Denon DVD-3800BDCI Blu-ray Disc DVD/CD Player

Comment: I lusted for one of these to add to my elaborate home theatre, but the MLP of around $2,200.00 put me off. I was able to get one for far less, bought a demo Lexicon MC-12 processor (list $14,000.00 but got for less than a 1/3 of that) and the picture and sound quality I enjoy on my 115" screen w/HD ceiling mounted projector is unbelievable. Plus I retired my Nakamichi CD player as this unit plays CD's with better sound quality than all but the most expensive CD players. The sound quality for blue ray films is vastly better than I ever expected. No more AMC or Regal Cinema seats for me!

Comment: I purchased this Denon DMP-3800BDCI Blu-Ray player from an authorized Denon dealer (Listen Up Audio Systems - Colorado Springs, CO) who apparently bought out the remaining stock on this item from Denon. It retailed for $1999 and was purchased in Dec 2009 for $560 + tax. It was also advertised here on Amazon.com for $579 and was marked down due to a new model. This was my first high end purchase in years and I was admittedly a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this $2000 player and our Panasonic DMP-BD35. That worry was quickly dispelled!

One of my wife's favorite recent movies is Mamma Mia. Yes, it is a chick flick so, if you want to earn some brownie points, rent it. I've come to love and hate this movie at the same time. Hate? It quickly shows any flaws in your TV or Blu-Ray player and our setup had many. The black levels with the Panasonic were pretty poor, I was thinking it was the TV but, after adding the Denon, I found the real culprit was the Panasonic. This isn't a fair comparison since the Panasonic had a list price around $250 with a purchase price of $127.99 at Costco in Dec 2008. This was basically comparing a Rolls Royce to a Kia. Don't get me wrong, the Panasonic was far better than the Panasonic up converting DVD player it replaced. With the Denon, I found out the colors I thought were great, actually weren't.

As I stated, black levels with the Panasonic were pretty poor. In the opening scenes, after dusk with the ocean in the background, the blacks were pixilated, and a fair amount of detail was lost. Until you have been able to see what a good player will do, you don't know what you're missing. The Denon DVD-3800BDCI was nothing short of phenomenal during the same scenes or, any scenes for that matter. The blacks were black and the moon reflecting off the water was now evident. Colors throughout the movie were vibrant, and the sound was awesome with deep bass notes more evident. I can't really attribute the sound to the Denon since I also upgraded from an Onkyo TX-SR804 THX receiver to a Pioneer Elite, a noticeable difference. How much of that is attributable to the Denon, I don't know.

The Denon DVD-3800BDCI has been a marvelous upgrade with vastly improved black levels and vibrant colors. During the credits of Mamma Mia, the colors were even more vibrant than observed in the theater. I highly recommend the Denon although it will be harder to find one new in the box. If you can find a nice used player, I highly recommend it. I have yet to play a CD in the Denon so I can't comment on that except I'm sure it will not disappoint. If you are going to demo a player, or even a TV or projector, make sure you have a movie that can make them perform.

Equipment: Main Theater (Family Room)
Mitsubishi WD-65732 DLP TV
Pioneer Elite SC-05 Theater Receiver
Denon DVD-3800BDCI Blu-Ray
Monster Power AVS2000SS Automatic Voltage Stabilizer
Monster Power HTS-5100 Line Conditioner
Technics SL-MC50 CD Player
Marantz SM-80 Amp (Subwoofer Amp)
Klipsch LaScala's (Front)
Rohrbaugh Center Channel
Technics SST-35HZ Super Bass Exciter (Subwoofer)
Paradigm Titans (Surround)

Basement Theater (Man Cave) (18X14 w/ 8' ceiling):
Mitsubishi WD-52525 DLP TV
Onkyo SR-TX804 Theater Receiver
Panasonic DMP-35BDK Blu-Ray
Monster Power HTS-2500 Line Conditioner
Technics SL-P600C CD Player
Klipsch LaScala's (Main) Soon to be replaced w/ Technics SB-E100's
Jama Center 200 (Center Channel)
M-Design ELG PSW1000 Eleganza Matched Subwoofers (Monster Power)
Technics SB-7000 (Surround)
Technics SB-5000 (Surround Back)

The main theater is in the family room on the main floor and has too much light. I will soon swap parts of this system with the basement system. Items to be swapped will be the TV's, receivers, Blu-Ray's and line conditioners. The AVS-2000SS will be moved to the basement. I'm very curious to see how much better the Denon can perform in a dedicated theater with light control. I plan to add a Panasonic PT-AX200U projector to the basement within the next two weeks. This is where the Denon will really add to the theater experience since some projectors need all the help they can get in matching up with big screen TV picture quality. I'm also curious what difference in sound will be heard in going from the cavernous family room to the smaller, enclosed theater room. Again, I haven't really tested the Denon when it comes to sound quality although I know it was markedly better.

Comment: Well, so much for profile 2.0 features. Thus far they have been a gimmick. Enter the extremely well priced 3800. The video is first rate with proper calibration with good dimensionality and color saturation. BUt that's just the beginning because the real treat this player offers is the sound quality. It offers very similar sound quality with red book cd as the flagship 5910 universal player. Blu-ray sound quality is amazing. This unit offers fantastic bass management unlike the similarly priced Oppo unit and other competitive models if you utilize the analog outputs (which you should unless you have a flagship AVR or higher-end separates). Unless you require BD live this unit is a real winner at the recent price offerings. In fact it is a steal. The analog sound quality and bass management allowed me to send my sony BDP 5000-ES to the second system. This is now my Blu-ray reference and one fantastic CD player as well.

Comment: This player is incredible. I have the top of the line hd toshiba player and a sony blu350 or some pile. This thing kills them both in every way. This unit sounds about 1000 times better then a cheap sony bluray player. Picture looks awsome and the sound is insane. I got a lot of money into my home theater and this is the first dvd player that cds sound pretty decent on and I have owned over 30 dvd players. All others sounded so bad I couldnt use it for a cd player. This is a heavy unit with incredible build quality. The internal parts they use to build it are some of the best. I actually bought 2 of these and if you shop around you can find one for under $800. I then sent them both to the [...] and had them upgraded. The sound is now mind blowing on my sound system and the picture looks even better after the upgrade. I have a theta Gen VIII seriesII dac and this players internal dac gives the theta a run for the money.

Comment: The device did not read/reproduce the audio of the Blu-ray after less than 30 days of using it. I will be sending to Denon to get it fixed, repaired or replaced.