Denon 4802R Sound Adjustment - Please help...

Russell King · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

I just bought the Denon 4802R sight unseen (unheard) based on reviews
and the deal I got. I was replacing an old Pioneer Elite and wanted
5.1 inputs for SACD. My System is: Krell KAV-300i amplifier, Sony
DVP-NS900ES DVD/CD player, B&W Matrix speakers (5.1) and a Sony Wega
XBR TV. Problem is that after hooking it up and playing some SACD's,
I liked the sound straight through the Krell much better than that
processed through the Denon. The Denon sounds closed while the Krell
sounds airy and bright with good depth and accuracy. I think I may
even like the old Pioneer (VSX-05) more than the Denon. Can all of
the reviews be wrong? I must not have set it up properly. Are there
adjustments that can be made or is this thing going back to the store
that sold it to me or up on E-Bay? Thanks in advance.

Russell

Archived from group: alt>home-theater>misc

Tiny Tim · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

Russell King wrote:
> I just bought the Denon 4802R sight unseen (unheard) based on reviews
> and the deal I got. I was replacing an old Pioneer Elite and wanted
> 5.1 inputs for SACD. My System is: Krell KAV-300i amplifier, Sony
> DVP-NS900ES DVD/CD player, B&W Matrix speakers (5.1) and a Sony Wega
> XBR TV. Problem is that after hooking it up and playing some SACD's,
> I liked the sound straight through the Krell much better than that
> processed through the Denon. The Denon sounds closed while the Krell
> sounds airy and bright with good depth and accuracy. I think I may
> even like the old Pioneer (VSX-05) more than the Denon. Can all of
> the reviews be wrong? I must not have set it up properly. Are there
> adjustments that can be made or is this thing going back to the store
> that sold it to me or up on E-Bay? Thanks in advance.
>
> Russell

Here's the user manual...

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/AVR4802DFU.pdf

It's gonna take a few minutes to download if you're on dialup.

I've got an AVR-3802 so not directly comparable but I thought its clarity
was a revelation compared to the Arcam I owned previously. I also don't have
SACD so again, even harder to compare. I'm running into a 5.1 Paradigm setup
with music sourced from Toshiba DVD. Hardly state of the art but it sounds
good to me.

You probably know all this so apologies if it's stating the bleedin' obvious
but here goes.... I don't know how the features differ between the 4802 and
the 3802 but I guess the basics are the same...

- set the size and presence/absence of each speaker correctly (see note
below about sub-woofers);
- set the correct distance to each speaker so that the delays are correct;
- set the relative levels from each speaker so they are balance matched;

Then try listening firstly with the "Direct" setting, then try "Stereo",
then try "5/7 channel stereo", then try various DD/DTS settings. Avoid all
other DSP options (wide, jazz, rock, video game etc. like the plague). For
2-channel stereo music I prefer either 2 channel stereo (more accurate) or
5/7 channel stereo(fills the room nicely - good for loud parties or soft
background but not accuracy). I don't like Pro Logic 2 applied to music and
I loathe the fake DSP settings.

If you have a sub-woofer Denon recommend that you feed all LF to the
subwoofer by setting speaker size to small for the other speakers,
regardless of their actual size and handling capabilities. Otherwise you may
get problems with phasing. If you want to feed LF to the main L/R speakers
then you're going to have to work that bit harder to set up your system.

Tiny Tim · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

Tiny Tim wrote:
> Russell King wrote:
>> I just bought the Denon 4802R sight unseen (unheard) based on reviews
>> and the deal I got. I was replacing an old Pioneer Elite and wanted
>> 5.1 inputs for SACD. My System is: Krell KAV-300i amplifier, Sony
>> DVP-NS900ES DVD/CD player, B&W Matrix speakers (5.1) and a Sony Wega
>> XBR TV. Problem is that after hooking it up and playing some SACD's,
>> I liked the sound straight through the Krell much better than that
>> processed through the Denon. The Denon sounds closed while the Krell
>> sounds airy and bright with good depth and accuracy. I think I may
>> even like the old Pioneer (VSX-05) more than the Denon. Can all of
>> the reviews be wrong? I must not have set it up properly. Are there
>> adjustments that can be made or is this thing going back to the store
>> that sold it to me or up on E-Bay? Thanks in advance.
>>
>> Russell
>
> Here's the user manual...
>
> http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/AVR4802DFU.pdf
>
Correction - here's the manual for the 4802R -

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/avr4802r%20DFU.pdf

Sorry, you may, of course, have this already but your mention of ebay makes
me wonder.

Bob Maggio · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 5

"Russell King" wrote in message@posting.google.com...
> I just bought the Denon 4802R sight unseen (unheard) based on reviews
> and the deal I got. I was replacing an old Pioneer Elite and wanted
> 5.1 inputs for SACD. My System is: Krell KAV-300i amplifier, Sony
> DVP-NS900ES DVD/CD player, B&W Matrix speakers (5.1) and a Sony Wega
> XBR TV. Problem is that after hooking it up and playing some SACD's,
> I liked the sound straight through the Krell much better than that
> processed through the Denon. The Denon sounds closed while the Krell
> sounds airy and bright with good depth and accuracy. I think I may
> even like the old Pioneer (VSX-05) more than the Denon. Can all of
> the reviews be wrong? I must not have set it up properly. Are there
> adjustments that can be made or is this thing going back to the store
> that sold it to me or up on E-Bay? Thanks in advance.
>
> Russell

The sound of the Krell is light years ahead of the Denon, even though the
Denon has some great features etc. The amps are just not in the league of
the Krell and can't control the speakers as well.
Also, is it possible that the B&W's are presenting an unfriendly load to the
denon? Or are you using the denon just as a pre? I've had experience with
some pre's that didn't take to some amps. There was somesort of impedence
mismatch or something and the pre was loaded down by the power amp inputs.
Bob