5-channel stereo sound, dolby digital surround, DVD decoding , Great crisp sound at low and high volumes,

Very clumsy remote, you do get used to it but do not try to teach your wife to use it. Without a sub, the bass is not very good,

Overall, I am quite happy with the receiver, I am replacing a 10 year old Denon receiver, without surround. So have entered a new listening world. I like the easy to see digital screen. The extra front channel speaker outs were unexpected. The need for a subwoofer is very evident. Even with the bass control all the way up you just don't get enough bass. The remote leaves little to be desired, but you do get used to it.
The only problem I have encountered is this: sometimes when you turn the DVD player on, the DVD player sound over-rides any other sound currently in use, such as vcr or cd, when the DVD player power is shut off the receiver goes back to normal. I was able to corrct this by unplugging the receiver from any power source for a period of at least 30 minutes. But the problem has come back.
I purchased the receiver from JoeMommaComputer.com for $529.00, have had great service and could not beat the price.
I am using the receiver with:
Polk Audio RT-55 fronts
Polk Audio CS-300 Center
Bose 301 rear
Panasonic A120 DVD
Denon DCM 340 CD

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR-5000 $ SR-7000, Yamaha 795

Fantastic Dolby Digital, DTS, and 5 Channel Stereo

No specific weaknesses in my opinion

I moved up to this receiver from my old 2 channel DRA-635 (which I loved). My only regret --- I didn't do it sooner! If you have never heard Denon's 5 channel stereo, you MUST try it out at you local dealer. Although it is probably not the best choice for true analytical listening, it is unbelievable when you want to put in some music, close your eyes, and be enveloped in it!

The receiver senses the input type (DD/DTS/analog...) instantly and flawlessly. The decoding is very impressive (although I did not compare this feature with many other receivers). I find the sound quality to be quite good (although a speaker upgrade is probably due...). I find the bass output to be more than adequate (others have commented that it is weak), but I have a subwoofer. Still, I am not a fan of overwhelming bass, and the AVR 2800 does a nice job producing appropriate, musical bass. For soundtracks, the subwoofer takes care of the low frequency effects, so I can't say how the receiver would do on its own.

The receiver itself is fairly easy to use, once you put in an hour or two familiarizing yourself with it. Setup is aided by an extremely useful on screen display. I may be wrong, but I don't think the AVR 1800 has this feature. If not, this alone might make it worth the extra $200.

I, for one, have no particular problem with the remote. I didn't expect to use the remote that came with my receiver to control every nuance of every component I own. I would prefer to compare and shop for that on my own. For those who put in a bit of effort, however, the remote actually WILL do pretty much what you need it to do. If you are persistent, you can successfully use it to control your entire setup. Although, again, that should not factor highly in your decision to purchase a receiver (in my opinion). The only real complaint I have about it is that it is... well, it's not beautiful.

This receiver, just like my previous Denon receiver (and every Denon receiver I have ever met), is dripping with quality. I used my DRA-635 for nine years without glitch/hiss/hum/buss/etc. I think I can expect the same of this one, too. Solid!

Finally, I do have a few minor annoyances:
No front a/v input
No component switching (although I really have no use for this at this point)
No digital audio out

My other equipment:
Denon CD player (eight years old)
Toshiba SD2109 DVD player
Sony 32" TV
Altec Lansing Model 100 Front Speakers (AL used to make home audio equipment, but stopped about five years ago)
JBL N Center speaker
JBL N24 Rears
KLH 10-120 Subwoofer
Miscellaneous Monster and Acoustic Research Interconnects
etc...

I bought mine at Netmarket for $590, shipped. I also got $50 back to spend at Netmarket ($20 for buying it, and $30 as a consolation prize because they screwed up part of the order process). It came from an authorized dealer, so I have no worries about the warranty (2 years on Denon A/V receivers). Overall, Netmarket isn't bad if you're in no particular hurry to get your stuff. In general, they are fairly quick, but since they do not actually stock the items they sell, you never know when the dreaded "backorder" will strike. Getting accurate updates on order status can then take up 48 hours, and neither you nor the customer service folks can do much to speed up the order. I waited almost 3 weeks. On the other hand, the interconnects I ordered next arrived in 3-4 days.

Similar Products Used:

Denon DRA-635

Learning Remote, 5 channel stereo

Complicated Remote, Difficult wiring Schematics in Manual

I am relatively new to the whole home theatre scene, so when it came to upgrading my old Technics Pro-Logic receiver the Kenwood 2080 caught my eye. A beautiful, high tech looking machine, I thought it would be great. I was proven wrong. The sound was not that bad, but having disconnected it for renos, it fried upon rehook. But enough about that Ugly. The Denon AVR-2800 I replaced it with surpassed the Kenwood 10 fold. I have crisper cleaner sound, more sound from my rear surrounds. Definitly a Superior machine. The Learning remote was able to capture all the functions of my 43" Sony TV , Technics CD player and my Pioneer 3 disc DVD player. This was something the Kenwood could not, even with its elaborite $300.(can) remote. Sorry for rambling on but for any newbies out there, go the extra mile on the receiver, it makes all the difference.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood AV 2080

Overall sound quality,DD surround sound,solid construction.

ugly remote, no pre-outs for the rear surrounds

The Dolby Digital processing on this receiver is nothing short of spectacular...Watching the Matrix puts you right in the middle of the action with 360degree sound. Listening to music in 2-channel stereo is extremely clean and balanced, with the highs not too sharp but not dull either. Bass is also clean and tight...but connect a sub and the sound goes to kick-ass! The receiver itself is built very solid, with a conservative yet expensive look and feel to it (and made in Japan!). I don't know why everyone complains about the manual. I thought it was pretty clear...Have you guys read the Onkyo manual? Ugh! I admit the remote is a bit ugly...but it is powerful. In comparison, I like the Denon sound better than the 575X. The Onkyo had a better designed remote, but that was about it to me. On the higher-end, the Elite 27TX was a very nice receiver and packed with features...however it's sound didn't match up to it's price tag, I felt. I found the Denon to fall nicely in between the two....And I got it for what I would have paid for the Onkyo. Love it. I've seen the new 2801 model out...It's got 5 more watts/channel and a few other bells...but I also notice it is selling for less than the 2800 (?) Can anyone who has one tell me where it's made? I've seen this stunt pulled one too many times by the Mfrs!

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 575X, Pioneer Elite VS27TX

Dolby Digital performance, DTS, Pre-Amp outputs, OSD, Clean Tuner, Direct mode, 5CH Stereo

Remote, slightly noisy preamp outputs

I have owned this receiver since it first came out in August, 99. It has good amplifiers, but they do not handle 4 ohm loads very well so consider a separate amp if you have low impediance speakers. The tuner is well above average for a home theater receiver, it is very sensitive and quiet.
The direct mode is great for pure stereo listening but remember it does bypass the crossover network between the front speakers and subwoofer. The Dolby Digital and DTS decoders are excellent. You will find the D/A converters in this unit far better than any CD/DVD player under $1000 so hook your CD player or changer to its digital inputs if possible, but you can not dub via the internal converters, only the analog inputs.
Inital set up of the delay times and channel levels is easy via the onscreen display. The only big weak point in this unit is the remote. In order to operate more than one piece of gear at a time, you are constantly moving the two switches which will soon break, so include the cost of a good universal remote in the cost of the purchase.
In my opinion Denon 2800 has much better stereo audio performace than its biggest competitor, the Yamaha 995, and a far better tuner. Over all the Yamaha has a brightness to its sound that is very iritating with many speakers.
After nine months I have no regrets about my decision purchasing this unit. If you need more power and component video switching then move up to the Denon AVR-3300.
The rest of my system includes:
B&W CDM1SE Main speakers
B&W CDMCSE Center
Advent Protigy Rear speakers
Klipsch KSW 12 Subwoofer
Sony DVP S3000 DVD Player
Sony CDP-CX300 CD Changer
NEC DX 1000U VCR
ProScan PS27100 Television
AR Analog Cassete Deck
Phillips DCC-900 DCC deck
Sonic Fontiers (Anthem) Integrated One tube amp

Similar Products Used:

Sherwood Newcastle, Yamaha 995, Sony STR-G3

5-channel stereo; no distortion or background noise at any volume

Flip-up cover on remote does not stay closed; owner's manual

I want to thank everyone at this website for your reviews. It helped me make my decision easier.

Because of the store I had to deal with, I narrowed my choices to all models of Sony, Yamaha and Denon. I also decided to stay in the $400-$700 range. Anything more than that I felt would be over doing it. Anything less than that I felt would shortchange me on functions, power and quality.

After reading the reviews, it seemed that the Denon & Yamaha were evenly matched except that Denon had 5-channel stereo that everyone seemed love. Because of this I went with AVR-2800 and am glad I did. My wife is more critical of sound than I am and she just loves the 5-channel. I think this is the only way she will listen to music now unless it's a DVD like the Eagles that was done in DTS. With my digital television, it is almost better than being at the concert.

I love the distortion free sound. I can crank it up full volume, with no music, and not hear one bit of hiss.

Everything else is great. Dolby Digital, DTS all sound fantastic. I am still learning new things about it all the time, so I reserve commenting on any possible shortcomings because it might just be the operator (me) not knowing how. I put some of the blame on the owner's manual. It was not written very well.

Price seemed a little higher than other brands and that is why I gave it a Value Rating of 4 stars. But without having tried other brands in my home envoirment, maybe there is a good reason for it.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer

Great 5.1 sound from DVD's, Powerful and clean amplifiers, no emphasis on bogus DSP functions

Lettering on receiver is hard to see from a distance if you have hooked up your video sources direct to monitor and are not using the s-vhs switching and display functions. Manual is awful. Remote is awkward to use with doors and many switches required to operate other components.

The Denon is a handsome component which now powers my Paradigm Monitor 5's, CC-350 Center, PS-1000 sub, and Atom surrounds. I replaced an older Pioneer Pro-Logic AV receiver and the difference is truly spectacular.

On movies it is powerful and clean with good separation of AC-3 sounds. The quality of the sound is natural and easy to listen to, even with some aggressive soundtracks. Speaker balancing on the fly is easy to do and the unit recognizes the digital AC-3 bitstream from my Toshiba SD2109 very quickly. There have been no sonic anomalies to speak of except for the tendency of some stereo / surround cable broadcasts to collapse into the center channel only with no soundsd emanating from the mains or surrounds. This acually happens quite frequently.

I would also have liked the flexibility of choosing different distances for my surround speakers individually as opposed to the "one distance for both" that the set-up provides. My room setup is not exactly symmetrical.

The multiple switches that one is required to move when operating different source components with the master remote however, is counter-intuitive and weird in practice. With tiny lettering and no back-lighting, it takes a lot of effort to change back and forth between component and audio functions because you have to memorize the switch positions.

Music sounds quite natural in Pro-Logic, and I actually prefer it to 5-Ch stereo as the surrounds are less aggressive in Dolby mode.

Unfortunately, my unit also arrived with a few switching flaws that will require warranty service. The VCR 1 input on the back of the unit is cross-wired and does not work unless you select VCR 2 from the front. Plus the TV input mixes with the VCR 2 input causing it to be heard in the background (in this case "two for one" is not preferable).

With most components, a trip to the warranty repair is not too much of a bother, but with the multiple inputs on this AV Receiver plus the mediocre and time-consuming speaker connections when using bare wire, it ends up to be quite a chore.

The Denon is sonically comparable to the Marantz but falls way short on ergonomics (specifically the remote).

Overall I would have rated the unit a 4 out of 5, but I will rate it a 3 because of the faulty switching. I'll let you all know about my warranty repair experience in a future review update.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR-7000, Nak AV-8

Simple to use, 5 channel stereo, cranks!

Manual, delay when switching b/w DSPs or inputs, no video select on remote, makes you realise you need better speakers.

Firstly, those weaknesses are so minor that I wouldn't even consider them in my buying decision but if I had designed it, that is what I would have done differently.

This is my first receiver and I am still ecstatic every time I use it! There is so much power and it increases constantly all the way, no distortion after 'halfway'. I had used friend's amps; Sony have too many bulls#@t features that you would never use, and if their power ratings were accurate, I would be scared to hear 135W as the Denon's 85W blows me away.
Yamaha are overrated, complex for the sake of being awkward and far too many DSPs. I want to reproduce sound, not alter it into something totally different. Also there are 4 power buttons on the remote, seems unnecessary.

The 5 channel stereo is amazing, just crank it up and close your eyes and enjoy the sound. I could not be happier but I do worry about the level of support I would get if anything went wrong. Not many licensed repairers near me. Lucky it's still pumpin' then!!

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX800, couple of Sony receivers

Incredible sound in all modes. Clean, quite power in all modes. Ease of operation and setup.

Remote. Quality control.

I just got my replacement unit because the first unit had a defect that caused popping/static noise through the speakers in 5-ch. stereo and the DSP modes until the receiver had warmed up for about 15 minutes. It appeared that Denon got a bad batch of processors because the serial number on my unit was only 24 off of another unit that had the same problem as posted by someone else on this site.

The new unit works flawlessly. The sound is incredible. It is very easy to operate. The power is outstanding. And damn is it quiet. No hissing (even in 5-ch. stereo). Silent passages in movies and music are SILENT. Incredible imaging. Crystal clear clarity. Excellent music reproduction in both 2-ch. and 5-ch. stereo. Great tuner reception for radio listening (picks up everything very strong and clear).

Can't watch enough movies. I've watched The Matrix 2 or 3 times in the last few days. Can you say lobby shooting spree and dodge this? When Neo is destroy the building with the machine gun from the helicopter, and then the helicopter crashes into the building - oh, my!

Other than the problem I had with the first unit, which to some extent is understandable because nothing produced by humans is 100% flawless, I would highly recommend this unit.
But I do have to give a 4 star overall rating due to the problem with the first unit.

Oh, and Denon, do a little work on your remotes.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR-7000. Yamaha 795 and 995.

Clear open sound, 5ch. stereo, DD & DTS, build quality, Denon quality and history, and great looks

Some quirkiness in the remote control.

I have had Two other Denon Receivers, so I knew of the Denon quality, and general aspects of Denon Receivers. Still everytime I purchase one of their products, I am shocked at the cost to features ratio. It is hard to believe that you get 85x5 watts of power S-video switching, Dolby Digital & DTS decoding, 5ch. stereo, 6ch. ext. in for future upgrades (like DVD audio), and Denon quality. All at under $600.00. I am amazed.

After setting up this receiver, which was somewhat complicated, although my previous experience aided me in this effort. I listened to an Ella Fitzgerald CD on 5ch. stereo. The sound was open and clear, and Ella and the band filled my room with an orchestral feast. I listened to Jazz recordings, and was continuously amazed at the sound this receiver produced. It sounded much more open and dynamic than my AVR 2400, which it replaced. Compared to the AVR 4800 I noticed less punch, and less soundstaging, but not much difference in sound quality. Next came DVD's, I put on the Jaws DTS DVD, and lets just say I won't be swimming in the ocean for a while. I also watched Saving Private Ryan, and the opening beach fighting sequence came through with awesome detail and suprising oomph. Again I was taken by surprise, as the AVR 2800 was sounding almost as good as the 4800. Just slightly less powerful, which is what I wanted (my wife, well you know!)

As for negatives, well Denon remotes take a little getting used to, but once you master the switching 1 or 2 slide switches, and many buttons to push. You will have a remote which can control an entire home theater. Mastering the onscreen display greatly reduces stress with this unit.

In summary this is a great receiver, especially at this price point. It is feature packed, and a quality piece to boot. I highly recommend.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-4800 (Wow) and Denon AVR-2400.