Home > Consumer Reviews > Denon AVR-4308CI Multizone Home Theater Receiver with Network Streaming and Wi-Fi

After an hour or so of firmware upgrades I finally got to test drive the AVR-4308CI and I am pleased to report that the performance is nothing less than stunning. The process was easy, except for setting up the wireless network connectivity. I had to use the remote to 'kick start' the configuration. After that it was web interface all the way.

Simply phenomenal HD performance when paired with the Panasonic bdp35k and the Samsung 750 series 52" LCD. Just finished watching the directors cut of BladeRunner on BluRay and it was spine tingling.

The Internet Radio feature is amazing. I had no idea the diversity of content available on the net, and I was happily surprised at the high fidelity when paired with a cable modem connection. The special audio enhancement modes did seem to improve the sound of bandwidth limited internet streams and our Zen Player.

Controlling the unit from the web interface is also a joy.

I can see how this unit would be daunting for those inexperienced in setting up and configuring electronic equipment. Absorbing the contents of the owners manual is a little like drinking from a firehose, but the remote controls and menu structure are fairly intuitive and have resulted in less hair-pulling than I might have expected after reading other reviews.

I removed about 20lbs of AV and audio cables from my setup when migrating to HDMI. A nice plus.

Why did I ever wait so long to get this AV receiver?

I have never been as happy with a receiver as I am with the AVR-4308CI from Denon. Only small complaint I have is that the 2nd remote(yes you get 2), the Universal remote, seems to be designed by people from another world. Not an intuitive remote at all, but that is easy to get around with the on-screen GUI and the other more simple remote.

HDMI switching, with full 1080p support. This combination along with Blu-Ray introduced me into a world I never thought was possible, the picture and sound is amazing. IMHO, BETTER THAN AT THE THEATER!!!

Can you say up-scaling? Well, buy one of these receivers and you will have no problem. I could not believe what it did for my 1080i/720p programming that was coming in from satellite and OTA. The upscaling made these feeds look like 1080p on Blu-Ray.

How about sound? I had the Denon 3308 prior to getting the 4308, and the difference is astounding to me. Everything is much more solid in sound, and with the extra power it seems to do this with little effort.

Denon has out done themselves with this little gem. The AVR 4308CI is a definite must have receiver.

As the Blu Ray / HDTV bug bit me, I had to upgrade to a receiver with HDMI switching. I upgraded from a Rotel receiver which did not support HDMI.

I did quite a bit of research and auditioning before I chose this Denon. The important features for me were HDMI switching (with full support for Dolby TrueHD and the rest of the Blu Ray sound formats) and Audissey room calibration. Since many of us watch movies and listen to music in our regular living rooms which are not specially acoustically treated, room calibration is very useful, and it only became available in receivers a couple of years ago.

Other brands / receivers considered: Integra, Onkyo, Marantz, Pioneer Elite, Yamaha, NAD, Arcam, Rotel, Sony. Of these, Arcam and Rotel do not offer room calibration and yet are expensive, so they were ruled out. Sony, Yamaha, and Pioneer have some proprietary room correction which may or may not be good. I liked the sound of the Pioneer Elite for what is worth. Integra, Onkyo, Marantz and NAD have Audissey RoomEQ, which is the most advanced tried-and-true room correction available in home theater receivers today. The NAD and Marantz feature more limited versions of RoomEQ. Marantz sounds kind of dull and smears high resolution detail; some call this sound "sweet" but it really is just dull :) Integra and Onkyo are pretty feature rich and their highest end models are in the same league as this Denon. Integra and Onkyo (which are the same company really) sound detailed and somewhat bright.

Denon won because it has the fullest set of features (you can even listen to web radio or stream your music files over WiFi!), it is network upgradeable unlike most of the other brands (kind of like your PC which gets software updates), has enough power (140 Watts/channel) to drive most speakers, and it sounds fantastic.

This summer Denon is introducing the successor to this and a few other receivers, so prices for this receiver are lower now -- it must be one of the better deals on the market right now in this price range.

I have had this unit over a year now and because of its excellent sound quality am very happy with the hardware and with Denons support through frequent firmware updates. Getting the unit set up and learning its quirks is another matter however. First let me state I have over 30 years experience with audio and video and have had it all. There is NO other unit on the market that will provide the sound quality anywhere near this price range. I had separate components for most of those 30 years and was always hesitant to go the receiver route. This unit changed my mind about that. I highly recommend this unit with the caveat that you need to have a GOOD COLD BEER ready for the evening after you get it set up. You will definitely want a drink after going through the manual and the sometimes strange software interface.

This is a truly fantastic AV receiver with an awesome amp with the worst remote possible.

This is my third Denon amp in 15 years and i must say that this receiver is truly awesome. It has the right combination of power and style. It has all the options you could want not matter how complex your environment is and how you may want to use it. I have an old turntable hooked up as well as a pioneer elite blueray and Kuro plasma. No matter what components you have to hook up to it, this is the amp can handle it... and blow you away.

I love the internet radio! I played with this several years back and I thought it was all hype. Playing it now is pretty awesome. That is probably because the internet backbone of america is a lot better now. But regardless several years ago it was a wasted feature but today is pretty neat.

I also got the ipod dock is great. I like how you can control everything on your tv screen.

The on screen menu is well laid out, but you can also read the information on the front of the receiver, which is very nice. It can easily be set up to handle multiple rooms- for example, I seet up a great surround setting in one room and have it power the outdoor speakers also. You can adjust the volume in one zone without affecting the volume in the other zone. This amp can handle pumping out a lot of power without a problem.

So why only 4 stars? The remote... This is the worst Denon remote that I've used. I happen to meet a Denon rep and asked him why their remotes haven't kept pace with the receivers.. His response was that they think that they people buying this level of receiver will be going out to buy a universal remote anyway. So they don't invest the money into a universal and usable remote. The second remote is nice to have to control zone 2, which is probably not going to be your complicated zone... But the old remotes were great compared to this main remote. With the way they have advanced their receivers, they should advance the remote.

To fix the problem, I purchased Harmony One by logitech. This is the type of remote that Denon should develop and include in their high end products.

7 star receiver
1 star main remote
3 stars for including a zone 2 remote