deeply discounted
clear, neutral sound
right level of technology for 5.1 dolby and dts surround w/ 6 channel in/outs for future upgrades

nothing dissappointed

Great clarity especially when listening to newer DVDs, love the 5-channel stereo mode, has front A + B speaker outs,eminently upgradeable, setup in less than 15 minutes. As far as the volume curve, suspect that volume levels indicated by a/v receivers at this price level are not exact. Found the remote and manual to be completely adequate. Volumes exceed listening expectations. Would only be inadequate with listening distances of greater than 200'. Clear at high volume levels.

Completely satisfied my expectations for a natural sounding, low distortion dts digital surround sound high power a/v reciever which would fit $400 budget.

Did not do any listening comparisons, purchase decision based on reviews made throughout this site and on comparison of comparable H/K and Onkyo receiver specs.

Found deepest discount on this model which was being replaced by 2802. Used pricepoint.com to find lowest price.

Have the unit hooked up to Axiom's M3ti SE bookshelves. Which are beautiful and have also exceeded my expectations in everyway. Never thought a bookshelf speaker could be so complete or come from a company with so much customer priority.

Similar Products Used:

H/K

very clean sound, good power, I even like the remote

only one coax input

I absolutly love this receiver. For the money, I doubt if you will find a better one. I was amazed at what 90 watts really could sound like, especially after hearing other recievers with exagerated power claims (not to drop names, but "Sony"). The sound is clean, especially at high levels.

I really like the fact that this receiver does not have a bunch of silly gimmicky features that I will never use, like 30 sound simulations. It is a well built, good looking receiver that is obviously made with high quality components. The remote is a little cheap looking, but I am able to use it for my entire system (TV, DVD, CD, Tape). The call features work great.

I ordered this online from crazyeddie.com about a year ago. The price was good and it was shipped fast and well packed.

The bottom line: I've had this receiver for over a year now and I am still very happy with my purchase.

5 channel stereo, crisp, clear sound especially in dts, and dd!

Clunky confusing remote control,time to set it up.

Im no electronic guru, so set up was a complete nightmare for me, I thought, just plug in the speaker wire, turn it on and start rocking out, WRONG!My first HT,so I'm in a whole new world.If it werent for the manual,(and my wifes patience) I would still be trying to figure it out.The remote control is very cluttered and confusing to figure out, But with time, trial and error, you'll get the hang of it.I really like the 5 channel stereo for listening to cd's.I bought Klipsch Reference seies speakers, and I dont know how any better they could possibly sound!!If you are even a little electronicly inclined, you should have little or no problem setting it up, just be sure to follow the manual step by step!!This reciever was 699.00 at circut city, and found it at crazy eddies for about 450.00.And I must say dealing with Howard at crazy eddies was a real pleasant experience!You will be very happy with this receiver, just take your time setting it up!

Sound is clean, uncolored. Appearance is anti-glitz. Auto sensing is nice. Power is decent.

Remote.

First time HT buyer, accustomed to NAD separates...so sound is the main criteria for me. Pleasantly surprised by sound quality from this receiver. Very nice, uncolored. Not tinny, harsh like sound from Yamaha A/V Receiver. Does well with both music and movies. 5 channel stereo is a nice feature.

Have it set in a smallish family room with PSB Alpha series speakers and sub. It fills the room effortlessly. Appreciate lack of superfluous DSP settings and classy appearance. Runs kind of hot, but not a problem. Speaker terminals a little tedious to deal with. Overall a great sounding, nice looking component. If you care about sound over bells and whistles check out the 2801.

Similar Products Used:

Sony HTIB. Yamaha Receiver. NAD separates for music.

Easy setup, superior sound, plenty of power, remembers the last-used surround settings for each input component(Personal Memory Plus).

Manual is generally understandable but a bit "thin". Remote could be laid out better, have a better "feel" to it.

As a casual listener, I started out looking at a number of AV receivers since I was not too familiar with surround components in general. I wanted something that would give me great surround and also play music well, as I do listen to an eclectic collection of CD's and don't just watch a lot of movies. I visited Tweeters etc.(I figured they knew the products better than I), and listened to and looked at a few surround receivers, Denon and Yamaha included. I thought they both did a good job with surround, but I thought the Yamaha's did seem a bit too bright sounding for me, and the 5 channel stereo mode on the Denons really caught my ear. I also noticed that the Denons were "cleaner" looking and didn't have a lot of unnecessary DSP modes and other buttons/controls. The AVR 2801 had a memory mode that remembered the surround settings/mode you last used for each input component, a useful feature. I quickly checked out sites like this one and the reviews for the AVR 2801 were nothing short of positive feedback for me. While I considered the AVR 1801 because of it price, I decided on the AVR 2801 based on the extra power, features, and the fact I didn't anticipate having to buy again for quite some time. Even for a novice like myself, the on-screen setup went well and I was able to follow the manual. I connected my DVD player using the coax input and popped in Gladiator. Needless to say, I was not at all disappointed. It sounded awesome! Warm, clean, and vibrant sounding is the only way to describe it. No hiss, and plenty of power for my needs. After listening (watching) a number of DVD and VHS movies, I can say that the 2801 does a great job reproducing DTS, Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic surround sound. I've listened to all kinds of music from Rock to Jazz to easy-listening and classical, and the 5 channel stereo and matrix DSP modes create a great sound stage, even for a smaller room such as mine. While the remote has taken some hits in reviews and I also think it could be better, it works well and I have been able to have it "learn" my remotes for my DVD, VCR and TV so I don't need to handle multiple remotes just to watch a movie. The Call/Macro function allows you to program it so that you can turn on your receiver, DVD, TV/monitor and play the movie at the press of two buttons. The manual is a bit thin on details and could be written more clearly, but I have been able to understand it and have not been unable to set anything up, adjust settings etc. because of it. When everything is taken into account, I am quite pleased with this receiver, the quality of the unit and the sound it reproduces. My setup includes the following:

Denon AVR 2801 surround receiver
Denon DVD 1000 DVD player
Boston VR20 mains
Boston PV600 Sub
Boston VRS Micro surrounds
Boston Micro 90c Center

Similar Products Used:

JVC Stereo receiver

Sound and Sound Seperation. DTS, & Dolby Digital.

Remote, but it's not that bad and....See Review

I really like this receiver, but considering what it replaces anything would be nice. The setup was a little difficult only because I was in such a hurry to hear my new system. The one major setback that this receiver has that I wish someone would have mentioned is the fact that you cannot have S-Video and composite video hooked up at the same time. The S-Video is the primary bus and therefore anything on the composite bus cannot be seen only heard. I do not think Onkyo has this problem and probably would have went with that brand for that reason. However, I love the DTS and DD feature The Eagles sound great and so does U-571.
If someone knows how to overcome the said problem please E-Mail me.

System:
Denon AVR-2801
Polk RM-6600 w/ 350 sub
Sony PS-2
Sont Laser Disc Player (Forgot the Model#)

Similar Products Used:

The item it replaced was a Pioneer SX-950 (Circa 1974 apx.)

Denon quality, Great sound, On screen menu

Manual, Don't know about remote

Sold my Yamaha DD DTS Receiver due to Bright, Tinny sound with my Klipsch speakers. I initially thought I was upgrading from an old pro-logic Denon to a DD 5.1 Yamaha. Boy was I mistaken. I thought I would get used to the yamaha sound, not so. I never was pleased with the overall sound quality, in either Stereo or DVD modes. Boomy base and bright sound. Maybe just because it was a low end Yamaha, don't know. Greatly pleased with the 2801. Base is tighter, sound is much smoother and richer. Absolutely no unwanted sound from the speakers at any volume. The on screen menu is great, all sound modes are awsome. I am a Denon customer for life. Got a great deal over the internet from AMDV.com, $490 delivered. You do get a 90 day warranty from AMDV since the manufacture warranty is not valid with mail order. Don't know about the remote because I have a Sony AVR-2100 universal.

You cannot beat Denon Quality.

Denon 2801
Klipsch SB-2's bookshelf
Klipsch SC-1 center and SS-1 surrounds
Klipsch KSW-12 Sub - Awsome for mail order price.
32" Sony TV
Panasonic DVD Player

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha HTR-5150 DD 5.1 DTS

Great sound all around with good power for rear channels.
And a receiver with pre-amp outputs thank Denon.

S-video inputs are quirky sometimes not working, and the damn video select sucks. Remote interface is a pain also.

Overall sound is impressive. When playing any Pink Floyd cd and Roger Waters you will definitely hear many more small sound effects and crystal clear guitar. With the current setup I have: Bose 901 fronts, Infinity center, Bose AM-5 Series II for rear, and a klh Subwoofer. Front and rear channels are amplified with 400w per channel front and 200 per channel rear. That may have made a difference with the sound but I doubt it. Even at full volume + 03 in Dolby DTS it has a small amount of distortion but still is deafening none the less. Although I would like to have + 30 on the volume Denon was wise to make it as is. Great receiver!

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood KVR-401, Pioneer 501 & 641

Great sound quality, features, and power. For what I paid, there's none better.

Remote

This is my first 5.1 receiver. It replaces an 8-yr. old JVC Pro-Logic. I listened to dozens of different receivers before determining that the 2801 had the best sound in my opinion. The sound was so much more natural sounding to me than the Sony ES's and the Yamaha's that I listened to. When paired with KEF Uni-Q's all around, the 2801 gave the smoothest and most transparent sound of the bunch. The Sony's and Yamaha's had a more harsh sound to them.

The $700 price tag at the first dealer I visited had me discouraged, but after a little shopping around, I beat that by $220! I am building my entire HT system piece by piece and this was the cornerstone.

I think that this receiver will serve me well in my current home, but in my next, I plan on going with a larger, more elaborate system. I have become a big fan of Denon after using this unit and if I do upgrade later it will probably be to the 3801.

My system as of 5/8/01:
Denon AVR-2801 (A/V receiver)
KEF Q15.2 (fronts)
KEF Q95C.2 (center)
KEF CI160Qs (rears)
Panasonic DVD-R31 (DVD/MP3 Player)

Looking for a good sub. I'm considering Velodyne's CT-100 or Klipsch's KSW-12.

Similar Products Used:

Sony ES, Yamaha

The Denon AVR-2801 is a pretty good receiver, but it's not the end-all be-all of amps in terms of power or sound quality. I was able to listen to this receiver extensively in however many random trips I made to the local Tweeter, where I had it running everything from Mirages to Bostons to Klipsches. In fact the Denon/Klipsch Reference combo was one of the store's main midfi display setups.
How was it? Well, I'll talk in relative terms first. This Denon beat out most everything I tested at Tweeter, obviously outclassing the lower end models I mentioned above. First I listened to them all critically at a comfortable listening level and them I turned them up to see what they can do. Also I checked preamp filtering- cd player on pause, volume at max I put my ear right up to the speakers to see what kind of noise was present. All this I did while bypassing the tone controls.
The verdict was this Denon had great sound, at moderate levels. But like any of the other receivers when turned up the sound became rather muddy. It's ok though, that is expected of a receiver. Warmth and musicality were this receiver's two main strengths however. It's got nice detail yet sounds very natural with voices. Bass was much more controlled than comparable Yamahas. Actually the only Yamaha that could compete with the Denon, sonically, was the RX-V1, which is of course their flagship costing upwards of $2000. There was one thing I didn't like about the Denon, and that was its power. I had it at -10db with the Klipsch, which are very efficient, and it wasn't all that loud. I was kind of dismayed; I had been skeptical of the reports saying it had an inflated power rating, but I suppose they were right.
After Tweeter I went to Circuit City to test about some Onkyos and H/Ks. I had them running Infinity IL10s (89db @1 watt), and honestly the H/Ks sounded a *little* better than the Denon did. They had the same warmth and musicality, but the H/Ks seemed to have better dynamics (the Denon tended to make my eyes droop at times) and were cleaner. At +10, the HKs had an almost undetectable hum, whereas the Denon had some hiss. The HKs went louder than the Denon, too, even the 40 watt avr110.
But of course again the HKs weren't totally satisfying. They were, nonetheless, the best receivers I heard. The best overall sound I've heard in my (limited) encounters with audio has been a B&K 140 watt pre/power setup with some Boston VR-M60s and a Denon DCM-370. Now that's a stereo...but now we're talking $3000.
So in summary for $500 or whatever you can find this piece at it's a good receiver, and you will enjoy it. Mate with some neutral speakers for best results. I personally liked those Infinities a lot. Mirage is also a safe bet. Happy hunting.
-M

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX-V: 496, 520, 620, 800, 1000, 1
Denon AVR: 1601, 3801
Onkyo TX-DS: 484, 575x
Harman/Kardon AVR: 110, 310, 510, 7000