components specific HDMI inputs.  When attaching a CD or LASERDISC player that was hooked to the receiver through RCA or S-VIDEO connections, the on-screen GUI made it possible to easily assigned those specific inputs.   The last step in the setup process was to RENAME the various preselected source titles.  Again, using the menu and cursor buttons I was able to make my own input source categories such as HD-DVD, BLU-RAY and LASERDISC.  These are the titles that are displayed in the front of the receiver each time I select their corresponding input.  

Without even opening the instruction manual, I was able to go from hookup to setup in under 30 minutes.

One of the best tools included with this receiver is the Audyssey microphone that through a very simple setup process automatically sets up the proper listening environment according to room measurement and location of furniture.  The Audyssey process even figures out what materials absorb and reflect sound.

The one thing I had always hated most about setting up a new receiver was pulling out the Radio Shack sound meter and adjusting each speaker to equal levels.  The Audyssey system takes the chore out of perfectly adjusting your listening environment.  I simply plugged the microphone into the front of the Denon receiver, let it know I was working within a 5.1 setup, and then placed the microphone on a tripod in the exact location and height of where I sit on my couch.   Once you start the auto setup process, the Denon sends out “chirps” to each speaker.  The microphone determines the location and proper levels according to its placement.  It is recommended that this process is repeated several times over within different areas of the room.   Once you have completed the setup, the calibration is stored into memory.

Within an hour of pulling this receiver out of its packaging, I was now completely hooked up with my audio calibrated through the included Audyssey system.

The first thing I did was to demo two of my favorite HD-DVD titles, The Phantom of the Opera and Batman Begins.  Having calibrated my previous Outlaw 950, I had a general idea of just how each speaker should perform.   One thing that was sharply different about the new calibration on the Denon was that I had to turn the volume up much higher than I had with my previous receiver.  I figured out the reason was that the Audysssey properly recognized I was viewing in a very small room and adjusted the sound level accordingly.   By the time I got the volume up to an acceptable level, I was pleasantly pleased with how well balanced the audio was across the 5.1 spectrum.   Not one single speaker seemed to overpower the other.  It was the most perfect calibration I had ever experienced.  With the capability to now be able to listen to lossless audio (thanks to the HDMI connection) I was hearing nuances that I never previously experienced.

I am very happy overall in the manner which this receiver processes my video.  I don’t notice any sort of video degradation.  This gives me a great deal of confidence that this receiver will provide me with the best possible picture.

What really surprised me most about the manner in the way this receiver processes video was that it took a single RCA output signal from my old Laserdisc player and upconverted the signal to anamorphic without any noticeable image skewing.    

Click Here To Continue on to Page 3