Denon AVR-4311CI 9.2 Channel Networked AV Receiver First Look

[admin]

When Denon came out with the new AVR-4311CI, we could only speculate they asked the following questions: What do you want out of a receiver? Do you want power? Video upconversion? Networking and streaming? 9.2 audio decoding and amplification with expandability to 11.2? Do you want it all plus the ability to shutdown the internal amps to use your receiver as a dedicated Pre/Pro without risk of contamination of the signal by noise and heat? If we have one bad thing to say about Denon in general and the AVR-4311CI specifically it's that they keep exceeding our expectations. When we reviewed the AVR-4310CI we thought it had more than it's price point suggested. Now, the AVR-4311CI has addressed most of our minor gripes with it's predecessor, added features we didn't even know existed, and did it all without changing the retail price. If this isn't a home run of a product, we don't know what is.

Discuss "Denon AVR-4311CI 9.2 Channel Networked AV Receiver First Look" here. Read the article.

 

[Buckster]

thanks - good preview and looks great product

I do like the new internal layout

 

[audiokiwi]

Beautiful receiver, I will upgrade...

thank you Tom for great review, some more photos of front and back would be even better.
Do agree with Buckster, beautiful internal layout, i am using 3310CI now and will upgarde to this once available (this upgrarde will be for 10 years i hope).

I also like the feature of front height (height channels), do anyone know front height speakers will improve sound details for frontstage noticably (for both music and movie?) should I add those 2 height speakers in my current 5.1 setup?

current system 3310CI, OPPO PDB-83, Axiom M3 front, Axiom SQ4 surround and VP100 center, Sub SVS PBultra-13

thank you for your replies.

 

[Kennydee]

audiokiwi, I have a Onkyo TX-NR3007, 9.2 which has the possibility of connecting 2 front heights or wide speakers. I decided to go with the front heights and I am truly pleased with the effect of PLIIz. Sports and movies is where I use those most often. My heights really do add dimension and realism.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Oh crap...since this has Audyssey's MultEQ XT 32, that may negate the need for the SVS EQ I was planning on getting.

I must start researching.

 

[adk highlander]

Oh crap...since this has Audyssey's MultEQ XT 32, that may negate the need for the SVS EQ I was planning on getting.

I must start researching.

Yup and the Sub EQ HT with the two inputs will do it all for you. The SVS EQ is what about half the cost of this? It is about the same size as your 3310 so Carolyn would never notice.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Is this the same receiver as the Denon AVR-100 100th Aniversary receiver:

http://www.denon100.com/#/en/products/receiver

Check out the rest of the line-up. They look pretty cool.

But why on earth would anyone buy a SACD player when they could buy the Universal player that looks exactly like the SACD and plays blu-ray?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Yup and the Sub EQ HT with the two inputs will do it all for you. The SVS EQ is what about half the cost of this? It is about the same size as your 3310 so Carolyn would never notice.

This may actually drive the price of the SVS EQ down a lot. I may have to wait and see what happens.


What is your take on the 32 bit resolution as compared to the SVS EQ?

 

[audiokiwi]

audiokiwi, I have a Onkyo TX-NR3007, 9.2 which has the possibility of connecting 2 front heights or wide speakers. I decided to go with the front heights and I am truly pleased with the effect of PLIIz. Sports and movies is where I use those most often. My heights really do add dimension and realism.

So, it is worth to add 2 front height speaker then? I will add a pair of Axiom M3 v3.
The 4311CI does look like AVR-A100 from the 100 year anniversary. Denon changes the name then?
I have SVS PB Ultra-100 but use single RCA connection as recommended, don't know how to setup EQ, anyone knows the best way/setup to use this box?

thank you

 

[gene]

thank you Tom for great review, some more photos of front and back would be even better.
Do agree with Buckster, beautiful internal layout, i am using 3310CI now and will upgarde to this once available (this upgrarde will be for 10 years i hope).

Actually that was our First Look article not a formal review. Our First Look articles tend to be more detailed than most of our competitors so called "reviews".

 

[willdao]

"Denon also claims the AVR-4311CI is expandable to 11.2 channels to handle any future formats wanting to add speakers to the ceiling or the bathroom so you don't miss a beat while doing your business."

I'm confused. Denon claims the 4311 will be capable of having apmplifier channels added? (If you look at the inside-the-case pic, you'll see there's room for more discrete amp modules, actually.) Or, it has 11 channel pre-amp outputs--e.g. for full Audyssey DSX? Or what?

I'm interested about the 11.2 DSX capabilities via pre-outs, actually, like the 4810 and the new A100...

Thanks for any reply,

Will

P.S. You inserted a tiny pic of the back of the unit, but it's not expandable. Can you also post or link to a large pic? VERY LARGE? Would like to see the pre-outs, if any, for myself (um, and their labels--hence the "VERY LARGE" request). Thx!

 

[Orrin]

Thanks for the excellent info.

I am rather conservative. I purchased my present AVR-5803 eight years ago in 2002 and have been scouting for an upgrade for some time now . I mostly really want the new networking, HDMI, Denon Link, and video functions. I primarily watch DVDs and listen to CDs and SACDs. And I presently power 5.1 surround plus 2 extra stereo zones with Paradigm Reference series speaker systems (and an old external 2-channel receiver/amp).

How does the audio of the 4311 stack up against the 5803 or even the 5308. I like the solid feeling of owning a reference or near-reference quality receiver system though, I must admit that it is possible that I may have an alloyed, if not a tin, ear, who knows? If I were to purchase a receiver today it would be between the new 4311 and the 5308.

The 4311 has all the new gizmos and the 5308 is several years old with lots of gizmos. How does the audio compare? Is a new "5308" reference receiver in the works?

 

[AVRat]

A good pic of the backside: http://js-kit.com/blob/9Dlp0PE_SGjN377SoAzDeb.jpg

Orrin, which speakers are you running in your main zone? I recently replaced my older 5800 with the 4810 and couldn’t be happier. If the 4311 comes anywhere close to the 4810’s performance it should be highly considered. We won’t know though until it’s actually released and people start providing reviews.

 

[Orrin]

My main zone Home Theater Room speakers are Paradigm Studio Reference: pair of 100 left and rights, a pair of ADP surrounds and a CC center channel. I also have two pair of 20 left and rights for Zone1 (bedroom) and Zone2 (den/family room). All are circa 2002.

 

[GlocksRock]

Is audioholics going to review this unit?

 

[AVRat]

Info is now on their site: Manual http://usa.denon.com/AVR-4311CI-OM-E_108.pdf

- 4-ohm support confirmed (there is a "speaker impedance" setting with 4/6/8 as options, pg 98 of the manual)

- GUI looks the same as with the 4310/4810 models (and still will not overlay on 3D content)

- there is NO "free assign" function (as in the 4810) but, when the amp is in "pre-amp" mode (pg62) you can still use internal amps to power Zone 2/3 speakers (Zone 2 will run off "surr.back" and Zone 3 will run off "front wide").

- following up on this, when in "11.2" mode, you can select whether to use an external amp for front wide or front height.

- Dolby Volume is there (pg 91) but when you turn it on, it automatically turns MultEQ XT 32 off! So, you cannot combine the eq filters of Audyssey with the volume leveling of Dolby Volume.

- you can select which of the dual HDMI monitor outputs gets the "standby passthrough" signal (pg 99) using the "Control Monitor" setting.

 

[GlocksRock]

So I couldn't use preamp mode if I wanted to use an external amp for my normal 7.1, and just use 2 of the internal amps to power a pair of front height speakers? You are saying I'd have to leave it out of preamp mode?

 

[AVRat]

That's correct!

 

[GlocksRock]

That's not cool... but at least it can do 9.1/9.2... I really want a receiver that can do 9.1 with PLIIz, but it's not worth spending $2,000 on a receiver for, expecially when the front height channels don't get that much use anyway. Maybe one day when 9.2 is more common and the price is less I'll get a receiver that can handle that, but for now I'll just keep my trusty RX-V1800. Although I don't really know how much of a difference the preamp mode would make anyway... hopefully someone who gets one of these can do some testing and let us know what they think, better yet hopefully audioholics will review it and tell us if preamp mode makes any differnce in sound quality.

 

[Chopin_Guy]

Question does the 4810ci have an advantages over the forthcoming 4311ci -- cause I can't seem to find any and the 4810ci is $1k more at retail?? I mean the 4311 has the better room correction plus the new dedicated SUB EQ, same power rating, and same video processing...am I missing something??