Denon AVR3310CI 7.1-Channel Multi-Zone Home Theater Receiver with Networking Capability and 1080p HDMI Connectivity

5 Responses to “Denon AVR3310CI 7.1-Channel Multi-Zone Home Theater Receiver with Networking Capability and 1080p HDMI Connectivity”

1. R. Kruppa says:

   September 1, 2010 at 5:59 am

   Review by R. Kruppa for Denon AVR3310CI 7.1-Channel Multi-Zone Home Theater Receiver with Networking Capability and 1080p HDMI Connectivity
   Rating:
   The AVR 3310CI is loaded with nice features. Excellent sound quality, inputs for just about anything, and decent menus for setting up and using the receiver. The amplifiers give a very good quality sound, not as good as my MacIntosch system but not bad for the money. Construction is good and it runs fairly cool being it is in a somewhat enclosed area. Technical support is good in that there is little wait time when calling.

   Now for the bad. I have now gone through 3 AVR 3310CI receivers trying to get one that works. I believe that most if not all of the issues I have are due to firmware problems as the hardware seems to work just fine. I would try to update the firmware but there are even problems with this function as it takes forever (many hours) and most of the time it will abort or hang in the middle of the download/update process so you have to try and try again. My first unit eventually got into a hang state in that it couldn’t update the firmware and as a result the receiver just kept on trying with no success. During this time the other functions were not available. According to Denon there was no over the phone fix for this problem and suggested I either return it to the store and send it in for repair but that I am responsible for the shipping costs.

   My second (and as of Saturday my 3rd unit) has two out-of-the-box issues. First is when connecting to Internet radio I get a “Please Wait” window. Sometimes this hangs the system and sometimes I can recover from it. On my recently installed unit this past weekend I immediately got this message and waited 15 minutes or longer and still no resolution. I turned off/on the unit and after a while the message went away and I was able to use the Internet function.

   The second problem is when selecting the setup menu button. The menu comes up fine but within 5 seconds it starts to go dimmer and dimmer and to the point that you cannot see the menu on the TV screen anymore. This occurred with units number 2 and 3. I am afraid to do a firmware update due to the many problems that I had with the first unit and I was told that others had the same problem (even Denon admits to this and recommended to me NOT to perform updates).

   I have spent many hours on the phone with the Denon Techies and they say to just send the unit back and they will repair it. However, I have to pay for the shipping costs (estimated at $50). I refuse do this on out-of-the-box problems. These are design problems and not normal failures.

   So at this point in time I’m considering switching to a different model number and hope that it has a more stable design.

   One other area is in regards to the search and general navigating capabilities on the Internet. Given the price of the AVR 3310CI this function could be a lot more sophisticated as the current function is pretty basic.
2. Robert R. Cox says:

   September 1, 2010 at 6:25 am

   Review by Robert R. Cox for Denon AVR3310CI 7.1-Channel Multi-Zone Home Theater Receiver with Networking Capability and 1080p HDMI Connectivity
   Rating:
   I’ve had my Denon 3310CI AVR for 6 months now and it has been working fine. That is until I did the firmware update. Something has gone wrong with the programming in the system. The main remote does not work as it should and gives unpredictable results. The unit no longer connects to the internet and I can’t see any network activity lights at the back of the box. When switching from once source to another, for example from DVD to PS3, there is no sound but there is video. I have to turn off the unit and turn it back on to get the sound. I’m unsure what to do now. If I had seen these reviews before I would not have upgraded the firmware because the unit was working fine out of the box. There were no problems during the firmware update. The power did not go off and internet connectivity was never lost. So, it totally confuses me as to what the problem could be. I’m currently researching the net for answers.
   
   So in conclusion, you can buy the unit but don’t do the firmware updates.
3. Jimmy B. says:

   September 1, 2010 at 6:28 am

   Review by Jimmy B. for Denon AVR3310CI 7.1-Channel Multi-Zone Home Theater Receiver with Networking Capability and 1080p HDMI Connectivity
   Rating:
   I had been scoping out Denon’s and other brands for a while. I finally decided on this unit due to it’s features and price point. I highly recommend the Denon website for comparing different XX10CI models. So far, I have been happy with my purchase. It has a whole host of features including up-converting all inputs to HDMI, HD Radio, Sirius capable, 5 HDMI inputs, 3 audio zones, and completely re-assignable digital/analog inputs. The ability to reassign different audio and video inputs on the fly has turned out to be quite useful, something I did not anticipate. Overall sound quality has been superb so far.

   One downside is menus can be a little slow to navigate through, and the GUI isn’t too sharp looking. It’s certainly not the XMB from Sony, but it’s functional. If I wanted cool looking menus with overpriced sound, I would have bought a Sony. Features that this unit does not have include dual HDMI outputs (I don’t really foresee myself having two TV’s in one room), and the ability to network wirelessly. I plan on purchasing a Denon iPod dock (the -3w or -51w, I don’t know if the -51w is worth the price difference) which should allow wireless connectivity to my computer. One downside that surprised me was the need to have HDCP HDMI devices connected. I have an older Motorola cable box from Comcast with DVI output, and the 3310CI would not pass the video from the cable box using a DVI/HDMI cable, so I have to use component cables. Not a huge problem, but stupid IMO. Comcast told me they won’t provide true HDMI boxes unless you pay for DVR (we already have it in another room, so I didn’t need a second DVR), and HDCP is just another stupid security control.

   One other downside, which I’m still toying with, is the ability to select inputs with the Comcast programmable remote. (For anybody who doesn’t know, the standard Comcast remote is very powerful and can be fully reprogrammed, but they don’t tell you this. There are many websites with more info on this.) My roommate has an older Denon that I was able to control inputs, volume, and power with the plain old gray Comcast remote. So far I just have the volume and power with the 3310CI, while the number pad isn’t quite matching up to the input numbers on the back of the Denon remote.

   I ended up picking up this unit at a certain popular electronics store for $1200. It was not an advertised sale in either their circular or on their weBsite, But the posted price appeared in their computer.

   My advice is to wait till this thing goes on sale, but it’s still worth a GOOD BUY at full price. (I think my hints were obvious enough, no?)
4. Evgueni Sokolovski says:

   September 1, 2010 at 7:25 am

   Review by Evgueni Sokolovski for Denon AVR3310CI 7.1-Channel Multi-Zone Home Theater Receiver with Networking Capability and 1080p HDMI Connectivity
   Rating:
   There is a problem with Denon 2310/3310/4310 receiver line playing TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio track when connected to LG, Samsung or JVC Blu-Ray players. The receiver shows that it is receiving the HD audio signal from the player and the HD audio blue light comes on the front of the receiver but then instead of sound you get a “helicopter” like noise or no sound at all coming from the speakers. There are multiple reports from 2310,3310 and 4310 owners about this problem on AVS Forum.
   
   The receiver plays sound fine when Blu-Ray player sending Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital+, DTS or Multichannel PCM, but not theDolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio sound track. After I sent the receiver in for service to Denon NJ factory for repair, the receiver came back with the problem not repaired after 3 weeks in the service center. This is very unfortunate problem as the receiver has a great set of features
   
5. Budajoe69 says:

   September 1, 2010 at 8:23 am

   Review by Budajoe69 for Denon AVR3310CI 7.1-Channel Multi-Zone Home Theater Receiver with Networking Capability and 1080p HDMI Connectivity
   Rating:
   This is my 2nd Denon receiver, the 1st of which is still working just fine after 9 years — justed need to upgrade to HDMI.

   Set-up was very easy — almost suprisingly so — I’m running all HDMI — connected an LG blu ray player, a Direct TV HD DVR box, and an LG plasma tv — no problems whatsoever. No lipsyncing issues, no missing sound, etc, everything works as it should.

   Speaker set-up was remarkably straightforward — I was dreading the day of hooking everything up, as I’m not the best doing this type of stuff, but even I was surprised at how simple the overall set-up was. 2 channel sterio listening is simply WOW — a true delight. While this unit sports many nifty features, the one that counts the most in my book, is audio playback quality (how good does the damn thing sound!) — and sound quality is this unit’s main strength.

   Sounds fantastic playing through a pair of B/W CM4s (also a CMC center channel and a Velodyne sub) — soundstage is wide and open, with crisp highs and solid, earth thumping lows — instrument separation is very nicely done — sounds like a live band is playing in your living room — Movies sountracks are spectacular in the Neo cinema mode. Video output is crystal clear. I’ve tried some DVDs, to see how well the upconversion is working and it looks really good to my eyes. Maybe not Blu ray good, but damn good — cannot complain one bit in this department either! Everything sounds so good, that I didn’t even run Audessy feature as it already sounds good enough for my ears, but I’ll try it out at a later time.

   Input switching works fine — menus and GUI are not the best, but are simply enough. While other complain the remote is terrible, I’m perfectly fine with it — I’ve programmed it to act as the TV & Blu ray remote as well — nice to be able to consolidate a few remotes! The user manual is decent, though could be a bit more clear on a few points — that being said, I’ve haven’t had any problems really getting anything to work if I spend a bit of time and dig deep enough in the manual.

   I haven’t even tried the online radio options or IPOD playback, etc — probably won’t, but I’ve tried a USB drive, and that worked fine — nice to be able to play my 20GBs of music without ever leaving the couch. Build quality looks good and solid — a handsome piece of AV equipment — nothing evident to fault. I have NOT upgraded the firmware as everything seems to be working properly and unless I see a reason to do this, I probably won’t. (mine seem to be one of the ones with the proper circuit boards; I believe some early models had problems with firmaware upgrades due to bad circuitry.)

   Unit does run hot, so make sure you have adequate cooling / ventilation — Also, and the only thing which is baffling me a bit, is how to have the unit to play the audio put signal automatically — for example, if I play a Blu ray, I have to manually switch the sound from 2 channel stereo (which the unit automatically starts up in) to DTS cinema, etc. I have the mode set to output the correct format auomatically, but it doesn’t seem to be doing that. If anyone knows a solution to this, please do let me know!

   Got this unit on Amazon for approx. $600.00 bucks on a daily deal special — for that price, NOTHING comes close; At least not in sound quality and total, overall features. This unit is a very nice solution to those that want a reasonably priced receiver to handle their home theater needs, without sacrificing audio / video quality. (especially audio).