Exclusive Denon AVR-3805 First Look!

[Mort Corey]

I don't know if I'd say that the auto setup on the 3805 is superior, but it sure is a lot easier than using a meter. Distances, etc were spot on using the Denon mic and my system does sound much better (the addition of the 3805 over an older Denon receiver being the only change). The only changes I ended up making from what the "chips" wanted was to the subwoofer distance and level and that was probably just reflecting my personal tastes vs a proper calibration.

I've got a friend coming by with his SPL meter this weekend just to see what, if any, differences there really are between the two methods. The nice thing about using the auto setup is that it's a 90+ second job.

Mort

 

[Mark]

Guest

Thanks for the info Glenn and Mort.

I have decided to get the 20-39 plus model as my room is 20' x 20' with 11 foot peak ceilings. I think the extra amps will help out.. My wife doesn't care either about which one I get. Hope the cat doesn't think it's a scratching post! Seems you give up a couple db going to the 20-39, but I doubt it will make an obvious difference.

Mort, I agree that 90 seconds or so is a whole lot faster than when I calibrated my Onkyo about 2 years ago.

 

[keenan]

3805-5900

Anyone hooking up a Denon DVD-5900 to the 3805 might want to take a look at this link:

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/5900_3805 setup tips.pdf
5900_3805 setup tips.pdf

These 2 units really work well together, I have started to re-listen to my music collection all over again and buying more new music as well.

Jim

 

[Audioholics]

I have the Denon 3805. I am wondering if I need to use the SPL meter or is the Denon Auto calibration good enough? How did you find it to work compared to using the meter?

It nailed the distance and was very much in the ballpark on the level settings. It set the subwoofer location off several times by a few feet, but with low frequency information I'm not surprised.

I have yet to do a critical evealuation of the EQ settings.

The auto-setup is a good bet if you want a quick setup for levels and distances. So far you can trust it - at least in my room.

 

[Unregistered]

review?

Any time frame on the full review of the 3805? Feels like we've been waiting for quite some time.

 

[jbliz]

hawke said he would have it done by the end of the month, so the review is probably coming soon. I can't wait to check it out.

John

 

[Unregistered]

Nah hawke is waiting for the views to reach 30,000 only then will he release the review
cheers laurie

 

[Audioholics]

Oh, you're killing me... I promise it is all I'm working on right now until it is done.

 

[Unregistered]

I noticed the 3805 made its way into one of your reference systems. If that is any indication of how the review will fare.

 

[gene]

Actually we often list the equipment under review in our reference systems. The key is if it actually stays there In our case , being the obsessive audioholics we are, gear staying in one of our reference system for longer than six months speaks volumes.

 

[Access Denied]

Well when you have access to the latest equipment frequently I'm not surprised. It's all good. Wating for your review of the 3805 with great eagerness.

 

[jbliz]

Hawke,

There is one question that I hope you answer in your review. I'm wondering if I should bother spending the extra $65 on the Denon mic and use the receiver's test tones to calibrate, or would I be better off buying an avia disc and SPL meter? Which route do you think will give me a more accurate setup?

Thanks,

John

 

[laurie]

Well to-night I watched The Lord Of The Rings [TROTK] and I tell you what this is one mother of a receiver the whole street must have been thinking a storm was in the area.... awesome
cheers laurie

 

[gene]

I am geared up to watch Lord of the Rings III this weekend, I can't wait!

If I may chime in for a minute regarding buying the Denon mic question to calibrate your system. I don't see a reason NOT to buy it. Autocalibration is useful to determine speaker distances (at least the 7 main channels) and level balancing. It is a good idea however to have a handy SPL meter and AVIA disc as backup. I suppose I am a bit over critical, but I like at least more than one confirmation that I have my setup right after I think I am calibrated. The small investment now, IMO, is money well spent.

 

[jbliz]

Thanks for the input Gene. The problem is I don't want to buy both. If Denon's autocal system is acurate, I don't mind buying the Denon mic, but it's substantially off, then I'll go for the SPL and Avia and do the calibration manually. I'm already way over my HT budget, so I'm pinching pennies where I can to keep the girlfriend happy.

Thanks again,

John

 

[gene]

Understood. I suggest waiting for Clints review then since I personally have not played with the 3805. Clint will be testing both ways.

 

[Audioholics]

Hawke,

There is one question that I hope you answer in your review. I'm wondering if I should bother spending the extra $65 on the Denon mic and use the receiver's test tones to calibrate, or would I be better off buying an avia disc and SPL meter? Which route do you think will give me a more accurate setup?

Thanks,

John

The Denon AVR-3805 so far has given me spot-on distance settings*** and was within 1dB of what my SPL meter says on levels. I've run it several times on several systems, but plan on doing some more tests as well as moving into utilization of the Room EQ functions.

*** Except for the subwoofer on one test, which it placed 3 feet farther away than it actually was for some reason. I suspect room nodes mess with the subwoofer while the regular speakers can be more easily placed.

The short bursts actually surprised me. I thought the system would analyze the sound with a much longer pink noise test. I can do auto setup with my baby sleeping upstairs and not really think anything of it.

 

[theguy]

Compare to a NAD T773

Oh, you're killing me... I promise it is all I'm working on right now until it is done.

Any chance that you will be looking at the NAD T773 for one of your reviews? Have you ever reviewed an NAD receiver?

Thanks

Guy

 

[keenan]

Hawke,

There is one question that I hope you answer in your review. I'm wondering if I should bother spending the extra $65 on the Denon mic and use the receiver's test tones to calibrate, or would I be better off buying an avia disc and SPL meter? Which route do you think will give me a more accurate setup?

Thanks,

John

I have auto-cal'ed half a dozen times myself and it has been extremely accurate. Another thing it does is, it will let you know if you have any speakers out of phase which just using a SPL meter won't tell you.

My 0.02

Jim

 

[laurie]

I thought the system would analyze the sound with a much longer pink noise test.

Hawke
what about background noise say from A/C fans ect will that effect readings.

one other thing I'm not happy with is that if you manually tune FM stations,after tuning the signal cannot be stereo! its mono regardless of the signal strength
cheers laurie