Forced into looking into replacing my receiver due to failure of my current one. I enjoyed the denon product I was using which lead me to looking into them again. Given the budget I am looking to spend I have been thinking about the avr-x3000 vs the avr-3313ci. From what I have found I could get the 3313ci for a better price and appears to be the better of the two. Just looking to see if anyone has any experience or opinions to offer and perhaps alternatives to the two in a similar price range.

I liked my Denon too! No direct experience with either model but I did read a recent good review of the X3000.

I'm pretty happy with my Onkyo TX-NR809, which I think is in the same ballpark. There's some quirks (no easy way to turn off a channel from the remote, a few other things), but other than that it's quite good.

Some find the Denons hard to understand, especially the manual. I have had good luck with my past 2 models...

Adam, my suggested alternative to either of the Denons would be the Onkyo 818, with slightly better specs and having the best Audyssey MultEQ XT32 auto-calibration and room EQ.

If you go with one of the Denons, the 3313 has slightly better numbers and if you can get it for less, there would appear to be no good reason to get the X3000.

Thanks for the input, I have put some time into looking at the onkyo tx-nr818. I am very close to making the move to it given the features at its price point MultEQ XT32 being a high point and a slight edge in power. To match with Denon would place me at the x4000 which is $300-$400 more than the onkyo. The only thing I have found in the con category for onkyo is the comments towards the decline in build quality the last couple of years, not sure if it is enough to deter purchase as I am sure each manufacturer has their issues.

Yeah, those comments are pretty old, I think.

I believe the multi zone capabilities of the 3000 is better but I don't think it has the hdmi matrix. I have been doing this comparison myself and to me the big difference is the multi zone function.

I have been doing this comparison myself. You can get a refurbished 3313 from an authorized retailer for a great price.

Speedie, did you mean to say that the multi-zone of the 3313 was better? When I checked before my previous reply, I noticed that the X3000 was a step down in several features, including only sub pre-outs in main zone and zone 2 compared with zone 2 and 3 pre-outs.

IMO, Denon's build quality has dropped off substantialy since 2008. The 33XX series was on par with the old 28XX series. I would get the Onkyo 818 and be very happy with it. I've heard the 818 with M80s and it sounds great, doesn't even get hot.