Great sound, Easy Setup, Easy Remote, 90W per channel.

Remote is ugly.Looks like something from the 70s. however VERY EASY to use !!!

Folks,

I had the HK AVR 500RDS for roughly 6 months,coulnd stand the clicks when turning up/down the volume.
Replaced it for the AVR-2801.
Also the H/K hissed and produced hiss when nothing was played. (if you stick your ear next to my center speakers you would hear a rrr type of sound) - with the DENON the whole thing is DEAD QUITE ! no hiss !

Great sound, great setup, way easy using then the HK. Although the HK sound was more spacious i think, the Denon is more accurate. Movies are awesome, great sound reproduction.

I usulay listen to music/movies at -30 ( i did so on the H/K) on the denon i have to pump it up to -23/-22 to get the same sound level. No idea why, specially that the H/K is 70w per channel while the denon is 90W.
If you have any ideas why - drop me an email.

My Setup:
Speakers:
FR+FL = B&W 602 S2
SR+SL = Bose VCS 10 ( i know , crap but its does the job)
Center = B&W CC3
DVD = Pioneer DVD-525
A/V Reciver = Denon AVR-2801

Similar Products Used:

Harman/Kardon AVR-500RDS

Sounds great with Music or Home Theater. 5 channel stereo is excellent sounding.
Excellent Value

Manual sucks, Remote is confusing

Researched for months before deciding to get a Denon 2801. Paired this with some Energy Encore speakers with a 8 Inch sub. Have been delighted with the performance of this receiver. Even with the 8 inch sub, DC and DVD have crisp highs and the bass will shake the walls! Do not have any problems with noise. My only complaint is with the remote. I've not spent the 4 hours I guess it takes to program it completly. This is a minor complaint and other then that I love the system. The 5 channel stereo rocks!

Sound Quality & Features

Remote Ugly, No Volume Indication on TV

I am using this receiver with Klipsh KSF 8.5's, C5, S5's and a CSW Sub (To be replaced with an ACI Titan or SV Sub soon). I have watched about two moves per week average most in AC3 or DTS. Listen to FM broadcasts and CD's in 5 channel stereo, and the TV in Matrix Mode for the most part. The sound quality is superb in all of these modes. It is most impressive while watching movies as the Denon (or the technology) comes into it's own with AC3 and DTS source material. I have heard no hiss in any of these modes( with the source paused or off) as depicted below even when I crank it up to 0db. I have emailed Tom to find out what he is experiencing. The small complaints I have are two: The remote is a little funky--but the learning function makes up for the ugliness. Also if the volume was displayed on the TV(numerically) momentarily when adjusted that would help one determine the level from across the room. So, anyway, with these minor issues aside, I thoroughly enjoy the unit and feel it is an exceptional value. I would purchase one again with little hesitation.

Similar Products Used:

First AV Receiver

Lots of power, lots of inputs, lots of value

All video inputs must use the same source (S-Video or RCA Video Cable)

After my Sony went into the shop for the fourth time in less than a year (an e-mail to Sony customer service regarding the poor quality of my receiver and several other Sony products was not answered to my satisfaction, but that's another story) I decided that it was time to give up and buy something else. I did a lot of research on the web, and the Denon AVR-2801 seemed to get amazing reviews from almost everyone.

My receiver is currently hooked up to a 5.1 speaker system from Yamaha (which will be replaced at the end of the week by speakers from Ascend Acoustics), an Infinity subwoofer, a JVC 32" TV, a Sony 530 DVD Player, Toshiba VCR, Dish Network Satellite receiver, and a few other odds and ends. I use the Harman Kardon TC-1000 universal remote to control most of my components.

I found the set up of the system to be fairly easy and intuitive. I did refer to the manual a few times, but overall I would say I was up and running within an hour of taking it out of the box.

The remote has gotten a lot of bad press, and it's certainly not the best that I've used, but definitely not the worst either. My main complaint is that the remote is too wide to fit comfortably in my hand, and it's not backlit. However, I had no problem programming it to run my various other components and the macro function that allows you to turn on several items at once has worked without a hitch.

I was somewhat disappointed at the video input situation. Most of my video components have S-video output, but my VCR which is an older model is not S-VHS and has only an RCA output. From reading the manual, I was under the impression that I would be able to use both RCA and S-Video inputs on the receiver and output both to my TV if I used both the RCA and S-Video outputs on the receiver. This is not the case however. Fortunately I have a video converter which can convert my RCA signal into an S-Video signal before going to the receiver. This is obviously not the best situation, but it works fine.

I've had no complaints with the sound. It's definitely far better than the Sony, and I'm sure it will only improve when I get my new speakers this week.

There are two features that I've not had on a receiver before that I really like on the Denon. The first is the Video Select. It allows you to maintain whatever audio signal you are using (a CD for example) while choosing another video input. This is great if I want to have a game on just to check the score every so often while listening to music. The other is the 5-channel stereo. This mode pumps a similar signal to all five speakers. With my Sony if I wanted to have music coming out of all five speakers I had to use some hokey-sounding, digitally processed sound that distorted the music to the point of being unlistenable.

For the price I paid, I don't think I could have gotten a better receiver. 6ave.com was very easy to deal with and the receiver came factory-sealed with the full manufacturer's warranty.

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-DE915

5 channel stereo, great seperation, plenty of watts ease of use and a great remote

If i had to pick something, i guess it would have to be the size of the remote

I am thouroughly impressed with this receiver. It has all the power I want and then some. I have it set up in a 6.1 configuration plus I was able to run another pair of speakers in another room. Easy to use and set up. I found it for a great price on ebay. Had to look long and hard for that price but it was well worth it.

Similar Products Used:

I just got rid of a similar yamaha set-up. Yamaha was alright but this Denon kicks booty!

Quality of audio reproduction, quiet, powerful, attractive looking, very versatile remote, aluminum face plate and controls knobs (although the knobs a just aluminum covered), Dolby Digital and DTS Decoding built in, vast number of inputs.

Absolutely none, for the money.

I bought the Technics SA-AX720 with the SH-AC500D decoder 21 months ago. For the set I paid $350.00. I thought it was great for the price, considering it had AC-3 and DTS. I didn't realize how much audio detail I was missing till I hooked up the AVR-2801. The difference was so dramatic I don't think there are word in the english language to describe the difference. The 2801 is also QUITE, something I can't say the Technics was. At FULL VOLUME in any mode, there is no sign of hiss or noise at any of the 6 speaker, very impressive. The remote, although bulky, is very powerful, it learns. I have replaced ALL my other remotes with this 1 remote.

I looked at a Sony STR-DB840 and a Yamaha AX-V596 before I bought the Denon. The Sony and Yamaha, while quite STRONG, do not compare to the Denon in my opinion. The Denon is built better, looks better, sounds better and has more features for the money.

I would also like to add that I own Bryston audio components. The Denon sound much more "High End" compared to the other products I've listened to. For the money, I don't think you will find a better receiver.

Similar Products Used:

Technics SA-AX720 with SH-AC500D Decoder, Denon AVR-2800, Sony STR-DB840.

smooth, clean sound, five channel stereo

n/a

This denon receiver has lot of power very clean clear sound i was going to get the 2800 but reading the review a lot of people had hissing sounds in analog mode so i got the 2801 just in case.I am very impressed with the receivers sound quality and if you have dvd and a dvd player with dts this reciever makes dts come alive.

Similar Products Used:

n/a

5 channel stereo, Home Theater

none

This reciever is incredible! It is by far the most quality component in my theater setup. I was worried that my sub-par speakers would not be able to take advantage enough of my Denon that it would be worth the buy. I was very wrong! It was a gigantic improvement from my Dolby Digital Pioneer reciever even with the same speakers.

Music sounds incredible with 5 channel stereo, and it is fairly tweekable as far as recievers go. The only thing that beats music on a Denon is the home theater on a Denon; Home theater, even in Pro Logic, is absolutely stunning! It has incredible clarity, dynamic range, and perfect separation.

I find that Reviewers have a tendency to trash the remote. In fact, I can't remember reading a reviewer that really liked his/her remote control; so, I'm going to set a trend. The remote that comes with the reciever is really a wonderful remote. It does exactly what a remote should do, and having seen some pretty bad remote designs, I'd actually say that this is one of the better looking ones too. It is a just a titch large, but not cumbersome in any way. It even has a hidaway panel for more the the advanced features (many of the on-screen features are found in this compartment).

The Denon has plenty of head-room on the volume control. It can reach those ear bleeding highs, and earth shaking lows even with a low level input soure (my computer at half volume).

The signal to noise ratio on this thing is almost disturbing. When the reciever is turned up to max volume, it still sounds like the reciever is off. I imagine one day that I'll accidently think it is off, and blow my speakers.

My system;
5 generic KLH satelites
Polk PSW-250 sub
Main input=SP/DIF from my SB live

Audio fidelity, build quality.

No component video switching, remote lacks some specific component functions.

Got this one at a year-end sale for about 5% over dealer cost. Hookup was very straightforward; everything worked on the first try.

Sounds very neutral with my KEF Q series 2 speakers (Q15.2 F& R, Q95c.2 center, Velodyne CT-100 sub) in "small" bass-management mode. More than enough power for those 91 dB/W drivers in my 3000 ft^3 room.

DSP simulation modes are pretty good, although I couldn't activate them for a two-channel mono bitstream DVD source ("A Shot in the Dark"), where I really felt they were needed. 5-Channel Stereo is great for parties, and sometimes preferable to 2-channel for solo music listening.

Five S-Video I/O and zero component video I/O doesn't seem like an optimal allocation of switched video sources. I can't imagine that component video switching is prohibitively expensive, especially if the burden of providing on-screen menus in that mode is removed.

The remote: I like the learning & macro functions. I don't like giving up numerical channel-selection control on my VCR, though. A system shutdown preset macro function would be a nice addition. Some of the weakness of macro functionality which exists with any programmable remote stems from the lack of separate ON and OFF IR signals for some A/V components; a current-sensing power controller (such as Panamax's MAX 2000) is needed in that case. I would also prefer individual selection buttons to change component modes rather than the less intuitive pair of slider switches.

The verdict: convenience issues aside, the main thing is- it sounds great. Minimal coloration means that the media producer's intentions are effectively reproduced.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-1800

Very clean sound from all formats

LFE output

NOTE TO SATISH: The AVR-2801 has banana plug connectors on all channels. You must have submitted your review in the wrong place.

Pros:

spacious sound stage
good reserve power at high volumes
DD/DTS are absolutely fantastic (no hiss in rears)
5 channel stereo (I no longer listen to 2 channel music)

Cons:

cant adjust LFE filter (slope is to slow)

All things considered this is a great receiver for the money.

Similar Products Used:

sony ES