Alternatives to Denon AVR-X2800H

benjii · 2 Oct 2022 at 16:31

I'm after an HDMI 2.1 AVR and saw the upcoming Denon AVR-X2800H, priced at £869. Our current requirements are 2 HDMI 2.1 inputs and 1 output, with another 3 HDMI inputs of any spec.

Are there any good alternatives at a similar price point? Not that I mind getting the Denon, just not sure what else is out there.

Firegod · 2 Oct 2022 at 17:14

I love my Denon. I have the AVR-X2400H. It's been going strong for 5 years and is still getting updates. Would the AVR-X1700H help save you some money and offer the same features you're after? It is £599 and was only released last year.

6 HDMI inputs / 1 HDMI 2.1 output
3 HDMI 2.1 inputs with 8k upscaling

hornetstinger · 2 Oct 2022 at 18:27

The lower end denons have inferior room eq,.you want the full xt32.

Also they have Dirac option..

robj20 · 2 Oct 2022 at 18:37

I'm looking at the Marantz Cinema 50 at the minute. The whole Cinema range looks good.

hornetstinger · 2 Oct 2022 at 19:27

robj20 said:
I'm looking at the Marantz Cinema 50 at the minute. The whole Cinema range looks good.

Bet the 16ch amp comes in shockingly lower with all 16 channels driven

theone8181 · 2 Oct 2022 at 20:19

hornetstinger said:
The lower end denons have inferior room eq,.you want the full xt32.

Also they have Dirac option..

Is that just on the 3xxx and above though? I went for 3700x earlier this year as I figured my next tv will have more than one 2.1 hdmi port so less of an issue. Also dint realise how expensive they'd got, think I only paid just over a grand for my 3700.

hornetstinger · 2 Oct 2022 at 20:26

theone8181 said:
Is that just on the 3xxx and above though? I went for 3700x earlier this year as I figured my next tv will have more than one 2.1 hdmi port so less of an issue. Also dint realise how expensive they'd got, think I only paid just over a grand for my 3700.

3700 has the full fledged room eq, plus pre out, and all channel pre amp mode.

theone8181 · 2 Oct 2022 at 20:31

hornetstinger said:
3700 has the full fledged room eq, plus pre out, and all channel pre amp mode.

Tea sorry, should have clarified. I think the 3800 has Dirac, but not sure if lower models do.

Raymond Lin · 2 Oct 2022 at 22:04

£869 now for the 2800? I have the 2700 and that is like £250 less.

Not sure at that price i would get the 2800, I would just get the 3700.

hornetstinger · 2 Oct 2022 at 22:15

Raymond Lin said:
£869 now for the 2800? I have the 2700 and that is like £250 less.

Not sure at that price i would get the 2800, I would just get the 3700.

Almost cheaper to go AV pre power,.at least won't have a absolete front end in a couple of years....

benjii · 3 Oct 2022 at 12:21

Firegod said:
I love my Denon. I have the AVR-X2400H. It's been going strong for 5 years and is still getting updates. Would the AVR-X1700H help save you some money and offer the same features you're after? It is £599 and was only released last year.

6 HDMI inputs / 1 HDMI 2.1 output

3 HDMI 2.1 inputs with 8k upscaling

I'll have a look, thanks.

Raymond Lin said:
£869 now for the 2800? I have the 2700 and that is like £250 less.

Not sure at that price i would get the 2800, I would just get the 3700.

~~Unfortunately, the 3700 only has 1 HDMI 2.1 input.~~ I had a thought below.

benjii · 3 Oct 2022 at 12:31

hornetstinger said:
The lower end denons have inferior room eq,.you want the full xt32.

Also they have Dirac option..

My current one didn't have the full fat version either and that still made a big difference. It would be nice to have a sound upgrade as well as ports.

That would direct me towards the newer X3800H then I guess, £1499.

Are HDMI 2.1 splitters any good? Could I perhaps save some cash and get the X3700H and use a splitter? I'd only use 1 HDMI 2.1 input at a time, I just don't want to be changing cables all the time.

Raymond Lin · 3 Oct 2022 at 12:33

benjii said:
My current one didn't have the full fat version either and that still made a big difference. It would be nice to have a sound upgrade as well as ports.

That would direct me towards the newer X3800H then I guess, £1499.

Does any of last year's versions have the spec you want at a lower price?

benjii · 3 Oct 2022 at 12:36

Raymond Lin said:
Does any of last year's versions have the spec you want at a lower price?

I just edited my post before you posted. The X3700H would be fine if it had more HDMI 2.1 inputs. I don't know if splitters are any good though.

Nevermind, the X3700H has issues with VRR on the PS5 apparently.

hornetstinger · 3 Oct 2022 at 12:39

benjii said:
My current one didn't have the full fat version either and that still made a big difference. It would be nice to have a sound upgrade as well as ports.

That would direct me towards the newer X3800H then I guess, £1499.

Are HDMI 2.1 splitters any good? Could I perhaps save some cash and get the X3700H and use a splitter? I'd only use HDMI 2.1 input at a time, I just don't want to be changing cables all the time.

I don't think HDMI works that way with a splitter unfortuantly, I believe if it detects one source isn't compatible it drops the higher mode.

benjii · 3 Oct 2022 at 12:40

hornetstinger said:
I don't think HDMI works that way with a splitter unfortuantly, I believe if it detects one source isn't compatible it drops the higher mode.

Ah, I see. Thanks for the info.

Regardless of the outcome, I appreciate you all taking the time to share your thoughts. I'm both learning things getting some food for thought.

What about Marantz? I've never owned one, but the upcoming Marantz Cinema 60 seems to rival the X3800H and is a bit cheaper.

hornetstinger · 3 Oct 2022 at 12:44

You can get expensive multi plexors that will do what you want but they're not cheap several hundred pounds.

I really dislike HDMI in some ways, with combined audio and video

benjii · 3 Oct 2022 at 12:45

What about Marantz? I've never owned one, but the upcoming Marantz Cinema 60 seems to rival the X3800H and is a bit cheaper.

hornetstinger · 3 Oct 2022 at 12:47

benjii said:
What about Marantz? I've never owned one, but the upcoming Marantz Cinema 60 seems to rival the X3800H and is a bit cheaper.

Marantz usually have HDAM and they have own house sound, which you may or may not like. They're known to have high frequency roll off, although the 8015 didn't suffer from this issue.

benjii · 3 Oct 2022 at 12:49

hornetstinger said:
Marantz usually have HDAM and they have own house sound, which you may or may not like. They're known to have high frequency roll off, although the 8015 didn't suffer from this issue.

I see, thank you. I just noticed one difference. The Marantz Cinema 60 doesn't have Dirac live, but apparently the X3800H will be getting an update for it in March. Do you have any experience with it? Is it a replacement for Audyssey or as well as? Is it worth it?