All you audio junkies, I have a question for you

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I'm not trying to get in a war with the whole yamaha brightness thing, but this is only true of their lower models and older receivers. I own 2 prior flagships from Yamaha (RX-V1 and RX-Z1) and the next model down from the late 90's (RX-V2095), and I assure you the brightness is not present in these models, although the 2095 sounds a little thin compared to the flagship units. When I picked up the Z1, I demo'd it with the Denon AVR-5803, both hooked to the same energy speakers (don't recall the model). If anything the Z1 was a tad warmer than the 5803. I can't stand sharp/bright highs, and in the 4 years I've owned the Z1 it hasn't beat my ears or head down for a second.

The 3800 would be comparable in their line to the 2095 (i.e., next model down from the flagship - the Z11 is due out in November, btw), so I think the 3800 is a great choice. However, I would also suggest maybe giving the Denon AVR-4308ci a listen. It's more expensive than the the 3800, but if I were considering a 3800 I'd at least give the 4308 a test run first.

Just my 2 cents.