Denon AVR4308ci or the AVR3808ci ?

[am74Gibson]

I am trying to wrap my head around the price difference vs the features. The 4308 is about $800 more. I don't know if HD radio, WiFi (won't need it, my router is right by my setup), and the few other minor features is worth the difference in price.

The only thing I do not know about is "AL24 Processing - All Channels"...The 4308 has this on all channels, while the 3808 only on the front left and right. Will I notice this?

Also, will I ever need remote maintenence?, It is my understanding that both can be configured through a PC via the ethernet connection. So I guess the only benefit would be not having to lug it to a repair shop if I have a problem...

If anyone could explain details of the feature differences and why it may or may not be important, I would really appreciate it.

 

[Addy]

you just hit all the key features, the only question is do you really want to spend 800$ for those? ive already made the decision an came to the conclusion that i dont for advanced processing alot of people bypass this it all depends on the person an their ears

 

[cbraver]

Someone will chime in that knows more about it, but in the mean time here is my input:

To my understanding, AL24 takes digital inputs and mimic an analog waveform through some sort of interpolation. The 24, I assume, means 24-bit rate.

It reminds me of Peavy's TransTube technology, but instead of mimicing a tube your mimicing analog waves.

Would you notice an improvement? I haven't heard it. A "purest" might be skeptic. A lot of "sound improvement" technology has been used in sound reinforcement applications, like in night clubs. I know some clubs that use subharmonic synthesizers, that take bass notes and reproduce them an octive lower for the low-subs to reproduce for "impact." Sounds great in a nightclub because a 40Hz hit suddenly becomes 40Hz, plus the bass hit below your hearing range that you can only feel. I always thought one of these would be a lot of fun in a big home theater.

It's interesting stuff.

 

[am74Gibson]

Misread one thing

Thanks for the replies...

I think I misread the spec on the 3808 in regard to remote maintenence. It does have this feature after reading through the manual. Their quickspec say No JPEG and remote maintenence. Not No JPEG OR remote maintenance. Just on more feature tomake it closer to the 4308.

I guess what it will come down to is the sound difference in th AL 24 and HD radio. BTW , I have never heard HD radio...is it that good?

 

[bandphan]

Thanks for the replies...

I think I misread the spec on the 3808 in regard to remote maintenence. It does have this feature after reading through the manual. Their quickspec say No JPEG and remote maintenence. Not No JPEG OR remote maintenance. Just on more feature tomake it closer to the 4308.

I guess what it will come down to is the sound difference in th AL 24 and HD radio. BTW , I have never heard HD radio...is it that good?

Unless you listen to the radio, its a moot piont. AM stations sound alot better, and i havent listened to a FM radio station since college.

http://www.hdradio.com/

 

[Addy]

sound & vision just did a review on the avr-4308ci. It might be worth picking up an issue. they said that hd radio is a hit an miss, some stations sound really good while others suck. he said that it took awhile but when you found them you can add them to favorites which i dont think the avr-3808ci has, which is kinda a flaw..

 

[am74Gibson]

Roll of the dice

Well, the cheapest I could fine the 4308 from an authorized dealer was $1999.
So, I decided to go the cheap route and take a chance. I bought (backordered) a refurb 3080ci from Ecost.com for $864 shipped. The idea here is to keep it couple of years until the Denon's catch up to Onkyo in regard to the up to date DACs (1796A vs 1791A) and maybe REON. Then I may look at even a top of the line model or maybe the 5308's price will drop. As much as as like Denon, it seems like they are just a little behind leading edge in this regard. Ecost is an authorized dealer for Denon refurbs, and carry a 90 day warranty. I figure if something is wrong, I will know it well withing 90 days. I made the same decision with my current Marantz SR9300 which is for sale BTW) and it has been fine. Maybe I will have the same luck with this Denon. Thanks for all the feedback...and yes HD radio is not that important.

 

[Warpdrv]

How about a Onkyo PR-SC885P Preamp and an Emotiva XPA-5 (200x5) amp for just over 2K....

I think you would have a far better system with those components for the $$...

I know someone here who can get you a great price on that preamp... Pm me if your interested...

 

[Seth=L]

Well, the cheapest I could fine the 4308 from an authorized dealer was $1999.
So, I decided to go the cheap route and take a chance. I bought (backordered) a refurb 3080ci from Ecost.com for $864 shipped. The idea here is to keep it couple of years until the Denon's catch up to Onkyo in regard to the up to date DACs (1796A vs 1791A) and maybe REON. Then I may look at even a top of the line model or maybe the 5308's price will drop. As much as as like Denon, it seems like they are just a little behind leading edge in this regard. Ecost is an authorized dealer for Denon refurbs, and carry a 90 day warranty. I figure if something is wrong, I will know it well withing 90 days. I made the same decision with my current Marantz SR9300 which is for sale BTW) and it has been fine. Maybe I will have the same luck with this Denon. Thanks for all the feedback...and yes HD radio is not that important.

You could have just gotten the Onkyo, LOL. The Onkyo receivers have lots of grunt and are feature laden.

Do you really feel you need a high end scaler in your receiver when so many other products you can use do the job as good if not better while costing less? Take for example a Blu-ray player, they upscale DVDs very well. They do it for less than the cost of getting a higher end receiver with the fancy dancy scalers. And as an added plus, they play real HD movies on Blu-ray discs that will look much better than scaled DVDs ever can.

I think the merit behind scalers in receivers is quite low. Sure you could argue you want your SD television programming to look better. But as compressed as it is, I have to ask, what's the point?

Mill that over in the ol' noggin if you will.