Denon 3808 vs Pioneer Elite

[TheFactor]

With a review such as this "http://www.homecinemachoice.com/pdfs/HCC/151/HCC_151_056.pdf", it is hard to imagine the Pioneer can be better. Well may be this Pioneer is a make in heaven match with the Studio 60.

I only believe half of what I read and about 90% of what I hear out of my speakers /reciever when it comes to reviews . Whats more important to me is how it sounds to me. Now the last thing I want to do is offend or disrespect Denon or any of its owners/consumers in any shape or manner as we all know Denon makes one of the best sounding/quailty receivers out there. My main reason for tring something different is because I can for one and my first Denon had no sound and no lights at all on face plate except for standby light so I took it back they tested it and sure enough it had issues so they sent it back to Denon and I got another one. Normally after that I would tryed a different make or manufacture but because its a Denon and there solid reputation I thought i'd try another. This seemed work fine but like I stated earlier when watching a DVD or cable tv sometimes the screen would go blue and it would act like it a was changing inputs just for a second and then come back on showing picture and my original input mode . Anyway so thats why the 3rd time I'd thought i'd try the pioneer elite and thus far im very happy, it hasnt given me the blue screen as of yet and sounds very pleasing. The best way to describe it is it sounds brighter and the Denon was on the just warm side. Vocals sound much better with the Elite and like I said it dosent sound like people are talking in a cave and sounds more real. Again I might just of had another bad Denon so its not really fair to compare for everyone else they might not of experienced what I have with there Denon and the Denon does shine in other areas that differ from the PIONEER But so far all around im very happy with my decision.

 

[bandphan]

if your not gonna set your mains to small, at least set them to plus. The eq will always tend to set the mains to large when they are a fairly capable speaker. Check the data specs to see if flattened out your fr. You can also have multiple mcacc settings.

 

[mazersteven]

if your not gonna set your mains to small, at least set them to plus. The eq will always tend to set the mains to large when they are a fairly capable speaker. Check the data specs to see if flattened out your fr. You can also have multiple mcacc settings.

Once the Op up-grades his sub. He will have a whole new experience with his speakers, and system.

 

[TheFactor]

if your not gonna set your mains to small, at least set them to plus. The eq will always tend to set the mains to large when they are a fairly capable speaker. Check the data specs to see if flattened out your fr. You can also have multiple mcacc settings.

Are you suggesting that I set my mains meaning front , left and center speakers to small along with my rears and if so what frequency cut off do you recommend, wright now im at 50. Also are these setting you suggest just for movies or music also. I cant beleive the base these Studios 60's put out along with the cc690 center and it sounds good too but I definitely don't want to blow them And would like to distribute the base more evenly threw out the room, so im willing to try different combos like you mentioned until I upgrade my sub, just wanted clarify what I mentioned above and with those settings do you think I should still set it at plus for the sub output? Thanks in advance and sorry for alll the questions.

 

[Thunder18]

Its possible the denon wasnt setup correctly or there was something wrong with it, but I used the auto setup on that too, The picture seems better to on the elite and yes my speakers are set to large except for my surround back and after the auto setup with mic thats what it set it at too.For some reason the vocals on a movie sound better to, not as canned or a echo type thing, its hard to explain but the vocals sound more real and clear not like your talking in a cave or auditorium is the best way to explain it. Maybe there was something wrong with my Denon because I KNOW There a excellent receiver but after comparing it to this elite so far my personal non professional preference is the pioneer elite sounds better. I dont like the remote as much as the denon and the pioneer is huge and barely fits on my audio rack but looks sweet. IT seems to rrun cooler to. So far i've only listened to the tuner/radio and cable tv in HD and the sound is incredible. Im going to test out some blu-rays now. In a few days i'll try to give a better all around difference from my personal oppinion. But so far im very happy with the change.

Sounds like you're enjoying it so far. That's a weird streak of bad luck with possibly defective Denons though.
I know what you mean about that remote. That's been a big factor in holding me back from upgrading my Pioneer to one of the newer models.

 

[TheFactor]

Sounds like you're enjoying it so far. That's a weird streak of bad luck with possibly defective Denons though.
I know what you mean about that remote. That's been a big factor in holding me back from upgrading my Pioneer to one of the newer models.

Yes im enjoying it very much I just got finished watching I am legend, great special effects and the pioneer sounded awsome. Now im just trying to get use to all the settings and options. The THX sounds pretty good I've been playing around with that too and yes it was a bad streak of bad luck with Denons. A friend of mine is actualy a loyal Denon owner and he actualy steered me towards Denon but after seeing what I've experienced on my last two he understands why I decided to try the Pioneer elite and so far Im very happy with my desicion. As far as the remote im thinking about picking up a nice universal one.

 

[bandphan]

setting your mains to "plus" will send the lfe signal to both your sub and your LRs. If you set your speakers to large the lfe signal is gettinf routed to the sub, not correctly. Upgrading that sub will make a huge difference in your sound. Did the eq set you crossover at 50? Id move it up to 80 set all speakers to small and see what you think, but at least the C and the SR's should be small, you dont need them working on LFE at all. Can you hook up you computer and print out your mcacc data?

 

[mazersteven]

Yes im enjoying it very much I just got finished watching I am legend, great special effects and the pioneer sounded awsome.

Was it your speakers that sounded awesome, or your receiver? I didn't know I could have saved money and just listened to my receiver.

I'm really pissed off now because for what I paid for my receiver I should be able to hear it.

 

[TheFactor]

Was it your speakers that sounded awesome, or your receiver? I didn't know I could have saved money and just listened to my receiver.

I'm really pissed off now because for what I paid for my receiver I should be able to hear it.

If you listen closely you should be able to hear your receiver and on those warm summer nights you might hear it whistle dixie Seriously it was the combination of the receiver and speakers that were very impressive. It seems like a great match .

 

[TheFactor]

setting your mains to "plus" will send the lfe signal to both your sub and your LRs. If you set your speakers to large the lfe signal is gettinf routed to the sub, not correctly. Upgrading that sub will make a huge difference in your sound. Did the eq set you crossover at 50? Id move it up to 80 set all speakers to small and see what you think, but at least the C and the SR's should be small, you dont need them working on LFE at all. Can you hook up you computer and print out your mcacc data?

I'LL give it a try tonight on my next blu-ray movie . Yes it set it at 50 With all speakers set large except rear back surrounds, with sub set at yes and when on thx it was at small and 80 . Im not very computer savy so I dont think I can do a print out.

 

[Jack Hammer]

That issue with the picture dropping out every now and then could be related to a 'handshake' issue or to your cables not having enough bandwidth. If it continues with you new reciever you may want to look into that.

I think the reason you are noticing a different sound is likely from the auto setup on the Denon. The first time I ran mine, I got an echo-ish sound, kind of like using a dsp for a theatre hall. I re-ran auto setup and that went away. Then I just decided not to use the auto eq settings. When properly setup there really shouldn't be any noticeable difference in 'sound.'

That's a nice powerful reciever you've got now, congratulations and I hope you enjoy it.

Jack

 

[Midcow2]

If I had the 3808, I'd be inclined to stick with it, but the 94's power supply specs are quite impressive. I'm a bit of a Pioneer fan anyway (I like the 94 alot). My 1015 is keeping me happy for now though.

Just looked at your systems pics croseiv, nice setup.

I used to like pioneer, previously had pioneer elite AVR and DVD. However, i tried to use their technical support because I was having some receivier power-off problems and they were totally clueless and gave me several answers which I later proved to be incorrect. Also have a Denon DvD. I would still go with Pionerr Plasma, which if plasma is still around in a couple years will probably be my next upgrade.

OP, both Pioneer and Denon are good brands. Since you are happy with the Denon, I would stick with it, unless you could trade for a Marantz
I wnet back to Marantz after trying Yamaha and Pioneer even though it cost me a little more, I think I made the right choice

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...unless you could trade for a Marantz

You and your Marantz!!!

Okay, you need to get the Marantz Projector and upcoming blu-ray player plus a Marantz SACD/DVD-A player and you will be set!

 

[rushwj]

OP - did you use Audyssey to set-up your Denon originally. i've been considering the denon 3808 b/c of this feature. anybody w/ any thoughts on the audyssey auto-setup? thanks.

 

[TheFactor]

That issue with the picture dropping out every now and then could be related to a 'handshake' issue or to your cables not having enough bandwidth. If it continues with you new reciever you may want to look into that.

I think the reason you are noticing a different sound is likely from the auto setup on the Denon. The first time I ran mine, I got an echo-ish sound, kind of like using a dsp for a theatre hall. I re-ran auto setup and that went away. Then I just decided not to use the auto eq settings. When properly setup there really shouldn't be any noticeable difference in 'sound.'

That's a nice powerful reciever you've got now, congratulations and I hope you enjoy it.

Jack

Thankyou and so far knock on wood no blue pic yet but thats a great idea if it happens again i'll upgrade all my HDMI Cables, wow thats exactly what I was talking about with the echo, wish I would of known back then to re-do the auto setup on tthe denon, thanks again for the kind words

OP - did you use Audyssey to set-up your Denon originally. i've been considering the denon 3808 b/c of this feature. anybody w/ any thoughts on the audyssey auto-setup? thanks.

Jack hammer just commented about that a couple of posts up and yes it does have the auto setup and Denon makes a great receiver .

 

[TheFactor]

The new edition

 

[bandphan]

\P, both Pioneer and Denon are good brands. Since you are happy with the Denon, I would stick with it

he already switched to the pioneer

 

[TheFactor]

if your not gonna set your mains to small, at least set them to plus. The eq will always tend to set the mains to large when they are a fairly capable speaker. Check the data specs to see if flattened out your fr. You can also have multiple mcacc settings.

I actualy tryed the THX setting witch has all speakeres set to small and freq cutoff at 80 and I must say I like it but deppending on the movie all speakers except rear back surround set to large and freq at 50 I think is still my preference. But its nice to have a option thanks again for the advice and help.

 

[TheFactor]

Another question guys, my sub has two inputs and im just running one. Should I use a splitter and run it to both of them ?

 

[mazersteven]

Another question guys, my sub has two inputs and im just running one. Should I use a splitter and run it to both of them ?

No, You only need to use one input.