Raw power, excellent soundstage(for an AVR), most impressive DSP modes I've ever heard, aesthetically georgeous. Relatively heavy duty detatching power cord a nice touch (The 3803 cord was a joke).

The must pathetic and useless owner's manual I've ever come across. I have a love-hate relationship with the remote...I love to hate it!

I originally bought a 3803 on demo for $628. It turned out to be a dud. The amp would auto shutoff after about 90 seconds while in 5 channel mode. Originally I was distressed...until I discovered that because Tweeter couldn't get a hold of another 3803 they had to replace it with a brand spankin' new 3805 that they sell for over a "G". Someone was smilin' on me. I point this out for two reasons...1) to explain how I got such an excellent receiver for dirt cheap. 2) To suggest to the 1 star review guy that maybe he got a dud as well. It happens. That's the only way I can see ever giving this piece of artwork less than 4 stars. This thing blows the doors off the 3803...and the 3803 was impressive enough(my malfunction not withstanding). People by S Class Benz's that turn out to be dud's. It's rare...but it happens. The power, soundstage, clarity, and features of the puppy is hard to beat. I had this guy powering three 4 ohm speaker and two 8's at the same time without sweating. I eventually got a seperate amp for the fronts, but that was a desire...not a necessity.

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Denon 3803 Denon 2803 Denon 685 Marantz 2270 Sansui Z5000 (piece of doo-doo)

Great Sound in both movies and music. Easy to use and setup. Try the Denon room setup mic to get your room acoustics and compensate every channel accordingly.

Considering the specs of this unit and its high performance...NOTHING!

DENON SETS THE CLASS STANDARD Anyone that does not give this piece a good review is crazy... This is actually a 5 of 5 star piece according to What HI-FI Sound and Vision out of the UK! It upconverts video. The sound is incredible! Power is great! Sound is reproduced accurately with bags of detail. Connectivity options are stunning. The automatic roon setup with the Denon mic is amazing. When What HI-FI measured the automatic mic setup vs their own calibrations What Hi-Fi claims, "eerily accurate." DACS are top of the line. Excellent digital and analog inputs in terms of quality of signal and connectivity options. GO DEMO IT and see for yourself!! You will be amazed for the money!

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AVR-3803, Yamaha RXV-980, Marantnz AV reciever,etc.

Receiver build quality is excellent, as is the sound quality. 3 Component inputs with upconversion from composite and s-video. DTS/DD processing outstanding. Can be tricked into bi-amping fronts using rear surrounds if you are running only 5.1 setup. Reliable - no probs whatsoever - just set and forget. Remote good in the dark. MADE IN JAPAN - three words I like to see on the back of my electronics !!

Remote quality a bit iffy.

Upgraded from my old Onkyo with external DTS and DD decoders, as I was running out of inputs, as well as wanted the latest DTS/DD processing available. I do not think I could have made a better purhase to be honest. I was considering Rotel separate pre/pro and amp but that would have cost me at least a grand more than this, and that would have only given me 5 channels of amplification. Here in Australia, the mic is supplied in the box at no extra cost so I have used the auto set up with good results. My dedicated room is quite a simple shape and doesn't have any obvious acoustic problems so I am happy to use the auto setup settings. What I write here applies mainly to Home Theater listening and I must say that my NHT/Velodyne setup is revitalised with new life. Bass is the tightest I have heard and dialogue is clear, and highs are clear and detailed without being at all harsh. In fact after a few months of ownership I think it is sounding smoother now that when I first installed it. Video upconversion also means that I have about 1/3 of the cables at the back of my rack than I used to which is a great relief when getting back there for maintenance and hookup. The processing section of this thing is amazing. I have read some reviews which claim the preamp inside the 3805 is the equal of some dedicated preamps costing thousands more - and I can believe it. DTS is outstanding, we get DTS on our I Robot DVD here in R4 and it's absolutely of reference quality. As I am not yet running a 7.1 setup, I have had 2 channels of amplification sitting idle for the past few months. Just recently I ran some extra cables and used them to bi-amp my NHT fronts. I definately think the sound has improved - there is now so much detail in the fronts that I am truly satisfied - that's now 240W to each of the fronts, it is truly effortless and powerful sound. I think if i add rear surrounds one day I will buy another amp to power those and leave the fronts bi-amped. For those of you interested in bi-amping with this receiver follow this link: http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/Denon-AVR3805_review04.php The only downside is the remote - it is a good design but I am just a bit worried about its longevity - twice now the source select buttons have failed to light up within a few months, I had to play around with the dimmer settings of the remote to get it back. If it is going to die on me, I just hope it happens in the warranty period !!

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I was considering the Yamaha RXV2400 at the time but it had a higher retail and only 2 component inputs. Plus the Yamaha is made in Malaysia nowadays and the 3805 in Japan. I made the right choice.

can't find one yet

sound quality thin, brassy with no depth to soundfield manual is worthless remote design is terrible

So far, I don't hear what others are hearing with the Denon 3805 receiver. I replaced a 10-year old Denon AVR-2500, which only had Dolby PL, and thought I'd be getting a huge upgrade in sound quality. So far from the 3805 (using all digital optical connections, and having run through all setup options twice), I'm shocked at the downgrade in sound quality. DVD movies are lifeless, and my favorite music CDs are now almost un-listenable.

Power, Fidelity, Dynamics, Looks, Build quality, Features, Auto Setup and RoomEQ, Denon Link, Burr Brown, built in SACD and DVD-A decoders. Decodes all surround sound codecs + HDCD. The included microphone is of high quality.

The remote could have been of better build quality.

I replaced my good old SONY STR-DB930 QS with the DENON AVR-3805. Not that I wasn't pleased with the SONY, it really served me well the last four years I've owned it. But with AVR-3805. What a surprisingly huge difference. Very high fidelity in 2ch is one thing, but in multichannel mode it's simply outstanding. Very good dynamics, supreme channel seperation and a unbelievable good sound quality. All that together, with more than enough power. I'm doing the Bi-Amping trick which gives me 2*160=320 Watts per channel on the fronts with my 6 ohms speakers. Amazing!! Read here how you do that: http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/Denon-AVR3805_review04.php Auto setup was for me very easy to do ( the DENON DM-S305 mic was included in the package ), and I clearly hear the improvements from RoomEQ. Just make sure to do it carefully. The remote took me some time to get used to, but now I just love it. It replaces all my remotes, even the one for my dvd recorder. I could keep on writing and writing about this fine product from DENON, but one thing is for sure. I HIGHLY recommend AVR-3805 to serious audiophiles with concerns about 2ch performance and want outstanding surround performance at the same time. And this is for DENON: You got me switched from SONY to DENON. Well done! You got a new DENON fan for many years to come ;-)

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SONY STR DB930 QS

Power, surround processing, and musicality

The manual. It's nearly useless.

This replaces an HK 525 which replaced a 520. I had owned a Denon 2800 prior to the 525 and found it to have "boomy" base and felt it was lifeless. This is a definite step up in both music and home theater. It is not overly warm, but warm enough and quite musical. It is also better at home theater and much quieter than the HK's. An excellent choice in receivers

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HK 520, 525, and Denon 2800

Rich, smoooth, enveloping sound (especially with SACD) Burr Brown DAC's anyone? Too many too count here.

Remote is a little quirky because it is motion sensitive and sometimes stops responding. I want to use the Denon Link, but I refuse to pay $1200 the Denon DV-3910.

I upgraded to this reciever after using a Denon AVR-2800 for many years. I made the decision to upgrade so I can taste the sound of SACD. I have not been dissapointed. Regular CD's, DVD-A, and DTS music sound good, but they just don't hold a candle to well mixed SACD's. While this 3805 is of the family as the 2800, I have to say the sound is much better. I have not even attempted to mate the SACD to my 300b SET tube amps yet, thats how much I am enjoying the sound from this reciever. An absolute steal. The movies playback is excellent also, Saving Ryan's Privates, Terminator 2, Black Hawk Down, LOTR, all were cool. But I not as passionate about movies as I am with music.(probably because I haven't bought my plasma yet)

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Denon 2800 Yamaha RXV-800

Very powerful, detailed, and dynamic!!!

Non on the receiver, but the remote needs some work.

An EXCELLENT receiver for the price. I found it to be very powerfull, dynamic response, and detailed! It does both Home Theater and 2 channel stereo very well. I have it set up in the 7.1 mode for movies (hooked up to the SB series from NHT. This receiver will out do any receiver in it's price range - it really is that good. There is an optional mic to calibrate the receiver, but it's not really needed as the manual set-up is straight foward and very easy to do (one of the easiest receivers to set up as I have set up receivers from Sony, Pioneer, JVC, Kenwood, B&K, and NAD: this one is much easier to follow). The only complaint I have is the remote. It looks cool, is easy to program, but batteries only last about a month.

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Same class of receivers from NAD, Pioneer, and Sony.

Lots of power, numerous features and great looks. Good remote

none

Purchased this from a Toronto company that offered to install it for me for free. Sounds much more powerful than my old receiver and sound stage if superb. Has more features than I'll ever need and hopefully it will last me forever. I've had great experiences with Denon and I'm glad I purchased this product.

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Yamaha receivers

Setup, video quality, sound in Dolby Digital, much better remote.

Many of the faults of the older Denon receviers are overcome by this nice unit. I haven't encountered a weakness yet.

Very easy setup. Nice features, buy the setup microphone. I had the Denon 2802 and felt the need to upgrade. I enjoyed my old receiver and was amazed how nice the new 3805 was in setup, visual acuity, and general build quality. I highly recommend this receiver. It blows away many others.

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Denon AVR 2802, many different Sony and JVC products.