Fast Dolby Digital/DTS decoders. 5 ch. stereo. Great sound stage on music. Great spaciousness on HT. Doesn't overheat on extended play. Configurability a plus. Remembers settings for each source. Remote controls most components (that I own). Looks cool. Price.

Could be more powerful (however, still produces an excellent dynamic range loudly). FM attenna doesn't work the best.

Even on my less than optimal setup, the sound is superior. I only have 4 speakers (no center, no sub). The front set are 1987 JVC rack speakers with a frequency response range of 40 to 20. They have a very "live" sound (paper cones), but are of dubious quality in terms of construction. The rear speakers are Studio grade PA monitors (for recording in a studio - I'm a musician).
I did a lot of research before I made my purchase. I was luckily able to demo the Sony DB930 and the DENON AVR 1800 on exactly the same rig (save the receiver, of course). I used a chick corea track, and a Les Mis female vocal track, as my demo tracks. I had previously eliminated the Onkyo from contention due to reported problems of hiss, inadequate demonstration facilities at circuit city, and perceived cheapness in appearence (my opinion). The DB sony series was cool, in terms of features, and whatnot. On the tracks that I chose the Denon clearly sounded superior (my opinion). The Sony was harsh on the high-end, butchered the female vocal track. The Denon was very smooth. The Yamahas were nice and feature rich. They are definitely sonically different than the denon. I preferred the Denon. Price was no consideration given that they were equal give or take a few dollars.
I have watched select scenes from my DVD collection. Although I have no center channel, dialog was very audible and appropriately localized. The rear speakers are very inefficient and require a lot of power to get a full sound. Despite Denon's 75 watt power rating, the amplifier is able to produce a quality sound from these monsters (15 inch woofer, tweeter horn) with minimal hiss; quite a feat.
The 5 ch. stereo mode is fun to listen to. It creates a huge soundstage. Neat. Some of the DSPs are actually useful as well. A matrix DSP provides subtle surround effects for music (I doubt I will use too much though). There is a mono movie setting that is nice for home videos and poor quality tv channels. I don't care for the rock arena or jazz club settings.
In the sub-500 price range I could not find a better amplifier. The sound quality is on par with the more expensive denon receivers. This is a good buy.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DB830, Sony DB930, Yamaha 595a, Yamaha 795a, Denon AVR-2800, Onkyo 575.

digital decoding 24 bit input, digital sources handling, build quality

very cheap output stages, remote

I am surprised that this kind of product gets five stars, or any other in this price category for that matter. This is not to offend anyone, it just looks to me that quality ratings should be applied on a regardless of price basis rather than indicating best in class stuff.

So, what you get with the Denon: Excellent build quality, banana plugs, and excellent digital decoding be that 5.1 or DTS. The analog input stuff is not worth the effort, any 2 channel amp on the same price is better since they have to pass through a lot of stuff that would never be there on a 2 channel amp.

Using the preouts for the main channels confirms that output stages are mediocre. Output stage treble is forward, midrange is compressed and bass is average. All this changes for the better if an external power amplifier is used.

The remote is the worst i have seen but then i dont have a yamaha-;)

In short this is an excellent digital processor for the money. Consider the radio and the power stages thrown in for free. I am happy with it in this context, the only thing I miss every time is a practical remote and preouts for the surrounds. Stars are for processing, I cannot rate it as an amp it would not be fair at the price. I ve listened to the competition, differences are in build quality and processing amps are same stuff. Keep your old integrated for the front channels when buying in this category:))

Similar Products Used:

Rotel dsp980 + 5ch 985

6 Channel Outs, DD/DTS, Banana Plugs, Sound Quality, Personal Mem. Plus, 5 CH. Stero, PRICE...

No S-Video Connection, No Back Lit Remote

I have been shopping and reviewing Receivers for the last 2 weeks. I've listened to Yamaha's, Sony's, Onkyo's etc. Last week I narrowed the choices down to the Denon 1800 and the Onkyo 575. I really wanted the Denon, but when it came time to buy I went with the Onkyo because it had good sound and features for $150 less than the Denon. When I hooked it up I wasn't too happy with the hissing sound and lack of base I got from the Onkyo. So I continued to shop for a better price for the Denon. I went to Sears and saw the Denon AVR-87(sold only at sears) for the same price as the Onkyo. I called Denon and found out that the 87 is identical to the 1800 in every way except the 87 is 10 watts(85 x 5) more powerful than the 1800. Needless to say I took the Onkyo back and picked up the Denon, And couldn't be happier.
The 87/1800 is packed with more features, better sound and more power. I love the fact that this unit is upgadeable with 6 Channel outputs(Not on 575) for use MPEG multi-channel decoders and other future components that offer multi-channel audio signals. I also love the 5 CH. Stereo. The sound is great. The Onkyo also had this DSP, but it wasn't enough to make me want it. I wanted more, like banana plugs for every speaker connection (Not on 575), more power(only 70x5 on 575), more DSP modes(only 5 on 575), more digital Connections(only 2 on 575). I like the Personal Memory Plus on this unit too. No need to reconfigure the settings for each DSP mode upon power up. With the Onkyo I had to keep setting the speaker levels and the DSP modes. It was a pain...
I did like the remote on the Onkyo. It had learning capabilities and macro features. That was nice, but lets face it, the remote didn't sound as nice as the Denon... I switched to the Denon mainly because of the sound quality. The Onkyo was good but to me didn't compare to the Denon. I couldn't get the any base out of the Onkyo. No problem with the Denon. The hiss/Hum on the Onkyo was annoying, none with the Denon. I have to thank Onkyo for that defect though, otherwise I might not have gotten my Denon 87/1800...
I recommend this piece to anyone who likes a wide range of sound, Not just a lot of base tearing up the walls. I would have given the unit 4 Stars, because I feel there's always room for improvement. But all these features at this price ($449) deserve 5 Stars easy...

Final Result...
Denon 87/1800 is a much much better piece than the Onkyo TX-DS575. Get the Denon, you will be happy...

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-DS575

Awesome sound quality for movies and music, construction, ample power and design.

The remote takes time to get used to, but not a big problem...

Today, which is the 11th of March, I became the proud owner of the Denon 1800. I mention proud, because not only to I have the most expensive receiver in my dorm, but also the best one.

I really liked the Sony 935, but when the chance came to sell it, I grabbed it without a second thought. I researched quite a bit and know my way around home theaters quite well, since I have setup high-end systems over in Greece, and I also work at Best Buy in the home audio department. I was looking at the 2800, but like some others have said, I did not believe it was worth the extra money for a slightly better remote, 10 watts more per channel and
a few more inputs. I do not use my receiver for visual purposes, so the absence of S-video on the 1800 did not bother me at all.

What I was looking for was an affordable, high quality receiver with DTS and DD, without as many bells and whistles on it, like the Sony did. The 1800 goes straight to the point and performs briliantly under any circumstance. I haven't really explored it's full potential yet, because I've only had it for a day, but I believe it will not let me down in any way.

As far as the remote and the manuals go, I believe that Sony
does have the upper hand. However, every button and function on the receiver and the remote is self-explanatory. I hardly ever make any reference to the manuals. Part of the joy of getting toys like this is experimenting.

Final recommendation: Worth the money. I paid $530 for it from a local high end store, which seems to be a little more than what some people paid for it. I don't mind though. Best Buy does not carry Denon, so I could not take advantage of any employee discount. Excellent sound for movies and music, and enough features without too many things you won't use anyway.

Dimitri,
A student at the University of Minnesota

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-DE935

Clarity, Easy to use, good input/output connections, sounds great in Dolby mode, video inputs work better,

No backlight in LCD on remote at present...

Well, i never heard DENON for some years!!! Was looking for a PROFESSIONAL--HOME compatible system for long time...and even bought Yamaha 795a.But wanted a easy system with comparable efficiency which even a kid can try. And there u go...DENON AVR1800. Really a great system got it for $500 (THREE of US GOT THREE Pcs. ON THE SAME DAY!!). I did construct hundreds of Music systems and speaker systems for years and therefore wanted a really clean audio.
Well for those looking for S-Video stuff--do get yamaha for..but the video inputs/monitor output works as good as on any other system. well except for S-Video there is no lacking or comparisions between this level systems (avr1800 & 795a and 595a from yamaha). Well it would have been better if a backlight was provided on lcd on remote..but no problems once used its a childs play. Lastly--Go for it. I recommend. YES: one will miss some DSP effects from Yamaha but nothing more then 25 % effects which rarely one will listen by paying much higher price.
PS:if one uses a S-video connector pic. quality will be better if connected to TV directly instaed of System.

Similar Products Used:

Sony-935/930/835/830/ Yamaha rx-v795a/595a and Fisher

power to all channels 5 channel stereo extremely quiet

remote simple styling

after looking at pioneer and similar receivers i purchased this denon on the advice of the salesman. i got a demo unit for 450.00 and i am very pleased with it. i can crank the volume up to about -10 from -60 and there is no distortion. i like the simple styling, though some people might like the flash and lights of some other brands. i believe that this unit will give me years of use and will be able to be the center of my home system. i use it with polk audio speakers rt25 mains cs245 center and psw120 sub...and it kicks louder than most systems twice the size. i give it a value rating of 4 because it could have more useful features such as the remote and a s-video in.

Similar Products Used:

old pioneer receiver (dolby surround)

Grade sound!! My yamaha towers sound incredible. Great performance for a nice price.

Manual is a bit confusing but after a few weeks of tinkering around, I figured it all out.

The Denon AVR-1800 is a great piece of digital equipment. I had an old yamaha amp which does not even compare to the sound quality of the Denon. I hooked the Denon up to my Yamaha towers and Bose Acoustimass 6. The sound is awesome for movies and music. I especially like the 5 channel stereo option. The DTS feature sounds great as well as the Dolby Digital for DVD's. This receiver will give me years and years of digital pleasure. I highly recommend the Denon AVR-1800!! Happy listening.

Sound, features, cost, look.

None

This has got to be one of the best receivers out in the market for its price range. It has Dolby 5.1, DTS decoders, DSP modes, universal remote. I especially like its 5-channel stereo mode when I listen to music.

It takes some time to get used to the Denon sound when watching movies. After awhile you'll notice that everything sounds "realler".

The manual isn't as bad as everyone has painted it out to be. Could be better but far from bad. I actually like the remote control.

For its price and features, this receiver simply cannot be beat!

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha Receiver

Looks,Sound,Price,Functions

none

I love this unit I didn't have any problems with
the manual like some of the other reviwes.The only thing
that didn't work was the remote with my pionner cd player.
When I set it all up I was amazed how good it sounded.
I really like all the fine tuning you can do in the different modes and it remembers each mode.When I picked
up the unit I did a side by side test with the yamaha 795a,
not even close.The 5 chan stereo is awsome.I will recomend
this unit to anyone looking for great sound with movies and
music.

Similar Products Used:

yamaha 795a,onkyo595,

Plenty- The 5 channel stereo, main amplifiers, DTS, AC-3 and construction quality for starters.

None for dollars spent.

On the fly, I started to play with Home Theater with a 'top shelf' Radio Shack model 30 months ago. After a week, my fish bowl dripped water into the chassis. The rear channels stopped working. The repair bill was higher than a new receiver. I threw it out by the curb, it sounded awful anyways! I went to a stereo shop and requested the best price on a 24bit/96khz equipped receiver. I was offered a Kenwood VR-309 for $320. The Kenwood was better, but still sounded like something was lacking! I found out after 4 months the Kenwood was a 20bit/48khz receiver. I was offered a full refund (had to have original box!) and upgraded to a Denon AVR 1800 for $495. Finally, this receiver is marvelous. I am very pleased with the audio, sounds flat and precise. The Pro Logic mode leaves something to be desired like all receivers, however the five (5) channel stereo is excellent. I understand all AVR 1800 & AVR 87 were assembled in Japan unlike some Denon products. For the $100 or so dollars more than other manufactures in the same group, I would purchase this receiver!

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood VR-309 and early Tandy built by Pioneer.