Customer Ratings & Reviews

i have receiver with polk r700 towers. Amp unit runs strong so volume output is very noticeable. Bass is punchy and drives 8-inch woofers well. However front part of chassis gets hot on top vent of unit. This denon replaced yamaha A6A i returned due to sound output issues.

Although it has a ton of features and compatibility with many audio and video formats for me the sound quality wasn’t really present specially at this price. I bought this unit along with the Marantz Cinema 60 that cost the same. After running the Audissey room corrections and testing different movies and music in different ways I can say the sound quality is good but not great, I didn’t feel like it was worth it’s price so I put it back in the box and installed the Marantz Cinema 60 which really made a difference. The sound quality of the Marantz in music and movies is very superior than this Denon. I’m happy with the Marantz I don’t recommend the Denon x3800h at this price.

First and foremost denon needs a design upgrade. It looks like my grandads old receiver. Other than that, it is a very nice sounding receiver, It was annoying that like almost everything now a days, you need the internet to update it. The Plug and play days are over. The control has too much going on and from having another Denon for over 7 years I found that you only use the same 5 buttons all the time. SO the 3800 was an upgrade for me and It provided decent sound and ok surround sound. I was not completely sold and I felt something was missing. I mentioned the RZ50 from Onkyo to the best buy rep and he was not interested and put down onkyo because they are no longer the company from many years ago. I decided to get the Denon, but I kept reading reviews and watching videos on several Receivers. the RZ50 was constantly being mentioned as a sleeper and that it put receivers in its price range to shame etc. So can so many people be right? Then I ordered the RZ50. I have been putting together a new high end speaker package together and have been listening to all types of receivers, speakers, subwoofers etc. I found this receiver was very basic and did power my Kef towers and center. The clarity in sound I was looking for in music and the detail in surround was just not there. It was just mediocre and I was happy but just not satisfied. I read and heard many positive things about the RZ50 and so I decided to try it out. Thats when everything changed, Not only it powered my speakers easily, but the sound in both music and movies was just incredible. Im not knocking the Denon I had both receivers side by side and both plugged in to the same speaker, the 3800s just didnt give my Kefs the sound I was looking for, all Im saying is, dont go by what is recommended, go by what makes you happy and gives you that sound you have been looking for. Dont hesitate to do the research, you will be surprised. Oh yeah and Dirac is included with the RZ. Theres a reason why the RZ50 are in backorder and you have to wait weeks to get one. I found the sound I was looking for, and for a great price. Good luck in finding your sound.

The setup process is pretty straight forward and easy even for novice audiophiles. The build and sound quality as well as the flexibility to support many different setups is great. However, Denon needs to step up their app control and convenience. The Denon app looks like it was developed 10 years ago and can be slow to respond. Additionally the HEOS app to control streaming audio is just a poor experience. Why do I even need to have two different apps in the first place? The fact that I even need to hook another device like an AppleTV in order to get Hires or atmos streaming audio quality is a joke, this almost $2k AVR can’t do it on its own? I have tried to get Tidal, Amazon Music and Apple Music to produce quality streaming audio with no such luck. Since streaming audio is my main use case this AVR gets 3 stars.

Purchased 3800h and received it next day, ran all my new speaker wire and mounted some rear speakers, opened up box and notice it wasnt in plastic, then notice it looked different then in picture, model on item showed 3700. Either someone at best buy pulled a fast one or someone put a refurbished one in a new box and i was the unlucky one to puchase. Best Buy Phone customer service was excellent which is why i put 3 stars, when i receive right receiver ill rate either 5 or lower depending on actually item. Im coming from a denon S960. Unfortunately i already unhooked it and not trying to plug everything back up

Feature rich but not the right fit for me sonically. Much too bright, even with warm speakers. Should have listened to the reviews but wanted to try it out for myself. Physical remote also feels cheap and the app is a bit laggy. I'm returning it for something else, perhaps the RZ50 or Cinema 50.