Price Paid:  $2200.00 from Local Hi Stereo Stor

Summary:
4 or more years ago I was comparing this unit to the Marantz equivalent (don't remeber the model). Boy do I wish I purchased the Marantz.
My unit came with the then new DTS board this was an enhancment and when the board was added a little sticker was added to the front og the cabnet.
With in 2-3 months of having the component the all of my surround sounds capabilities including DTS stopped working, I could only get sound on the stereo and 5 channel stereo modes. I took it back and they sent it to the factory for repair. I was informed that the DTS card was bad and was replaced under warrenty. 2 years later the sound went out and I took it back. (I told them that it sounded like the same problem) the factory reported that ALL systems where working fine. May be the mail bounced some stuff back to gether who knows. After being in th shop for 2-3 months both times, I requested they remove the DTS card. I have not re-wired the unit in after this...it has been 6 months and I don't really care if I ever add this unit back into my system.

Strengths:
Good number of connections.

Weaknesses:
Digital DTS card.
With the DTS card the you may miss the few 15-30 seconds of sound as the chip determins if the sound is DTS encoded. I didn't mind so much but my Wife really dislikes this. Also could happen in the middle of a rented DVD if a scratch was bad enough to loose the signal encoding.

Summary:
Being an automotive enthusiast long prior to my hifi education, explanations
from that perspective might best exemplify my thoughts on the Denon AVP 8000.

Earler hifi experiences paralelled early hot rodding - V-8's with the wrong
pipes and carburetion yeilded an authentic sound to a degree - suitable to young
ears, albeit harsh and "untuned".

Four and six cylinders could be tweaked, added to and cammed up but just didn't
hit with enough natural resonance, much like the next hifi attempts. Early
adventures into the Japanese power yeilded much the same in auto and hifi - no
refinement and much missing. Kindof copycat that didn't talk the real talk.

After 2 years, my ears still find the 8000 a melodious and real blend of:
12-cylinder Ferrari fluidity, V-8 talking through 180 degree headers and a pro-
rally 4-cylinder under 30 pounds of turbo boost at 8,000 rpm. I put the power
to the ground through Adcom 5503's and Definitive BPX and C/L/R 2000's. Put on
some blues and you are THERE!

Strengths:
full and real, excellent mode performance

Weaknesses:
remote control

Similar Products Used:
Other Denon, Numerous Japanese makes,Harmon Kardon, JVC, B&O,Mac

Summary:
This is a follow-up to a previous post on this unit. A year later it still is *exceptionally* good and well worth an audition if you find one in your budget.

But now I've struck a problem with the matching 3 channel amp - the Denon POA-T3. It seems to have a serious load problem - clicking, buzzing under load, but only after a bit of time. Service agents can't replicate the problem, and refuse to fix what they can't find (great!).

I know it sounds like a short in the system, but all leads/wires check out. And wiring my other matching amp the same way causes no problems.

Any clues, audio gurus? HELP!

Strengths:
See below

Similar Products Used:
Denon POA-T3

Price Paid:  $900.00 from Jeff's Sound Values, CA

Summary:
"Real High End does not have a Japanese name"- Is what I used to tell people. And when Denon first started mass producing their Home hi-fi receivers, I would say- "If Denon was a car, it would be a Toyota Corrola". This was my FIRST perception of this company.

You must know that I grew up staring wondrously at the orange glow mysteriously contained in those little glass chambers that my father called tubes (monoblocks, to be more precise). Nothing is more soothing to a 10 year-old than having artists like The Modern Jazz Quartet and John Coltrane emanate from a spinning Thorens piped through a McIntosh tube pre-amp. That was how my Saturday mornings started off for the first 12 or so years of my life. And while that in no way makes me a certified audiophile, it has given me a frame of reference as to what the Modern Jazz Quartet (and similar artists )are supposed to sound like. If nothing else, it made me into the audio-snob that I am today.

Cut to 20+ years later, I found myself wanting to upgrade from a very decent component-analog system, to the digital domain. I had been very happy with what I had for quite some time, but was starting to lose sleep over the better stuff that was being churned out on a daily basis from tons of manufacturers. I had no Dolby Digital. No onboard DAC’s. I was a mere "shell" of a man... (Well not REALLY, but you get the idea).

I figured that I had two choices; I could take the money I had to spend and buy right into brand-new mediocrity, or call Dan (or Jeff) at Jeff's Sound Values and buy "last year's top of the line". I opted for the latter.

UPS delivered a 35lb package to me 7 days later. I have a 3-flight walkup, and I was complaining every step of the way. Remember, we are talking pre-amp here. No integrated amplifiers of any kind. That 30 or so pounds (sans box) can be found in the build quality of the unit itself, and in the power supplies that sit inside it. Quite the little monster.

“Overwhelmingly unimpressive” is what most people feel when they see this unit at first glance. I was no different. It’s minimal, yet typical appearance gives no clue whatsoever as to it’s real capabilities. A sleeper in the truest definition of the word. But If I may take a moment and digress to my automotive analogies- when it comes to the bottom line, it’s what’s under the hood that counts.

And that is exactly what happened. For it was not the details and instruments (that I never heard before on my old pre-amp) that won me over, it was the TRUE WARMTH in which they were articulated that blew me away. Billie Holiday sounded more emotional. Miles Davis became more musical and coherent. And Patricia Barber? I swear that the woman herself was in my very own Brooklyn living room for the past 5 nights (thank GOD I’m not taking those drugs anymore!).

But what, Keith, of digital theater decoding? I have three words for you: accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. The AC-3 RF input on the Denon was a shining star for my Elite 97. It never sounded so good. For now, I am satisfied with not having a DTS decoder. It seems that Dolby Digital has become something of a defacto standard, and the THX setting almost makes up for it. Besides, Denon has an AVP-8000 DTS model (in gold anodized aluminum) circulating the globe in limited numbers. And if the new model is in any way fantastic as it’s older brother, you should find a way to justify the cost, providing of course money is a factor in your buying decision.

Here’s my only real complaint: this older model has a 1.5 - 2 second latency time “latching” onto digital signals. No big deal for straight PCM or AC-3 from a laserdisc or CD player, but on DVD’s where the menu and trailers are in “plain” Dolby Surround(or stereo) and the movie itself is encoded in Dolby Digital, the Denon has to race to switch back and forth between the two formats. I experience an occasional audio cut-off in the very beginning of some DVD’s. I try to augment this by pausing the movie before the beginning credits start to roll to allow time for the DAC’s to latch on, but it is still an annoyance. Perhaps it is because the original design of this model is of the B.D. era (Before DVD), when switching between the two digital audio formats was not an issue.

But at the end of the day- The Denon AVP-8000 is a great example of an audiophile quality pre-amp and theater decoder hybrid. It’s dollar-per-performance ratio is unparalleled in any other product I have found. It’s minimalist (for a Denon) approach to design is a refreshing change from the button and led riddled components that are an all too common sight form the country that bears the rising sun. What initially started out as a compromise, manifested itself into complete fulfillment.

-KDC

P.S. The great service and fantastic deal I got from Jeff’s Sound Values allowed room for yet another component purchase- A Citation 7.1 THX, another incredible performer.

Strengths:
OUTSTANDING SONIC QUALITY

Weaknesses:
Manual reads like bad Rod McKuen; Disturbingly unintelligible. The remote looks like that of a $150 receiver, purchased at a fire sale, in a bad part of town. Don't show the remote to your friends, or any women you are trying to impress. ;)

Price Paid:  $1750.00 from audio advisor

Summary:
Out of all the units I have had this sounds the best. Originally I thought of it as a 5700 with no amps that listed for $800 more, but there must be something to it to cost more then the 5700 & sound better. Got this for I believe a great price $1750 & even though it was from the internet the seller stated that they received as special deal from Deno & that they are factory warrantied. I checked other prices on the web & they were $2495 & $2909.

Strengths:
Great sound, built like a tank

Weaknesses:
no component out

Similar Products Used:
B&K Ref 20, Sony TA-e9000ES, Denon 5700