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Dear Jeff, I have the Denon AVR-1909 which is several steps below your 4308 but it has one funny quirk that ended up making CD playback sound horrible -- if you are using a satellite/subwoofer combination for speakers, for some reason the Denon defaults to "small speakers" in stereo mode and the result is sound with absolutely no bass and fullness. You have to go into the audio menu and configure the stereo mode for left and right speakers + LFE (subwoofer). As for the DTS Neo:6 mode, it sounds horrible for music on my receiver too.After you configure the stereo mode, you should get fairly good sound.

Jeff, I was going to say exactly what Rezaul recommended. I'm a DENON CI certifited integrator, and here's a couple tips to go along with Mr. Hasan. If you're speakers are full range (3 way speakers, tweeter, mid-woofer, subwoofer), set your speakers to Large, and in the stereo playback setup set the sub for LFE+Main. In fact make sure in the subwoofer settings you have it always set for LFE+Main. CD's do not have descrete subwoofer information unlike 5.1/7.1 DD or DTS and their variants, so setting the sub for LFE+Main will send both the descrete sub signal, and the standard 2 channel low frequency section of the signal. Also play with the crossover setting in the AVR-3808, try it at 80 and at 100 and take note of your results. Additionally, have you ran the Audyssey calibration setup? That can definitely change the sonic qualities of your play. If you do plan on running audyssey, make sure and take down your settings first though, so you can do some A/B testing.

Adam, if you set the main speakers to "Large," doesn't that prevent frequencies below the crossover from being redirected to the sub? And since CDs don't have LFE information as you point out, the sub would not be used in that case, right? In general, I recommend setting the main speakers to "Small," even if they are capable of full-range playback, so the bass gets redirected to the sub. Perhaps setting playback to "LFE+Main" in the Denon sends the frequencies below the crossover to the mains and the sub, in which case I can agree with your recommendation as long as the main speakers are truly full-range.

Dear Mr Wilkinson,The Denon receiver has a separate "2ch Direct/Stereo" mode in its Audio Setup which somehow seems to be the default mode for two-channel playback, ie CDs played from a DVD, CD or Blu-ray player. Within that mode, one has to adjust settings for whether there is a subwoofer, a "subwoofer mode" (whether one wants LFE+Main or just LFE) and also for crossover.I am currently using small satellites and two subwoofers so I have it set to "small" and LFE+Main. Havent tried the receiver with large speakers as yet but you are right -- setting to "LFE+Main" sends frequencies below the crossover to both mains and sub. BTW, I just love this column and the practical hints it provides.

Jeff and Scoot, Like Rezaul just pointed out, whether you are in 2 ch. mode, or surround mode, LFE+Main will always send signal to the subwoofer. In general I agree that setting speakers to small works. In a situation where all speakers are the same brand, including the subwoofer, setting the main channels to large can increase sonic performance (assuming you have 3way full range speakers), but on the other hand you are putting more wear on the sub drivers of your three way speakers. This is probably one of the reasons a lot of speaker manufacturers don't make a ton of three ways anymore. Gotta love subs powered subs.

I have a Marantz surround receiver. I used to have the front three channels set to large because my speakers are large. But then I read an article which stated that I should set them to small when using a subwoofer and only use large when no subwoofer is active. I tried the two settings back and forth and realized that setting them to small revealed more detail with a larger soundstage than the large setting. Since then I've stuck with the small setting when using the subwoofer, which is almost all of the time, but when I bypass the receiver's processing and use the analog stage on my OPPO BDP-83, I switch the mains to large, since the subwoofer is no longer in use. It's always beneficial to take the time to experiment and listen for yourself, since it is your ears that you're aiming to please.

Amen, ECC!Adam, I agree that, if you have a sub, there's no need to put that extra wear and tear (hopefully not actual tearing!) on the full-range mains.Rezaul, thanks for the kind words! I'm very glad you enjoy this column and find some useful info.

I also agree that it would be helpful if you would include cd performance when reviewing bluray players. I am planning on moving my current BD player to my bedroom, sony bds300, and purchasing a newer model for my main hometheater. I will be using the BD player as an all around disc player. I would love to see if one BD player or another sounds better on cd play back. I would also like to include that your column is my favorite AV column on the net and I really love your style and the way you answer peoples questions. Keep up the good work Scott! Also, you did a fantastic job on the latest issue of Home Theater on explaining the basics AVRs!

I am trying to decide between two a/v reciever.Can you shed some light,is thx cert.important? better in your opinon? Pioneer SC 05 or Yamaha VX 2065 please help thanks