The "Official" Denon AVR-2808CI Owners Thread - Page 2

If the spec sheets are accurate, another difference between the 2808 and 988 besides remote and body style are that the 2808 has Zone 3 audio pre outs and the 988 does not.

http://ca.denon.com/AVR988_specsheet_083007.pdf
http://ca.denon.com/AVR2808_specsheet_canada.pdf

Bought one (2808) about 2 weeks ago, First was a Onkyo 605, Kept it for a week, exchange it for a 705, although I think the 605 was good enough. There was some quirks with the Onkyo's that I just did not like. The Quality of the denon is top notch, and yes, i think its a little over price. BUT, you get what you pay for! I think the 3808 is the best, but was a little more than I wanted to spend.

I would like to have a volume indicator on my TV from the denon, I have yet to fiqure out if I can, any help on this would be thankful.

Somebody already said the 2808 do not overlay the volume bar but it will be good to have more owners confirm this.

The 2808 does not overlay volume on HDMI sources, but it does overlay volume on 480 sources it is scaling and outputting on HDMI.

What is the experience with video upconversion? My DVD (not HD or Blue Ray) player output is from HDMI (configured not to upconvert) but would like the receiver to perform upconversion to my HDTV. Would this 2808CI simply pass the HDMI input to the TV without upconversion? Do I need to use the component inputs in order to upconvert?

Thanks

Since Denon USA has not seen fit to place the new AVR 988 or 2808 on their web site I would greatly appreciate someone comparing the new 988 (2808) to the current 987 (2807) or to simply state how the two units differ. I am most interested in the real world see and hear practical improvements.

Thanks in advance for your help.

49Merc

My experience from last night is that the HDMI will pass straight through the box - component and other non-HDMI signals are upconverted to 1080p.

By my eyes, the HDMI signal from my satellite unit (DishNetwork) was the same as the upconverted component signal - I tried several channels and could not discern an improvement from the raw source from the Dish machine. It outputs 1080i or 720p as it's top end.

Based on owners feedback, it seems only the new Sony ES line does a good job of upconversion.

For everyone's info, I purchased the Denon AVR-2808CI Receiver on Price Grabber.com for $985.00, no sales tax and free ground shipping. Amp arrived in about 1 week, brand new in sealed box and no problems with the transaction.

JR.com has 899.99 free shipping zero sales tax. Just need to call them.

Kulims, are you sure? JR.COM quote the receiver for $1199 like everybody else. Is there something specific I should say over the phone?

I just called and asked for the price. I think his name is Alex salesman #1203. He even quoted me the 2308 for $699 (no shipping), the yammy 1800 (with shipping) for $899 and then 2808 for $899 (no shipping).

Thanks Kulims. I will try it myself and update the forum.

I will publish my opinion, although I'm not an expert.

I'm really impressed so far with the 2808. It replaced my old DENON AVR-1602. Since I use the same speakers, I was very impressed, the sounds are so much better now. All music types (Jazz, Classic, Rock, Electronic) sounds better on the 2808 (no big surprise though).

I also bought the DENON iPOD dock and I love using it, I browse my iPOD (iPOD classic 80 GB) and can see the display on the receiver or/and on the TV. I just put the dock behind my plasma TV so I don't even need to see it. I am in the process of transferring all my CDs to the iPOD for easy listening (I know the format loses quality, but who cares? no CDs in the living room!!).

Watching a DVD on a 1080i upscaled picture from my Philips (DVP5982) was great on my Pioneer 43" Plasma. I compared the DVD Movie shown through the Denon to the one show when the DVD is connected directly and I liked the Denon better, it was more crisp.

HDTV (1080i) looked the same when connecting through the Denon or directly to my screen.

PS3 had a great picture and sound, so did my Wii (I know, I just love those things..).

The remote is very nice to look at , but the input sources buttons (bottom part of the remote) are a little confusing. It might be because my old model is 6 years old, but I think the interface is not the best, Some buttons have two functions (for example DVR/VCR) so you press them twice to get to where you want and button number 2 is for XM although its label doesn't say so.

Anyway, I just installed it yesterday, and I still have a lot to work on, but I enjoy my 2808 so much for now!!

Gad

A few questions:

Can you disable the upconversion on non-hdmi video sources? My TV already upconverts everything to 1080p, and will likely do a better job than the Denon.

Any HDMI handshake issues so far?

It's a Sony 60" SXRD set. The first gen model so it will only accept up to 1080i in, but displays everything at 1080p.

Right now I'm looking at the Denon 2808/988 or the Yamaha RX-V1800. I've read about some HDMI handshake problems with the Yamaha already so I'm hoping you Denon owners have better luck

OK for all you guys that are buying on line. HAs Denon lightened up on the athorized dealer thing with the warr?

Regarding the 480i analog to 1080p video upscaling feature .... I'm running an HDMI cable from the DirectTV box to my 1080p plasma as well as running component cables from the box to the 2808CI with an HDMI out to the TV.
The TV recognizes the signal from the 2808CI is a 1080p signal; however, the picture looks no clearer than the straight 480i picture directly from the box. Significant difference noted from the 720p and 1080i signals directly from the box compared to the 480i picture. From Wikepedia I read that upscaling to a 1080i/p picture won't necessarily result in a "clearer" picture, just more data points. What's the benefit of the 2808's upscaling feature if it doesn't result in a clearer picture?

True, you really won't see it any clearer. Upscalers can't add more information than is what is already there.

The back of the 2808 has speaker outputs for front speakers - (A) (2 pos. and 2neg. terminals) and B (2 pos. and 2neg. terminals). The manual is a bit confusing on how to go about hooking up the fronts - at least to me as I am new to a AV. If I am only using 2 front speakers, can I use just the Front A outputs. What are the Frt B outputs for?

Thanks, Rich

just got done setting up my 2808ci. everything seems to be working well except for the GUI. when doing setup through the HDMI out to my display the GUI will disappear and i have to get out of the setup mode and back in to get the GUI back (sometimes it takes several tries). anybody else has this issue?

Got mine the other day and did all the setup. I am having trouble with my subwoofer. I have PSB speakers including the sub. I cannot for the life of me get the subwoofer to "boom". I did the Audissy (spell) test and it set it back like 18 feet and had the db's at -11. I manually switched it to 0 dbs but still nothing on all selections - cd, dvd, dvr, ipod. I have my volume and crossover's on but just a little bump...not much coming out. What frustrates me is that I love 5 channel stereo on CD's and Ipod but the sub is not even working on that. When I switch it to DDS or DTS I here a little something but not like a I used to on my 2801.

Let me know if you have any suggestions or how I should set it up.

Thanks!

Frt B is if you want to Bi-Amp.

That's one of the things that I suspected. I will just go ahead and use the Frt A's for now.
Have not gotten the sub yet - so can't comment on the issue you are having.

i would check where the sub is connected to at the back of the receiver. make sure it's in the "pre-out" and not in the multi-channel input.

how is the sound .. I am using AVR-2807 which I brought just last year Sept.

just picked mine up at a magnolia $25 more then JR's lowest price. I feel a little better buying it at a brick and morter store.

Is there any overscan when scaling analog sources? Thanks.

In case you are interested, 6ave-dot-com having a sell at $798 and no shipping for this reciever till oct 8. Use the coupon code "DEN798" at checkout. Just got this from there email ad.