[odonata]

I have to agree on the Denon line's specs as compared to the competitors. Out of the three, I have heard the Integra 7.8 but not the 8.8 and the Denon 3808 but not the 4308ci. I do, however, follow the various related threads pretty closely because I am soon to be in the market for a receiver in that price range for my new home theater. Based on what I have read I am strongly leaning toward the 4308ci despite some possible on-going firmware issues. Of course in a "perfect" world I'd be going with the 5308ci or possibly the Yammy RX-V11, or separates but that ain't happening given the finances.
Back to reality... a buddy of mine has the Integra 7.7 and I've been impressed with the sound even though we mostly watch sports or play Wii when I'm over there. Although we have listened to XM radio and CD music occasionally, he only has it hooked up 2.1 in his very small, very cramped, acoustically horrible livingroom.
The 3808ci I have auditioned in listening rooms in two separate dealerships. One was less than ideal because of its location in the middle of store traffic, although it was paired with a good Blu-ray player, high-end Panny monitor and a nice Definitive Technology speaker system. It was nearly impossible to judge sound but the features and HDMI switching were what I would have expected. I also tried listening to some 2-channel music off CD but it was too chaotic in the store to really get a true feel for the dimensions of the soundstage, etc.
The second situation was a better one with an enclosed, acoustically treated listening room and the ability to switch between speakers and other receivers for comparison. I watched and listened to the Neil Young "Heart of Gold" DVD over a Paradigm Reference Millenia Series set-up and briefly compared the 3808ci to a Pioneer Elite VSX-84TX and Sony STR-DA5300ES. No comparsion, in my opinion, the 3808ci sounded much richer with a far broader soundstage than the other two with fairly similar processor settings and no processing at all.
As with any audio/video comparison, "your results may vary" according to your personal listening and viewing preferences. All three, the 4308ci, 8.8 and T785 appear to be excellent receivers, each with its own sets of pros and cons. For my money, though, the Denon still stands out (at least in that price range in the US market) especially given the feature sets/specs, connectivity, A/V processing and (to the extent realistically possible) future-proofing. And, after all, isn't that what really distinguishes today's receivers?
There again, considering these three as pre-pro's not receivers may be a whole other discussion.