Home > Consumer Reviews > Denon AVR-2808CI 7.1-Channel Multizone Home Theater Receiver

I've owned a few receivers in the past (mostly Sony ES models), but none of them compare to this one. Denon specializes in audio, and it shows! Don't get me wrong, I love and own alot of Sony's products (two TVs, PS3, Vaio computer, DVD player, etc.), but after picking up this Denon and pairing it with a Polk speaker/sub setup, I've never been happier, and the upgrade from the Sony ES it replaced is substantial in many ways.

Denon AVR-2808ci Pros:
-Sound quality is absolutely incredible! Even compressed music from iPod is great ("Restorer" feature really helps!). Highs, mids and lows are all accurately reproduced, and there are tons of custom EQ options!
-Audyssey Auto-Calibration is accurate and thorough.
-Includes decoding of all current and future sound-fields (DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD, as well as Uncompressed PCM and everything else you can imagine, all via HDMI version 1.3a)!
-Display is large and includes alot of necessary info-this thing tells you what it's doing.
-Solid build quality and nice looking!
-Connectivity options (HDMI, toslink, digital coax, component video, s-video, etc.)
-Video upconversion via HDMI using built-in Faroudja DCDi processor, or just passthrough and use as a convenient HDMI switcher (assignable inputs).
-Excellent sound processors, both for movies and music, complement a solid, beefy amplifier.
-Customizable as all heck: 4-stage dimmer, "Quick Select" feature for three sources, learning lcd remote, volume level options, mute level options, default settings per-source, massive amount of EQ/channel level/crossover settings, and more!
-Main remote works great, learns and controls just about all of your gear.

This receiver is truly great for anybody who is serious about their Home Audio/Home Theater. The only drawbacks are that it is very complex, which is fine except that Denon doesn't make it any simpler to understand in the manual. It definitely takes some time to set this thing up and learn its interface. The Sony's I've owned in the past were far more user-friendly from the initial set-up/calibration onward. However, they never delivered results that were even close to this unit, and once you learn it, it does make sense and is relatively user-friendly after setup.

Cons:
-Complex manual and interface takes time to learn.
-On Screen Menu lags a little and blacks out picture rather than a nice overlay. Also, it's not the better looking, more user friendly GUI that more expensive models have (as well as all Sony's).
-Smaller secondary remote only works for other Zones (not a big deal really, but still...)
-Main remote takes forever to program/set up for universal usage. complicated.
-Only two HDMI inputs (could've used at least one more at this price range).
-No HD radio or Sirius support (does have XM).

Overall, minor gripes aside (nothing's ever perfect), I'm incredibly pleased and excited to own this unit and have it as the central hub to my Home Theater. I have Blu-ray now (PS3) and the advantages and options both now and in the future are vast. I'm confident that the Denon AVR-2808ci will allow me to take full advantage of that and other things for years to come. Mostly, though, it just cranks out amazingly good audio from any source, and that is ultimately what receivers are for. Highly recommended!

I love this thing.
The set up is not for the faint of heart if you are using it to it's potential.
You need a remote that is better than the one that comes with the unit if you want to use it for anything other than source switching and volume control. The remote that comes with the unit is not that freindly, the "screen" is crammed and working to hidden menus is a pain. There are 7 or eight devices on the screen. then hidden behind a device is another device. As an example; to play xm and use the Denon to conrol it you push the tuner button twice to get to the menu. At no time on the screen does it tell you that you are now controlling xm. You just have to know that the second push of the tuner button now controls xm.
Depending on your skill level and craziness (according to my wife) go with a logitech harmony (easy set up) or a Universal Remote (thats the brand)which range from user friendly to your wife screaming because you are spending so much time programming it.
I want to comment on the review about it only having two HDMI inputs.
What on earth would you need more than two for?
You need HDMI for 1080P, that means 1 Blu Ray (Side Note I have the Samsung BDP-1400, great picture but should have bought the sony), One up converting DVD player (The Denon 1940ci kicks) I have two HR-20 HD receivers from Direct TV hooked up to the component video. For those of you who don't know, broadcast TV in HD has a max resolution of 1080i which is the maximum capability of component video.
Use the correct wire for the correct component and this receiver will take care of you. Great sound, great upconverting to 1080p, multizone speaker control, Ipod dock control, whatever you want, fab.

This is my third Denon A/V receiver. My first was purchased in 1989 (and still works) and the one I replaced with the 2808CI was 3200AVR that I purchased in 1997. That unit always performed flawlessly and was one of the first generation 5.1 receivers. My satisfaction with Denon continues with this unit but of the three units, the manual is for the most part poorly written. I am not an expert audiophile. I get into setting up and tweaking my system but after awhile I just want to turn it on and enjoy. I did get my new system (which included a new Toshiba Hd-DVD and LCD HDTV) up and working in one night but it's been more trial and error trying to naviagate and figure out the settings on the receiver. I've come a long way in two weeks getting the system performance to where I like it and it is awesome. The next challenge will be consolidating the remotes. Need a break (I'll use three remotes for now) until I take on that challenge. This would have been a 5 star review if the manual was better executed.

The "CI" in the model number indicates that it is in the
"customizable" series. That's good and bad; but definitely something I was looking for. It took quite sometime to figure out how to set this thing up. But, once I did, I love it. You can connect just about everything to it because you aren't limited to the inputs as labled on the back (i.e. you can use the video on the SAT input and the digital audio from the HDMI2 input). I found something that would allow me to expand to a couple of extra rooms (deck, master bedroom) and it comes with a second zone2/3 remote. You'll really enjoy this one but I'd get one of your audiophile friends to help with the setup.

First, a little background (be patient!):

I spent a lot of time auditioning bookshelf speakers. My intention was to slowly build out a full surround system by starting with two solid front speakers for stereo listening. I wanted to make sure they sounded good for music, because I believe music is much more demanding on speakers than movies are. I ended up being very impressed by the Totem Rainmakers, although I really love the way B&W speakers look. I think Totem's outperform B&W at my price point. I decided I would get Totem Dreamcatchers for my rears and center since they sounded very good for their small size. I ended up getting the Dreamcatchers first because I got a good deal on them. I decided I would break them in first, then rotate them to the back and buy the Rainmakers when I was ready. That way, when I was all setup, everything would be broken in. Although I auditioned both Totems on a tube amp, I had read good things about the Denon's musicality and was sure it would do very well.

My sources into this are the digital out from a PC and the digital out of my LCD TV. I don't have digital/HD cable, I just decode the QAM signal coming through the cable for free in Manhattan, which has Dolby surround on nearly all digital channels (if the content supports it).

Now on to the receiver:

The receiver handles my 4ohm speakers very well, maybe because they're fairly efficient. It drives them at very loud levels (although they're not full broken in yet so I haven't pushed them) without getting too hot. I was originally thinking of getting the Onkyo 805, so heat was a concern for me. No problems here.

The Audyssey calibration at first sounded like it mellowed out my sound too much, but as the speakers have broken in I really prefer it. I should actually rerun it now that I'm half way through the break-in period to see what it finds.

The Denon has plenty of settings for simulating arenas, as well as PLII settings and neural and all of that. That's to be expected from a receiver at this level. I don't use them, because I like to hear the sound as it was recorded (or close to it). It also accepts plenty of digital encodings, in case I ever get that Bluray player. The receiver should last long enough that I'm sure I'll have a Bluray at some point. The issue that's a bit annoying (not a fault of the receiver) is that when I output digital audio from my TV, it is delayed a bit either by the TV or the receiver before it gets to the speakers. So the lips and speech are a bit off, but it's not terrible. Whenever I get around to actually subscribing to digital cable, then I'll be running HDMI into the receiver and out to the TV, so I'll be able to properly sync the audio to the video.

The remote is kinda stupid. I paid the extra money to get this over the 1908 (I believe that's the equivalent model) because I wanted the newer Denon look with the rounded front bezel, the new Denon font, and the remote (in my defense, I didn't pay much more for this). The remote is literally a thin electro-luminescent screen that sits above regular capacitance keys/buttons. It is NOT a touchscreen LCD. Given that, it does serve its purpose. I haven't programmed my TV into it, but I may at some point.

This Denon does have Night Mode, but all it does is very noticeably compress loud audio. I don't think it's as good as Dynamic EQ, but oh well.

The speakers sound brighter (not necessarily a good thing) and much more detailed (a great thing!) than I remember them being when I auditioned them. I listened to some jazz last night because I wanted to see how the system handled it. When I put in Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, I could hear the reed on the sax's, the brushes on the snares, and the cymbals sounded perfect. Everything was placed where it should have been, with a crispness that wasn't there when I heard it the tube amp at the stores. When I listened to softer acoustic music, vocals were very airy. The fiddle/violin on Nickel Creek albums sounded great, very lifelike with superb detail. I am harping on this detail thing because I really was impressed. However, I found that this detail came at a cost-- the highs seemed slightly harsh especially after prolonged listening at high levels. Maybe the Denon emphasized the high frequencies, maybe my speakers aren't full broken in, but I tend to blame the former for my issues. I tend not to like to fool with EQ too much, especially after Audyssey did its thing. The EQ might be able to solve this, but I might have to sacrifice some detail.

Overall, I really am happy with this receiver. It has all the features I need, although an extra HDMI and Dynamic EQ would have been nice. Then again, I'm currently not using ANY HDMI on this. The audio is very crisp and detailed, but may my speakers borderline harsh. That may be fixable with rerunning Audyssey or manually turning down the treble though, or may change as my speakers mellow. But for now, that's what I've noticed. If I remember, I'll try to update this review in a few months once everything has settled.