9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
An Excellent AV Receiver for $3K
Date of Review: Jan 9, 2004
The Bottom Line: Excellent value for $3K. Surround and video processing can't be beat.
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. 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. 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. 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 problems - for help.
