Man Bites Dog

[Nick250]

I am considering a new more upscale receiver. Ahem, one with more horse power. Yes Mulester it's true: Someone please administer some oxygen to Mule. The candidates are a Denon 3806 or 2807. My Onkyo 595 died a few months ago and I bought a Denon 1705 as a stop gap. It will go to the den if I go through with getting a new receiver. The 1705 sounds pretty decent, no real complaints. I have made peace with the fact that there is a possibility I may not find much improvement at my normal listening levels, but then again maybe I will. After much thought, I have gotten to the point that I understand that for me this is partly a hobby and as long as I can afford it (NO extended credit card payments) experimenting with different hardware and/or speakers can be part of the enjoyment for me. I have had my current setup for 5 years so I don't throw money at the system much, but when I do, I try to get something that I will be happy for a while. Plus I want to know what Mule is talking about with his more power recommendations!! Quality power as well What will my experience be???

Here is where I would like some feedback. If we were to assume for the moment that the 3806 and the newer 2807 were the same price would there be any reason to pick one over the other. One measure is BuckEyeFans weight consideration and as I recall the 3806 weighs about 8 lbs more that the 2807. My needs are fairly simple. My speakers are three Paradigm Studio 20s across the front, HSU VTF-2 sub and Paradigm Mini Monitors as surrounds. All speakers set to small and crossed over at 80Htz. I have a DVI connection from my cable box to my Sony HD plasma, Component Video Outputs from the DVD player to the plasma and optical connections from the cable box and DVD player to the receiver.

Either the 3806 or 2807 is probably over kill to some extent, but I think I will splurge a bit. I am leaning ever so slightly towards the 3806 because it weighs more. I would like to know what you all think.

Thanks, Nick

 

[ht_addict]

Nick, if you want too splurge get the 4806, its an awesome receiver. Though to answer your question take a look over at Denon's website and do a comparison of the two receivers. Just looking at the feature set of the 3806 blows away the 2807.

 

[PENG]

Either the 3806 or 2807 is probably over kill to some extent, but I think I will splurge a bit. I am leaning ever so slightly towards the 3806 because it weighs more. I would like to know what you all think.
Thanks, Nick

Nick, I would bet you could hear a difference the first time you power up those Studios with either one. The 2807 and the 3806 are a big step up from the 1705. The question is, once you get to the 3806 level, whether you would hear a difference if you add a 2 X 200 (minimum) wpc amp to power the front speakers.

As you already know, many people reported big, huge, day and night type of differences while others (me included) reported only little or subtle difference especially at low to moderate volume. I should add that the first time I had my amp powering the 87 dB Veritas I thought I heard significantly better sound in terms of clarity. A few months later, out of curiosity, I started moving things around and did some A/B (sighted) listening using different combinations of receiver, amps, preamp, speakers and playing different type of music. I ended up concluding that the differences were subtle. There were a few others around when I did those comparisons and they did not hear much difference either. The significant improvement I initially perceived could have been just Placebo effect. As I stated repeatedly in the past, I do believe some people can hear more "difference".

Back to your question, for peace of mind, go for the 3806. It is more robust for sure. In case you decide not to add any amp, it has the power to do a decent job with the Studio 20, at least in two-channel mode.

 

[Nick250]

Nick, if you want too splurge get the 4806, its an awesome receiver.

Well there's splurge and there is SPLURGE, what's a 4806 go for, about four large does it not? I think the 3806 will be good enough for now and maybe save for speaker upgrades next, though I really do like the Studio 20s with the VTF2 so that may not be necessary.

Though to answer your question take a look over at Denon's website and do a comparison of the two receivers. Just looking at the feature set of the 3806 blows away the 2807.

Yes, I have done that. Mostly that part of my query was in case there were some new compelling technology that went over my head. Thanks for you comments, it's very helpful.

 

[Nick250]

Nick, I would bet you could hear a difference the first time you power up those Studios with either one. The 2807 and the 3806 are a big step up from the 1705. The question is, once you get to the 3806 level, whether you would hear a difference if you add a 2 X 200 (minimum) wpc amp to power the front speakers.

As you already know, many people reported big, huge, day and night type of differences while others (me included) reported only little or subtle difference especially at low to moderate volume. I should add that the first time I had my amp powering the 87 dB Veritas I thought I heard significantly better sound in terms of clarity. A few months later, out of curiosity, I started moving things around and did some A/B (sighted) listening using different combinations of receiver, amps, preamp, speakers and playing different type of music. I ended up concluding that the differences were subtle. There were a few others around when I did those comparisons and they did not hear much difference either. The significant improvement I initially perceived could have been just Placebo effect. As I stated repeatedly in the past, I do believe some people can hear more "difference".

Back to your question, for peace of mind, go for the 3806. It is more robust for sure. In case you decide not to add any amp, it has the power to do a decent job with the Studio 20, at least in two-channel mode.

Peng, thanks for your feedback. Your comments and those of ht_addict you have confirmed the way I already was my leaning, and that is that the 3806 is the more robust receiver and the way to go. As far as amps go, I think I am going to live with the 3806 for quite a while before I start considering amps. I am guessing it will do the job on it's on as you suggested.

Nick

 

[mulester7]

.....Nick, best wishes on your proposed upgrade.....

 

[Nick250]

I just was over at the AVS forum and they have an hugh 3806 thread. It seems that setup of the 3806 can be a real bear, though I don't think that would stop me. I am going over to the local B&M today to pick up an audio rack I ordered and I will see if I can get a 3806 for a grand. Fortunately the 1705 is working fine so I have no immediate preasure to make a deal so I can shop around a bit if necessary.

 

[PENG]

Nick, when you get the 3806 hooked up, see if you can get ahold of this CD: Telarc's Copland Appalachian Spring track one.
Play it in Pure Direct mode using good analog signal cables, no subwoofer and see how the Studio 20s reproduce the base drum. Crank the volume up to say -5, make sure you don't hear any distortion before cranking it up higher to say "0". When I did it with my 3805, it was able to deliver the same current (yes I measured both rms and peak) the Adcom did. At least try any of your CD that you know will cause the amp to push some high current into the speaker. I think you will be impressed with the bass drum sound coming out of those little mighty Paradigms.
Best of luck in your search for the best deal!

 

[zildjian]

Nick,
I've had my 3806 since mid-december, and I'm very pleased with it. The set up isn't bad, and it's not like one needs to redo the set up steps frequently (unless you change out your speakers a lot), so it's not a real negative.

If you can't get your 3806 for a good deal (just over $1000, don't really remember), call the dealer I bought mine from (in Nashville, TN). He does great by me as I've bought 7-8K$ of stuff from him, and ships everything to me quick as I'm a 180 miles away from him. I'll refrain from posting his info here, but if you need it, message me. He's an authorized dealer.

The 3806 lacks the iPod feature that the 2807 will support, and there's the HDMI version issues, but as far as quality product, the 3806 has all the better audio features over the 2807. I think you'll be very happy with it. I haven't met anyone who has the 3806 who hasn't been happy!

Sound like your having fun, and that's what this is all about!
Brad

 

[Nick250]

Nick, when you get the 3806 hooked up, see if you can get ahold of this CD: Telarc's Copland Appalachian Spring track one.
Play it in Pure Direct mode using good analog signal cables, no subwoofer and see how the Studio 20s reproduce the base drum. Crank the volume up to say -5, make sure you don't hear any distortion before cranking it up higher to say "0". When I did it with my 3805, it was able to deliver the same current (yes I measured both rms and peak) the Adcom did. At least try any of your CD that you know will cause the amp to push some high current into the speaker. I think you will be impressed with the bass drum sound coming out of those little mighty Paradigms.
Best of luck in your search for the best deal!

Thanks Peng. The Hell Freezes over DVD seemed to most tax my old receiver the most. It has a hugh dynamic range. It was my test disk when I was speaker shopping. I will give it a good work out when I get things dialed in.

My purchase report for today was I first called a guy at Tweeter that I have delt with in the past and he said he could not go under list price ($1299) unless he could find an open box and then it would be 10% off, it be a fairly new model and all, blah, blah blah. A bit later I stoped into my local B&M to pick up an equipment rack I had ordered. I told the sales guy I was in the market for a 3806 and was willing to pay $1000 for one. He goes to his computer and looks it up and says "sure I can sell you one for that price." There is now one new in box 3806 in my trunk awaiting setup. I must say, I am looking foward to playing with my new toy.

zildjian: The sales guy went over a bit of the setup on the floor model and it did not seem that daunting. I especially liked the ease of setting speaker levels on the fly, easy as pie. And that is something I like to tinker with a fair amound. And yes indeed I am enjoying the process.

Regards, Nick