I auditioned it at the weekend. This is what I found.
Had a very interesting Saturday morning courtesy of TLC Broadcast, who I owe a big thank you to. I've been to a lot of hi-fi stores and if I don't look like I'm going to spend big wonga then I'm often made to feel as though they'd rather be serving someone else. TLC is different, but you'll either know that, or figure it out as I talk you through the morning I've had.
First off, I called to ask if I could demo the Denon 3800. It's been on my dream list from the moment it was announced. Largely due to the fact that I love all things Denon. My first piece of proper hi-fi gear was my Denon AVC-A10SE amp, and though it's only worth £150 now, there's no way I'm selling it. It's sitting happily in my bedroom powering my little KEF eggs. Oneday I'll upgrade them, but for a bedroom, I simply can't imagine ever needing more than the A10SE.
So trying out the 3800 was always going to be a real treat. When I rang I also explained that in the back of my mind, I'd also like to hear the Arcam AVR600 and maybe we could use this to see how good the 3800 really is.
Steve at TLC went one better, but saying that not only could I test the 3800 but he also had the "other" player in for the weekend. Would I like to see and hear THAT one too? No need to say which player, I knew imediately and what an awesome surprise. Especially as he doesn't sell them and would be doing me a huge favour, and showing a lot of trust in his own products by putting Denon up against Oppo. Steve has never met me, but I thought, well, if you want to open a relationship with a potential customer, I can't think of a better or more open way to set about it.
TLCs listening room is comfortable, not huge, more garage sized and intended to show what can be done in that sort of amount of space. (Answer - a lot). The set-up we would be using was a set of PMC speakers;
OB1i fronts,
CB1i centre and
FB1i for the rears.
Sub was a Velodyne SPL-1200 Ultra.
Plasma the Pioneer KRP600M
We started by running the Denon 3800 through a Pioneer SC-LX81 amp. I'm used to a set of Dali Ikon 6s with Dali Ikon On-Walls for surrounds so the PMCs initially blew me away. More than anything the step up in speaker quality made the whole test quite transparent, though as I'll describe later, that much harder to tell subtle differences because I was listening in a league above that to which I'm used to.
The Pioneer sounded great, but the bass felt a little wooly and uncontrolled. This was when we switched up to the Arcam AVR600. Wow. We changed nothing. Just the amp. Suddenly composure arrived. The soundstage broke apart into instruments, you could hear clearly what was going on in the film and on music cds. The wooly bass disappeared and overall I have to say I've never been so impressed by a single change of component as I was by the Arcam.
We watched the Dark Knight and just enjoyed the incredible image on the KRP. I've got a 50inch Samsung 720p plasma which I love. But this screen is in another league. We all agreed, several leagues ahead. I can't beleive they're withdrawing it from production. Crazy. But if you can't make it pay, you can't make it pay.
Anyway, back to the disc spinners. We'd watched the Denon and so onto the Oppo. It's not as attractive a player. In fact I think it's fairly ugly. It doesn't have the beauty of the Denon or the silkyness of the Denon's drawer. But what it does have is speed of operation (though the Denon was vastly superior to my own Pioneer BDP51-FD) and basically the same picture and sound as the Denon. There's the crux of it. I tried, and tried and tried to see and hear a difference between the Denon and the Oppo and I couldn't. Now, I'll say this, the picture quality was at a level I've never seen before. Crystal clear, luscious, transparent, jumping off the screen. the Denon is like watching silk. It's wonderful, and the Pioneer KRP600M is just the finest canvas I've ever seen. So we're already talking about outstanding performances. The Oppo, simply matched the Denon.
Now I don't have the experience at this level, to hear the subtle differences in bass attack or transparency that may have shown up after a week or two of living with these two players. Stev could pick out details with a finesse I couldn't match. What he showed me more than anything is how to understand the upgrade path, what to expect with each change of kit and what a good system ought to sound like, which is put simply, relaxing, effortless, transparent and delightful. This system was just that.
So much so, that I ordered the Arcam.
The Denon, is beautiful. I just couldn't see or hear a difference and so I'll wait for the Region B Oppo. If it doesn't come out, I'll be going back for the Denon 3800. It really is astounding.
Be interested to hear other thoughts. Please do ask me any questions about the demo I had. Spent 4 hours there, never expected Steve to give me so much time or sit happily through chunks of Mumma Mia. What a good guy.
My conclusion is listen for yourself, and then if you feel as I did, buy an Arcam AVR600. This is the most astonishing amp. (Oh and well done Oppo for bringing out a player of this quality at this price. Incredible.) It's worth noting, that it's unusual to find a retailer willing to demo kit they can't even sell. Then to have absolutely no issue with the fact I prefered it. Takes a big man and appreciate never being made to feel stupid or deaf, but welcomed and respected in my views. Way to do business if you ask me.
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