Price Paid:  $1300.00 from craigs list

Summary:
what can i say? i have finally found the last piece of stereo equipment i will ever need. the 170 WPC give me the power i have longed for. having 4 cerwin vega D-9 speakers for my fronts and an infinity HPS 1000 sub along with infinity center and rears, i am finally listening to music as it was intended to be. I cant say enough about this reciever. the 7 channel stereo option allows me to play back music from all my speakers without being over powering in any field. this is an option that i never knew existed. if you have a chance to own this reciever, buy it. you will not be disapointed

Strengths:
170 WPC, i must admit this reciever is far beyond me. i am old school and thought i could never find what i wanted in todays market. man was i ever wrong. it has the power i wanted as well as the surround sound functions that far exceed anything i had ever dreamed

Weaknesses:
the owners manual is the only one of 3 weakness i can find. another weakness is the ability to get sound out of the rear surround speakers without the remote. the last weakness is figuring out how to preset the tuners fm stations

Similar Products Used:
onkyo turntable, sony 200 disk cd player, cerwin vega D-9 speakers, infinity surround speakers and an infinity HPS 1000 powered sub.

Price Paid:  $2900.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
It's pretty obvious the review below by JoseAlvarez (2nd review below mine...) does not belong here with the Denon AVR-5803, so please ignore.

This is my 2nd review after owning this incredible piece of audio equipment for over a year. And yet after a year, it still continues to amaze me with a "beefy" amplifier section, the SHARC D/A converters, and IMO, the most complete processing capabilities. The 5803 is the "finish" line when it comes to receivers and if anyone feels the need to upgrade from this beast, separates in the likes of Bryston, Krell, or Mark Levinson would be the only way to go. I know one thing for sure, this receiver will continue to be the "main staple" of my A/V setup until it "hits the can"...

Strengths:
Built quality
Amplification/power reserves (for being a receiver that is...)
Processing, processing, processing

Weaknesses:
None (well, maybe price, but not for those who are looking for "sonic karma")

Similar Products Used:
Sony STR-DE875, Yamaha RXV-2200, Denon AVR-4802 and some old Pioneer Dolby-Prologic receiver too old I can't remember the model number.

Price Paid:  $2800.00 from B-Stock from Authori

Summary:
The other reviews are quite right -- it is an excellent home theater receiver. I bought it for it's excellent video and audio processing, it really can't be beat for the money (yr 2003). Beautiful up-converting of VHS and S-video to component. The surround decoding covers all current (yr 2003) types and switching them for different movies based on preference is the way to go. We watch about 10 movies a week and I have found that there is more variation in DVD and CD recordings than in the sound differences between high end receivers. There is little a receiver can do to improve what the studio did to the sound. THX, DTS, Ultra, ES, dual DACs whatever, if the mix is poor they won't help. We have found that the simulated 7 channel surround is terrific on older material or bad Dolby 5.1 mixes. I would recommend the 5803 for anyone where $3-$4K is the most they can spend and want to get it at a local dealer. There are other values, Sunfire, Outlaw and others, but they can be harder to find. In the Onkyo, Yamaha etc. lines, Denon shines. There is a reason you see so many dealers using the 5803 to demo speakers.
My system consists of:
Mains - Martin Logan ReQuests
Center - Martin Logan Theater
Sides - Martin Logan Sequel II
Rears - Martin Logan Arieus
Sub - Velodyne HGS-18
Projector - Sony VPL VW10HT
AV - Denon 5803
Sources - Sony DVD, CD, VHS, tape etc.
Screen - DayLite standard 7x10
Many acoustical room treatments
Video cable - Beldon 7710A (by Blue Jeans Cable)
Audio interconnect - Beldon 89259 w/Eichmann Bullet RCA (by Heartland Cable)
Spkr wire - Belden 8237 bi-wired

The Denon is *NOT* worthy of the ML ReQuests. It runs the Sequel IIs but that signal is side surround, not main. Remember the MLs are 4 ohm electrostatic panels and require a lot of clean power, your mileage may vary. I added a Sunfire Cinema Grand (5 channels at 400W @4 ohm) and used two channels to each ReQuest to bi-amp them and used the 5th channel to drive the center. Now they have the sweet captivating sound that transcends you into the movie. The 5803 now has plenty of reserve power to drive the limited signals of the sides and rears during those *big* explosions etc. If I did it today, I would buy a lower power unit with all the processing I need and add an amp. This way I could toss the unit when new formats come out and keep the expensive amp although this combo would cost more than the 5803 alone. My better-half appreciates the sound so much she agreed to let me remove nearly all of our living room furniture and create a dedicated home theater. Curtains, acoustic treatments etc. have created a nearly perfect environment for the audio system and I have an 8 ft wide projected image - huge!

Strengths:
Everything you need in one box (if that's for you).

I want to *stress* a point - without a proper room, *don't* spend big ($15k up) money on audio equipment. My next upgrade is a new addition or house!

Weaknesses:
Speaker terminals are very poor quality. Manual is terrible so get some dealer help if you need it. Automatic room setup in newer receivers is *very* nice, the 5803 doesn't have it. Without careful setup and *experimenting* for your room and speakers, your $ won't be well spent. Plan for a few weekends of a few hours each to get it the best it can be. The Atkis remote (RC-8000) has software to program it on your PC but it has downloading and programming problems. See http://www.remotecentral.com/ureview/25.htm or Google - Denon remote programming - for help.

Price Paid:  $3100.00 from Audio Dealer

Summary:
Love the 5803 beyond words. Set-up was a snap compared to my Marantz SR-18. Remote was easy to use with lots of options. Control, sound and flexibility are outstanding! For those who still use turntables this unit still supports it. My SR-18 didn't and it's only two years old.

Strengths:
Remote, sound stage, adjustments, power and more power.

Weaknesses:
None that I can see as yet

Similar Products Used:
Marantz SR-18

Price Paid:  $4000.00 from BRANDSMART

Summary:
JUST AMAZING THIS IS A BEAST!!!!!!!,DECODES ALL FORMATS,DUAL DACSFOR ALL CHANELS(16 IN TOTAL)EASILY COMPARE TO SEPARATES,AWESOME POWER,THERE'S NO OTHER RECEIVER OUT THERE THAT CAN TOUCH THIS BEAST!!!!!

Strengths:
EVERRRRRYTHING!!!!!

Weaknesses:
NOTHING,FORTHOSE WITH REMOTE CONTROL DIFICULTY,YOU SHOULD READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST, THEN TALK!!!!!READDD!!!!!!!!!!IS GOOD FOR YOUR BRAIN!!

Similar Products Used:
AVR-3803,ONKYO 787,ONKYO 797.