I like this receiver and it has been dependable for me for years. I am in the process of building a home theater in my basement. Is there a way to upgrade this receiver to new audio formats and HDMI. It has an 8 channel input dont know if I could buy a prcoessor for it.

No.

Any suggestions on a new receiver for a 7.1 setup. I would like to sty in the $500-$800 price range

You can feed the decoded new formats into your 8 channel input. So strictly speaking, you don't need to replace the receiver for this reason. BTW, is it really 8 channels or is it 6 channels? I thought that the 3300 was before the days of 7.1.

Ed

You can feed the decoded new formats into your 8 channel input. So strictly speaking, you don't need to replace the receiver for this reason. BTW, is it really 8 channels or is it 6 channels? I thought that the 3300 was before the days of 7.1.

Ed

It is really 5.1/6. The 3300 has a second set of surround speaker outputs that can be used if a person wants two different types of surround speakers, one for movies, the other for music (dipole vs. directional). The user can use either A, or B, or A&B, and this is programable per input source.

I am using my 3300 with a Samung P1400 Blu-ray player using the analog inputs. It works well, but there is a bug in the current Samsung firmware that requires the used to reset the "speaker sizes" each time the P1400 is turned on. Otherwise the left and right channel bass audio is not passed to the subwoofer channel.

For $500-800 you can get more bells and whistles but you can't get better sound than the Arcam, especially if you use the analog inputs in direct mode.

It is really 5.1/6.This is what I thought - only a 6 channel input.
The 3300 has a second set of surround speaker outputs that can be used if a person wants two different types of surround speakers, one for movies, the other for music (dipole vs. directional). The user can use either A, or B, or A&B, and this is programable per input source.
That's all true, but it really has nothing to do with what we're talking about.I am using my 3300 with a Samung P1400 Blu-ray player using the analog inputs. It works well, but there is a bug in the current Samsung firmware that requires the used to reset the "speaker sizes" each time the P1400 is turned on. Otherwise the left and right channel bass audio is not passed to the subwoofer channel.WOW. That sounds absolutely unacceptable. You haven't returned the unit?

Ed

Yeah I think it is a 6 channle input. I did read in a magazine one time about hooking up another older pro logic receiver to the 6 channel input. I forgot how the guy said to do it but it would be like 7.1

WOW. That sounds absolutely unacceptable. You haven't returned the unit?

Ed

No, I got mine the first week in September so my returning days are long over. I did not know about this specific bug until I read about it on one of the HT Forums a couple weeks ago. It is difficult to notice unless you are just running plain 2-channel audio because the LFE channel is working on 5.1 disks. I reported the problem to Samsung and the person that I talked to actually seem to understand the issue and said that he would enter the problem into their system to be included in a firmware fix. I hope so, it is a pain to have to remember to keep resetting the speaker sizes since you have to have the player empty to be able to access the setup menu.

It has an 8 channel input. The extra 2 inputs are called Effect Left and Right and are output through the rca connections labeled Effects. I was thinking of buying a new pre amp/processor to decode the new formats and then send the via 8 channel output to my receiver. Here is a link to the inputs on my receiver.
http://www.homecinemachoice.com/reviews/hccreviews/Amplifiers/Denon/DenonAVR-3300_rear.jpg

Interesting about the effects inputs/outputs. Didn't know that the 3300 had that. So you would need an extra 2 channel amplifier for the 2 "effects" channels. But why the new processor? Just output analog from the player.

Ed

The effects will be powered by then Denon. I was looking at getting Emotiva LMC-1 Pre-Amp/Processor with an HDMI switch. I have a PS3 and want to get Tru Dolby through HDMI. I could run my HD satellite receiver and PS3 into the HDMI switch, then to the pre/amp and the pre/amp to my Denon. Wouldnt that get me 7.1 also? I do not feel like buying a new receiver.

The effects will be powered by then Denon. . . Wouldnt that get me 7.1 also? I do not feel like buying a new receiver.
I don't understand how you intend this to work. The Denon 3300 only has 5 amplifiers in it. You need 7 amps for the 7.1 speaker setup. Although you have the effects anlog inputs, it is not connected to any amps. It is only feed to the effects line-level output.

Note that the surround A and B are driven of the same two amps. The A and B are primarily meant as a switch between dipole speakers at your sides for movies and direct speakers in the rear for music. If A+B is available the speakers are playing the same channel and are connected in parallel.

Ed