The "Official" Denon 4308ci Owners Thread - Page 101

...and yes...I am using Comcast.

I finally got my 4308 updated last night...and yes, it was Comcast. I took a high power Buffalo 802.11g to Ethernet bridge I had and connected it to my neighbors unsecure Linksys access point (who is on Bellsouth DSL service) and connected the Ethernet side of it directly into the 4308 Ethernet. The update went without a hitch. Since I now have access to a connection that works (and one that doesn't) side-by-side, I am going to figure out what the problem is with this via Wireshark and report it to Denon/Comcast. This is sillyness...

Hey Og, haven't heard much from you in a while. Hopefully you've been busy enjoying the new receiver. Just want to get an update on how happy you are with it compared to the 5700.

Hi I am interested in buying this receiver, the wireless internet radio station feature a plus. However there is a website that I listen to on my computer, Live365.com so my question is would I be able to listen to the various channels this website provides to their listeners via this receiver.

6 ave is out of stock on the 4308ci right now anyone know a different authorized dealer who can match 6 ave's price?

I haven't had a lot of time to play with the 4308. So far I am very happy with it, but I haven't been able to get Audyssey set up to where I like it yet. The funny thing is that with Audyssey turned off everything sounds as good, if not better, than the 5700 did. If I enable Audyssey, the sound kind of collapses - if that makes any sense. When I get some free time I will read through the Audyssey thread to sort it out. One thing I can say is that I like the 4308 much more than the Yamaha RX-V3800 I tried out a few months ago.

The blu-ray's I have played have looked and sounded amazing with the 4308. The new HD menu's are a big plus. I have to admit that I was a bit worried about coming down with buyers remorse since I really loved the 5700 - it hasn't happened

I had really good luck with J&R a while back. To get the best price, you have to call them. (Their listed internet price is controlled by Denon?) I assume it would not hurt to tell them the 6th-Ave price. Though you do not have to tell them that 6th-Ave is out of stock.

That's great news. I'm glad for you. Thanks for the update.

The free internet radio site Denon provides is 'radiodenon.com'. You can add your own stations to the site by copying and pasting its URL using the 'Add Another Station' feature. I've done this with about 5 stations so far. There may be another way to access the Live365 site, but I don't know what that would be.

Just wanted to give a quick tip of advice for anyone who might be having an issue with their 4308 and wireless connections. I've noticed that if my wireless SIDD is 'hidden', the 4308 has a very hard time finding it, even if you set it up manually on the 4308. As soon as i 'unhid' the SIDD, the 4308 picked it up right away and asked me for my encrytion password. Try that out if your having wireless issues and your SIDD is hidden.

If it requires a login/password, you might be able to include that info in the URL, just as one does for an FTP.

I've been researching this for several days now and was ready to pull the trigger on the 4308 for a new home theater in our newly finished basement. I have a 52'' Samsung Series 7 LCD (LN52A750) on the way and bose acoustimass 10 speakers (cubes) to appease the wife even though I'd LOVE some B&Ws. Here is the question---I have a feeling the 3808 might be enough AVR for me since the speakers aren't high end and I have a CAT6 ethernet connection pre-wired behind my built in cabinets. Any insights? Is there any reason to spend 800 or 900 bucks more given my set up or is it just overkill. 90% of the time we are just watching sports or HD cable though I am planning on adding a Denon Blue Ray DVD. I'd really appreciate some feedback and I am an avid lover of these boards. Thanks in advance.

Miles

I just read the CEPro article posted here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1036758

Can someone who has the 4308 comment on how it holds up?

Thanks,
David

Miles,

I think the 3808 would be more than enough. That's going to be a great receiver for HD cable and Blu-ray. Put the money saved toward some new speakers!

Miles,

I agree with those advising you to go with the 3808.

I'm a very happy 4308 owner. But I needed the wireless and wanted the HD Radio. You don't need the wireless and it doesn't seem that HD Radio is a priority for you. There are a few other differences between the units, as I'm sure you've read. But those differences, although nice bonuses, don't justify the cost difference alone in my opinion.

So, add me to the crowd recommending that you get the 3808 and put the difference into a new speaker fund.

Thanks for the feedback. It's not the dough for the speakers---it's the wife wanting small cube speakers that are hidden away. I am campaigning for some B&Ws and if I win that argument the 4308 would be justified. Do you all agree? Another question--is the HD radio built in or is there a separate component to purchase? How much of a sound difference is produced by HD radio---I don't have any data points but I do listen to the radio. Thanks again!

The HD Radio is built in and ready to go out of the box. For stations in your area broadcasting HD, I would say it sounds as good as listening to an MP3. Also, a nice benefit is that some stations have sub channels which may include a different format than they play on their main station. For example, the top 40/pop station here broadcasts all comedy clips on their sub channel.

The downsides are that not all stations are broadcasting in HD. You might want to check out http://www.hdradio.com/find_an_hd_di...io_station.php to see what stations in your area are broadcasting it.

Also, since the HD/digital signals are on the same frequency as the analog ones, the FCC has mandated the digital signals have to be much lower power to avoid interfering with the analog signals. I live in a suburb of the city where all the stations are, and the included wire antenna was useless. I put on a set of rabbit ears and it picks up most of the stations, but occasionally I have to readjust the antenna. Your best bet though would be to hook it up to an external or attic antenna if you don't want a set of rabbit ears siting out, or having to readjust them depending on the station.

Oh, I forgot to mention, my comments on the quality were for FM. If you listen to AM, the improved quality on AM HD stations is amazing. No static or buzzing in the background. It sounds better than analog FM, but not as nice as digital/HD FM.

Ahhhhhh.....the WAF. My wife is not a fan of my speakers. But I had them before we got married. IMO, the better speakers are justified whether you pick the 3808 or the 4308.

The HD Radio is built in. But since you're putting this in a basement, I think you would need an HD Radio antenna run to the outside, or at least out of the basement. The 4308 comes with two small HD antennas (one for FM, one for AM). I can get signal in my condo (although I sometimes have to tweak the FM antenna and AM reception isn't great--I'm actually considering getting new ones at some point). But for a basement, I'm not sure . . .

But I do like the sound. Prior to my 4308, radio in the home was dead to me. The sound just wan't there. But HD Radio has given it new life.
At first--when I only had my old, lousy DVD player playing CD's and before I ran Audyssey--I compared the sound to CD sound. But now that I have a better player (OPPO 980) with a better connection to the Denon and have ran Audyssey, CD's do sound better than HD Radio. But HD Radio is still much better than standard radio. Even the wife admits that when we've done A/B tests.

Thanks for all the insights. In the end I went with the 4308. The HD Radio and ability to go wireless if we moved for example was worth the extra $. Plus I am mildly hopeful that I will win the argument with the wife and land some B&W CM1s. This optimism despite multiple data points that would suggest my winning this argument is slightly less likely than hell freezing over. Call it hope over experience.

I got the 4308 for $1629 plus shipping ---i think the total was $1704. The 3808 would've been about $1000 plus shipping so for $650 buck I figured get the extra features and flexibility. I'll be back after it arrives. This is my 3rd Denon AVR in the last 10 years so I hope I like it as much as I did the first two. Next up is the Denon 2500BTCI blu-ray DVD.

Thanks again to all who helped!

go wireless. online radio is outstanding. it sounds 2-3 times better the xm.

Hope someone can help me.
I updated the FW to the latest on my 4308 and after changing some audio parameters I decided to save my config to my notebook.
What happens is that: it starts and when it reaches 99% saving my receiver turns off and I can´t save the file. Tried several times. Any hints ?

I recently updated to the latest firmware. Sometimes I have difficulty connecting to the web controller. However, the Denon sees the network ok because when I check for firmware up date it says latest.
Tried master power on/off, did not help. I have not tried a microprocessor reset. Using a Imac and was able to connect before firmware update.
Any suggestions?

I have CD assigned as iTunes (opt from Airport Express). I want my PVR to play video while iTunes is playing. No matter what video source I select all I get is the "Denon" on the display. Display is connected via HDMI and so is PVR. Any ideas?

Thanks
Jeremiah

I don't believe you can assign video to an audio only input. Try using V Aux or another audio/video input.

You can, as long as you aren't using HDMI. For example, you can watch V Aux while listening to Net/USB (select V Aux as video source in the menu options). It won't work if the video source is HDMI, though; I wish it did.

Thank you. I ended up finding it in the manual. I could swear it worked before. If I connect the component video cables as well as HDMI would it auto switch between the two so that I get full HDMI when watching the real source and use component when its for video only?

J

I think you would set it up as two separate input sources, one dedicated to your iTunes video source and a separate one, so I guess in that regard it is automatic (controlled by your remote). However switching also depends upon your PVR, whether it outputs to both connections simultaneously, whether output type needs to be selected in the set up menu, etc.

Check the Power Saving Setting in the Network Setup>Other menu.... try setting it to "Off".

Can someone tell me if we used to have the option under HDMI Audio:
TV + Amp ?

Right now I only have TV or Amp. I could have swore it used to be:
TV
AMP
TV + Amp

any input? Did this change with a firmware update?

Thanks, Mike