denon 4310,4308

[tonedeaf]

Hello everyone,I was just curious as to why the price of the 4308 can be had for half of retail,(2699,now can be had for around 1300 to 1400)as opposed to the 4310(suggested retail 1999,can be had for roughly 1450)?
I'm looking to pull the trigger on a new denon soon,and the 4308 is by far the better buy cost wise,plus a little more power to boot.
Any input would be appreiciated.
GO COLTS

 

[AVRat]

The upgrades went like this:

3808 --> 4310
4306 --> 4308 --> 4810
4806 --> ???? 4810

 

[tonedeaf]

I just noticed in the spec sheet,4310 has no video processing or scaling the 4308 does.

 

[PENG]

I just noticed in the spec sheet,4310 has no video processing or scaling the 4308 does.

The 4310 has the ABT2010 for video processing and upscaling. It should perform a little better than the Faroudja in the 4308. If the feature set in the 4308 is good enough (e.g. only 4 HDMI inputs) for you, then it is a better deal. I never use the video upconversion/upscaling features in my AVR as they typically don't perform as well as my players and/or TV. All they do is to heat things up. In my opinion Denon is better off not bothering with this feature at all and instead invest on better audio components or pass on the savings.

 

[edmcanuck]

...price of the 4308 can be had for... around 1300 to 1400 as opposed to the 4310 (which)... can be had for roughly 1450?

...the 4308 is by far the better buy cost wise

"by far the better buy cost-wise?" Since when is $50 a landslide of a difference?

4310 pluses:
Dolby PLIIz
AL24+
DL4
Pre-amp Outputs for Multi-Zone
USB Flash Drive Port
5 HDMI inputs

4308 pluses:
XM Satellite Radio 'Connect and Play' Ready – with optional antenna
4 Source/4 Zone Audio

For $50 as you've outlined in your price-list, I'd go for the 4310 just for the extra HDMI input and the future-proofing that comes with that. The AL24+ is a good second reason.

 

[James NM]

Hello everyone,I was just curious as to why the price of the 4308 can be had for half of retail ...

The 4308 is an older (discontinued) model, thus the larger % price drop.

The 4310 is a new model, thus the smaller % price drop.

As noted by AVRat, the 4810 (not the 4310) is the replacement for the 4308.

 

[PENG]

The AL24+ is a good second reason.

Your first reason is good but not the second as I think you've got it backward. The 4308, like the 4810 and 5308, has the Advanced (vs the 4310 and 3808's AL24+) AL24 for all channels. The 4310 is basically the updated (2 yrs newer) version of the 3808. Not that it matters, but the 4310 is actually about 4 lbs lighter than the 3808 and 7 lbs lighter than the 4308.