Denon 3806 Owners Thread - Page 3

That back pic is obviosly fake due to the numbering of the inputs. It would be coaxial 1-6 etc, not 1,2,1,2,1,2 lol.

I am kind of in the same boat. I am looking at some speakers, some of them are 4-ohms. Can anyone name some receivers below $1500 that can handle 4-ohm loads?

Of course it's a fake! By the time receivers get have eight HDMI input ports, the Supreme Court will have banned the use of composite and S-Video connectors (for crimes against video quality)

I have a Sony STR DA30-ES. It was serving me fine for DD and DTS 5.1. I upgraded due to four reasons (in order of importance):
1. Multichannel analog audio input for SACD and DVD-Audio
2. Audio delay (which is a nice thing to have when you have HDTV with lots of video scaling and image processing going on)
3. Room equalization, since I have a home theater room which looks like it was designed by Picasso (cathedral ceilings, open on both sides).
4. HDMI switching

I am VERY HAPPY to have #1. Among the few discs that I have to date, for example, I am able to hear stuff I never heard for 30+ years on Dark Side of the Moon, not even on the MFSL Gold CD (although it's quite likely that they mixed in a few new tracks since then). Roxy Music's Avalon is astounding. Another great DVD-Audio is Porcupine Tree's Deadwing, but it's an acquired taste (that I had acquired years ago).

Audio delay works as advertised. It's a minor convenience.

The jury is still out on room EQ, since the 3806 barfed on my 4-ohm center channel speaker. Also, Audyssey does NOT work on analog inputs (which Denon's PR stuff conveniently fails to mention).

HDMI switching is a disappointment, since the so-called HDMI "standard" is not standard enough to allow HDMI switching. Basically, the 3806 refuses to switch signals from my Motorola 6412 DVR (not the best piece of hardware on the planet, but then a standard is a standard, right?)

Finally, if you are looking for a good price on the 3806 from an authorized dealer, PM me.

I've got a 3806 arriving on Tuesday (I went for the Crutchfield deal too). Just so I'm clear, I can connect 3 things via component and 1 HDMI device to the 3806 and then run only 1 HDMI cable to my tv, and still have it show video from all sources? If so I'll need to pick up another HDMI cable.

So, then, how do you go about balancing/equalizing for SACD and DVD-A analog playback and how will it affect the digital equalization?

I think the only way to apply MultEQ XT on 3806 for DVDA and SACD is to mate it with DVD 3910 or 5910. For DVDA only, DVDPs with HDMI 1.1 output would work.

Do you mean when using Denon Link? Right now, I've got the Denon DVD 2900, which is only analog out for SACD and DVD-A. For that unit, is there any way of doing equalization and bass management after going through the MultEQ XT process?

No. Sorry. Denon Link 3 is the only way to get MultEQ XT on high-resolution audio. MultEQ XT only works on digital inputs.

Browsing AVR-38xx units on Ebay, I was focusing on some units being advertised as being "NEW - FULL WARRANTY" that were being offered by a Seller with the Ebay identity "Hometheaterhome". I sent them a message asking if they were an authorized dealer and they replied that they were. I went through Denon's website list state by state but didn't see any such dealer listed. Is anyone familiar with the Ebay seller: Hometheaterhome?

The 3806-AF model is being released six months early from April Fool's day 2006. It discards the myriad of antiquated RCA audio/video inputs as well as the S-video inputs, which almost no one uses anymore who buys high-end equipment. If you need to connect that old-fashioned stuff, the front panel might have *one* for Grandma Gertrudes Video camera.

That frees up a TON of room for digital inputs and HD video inputs/outputs.

Ahhh.... we can dream, can't we????

Mooney,

but isn´t HDMI 1.1 supposed to transmit DVD-Audio as well?
Are you sure you can´t use the Multi-EQ XT on the HDMI inputs of the 3806?

Stefan

Multi-EQ XT runs perfect with DVD-Audio on HDMI Input ! Why not ?
Also SACD Stereo on ANALOG-2ch-Input can use Multi-EQ XT because of the 24Bit/192Khz A/D Inside the AVR-3806.

SACD Multichannel can use Multi-EQ XT only with DENONLINK on AVR-3806 !
There are not A/D on 8ch Input....

Right, I forgot about 2-ch analog input!

I got my 3806 yesterday and am having just one problem with it. My DVD Player (Phillips 642) is connected to a component input on the receiver, and then I'm using HDMI out to my TV. This works for every source I have (all 480i) but when my DVD Player is in progressive mode (480p) I get an unstable picture. It looks overscanned and it jumps around a few pixels up and down. When I switch it back to 480i it looks fine. When I connect the DVD Player directly to my tv via component it also works fine at 480i or 480p. I'm thinking the problem must just be with the digital video switching. I should try using the component outs from the receiver to my set. Any other ideas?

I was right. I connected the component out of the receiver to my component in on my set, and 480p is totally stable. I wonder if the 3806 has problems converting any 480p to hdmi? Has anyone tested 480p/720p/1080i from component to hdmi with this receiver?

I'd like to dream about one with i.link inputs and 12 channels of balanced pre-outs or multi-channel digital output!!

Sorry for what may seem like dumb questions to anyone who's already taken delivery and set up their 3806s, but how do you set up the SACD for 2-ch analog input in order to take advantage of the Multi-Q equalization? Is there a set of 2-channel analog stereo inputs alongside the 5.1 channel analog inputs? And, if there is a separate 2-channel analog input, do you still use both sets of front inputs?

Does the 3806 EQ the dedicated subwoofer channel?

I tried the connection from my RP-91 to 3806 through component, and 3806 to HL-P5663 through HDMI. I didn't have a stability problem, but I think I might notice a tiny bit softer picture than direct component connection.

Moneydriver,

What did you mean by the following:
HDMI switching is a disappointment, since the so-called HDMI "standard" is not standard enough to allow HDMI switching. Basically, the 3806 refuses to switch signals from my Motorola 6412 DVR (not the best piece of hardware on the planet, but then a standard is a standard, right?)HDMI switching is a disappointment, since the so-called HDMI "standard" is not standard enough to allow HDMI switching. Basically, the 3806 refuses to switch signals from my Motorola 6412 DVR (not the best piece of hardware on the planet, but then a standard is a standard, right?)

What are you using then for connection between TV and DVR? Are you using the component out or do you have 2 HDMI inputs to TV?
thanks

I believe you can use regular stereo analog inputs in the back panel for this.

There is a 2 channel analog "CD" input on the back...

Can someone answer my previous question please?

AuroraProject - Assuming you don't have problems with the HDMI (like my 480p problem) then yes, that will work. It's how I do it now.

Thank you rbgrn!

It appears that most most cable settop boxes and DVRs out there do not implement HDMI w/ HDCP correctly (or perhaps the HDMI 1.0 standard is not strong enough to enforce proper transmission of HDCP-encoded stuff across an HDMI switcher. As a result, the HDMI switcher on the high-end Denon receivers does not work with DVR/settop box connections.

Fortunately, I have a Pioneer PDP with two HDMI inputs. The DVR is connected to the TV directly; the HDMI from the DVD player goes through the receiver to the TV (so that I can take advantage of MultEq XT for DVD-Audio).

In my opinion, the reason SACD and DVD-Audio are failing in the marketplace has nothing to do with competing standards. It's the complexity of hardware and setup required to get multichannel audio to work. Which is a shame, really.

I setup my 3806 this weekend. I had a cheapo Pioneer previously. I only watch movies, no music. I ran the basic setup with the room eq. It correctly identified a speaker out of phase (which I fixed) and all the distances. I noticed it set the crossover for the center speaker at 150 and the fronts at 200. I thought the crossover should be 80 for the speakers and the subwoofer?

Anyway, I have to say the voices from the center channel sound dead, kind of like they're coming from a tunnel. When I change room eq from "Audyseey" to "Flat" it sounds much better. When I turn off Room EQ it sounds even better still. I only have a 10' x 10' room and K series M&K speakers.

I'm thinking I need a better room and better speakers to make the 3806 sound better than my 912K Pioneer. I use the HDMI switching so it is really a moot point. Just wondering if anyone else doesn't use the Room EQ.

Does anyone that also owns this unit also think that the center channel doesn't sound like it should? I 've been reading about that alot lately....