Price Paid:  $3100.00 from Trutone

Summary:
This is my second review of this product, price stated above is in CAD.

With time passing, I found that, generally there are two kinds of people who post reviews. First, there are those who have just upgraded to a better piece of audio equipment, get home, listen to it for a while and then post a review like "WOW ... awesome sounding ... blowns away this/that ... must hear to believe ... soundstage is amazing ... increased clarity and tonal balance, etc". I must say that I too fell in this category when I first purchased this Denon receiver. Then, there are those who have some inherent problem with setting up the unit and so they bash the ratings to a 3 or below due to "can't run DTS through unit, tried everything & still doesn't work (try changing the PCM compresion setting in your DVD player to DTS out through digital path, it's in the DVD player's manual)... setup took me 2 days for this unit (try reading the unit's manual first)... I get a lot of noise in my speakers (replace them, stop running other appliances on the same circuit while listening to movies, get a good power conditioner or a voltage stabilizer), etc". These are people who bash a unit mostly due to their own shortcomings, few have valid claims.

Accurate reviews are very hard to find here on audioreview, and they generally come from people with extensive experience in the industry, good ears and who can afford to try a variety of components before they can pick what they like. Let's face it: How many of us have loads of money to try lots of different equipment before we settle for what we like best. Comparing 10 year old stuff to today's equipment REALLY is NO COMPARISON, the Burr Brown DAC's in this Denon surpass anything in Dolby Pro Login decoding that's 10 years old anyway.

So how good is this Denon?

In my opinion, this Denon is made for movies, NOT for MUSIC.

That said, it EXCELLS in DTS formats and is stable at pretty loud volumes. Dolby Digital has to be cranked up higher, but even then the dynamic range isn't there due to the inherent format (Dolby Labs, sorry but it true). I see some people have problems with the centre channel volume during quiet passages. I've experienced this too with the Denon and I find that I have to increase the centre channel setting to about 1.5 to 2 levels higher than the fronts after full all-around equalization of the system. Then the image in the front is both coherent and loud enough during quiet times to hear what people say.

For music, well, I hate to say it but this Denon is not that musical and it has rather sloppy bass handling via its preamp. It is rather bright, which becomes more and more apparent at high volumes to the point where I have to switch to my 2 channel music system to listen to a particular piece. But the Denon has excellent resolution (all detail is retained), soundstage is wide but lacks depth (I used to think more of it until a 50 wpc intergrated amp just simply thrashed it, for those interested it was an Audio Refinement Complete integre at 800 USD brand new). Imaging is most definitely off, especially in terms of height placement, although vocalists are imaged in the middle as they should be. So if you like to "pound the music" out of your speakers with artists like Britney Spears, Busta Rhymes, Radiohead go ahead, this Denon will deliver ear damage within 10 years, and you won't need to upgrade to anything later because you won't be able to tell the difference by then anyway. From that perspective, it's a keeper.

I bought it so as to listen to 5.1 SACD playback in addition to movies and so far, it's fallen short big time in this area. My cd sound better than their 2 channel SACD equivalents playing via a Marantz DV-8300 Sacd player coupled straight to the analog EXT IN of the Denon 4802r (connected with Audioquest King cobra interconnects). So even though I bypass all video and soundprocessing circuitry in the Denon, going straight to preamp and amp, I'm still not getting better sound out of an SACD than from a CD. But if I connect the Marantz to my 2 channel system then it becomes worth it.

Here are some upgrades that definitely made a difference. Change the Power cord, I use an NRG-5 by Audioquest (the 1m NRG-2 works very well too and is more affordable) for better tonal accuracy. And plug the cord straight into the wall. I found that my Monster HT-1000 MKII degarded both video and sound quality. Unless you have a storm outside your house use the wall plugs. I'm waiting on a Monster HTS-5100 to arrive to see if that will make a difference and the best coax cable from Audioquest (VDM-5) to see if this Denon can be pushed up a level for movies, because so far, for music it's come up short.

And it's only a matter of time before I go to separates, needles to say, I'll be lucky if I can get half of the money paid for it even with a six year transferable warranty. That's the downside of digital receivers.

Strengths:
This receiver was made for movies, you can't beat it for that, it has slamm, good impact, excellent resolution. It compared favorably against separates at double the price in this area, so this is definitely a bonus.

I find this receiver powerful enough for any medium sized room and I think it should be alright even in large rooms. Power is very clean I must say, better than its competition (Marantz, Yamaha, Kenwood, Onkyo, Harman Kardon, Sony). Integra is comparable to it, but more expensive.

All in all it's the best BANG FOR THE BUCK A/V receiver I've heard for movies.

For those who are intersted, I've also audiotioned a Denon 3803, which even just using its preamp only (for two channel playback) running through a Bryston 3B SST amp (not known to be a musical amp) sounded LIFELESS. The Bryston BP25 preamp was much better, and in this regard the Denon 4802r is far superior to the 3803.

Weaknesses:
Music tends to be overwhelmed by the treble, becomes fatiguing quickly if played at volumes above -22 on the dial. SACD formats don't really impress as much as they should.

LOOKS. I've never understood why Denon chose to put one big knob and one small knob on the face plate, it looks like some mutated cyclops.

I never use the tuner, the video processing, DAC's (I find the DAC inside my Marantz DVD player extracts slightly more detail even out of movies, which is why I've gone to all analog out for 5.1 channel, sacrificing the surround back channel in 6.1 movies). And very likely, before long this unit will be replaced by 5.1 Audio Refinement separates which in my opinion offer much more music because the preamp and the amp sections are better and I can get them used for the money I spent on the Denon new. Problem is I can't get that much for the Denon now.

Similar Products Used:
Various models by Kenwood, Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Onkyo, Harman Kardon (I believe they too offer good bang for the buck in movies and slightly more musical), Sony, Pioneer Elite, Integra, Anthem, Bryston, Audio Refinement, Krell, Lexicon, all using solid state amplification which works well for movies but only the Audio Refinement and the Integra really brought pleasure to my ears during music playback. No wonder people drift to tube amps for music, solid state gave CD playback the poor reputation it has today compared to vinyl.

Value rating 3 = Fair Deal

Overall rating 4 = Very good product in its range.

Price Paid:  $3100.00 from Trutone

Summary:
This review is for the 4802r model, price is in CAD. I want to thank Neil at Trutone for his assistance and unlimited patience, one of the most knowledgeable and modest salesmen I know in the world of hi-fi audio, and also the most honest of all.

Sonically, this receiver is amazing. And it gives up to 7 channels. It could perhaps be a little more powerful, but the sound it puts out is very clean. Noise floor is relatively small and to reduce it further one would look at separates. Pure direct mode is AWESOME, has to be heard to be believed. Use good equipment and you will believe it yourself, this receiver gives you awesome sound at 125 watts/channel. No match for separates of course, but it costs less than half of the price of separates, needless to say that it uses up less current also. It also has a nice little 7.1/5.1 stereo sound field that will cringe any stereophiles out there but I find that it works great for certain musical pieces and even better for old movies recorded in digital stereo mode, it creates an enveloping atmosphere. Every day I listen to this system, I can't believe music sounds sooo nice.

For video, there is a downfall for those looking for video upconversion. In my case, it's not an issue, I use component videocables all the way and am VERY happy with the image quality.

I am learning new things about this unit every day, it's constantly evolving, and it just sounds great to start with ... so listen to one yourself when you find one ... in Pure Mode/DTS/Dolby Digital and decide for yourself, because I already have.

Strengths:
SOUND SOUND and SOUND
Sound
Sound
anything else? ... great sound

Weaknesses:
remote does not include all functions found on front panel of receiver
no video upconversion

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood (no match for Denon, but not in the same price range either), HK, Yamaha, Marantz (SR9300 has video upconversion at the same price)

Price Paid:  $1950.00 from local retailer

Summary:
This is my 2nd review of this reciever, I bought it about a year and a half ago,I have the old version just 4802 not the 4802r .The differences are thx ultra 2 and A/V sych the ultra 2 would have been nice for dvds only encoded in 5 chanel but I cant complain,well I have put alot of miles on this thing and have had no problems whatsoever so I give it my full endorsment

Strengths:
sound

Weaknesses:
video switching is annoying because it doesnt upconvert everything to component so you have to change the input on the tv when you change from HD/DVD to composite/s-video

Price Paid:  $1799.00 from Crutchfield

Summary:
The reciever which this review addresses is the Denon 4802R, a revised version of the origianl 4802, which basically added THX Ultra certification along with a few other goodies

I was familiar with the Denon line, having owned a Denon 3000 integrated amplifier and seperate Denon tuner for the past 10+ years. Conseqently, when deciding to upgrade my system, my search began with, and ultimately ended with another Denon product (which I suppose says something about the overall satisfaction of at least one customer over an extended amount of time, having never had ANY problems over that time). In an attempt to do a diligent search, I did explore other brands including Onyko, HK, Yamaha, B & K, Pioneer, and others. I also gave consideration to purchasing another McIntosh (seperates) however was not willing to part with that amount of money, while at the same time knowing that very little could compare with the sonic beauty of a "MAC".

I made my final choice based on prior experience, knowing the quality of workmanship and subsequent sound was among the best for a product of this kind (meaning housing a tuner, pre-amp and amp all in one casing). I must admit that I did this blind, as even though residing within a large metropolitan area, there were no "authorized dealers" within 75 miles (this is a major downfall of Denon since my last purchase). I can honestly say that I was NOT disappointed.

My new Denon was delivered within 3 days from the date of purchase. The installation took me about 6-8 hours, having to make some modifications to my cabinet. I also upgraded my speakers about 3 months ago to Klipsch RF5 front, Klipsch RC35 center, RS35 surrounds, and a JBL S120PII subwoofer, so I was familiar with the sound they produced with the "retired" electronics.

The final result was something I expected, while something more. I anticipated the increase of power from 80 watts/front 35 watts/center/surround would handle such high efficiency speakers as the Klipsch series with ease. I expected, however that the combination might be as it was before...a little bright, almost harsh at times. In fact, the combination was astonishing! Not nearly as bright as before, with the total package appearing to smoothly cover the entire frequency range. I viewed a few THX movies including Nemo, MIB< Matrix. "Can you hear me now" has taken on a new meaning. I moved on to some music (mostly rock and some blues)in the Pure Direct mode and was very pleased with the sound that my body was vibrating to.

In the end, there is probably little difference electronically these days between one brand and another. Perhaps a function here, a gadget there. Unless you are going to seperates, however, I believe that you would be hard pressed to do any better than the Denon 4802R, but if your budget can handle it, I would guess that the Denon 5803 would be a real treat! The build quality is excellent, the tech support has been satisfactory to good (via their web site), the reliability is excellent (based on prior experience), the flexability good, and the performance is nothing short of excellent.

This unit, however, will not upconvert video signals, so you must be consistent with your inputs. The unit is also slightly less than straight forward with its operation (although this was also the case with my older Denon, so this was expected). The remote control is good, however the font size is small, so should you wear glasses such as I, then either squint or memorize.

Upon closing on my system upgrade, it now looks like this:

Denon 4802R AV Reciever
Denon 1200 DVD Player
Toshiba 3750 DVD Player
Denon 380 CD Player
Denon 680 Cassette Recorder
Toshiba 808 VCR
JVC S5902 VCR
Thorens TD 115 Turntable
Audio Control 101 Equalizer
Speakers noted above

Coming Attractions:
Denon CDR 1500 Recordable CD Player

Strengths:
Performance, build quality, reliability

Weaknesses:
For me, finding a local dealer. It seems that since buying out Marantz, the company has moved largely to custom installations and installers.

Similar Products Used:
Demon 3000 Integrated Amplifier
Denon 660 Tuner
McInstosh MX115 pre-amp (if memory serves me correctly)
McIntosh 2105 (125 watts/channel) (again if memory serves me correctly)

Price Paid:  $1600.00 from Ohio Valley Audio

Summary:
Love this unit! Came off a Sony TAE9000ES, no comparison! Only problem I am having is the digital input from CD will not play through the multi speakers. Anyone hear of this problem? Kind of pain since I like to run whole house audio.

Strengths:
Power, flexability, config of digital IO

Weaknesses:
Remote, no charging base included

Similar Products Used:
Parasound ams-300's Sonance inwall various other junk