Flexibility, sound, looks, power, no problems.

None

This is an excellent reciever for the money. Sure you could go with a high end Marantz for better sound - but for $500 - its GREAT. The diff sound stage settings, and the ability to change volume of each speaker etc is all a huge plus. This is a great machine for a Sat/sub speaker system - I have the Energy Take 5 system and movies, cd's are all great. Just take some time to play with all the settings to get the best sound for each listening mode (movies, tv, music) and you'll be happy!

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Kenwood

Good look

Sounds flat, no bass at all, very weak.

VERY flat sound, it sounded dead... No bass at all, and it was very weak in my opinion!

Buy an Onkyo or Yamaha or something else.. They are much better.

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Many different and all was better than this weak receiver.

Great receiver for movies and music as well in this price range

It's a great receiver for both music as well as movie playback!! I'm using it in conjunction with Energy Encore speaker system. The combination is fantastic!
I'm upgrading my system and buying another great product from Denon(AVR-3801). I'm posting an ad in the classified to sell it.

My System:
Denon AVR-1801
Energy Encore satellite-sub system
Sony 360 DVD player (yuk!)
JVC VCR
DISH network satellite system

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Listened to few Yamaha receivers

Good all-arounder for the buck, easy to connect

Remote, centre channel output

First introduction into HT. Good unit for the buck. Had no trouble connecting the unit to existing gear. Small gripe is binding posts for front speakers only. Quite pleased with HT capability but have tried two good centre channel B&W speakers and output is weak on vocals during movie. Cannot say the same for other output (ie. explosions and the like) so still scratching my head with centre output but I believe others have problems with vocal output during movies and need to raise DB level also on their setup. Audio output is good and only what you should expect from a unit that does both audio and video output for $350.00. Remote control is good and could be designed a bit better (small gripe only). To sum $350.00 for this all rounder should make anyone smile. What higher quality? Spend more!!

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None

Build quality

Spring clips for surrounds

I have owned this receiver for about a year and its still going strong. The build quality is outstanding and it looks great. The sound is wonderful. Strongly recomended. I would go for the 1802 now although.

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Yamaha Pioneer

Clean, crisp sound

Small remote control

Well folks,

Before purchasing this unit, I checked the reviews on this site, I think I read them all.

I had set my aim on two units, a Harman Kardon 210 and the Denon 1801. I once owned a Harman Kardon and was extreemly satisfied, but then when I read the review about the more recent units, I got cold feet and stayed away.

My first Surround sound unit was an Onkyo SVX70PRO, this thing weighed in at 35 Lbs, built like a tank.

I enjoy the 1801, for its simplicity in design, and functionability, the sound is overwhelming, clean, amd clear, I find it is perfect for my set-up.

On the other hand I find the construction on the unit a little flimsy, (Plastic Volume Control),and the famous remote control, it look very nice, but the keys are too small for an old man to read.

I am very pleased and highly recommandable.

Dominic

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Onkyo

sound quality, DD/DTS performance, setup

Power, remote (of course), number of digital inputs

I primarily compared the Denon against the Yamaha and a Pioneer unit. The Pioneer had terrible sound when using the RCA inputs. The digital inputs sounded fine. The Yamaha played much louder than the Denon, but at the expense of sound quality. The Yamaha hurt my ears when I heard it. The Denon was much quieter, but the sound was beautiful! It was crystal clear, especially compared to the Yamaha. Right now I have B&W P5 mains, with some cheap surrounds and a center. I just bought a B&W ASW1000, so we will see how that fills out the sound.

The remote is nothing short of terrible. I'm looking for a universal remote, maybe a Pronto. I wish the receiver had more digital inputs, as well, although it helps that they can be assigned to any input.

Other than those few downsides, the receiver is awesome. Very expandable (except digital) with 6ch input, preouts for front three channels, and plenty of analog ins.

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Yamaha RXV-596 & RX-385, Sony ProLogic

Shame on Denon for this product! Not that it's bad, per se. Just that it's actually inferior to the product it replaces.

I have an 1800, and I went to look the 1801 over, to see if I'd rather have the new model. The first thing I noticed is that they got rid of the binding posts for the surround speakers. Why on earth did they do that? Spring clips truly suck- and my 1800 has binding posts all around.

And what's with that remote? My 1800 has a romote virtually identical to the one they now include with the AVR-3801, only not backlit. It rocks- why'd they go to the el cheapo they give the 1801?

I know they added wideband 8 channel analog inputs, which is good, but that doesn't compensate for the cheapening of the unit. Of course, it is a hundred bucks cheaper than the old one was. Oh, well. Guess a guy will have to step up to the 2801 to get a nice unit. I'll probably buy a 3801 within the next couple months. Till then, I'll stick with my 1800.

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Denon AVR 1800

Excellent sound quality, Good number of inputs, Dolby/DTS, and best of all 5 channel stereo

Remote is impossible to use in the dark...absolutely IMPOSSIBLE.

First of all, the sound quality for both movies and music is excellent. The second you start listening to music in 5 channel stereo you will wonder how you ever listened to music in stereo. It sounds so much fuller and enjoyable. Movies in either Dolby or DTS are very good as well. The unit itself is very nice looking, and extremely sturdy and well built. For the price range, the number of inputs and outputs are very adequate, and spending the extra money over the 1601 for the inputs alone is worth it.
Equipment: Mirage Frx5 and Frx center, Bose 201 rears. Toshiba Sd2108 DVD.

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Kenwood Vr-209, Pioneer elite vsx-33tx

Powerful with HT. Lot of features.

Not very good with music.

I was looking for a good A/V reciever and got this one for a good price at Bluemarx.
I´m using it with Denon DVD-1500 and Dali 606, C1000, R1000 (no sub yet...). It produces a good surround sound. The sound is clear and pretty natural, unforunately the bass is not very deep (which suprise me since Dali 606 has very good bass with music). Add a subwoofer! If you switch to music you will find that there is a lot deeper bass but the clarity somewhat dissapears and it sounds like someone put wet cloth over the speakers. Don´t get me wrong. It still sounds ok, but not as good as I would have liked.
If I were to make a new choice I would probably buy something more powerful like Denon AVR-2801 or maybe Yamaha, Onkyo or H/K. If you´re looking for a good HT reciver and is intrested in music. I would recommend listening to this reciever.

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None