Receiver Help 4308 or 3808

[talbers23]

So I’m torn between the denon 4308 and the 3808. is it worth it for the higher end one? The 3808 had al24 processing for 5.1 and the 4308 had advanced al24 processing for 7.1. Can anyone explain the al24 processing and the difference between al24 processing and advanced al24 processing. I know it would be the best to have it on 7.1 not only 5.1.

The speakers I have are Klipsch 7.1 and are:

RF82 floorstanders
RF62 center
RW12d sbu
RS42 surrounds

Any recommendations would be great. I am set on Denon, I’m just wondering if anyone had either of theses and could shed some light on the advanced al24 processing vrs al24 processing If it makes such a big difference then I feel it should be used on 7.1. Thanks in advance.

Or now the Marantz 7002 or 8002

[talbers23]

If anyone knows about these two receivers I would really appreciate some help with them. Please don’t just say buy the cheap one so I can spend more money on blu-ray because I have all of them that I want.

[gvortex7]

Let me make it easy for you, this way you won't be torn. Go with the Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH or its cousin the VSX-92TXH. You won't regret it.

[Kratos3]

The biggest differences are built-in WiFi and an HD Radio tuner for the 4308. Also, the power is stepped up to 140 watts/channel as opposed to 130. With your Klipsch speakers, though, more power is not going to make that big of a difference being that they are already amazingly efficient(unless they are in a movie theater sized room). I would save a little money and go for the cheaper receiver. I'm sorry I don't know much about AL24 proscessing, but I'm willing to bet there really isn't much of an appreciable difference between the two.

[Dust]

I'm looking at getting the Denon 3808CI, but your question prompted me to do some comparisons.

I printed out the product sheets for each receiver and highlighted the differences.

Product Sheets:
3808 - http://www.usa.denon.com/AVR-3808CILit_v2_920.pdf
4308 - http://www.usa.denon.com/AVR-4308CILit_830.pdf

From what I can tell here are the differences:

4308 adds:

- "Advanced AL24" processing vs. "AL24 Plus" processing (not sure if there really is any significant difference in these two designations)

- Wi-Fi b and g connectivity (although you can get this on the 3808 if you purchase the ASD-3W iPod dock)

- HD Radio built-in

- Four zone instead of three zones

- Dual HDMI output (This could come in handy if you wanted to use your receiver & BD player to view movies in another room without having to purchase additional equipment - although I don't think you could get 7.1 sound in the second zone)

- Independent zone 2 component output

- one additional analog audio output/input terminal

- an additional digital zone output

- 140w vs. 130w

- $900 additional dollars (based on retail pricing)

[talbers23]

one of my friends was looking at the differences. he has the 3808 and in the instruction booklet it says that the al24 processing is only for dvd audio and used for analog signals. if this is true, it would be a moot point for me for ill be using it for movies only. hope this helps but i need to read this for myself.

[Barnum]

Originally Posted by talbers23

If anyone knows about these two receivers I would really appreciate some help with them. Please don’t just say buy the cheap one so I can spend more money on blu-ray because I have all of them that I want.

I have the 3808ci and love it. Mine is connected to B&W fronts, M&K center, SVS sub and B&W rears and the sound is just WOW. Plenty of power even for these power hungry speakers.

[Single_Stack]

I'm trying to decide between the 3808 and the 4308...

Did anyone else notice that the AL24 Plus on the 3808 is only on the FL and FR channels, but the 4308 has Advanced AL24 on all channels?

I noticed a few other differences between the 3808 and the 4308:

Amp Assign
3808 has 7.1CH, ZONE2, ZONE3, ZONE(MONO), Bi-Amp, and 2CH.

4308 has 7.1CH, ZONE2, ZONE3, ZONE(MONO), Bi-Wiring, Bi & ZONE2, Bi & ZONE3, Bi & ZONE(MONO), Bi-Amp, ZONE2/3, ZONE2/3(MONO), 2CH Bi-Wiring, and 2CH Bi-Amp.

So along with all that zoning stuff, the 4308 also has bi-wiring. Page 70 goes into detail for all the various amp assignments, and has a chart on page 85. This thing has more zoning than a city.

Add New Feature
In the 4308's manual, p.37, it talks about being able to add new features for an additional payment. Does the 3808 have this in its menu? Nothing is mentioned in its manual.

Still Picture & Album Art
Apparently the 4308 adds JPEG picture playback through NET and USB, with slideshow and interval settings. Also, WMA, MP3 or AAC files with album art will show if these are playing.

Digital D/A output
Dynamic range
3808: 96 dB
4308: 100 dB

And last there's the power consumption, height, depth and weight differences.

I wonder if the new amplifier design that Jeff Talmadge speaks of applies to the 3808 also, or just the 4308?
http://www.listenup.com/content/part...lmadge_p.2.php

[Todd]

Originally Posted by talbers23

So I’m torn between the denon 4308 and the 3808. is it worth it for the higher end one? The 3808 had al24 processing for 5.1 and the 4308 had advanced al24 processing for 7.1. Can anyone explain the al24 processing and the difference between al24 processing and advanced al24 processing. I know it would be the best to have it on 7.1 not only 5.1.

The speakers I have are Klipsch 7.1 and are:

RF82 floorstanders
RF62 center
RW12d sbu
RS42 surrounds

Any recommendations would be great. I am set on Denon, I’m just wondering if anyone had either of theses and could shed some light on the advanced al24 processing vrs al24 processing If it makes such a big difference then I feel it should be used on 7.1. Thanks in advance.

I have the 3803 with AL24 processing plus on my receiver it works on audio sources it upconverts all channels 5.1 to 192k@24bit this does make a difference to the quality of sound it tends to smooth out the harshness that some cd's have lending an analog like warmth to the music. PIONEER does make great equipment but DENON really do know sound, I never have liked yamaha it always sounds like someone turned the treble up all the way. The sound quality of hd radio is almost as good as cd audio on fm stations, and am sounds about as good as fm stereo, If wifi connectivity helps ease your wiring great. hope this helped you in some way. I only mentioned yamaha sound quality to give you an idea about my taste in sound the truth is they make good equipment but I personally find the sound quality to harsh for my taste.

[Kratos3]

Originally Posted by Todd

I have the 3803 with AL24 processing plus on my receiver it works on audio sources it upconverts all channels 5.1 to 192k@24bit this does make a difference to the quality of sound it tends to smooth out the harshness that some cd's have lending an analog like warmth to the music. PIONEER does make great equipment but DENON really do know sound, I never have liked yamaha it always sounds like someone turned the treble up all the way. The sound quality of hd radio is almost as good as cd audio on fm stations, and am sounds about as good as fm stereo, If wifi connectivity helps ease your wiring great. hope this helped you in some way. I only mentioned yamaha sound quality to give you an idea about my taste in sound the truth is they make good equipment but I personally find the sound quality to harsh for my taste.

I agree. Denon has a much smoother sound compared to Yamaha. I prefer Marantz, and they are comparable in price and quality to Denon IMO. However, not all receivers have HDMI v1.3 or TrueHD and dts-MA. Plus, they don't upconvert all signals to 1080p yet....seems they have little catching up to do in that area.

[talbers23]

thanks for the help so far everyone. im going shopping tomorrow for a reciever and have to say that so far im leaning towards the 3808. i want to know more about the advanced al24 processing and what it does and if it will be any benefit for movies only. if its only for audio dvds like ive heard, im going 3808 but if its for movies in going 4308 for it will do advanced al24 processing on 7.1. very confusing stuff for me. cant wait till I have a set up and just go with it.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by talbers23

thanks for the help so far everyone. im going shopping tomorrow for a reciever and have to say that so far im leaning towards the 3808. i want to know more about the advanced al24 processing and what it does and if it will be any benefit for movies only. if its only for audio dvds like ive heard, im going 3808 but if its for movies in going 4308 for it will do advanced al24 processing on 7.1. very confusing stuff for me. cant wait till I have a set up and just go with it.

If the network audio stuff is of no interest to you (and if you have a PS3, why would it be?), Denon's 2808 should also be on your short list.

[talbers23]

Originally Posted by richteer

If the network audio stuff is of no interest to you (and if you have a PS3, why would it be?), Denon's 2808 should also be on your short list.

I'd do the 2808 if it had 4 HDMI in

[Todd]

Originally Posted by talbers23

thanks for the help so far everyone. im going shopping tomorrow for a reciever and have to say that so far im leaning towards the 3808. i want to know more about the advanced al24 processing and what it does and if it will be any benefit for movies only. if its only for audio dvds like ive heard, im going 3808 but if its for movies in going 4308 for it will do advanced al24 processing on 7.1. very confusing stuff for me. cant wait till I have a set up and just go with it.

Did you not see my post, al24 processing is for audio sources like cd's not just dvd audio or sacd. A regular cd has a sample rate of 44.1k@16 what means is that the studio master was sampled 44100 times per second, That's pretty good but think of every sample as a picture that's a lot gape between pictures al24 processing upconverts the signals to192k@24bit per second per channel think of those pictures like a wave form going up and down with the music each sample is a dot on the wave form that must be connected to the next. With higher sampling rates digital audio sources sound more like the analog instruments of music. What does all this mean, simply put better sound.

[talbers23]

Originally Posted by Todd

Did you not see my post, al24 processing is for audio sources like cd's not just dvd audio or sacd. A regular cd has a sample rate of 44.1k@16 what means is that the studio master was sampled 44100 times per second, That's pretty good but think of every sample as a picture that's a lot gape between pictures al24 processing upconverts the signals to192k@24bit per second per channel think of those pictures like a wave form going up and down with the music each sample is a dot on the wave form that must be connected to the next. With higher sampling rates digital audio sources sound more like the analog instruments of music. What does all this mean, simply put better sound.

I just did see it now, thanks.

[DragonSarc]

Originally Posted by Todd

I have the 3803 with AL24 processing plus on my receiver it works on audio sources it upconverts all channels 5.1 to 192k@24bit this does make a difference to the quality of sound it tends to smooth out the harshness that some cd's have lending an analog like warmth to the music. PIONEER does make great equipment but DENON really do know sound, I never have liked yamaha it always sounds like someone turned the treble up all the way. The sound quality of hd radio is almost as good as cd audio on fm stations, and am sounds about as good as fm stereo, If wifi connectivity helps ease your wiring great. hope this helped you in some way. I only mentioned yamaha sound quality to give you an idea about my taste in sound the truth is they make good equipment but I personally find the sound quality to harsh for my taste.

+1

[Snowgod]

Denon would get as much money as I could afford. Meaning the 4803.