1. Sound and 6 channels 2. Inputs 3. Features and design 4. Price ($)

None really. The manaual is long and not the best. Remote isn't the best, but much better design and features than the 1802

I was given this receiver as a x-mas present. I have used it for three days and the thing is unbelievable. So much power with so many options. My previous receiver pales in comparison to the new Denon. I have a pair of JBL N38's hooked up to it now as the mains, adding surrounds and hooking up all my other stuff when I get back to college. The JBL's sound awesome and I couldn't be more pleased with this product so far. Makes every CD come alive. This thing is loaded with inputs of every kind. For a receiver under $500 this thing is loaded and performs spectacularly. I was looking at an Onkyo SR600 and a HK AVR225 before settling on the Denon. I think I made the wise choice. After this purchase I am officially a big Denon fan and customer!

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Pioneer VSX-D308- My 1st receiver, no problems in 3 years, still keeping for some future use

Sound, Power, connections for all componets. its simple looks. it weights in at 25 pounds. the price the name DENON on it. can have 7 speakers hooked up. more if you want to series wire some up. DD ex, DP2, DTS ES

only one pre out and thats for the sub maybe the manuel can be writen by 9th graders so the majority of poeple can understand it.

Well i like to think this site and all those who reviewd this product modestly. I have been doing research for a long time, since the 3801's was out. i have been lusting for it ever since. MY old system was a Yahmaha 793 it was good and i liked it. SO the night before i bought the Denon 1803 i did some movie testing. And the Yahamaha was bright with my speakers. When i hooked up my DEnon, only took 5 minutes to get running. Out the box it sounded good. SO warm and nice. They make the Klipsch ksb 1.1 sing good. this is before the warm up time set in. so im sure it would sound better once it gets warmed in. i truely enjoy the Denon the seperation is very good DTS is amazing. it does 6.1 and yes you can add two speakers for the surround back. it does es and ex with t channel, not like the 3802 that does it with 7.1 this thing is plenty loud for an apartment or an average size room. it depends on the size of your speakers too. the klipsch is rated at 94db at 1v/i meter what ever that means. 80 watts per channel is good enough once you turn the voulme up past -20 your getting sounds. voulme level is -70~+18 you can also adjust the voulme of each speaker. you have to listen to this your self and at $500 this is the best thing under the sun. this thing sound so good it will make you want to smack someone and invite everyone you know to brag about it. the remote is ok i had no problems with it. you just have to read it and follow what it says. The remote is cool i had no problems with it. Now any body who has a problem wiht setting this puppy up has some serious problems. SYstem : Denon 1803 6 klipsch ksb 1.1's PS2, gamecube wanting a new sub wanting to get a pair of dipoluar speakers for the surround back left and right.

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yahmaha, martenz, Denon

Sound with music, and movies. Remote is good. Powerful!

Slow to switch when using sound modes.

Let me start out by saying I love Denon receivers! I own the wonderful Denon AVR-3300 that is installed in my Referance Home Theater. I owned the Denon AVR-1601 that sounded good for the price at mid volume. It died on me just after the warrenty was up. So the Denon AVR-1803 is a replacement for the 1601 in my second smaller Home Theater. Let me start out by saying this is a very musical receiver! when in Direct mode using a digital connection from the DVD player it sounds very smooth, warm, and detailed. It has plenty of power, and remains smooth and warm even at 00 volume setting. Dolby Digital, and DTS sounds awesome, very engulfing, and punchy. I dont have a rear center speaker hooked up. DTS Neo 6 sounds great in Cinema and musc modes. I like it better then Dolby Pro-Logic 2, which sounds fine, just not as good. And of course 5-Channel stereo sound as good as it always has on all of my denon receivers. I love the build quality of this 1803. The remote is one of the best I have seen from Denon to date. It was very easy to program. I do wish it had a learning function as they dont have a code for my Comcast Digital Cable Box. The remote feels very comfortable in my hand, and is very well laid out. All the important buttons glow in the dark. And at 25 lbs, it packs a punch. It has all of the connections you will ever need, including component video switching. The manual is very good. And set up was very easy. I also love the selectable crossover settings. Now for what I dont like about this receiver. When swiching sound modes it takes much longer to switch modes then any other Denon I have ever used. And like I said the remote needs a learning function. These are small gripes. Alot of Receiver for the Money! My second system: Toshiba 36" (TV) Denon AVR-1803 (Receiver) Play Station 2 (DVD Player) Comcast Digital (Cable) Energy exl-15 (Front & Rear) Energy exl-c (center) Definitive Technology Pro Sub 100TL (Subwoofer)

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Denon AVR-3300, AVR-1601, AVR-1800, AVR-1803.

clean, open, sound. 6.1 audio. 7 speaker posts for future upgrades.

remotes a little weak, manual is bad.

this is an excellent reciever that produces very clear and spacious sound. i purchased the 1803 in order to hook up my dvd-a player and had been using a harman kardon avr-110 {outsanding clarity but a more confined feel to the sound) that lacked the 6 channel inputs. i was really shocked at how much the Back channel sound adds to many dvds, LOTR extended edition uses a DTS 6.1 discreet mix and its incredible. it also handels my dts music and dvd-as very well. i compared the 1803 against a Yamaha RXV630, Onkyo TXSR600, and Harman Kardon AVR-325. Yamaha: i was completely unimpressed with this unit, it sounded so bright and processed i thought i was listening to my pc sound card. yamah likes its dsp tech, but heavily modified sound is not what i look for. Onkyo: good power and punch but sounded somewhat muffled, nice features though. Harman Kardon: great sound, good features just a little to pricey. system Denon AVR-1803 Front speakers- Polk RT1000i Center- Polk CSI 30 Surround- Polk RT 30 Back- blech, optimus satalite speakers that must be changed very soon. Sub- AudioSource SW 15 ( this is a fantastic sub for its 180$ price, and if you own this you MUST DO THE POLYFILL MOD!)

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Onkyo tsdx-484, Harman Kardon AVR-110.

Sound is clear and true.

Would prefer a more in-depth manual.

OK I'm not really qualified to give you an expert opinion on this product, since I'm not an audio guru, but I know what sounds good to me...and this reciever sounds GOOD. After hours of comparing specs and of course cost, my choice came down to this or Yamaha's 730. In my laymen's view, when compared side by side, the Denon was the clear winner when looking at the spec's. I didn't like all the soundfields Yamaha offered since I only want to hear the sound the way it was meant to be heard. It was a simple decision to go the Denon route. Haven't regretted my choice yet.

Great sound

The manual is a bit lacking

There is really no point to give 3 or 2 points to this receiver, just because of the remote, and manual. What really maters is the sound. I wanted to write a review a little later, because i use the denon for 2 days, and i will post on it later, however i had to share this opinion. Anyone, who gonna buy this receiver, won't be disappointed, however it is advised to take time to listen to it.

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Old technics

Looks nice Sounds good Lots of features

Horrible manual Horrible Remote Horrible compatability with TV

I purchased the Denon AVR 1803 as a package that came with 6.1 speakers. I have been researching for a good 9 months and finally decided on the Denon because everyone spoke highly of them. I actually liked the Yamaha unit a little better but I didn't like the Yamahe speakers. I have to say I realy don't like the Denon and I am returning it for the Yamaha 630. The Denon manual is absolutly awful! Whoever translated it from Japanese did not know the english language. Very poorly written and hard to understand. Aggrivating!! The huge and awkward remote is another reason I don't like it. The Yamaha looks much better. One last thing. I have a new Mitsubishi HDTV and I was expecting to use the remote it to operate the Denon but suprise, suprise, it doesn't work with the 1803. Now, all the sales guys say "oh ya, Denon is known for that" No one mentioned that before I bought it. Even when I told them I would use my Mitsubishi remote. Thankfully, Tweeter has a very good polisy about returns and they will exchange the Denon for the Yamaha even though it was a package deal and I have already mounted the speakers.

Dts-es discrete 6.1, Dpl-II, Dolby Digital ex, multi-source mutli-room capable, upgradable, component video input x 2, component video ouput, Dts: neo 6, External input on front for Ps2, xbox ect. Easy use interface, redesigned remote. Dvd-audio and sacd inputs.

no usb audio input (for computer connection)

Okay, model year is actually 2002 but the menu didnt have it. So far so good for the Denon Amp, I shopped around for a few months and considered the Yamaha rxv-730, the Jvc Rx-8020, Harmon Kardens a320 and Pioneers entry level elite line. I picked the Denon over the Jvc because the Jvc is only 5 channel, the Pioneer and Harmon Karden were $200.00 more and didnt seem to have any more features. Plus the amp i was replacing was a Dpl Pioneer and it went TU so i didnt want another Pioneer. I picked the Denon over the Yamaha because the Yamaha doesn't have 6 channel discrete, or Dts:neo6, and is only "compatible" for matrix 6.1. So the Denon was my final choice. Msrp is $499.00 on Denon's website so i dont know where the quote for $332. on the menu came from. The Denon is a great a/v receiver so far, it has digital coax input and assignable digital optical inputs, component video inputs and more s-video and inputs than i will ever need. All the speaker posts are the quality binding type and also have banana plug inputs. The auto mode for home theater sound always selects the correct format for playback and DTS-ES sounds absolutely amazing. Set up is easy and the redesigned remote has the batteries at the rear and large easy to use buttons, the Dpl II function works well at simulating surround from 2 channel sources such as vhs and tv. 6 channel stereo mode is great for listening to cd's without any effects or differences in output levels for the speakers, although it can be adjusted if you so desire. I have not bothered to use the different sound "modes" as i think that they are tacky and usually do not sound natural anyways. (the yamaha recievers have 42 different modes, how could anyone compare 42 different sound fields to each other). More importantly the set up was simple and i have made it very easy for my wife to change from cd to dvd to tv to vcr ect. utilizing one of the switches on the console. Power is rated at 80 watts @ 8 ohms (0.08% thd) and i have it going through rft mains, yamaha ns 120 center and rear center, yamaha ns90 bookshelf surround, i have not been able to turn it past -15 db's for music and -05 db's for home theater as it is plenty loud enough. Also it plays back 5.1 input in 6 channel format, for example if the dvd is in dolby digital 5.1 the amplifier converts it to dolby digital-ex and adds the rear center channel (matrixed). The same works for Dts, if it is Dts 5.1 input from the dvd, the amplifier will put it into Dts-es matrix. True Dts-es discrete however has to be encoded on the disc (gladiator has it i dont know which other disc). The sound processor in this unit is a 32-bit processor from "Analog Devices" which is also better than most of its competitors.(the Yamaha also has a 32 bit processor). The Avr1803 is also expandable because it can be upgraded to 7.1 if a second simple amplifier is added. It also has mutliple zone, multiple input capabilitly. Allowing you to run 5.1 sound for home theater and stereo sound to a different zone simultaneosly. All in all it appears to be everthing i needed in an a/v receiver and nothing i didnt need

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compared to Yamaha Rxv-730 and Jvc Rx-8020