Mute goes Home Theater! Kick start with the Denon AVR 3806

The beginning of an era; Home Theater!
Mute has finally set up a Home Theater system! What better way to get a whole bunch of toys at once? The brain of any home theater is of course the receiver (the heart being the projector). The main difference between a home cinema receiver and a regular HiFi receiver is that a home cinema receiver handles video, not only audio. That said, you still face a jungle when deciding what to buy. I went for the Denon AVR 3806 for one main reason...

If possible, go digital all the way
It was that I wanted the HDMI interface for a completely digital throughput of both multichannel audio and HD video. Note that you need HDMI 1.1 to support multi channel audio, like 5.1 sound which is standard in all X-box games, and most DVD movies. The step below HDMI would have been component video, which is the best analog signal if you don't do RGB (that is, "real" RGB, not scart RGB. Real RGB is what .i.e. a TV studio camera handles. Muy expensive and extremely high bandwidth). This monster also has 7 equal powered channels, and most of the connector you need. You can rename the different sources to suit your need, like "X-box, lcd-TV, iTunes" etc, which is very good. I think the level of customization is a huge selling point on any piece of equipment. That is also why I spent $400 on a Philips Pronto Pro remote control, but more on that later. The AVR 3608 also features a fully automated speaker setup system from Audyssey with room calibration which works very well. You can connect 2 additional zones ( i.e. separate rooms), which is good, and other smart features are a set of front inputs for quick connections, really good upscaling of simple video sources, pure direct (turn of all circuits not used, to provide the best audio and video) and Denon Link, Denons own system for signal transmission with very low power consumption to even more reduce interference.

Some more images, click to view external high resolution versions...




Some Specifications
* HDMI Switching
* 7 x 160 W (6 ohms)
* Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Dolby Digital and DTS
* Dolby Digital EX and complete DTS-ES (Discrete 6.1 & Matrix 6.1)
* DDSC-Digital
* DENON LINK
* Auto Setup and Audyssey Auto Room EQ
* Full Analogue Video Conversion, Analogue to Digital Video Up-Conversion
* Multi Room functions

Some things i would have liked for my $1200...
This baby does NOT have a network card, like its big brother Denon AVR 4306, neither does it have a specific iPod connector, like its cheeper wanna-be Denon AVR 2807, anoying things you just have to live with, if purchasing this jewel.

Related Links:
Denon UK
Denon AVR 3806
Philips Pronto Pro
HDMI
Audyssey