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  1. #1
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    Vienna Acoustics

    I was in Tweeter today listening to a pair of Vienna Mozarts. I have a question......I currently have a Denon 1803 80x6 receiver. So I was listening to them on that, they sounded amazing. I want to upgrade and some point so i put on the Denon 3803 at 110x7. The mids sounded flat and there was no bass at all, where as the 1803 definitely put out some boom. Overall sounded terrible. Why would the $1200 receiver sound terrible compared to the $500? Same track, treble and bass setting both at 0.

    Thanks

  2. #2
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    Why should it sound better?

    More power does not mean better sound, better power does. How much more useless crap, say on the video side, did the more expensive receiver have. It seems to me when it comes to A.V. receivers that what one pay for. More buttons, more options, and more video stuff. How much of this has to do with the quality of sound it can produce, in terms of music, not much! I am a firm believer the more crap a signal has to pass trought the worse it sounds. More money does not always equal better sound, especially when talking about A.V. receivers. Your little demonstration proves that.
    Remember, different isn't always better, but it is different.
    Keep things as simple as possible, but not too simple.
    Let your ears decide for you!

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nesta
    I was in Tweeter today listening to a pair of Vienna Mozarts. I have a question......I currently have a Denon 1803 80x6 receiver. So I was listening to them on that, they sounded amazing. I want to upgrade and some point so i put on the Denon 3803 at 110x7. The mids sounded flat and there was no bass at all, where as the 1803 definitely put out some boom. Overall sounded terrible. Why would the $1200 receiver sound terrible compared to the $500? Same track, treble and bass setting both at 0.

    Thanks
    Was the 1803 in Pure Direct mode? Was the one unit burned in and the other fresh out of the box? I've never heard the 1803 but I have the 3803 and can vouch for it's inability to play 2 channel music with any degree of satisfaction. Read my review here for a detailed description. I honestly have no idea why the 3803 is so musically inept. It more than holds it's own in HT but I had to add a amp and now use the Denon as a pre/pro to get my music back to where it's involving.

  4. #4
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    THe 1803 was not in pure direct mode. The salesmen told me that is for RF sources?? I was under a different impression....direct mode just sends the signal right to the amp without processing correct?? Would you reccommend this for CD listening? I also listened to the Pioneer Elite with THX Select and it was better then the Denon 3803 but still not as nice as the 1803. Thanks for the input.

  5. #5
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    RF sources??? Wha???

    Quote Originally Posted by Nesta
    THe 1803 was not in pure direct mode. The salesmen told me that is for RF sources?? I was under a different impression....direct mode just sends the signal right to the amp without processing correct?? Would you reccommend this for CD listening? I also listened to the Pioneer Elite with THX Select and it was better then the Denon 3803 but still not as nice as the 1803. Thanks for the input.
    Find a different salesman...preferably one that knows his products. You're a lot closer than he is. Pure Direct shuts down all unneccesary circuitry such as all video, display, and I think dsp circuitry thereby minimizing crosstalk and intereference and maximizing the purity of signal for two channel stereo playback. You'll notice that not only does the OSD shut down but even the display on the unit goes black. In the 3803 it utilizes all SIXTEEN Burr-Brown DAC's for the two channels (8/channel) when your source is connected digitally to the receiver. The old adage in audio about the less between from the source signal to the speakers the better the sound is never more apparent than in Pure Direct mode. The difference is huge. Much smoother and natural sounding...more analog if you will.

    Whether or not you should listen to any of your digital source equip this way is up to you and whether you prefer the 3803's DAC's or the ones in you cd, dvd, or whatever else. If you prefer the processing from your cd, just hook it up analog instead.

    I still don't know why that 1803 was leveling the competition, especially its big brother. Maybe it was a ringer? Maybe it's power feed was considerably cleaner than the outlet the 3803 was plugged into? Who knows? Based on your description though, my guess is the 1803 simply had more hours on it or was thoroughly warmed up and the 3803 was not.

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