Enough power to drive big floorstanders. Good sound

Noting yet...

Had it for just a couple of hours yet. To set it ut, you''ll want to use a tv. Good sound. Use 96k S/PDIF from my Audigy soundcard, and it sounds GREAT! Have connected two B&W DM 601S3''s and B&W ASW500 sub, and it''s just superb!

Clean Power, Owners Manual, DTS-ES 6.1 availability, Remote! just try to program the Yamaha!

None

I upgraded to the Denon AVR 2802 from a 10 year old Pioneer VSX 453. The Pioneer was a pro-logic receiver was outdated. I was looking to get into the Digital Age. I compared five receivers in the $450 to $750 price range. I used AUDIOREVIEW.COM for approximately two months to narrow my search. My choices were: Denon’s AVR-2802, Pioneer’s VSX850, Marantz’s SR 5000, and SR 6200, Onkyo’s TS DX 696, and Yamaha’s RXV-620. I chose the Denon for its clean power and the availability of Dolby Pro Logic II. The Guys at Audio Warehouse in Savannah, GA allowed me to demo the Marantz, Yamaha and Denon in my home, which I highly recommend. First, I would not classify myself as an audiophile; however, in the price range mentioned above, my Boston Acoustics and my ears agree the Denon is the best receiver. The Denon has a great manual and was easiest to set up of any of the brands previously mentioned. It took at least an hour to get every thing setup properly, which with the on screen display and with the help of the owner’s manual, I found the process very simple. I listened to the same music CD’s and movies in DTS with each receiver. The power rating on the 2802 is right on; it fills our great room (17x24x13) with clean sound for both music and movies. The number of sound fields has been kept to a minimum, and going for the Dolby Pro Logic II is a great feature with cable TV. I am using the receiver for 60% A/V and 40% music and can say I highly recommend this product. The remote is not bad and is preprogrammed for the mainstream components and will learn for everything else. The last thing I have to say is you might find this product on the Net for less, but you cannot replace the service, knowledge and commitment to product that a local HI-FI store can & will provide. Denon has only a couple of authorized Internet retailers and they sale at retail. Check the Denon web site. Do your homework and see your local retailer. Thanks for the Great Site.

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Pioneer VSX 453 & VSX850, Marantz’s SR 5000, and SR 6200, Onkyo’s TS DX 696, and Yamaha’s RXV-620

Honest 90 wpc power that is clean, sounds like a true power amp rather than a reciever. DSP has few modes that sound great, none of the "crap" modes so prevalent on other recievers.

Clumsy manual. Remote control from hell (really clumsy arrangement). Any advanced configuration demands outputting video to a TV.

The 2802 and the 3802 are virtually identical except the 3802 has 7 channel amplification with 100 wpc and the 2802 is 6x90. I chose the 2802 because it was cheaper (about $250 cheaper) tand I plan to use the pre-outs to drive monoblocks later. The DD/DTS decoding is top notch, very clean. Whatever I input, the DPL2 and DTS Neo modes work well (5 channel stereo is excellent for very expressive stereo music, but not a good choice for TV programming). The remote control is a disaster and I definitely need a programmable to take it''s job. While rated at 90 wpc, it''s truly 90 watts per channel and not some transistory peak of 90 over a limited frequency ranage for a split second. It will deliver up to 90 watts honestly. I''m currently using it in a rather tiny room driving some surprisingly great Yamaha speakers which are quite efficient, so 90 wpc is plenty. It also helps I have a powerhouse sub. Amplification is very clean if a bit sterile. Every sibilance is audible, something that I couldn''t get from my cheap Sony HT reciever. Inputs galore (5.1 analog, multiple 2.0 analogs, three opticals plus 1 coax) and full blown pre-outs (will be used later when I get the rig into a bigger room and grab some cheap monoblocks). It has video switching including component, but component switching is not for HDTV signals (lacks the bandwidth). I don''t use the switching anyway since my TV has inputs galore.

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Sony DE-445 (I think that''s the model name, gave it to a relative)

Ease of setup, power and quality of amps, and versatillity created by the numerous options.

It isn''t as user friendly for some people who may not be as experienced with A/V equipment.

I purchased the AVR-2802 one week ago to replace my 8 year old Nakamichi AV-1 Pro Logic Receiver and was automatically impressed. As soon as I finished connecting all my components and played my first DVD I was pleased with my purchase. The amplifier within the receiver is exactly what I expected from Denon equipment, powerful and clean with little to no disturbance. I was blown away with the process of configuring the receiver. The use of my television to move from config mode to another made the adjusting simple and easy to do. All of the different sound modes make the AVR-2802 one of the most versatile receivers on the market. The use of DPL II has made a major improvement on the sound of analog television signals. When using the auto mode, to choose the best mode for movies, I am relieved from the need of fooling around with buttons and decision making. As far as the remote goes, I have read quite a few reviews stating that the remote is an animal and hard to learn. If you have problems figuring out how to use it you don''t have enough knowledge of audio equipment to be an owner of one. Also if you are purcahsing a reciever of this quality you should already own a universal remote. (Such as a Marantz 2000, like I do.) Finally, with few complaints about the AVR-2802, I look forward to my future use of my new reciver.

Power well beyond its listed capacity, New Dolby Prologic II, Dolby Digital, build quality, value, remote macro programming, high number of inputs. I could go on.

I wish the manual could better explain all of the various surround modes. There must be 15! Plain language would be a plus.

Awesome receiver! It has all the bells and whistles to make it such a great buy at the price. My friend bought a Pioneer Elite, and we compared sound and it wasn''t close. My Denon brought a lot more punch, realism, and open feeling to the movies that we sampled. I couldn''t be happier with my selection. I had heard before that Denon rates their WPC fairly low. In other words, they don''t make exaggerated claims of wattage where the distortional sounds can ruin a good movie or CD. I think that this 90 WPC is very powerful. I didn''t read any reviews that thought it underpowerd. It seems that some of the reviews harp on the ability of the 2802 to reproduce music, and those might be fair. However, this is an A/V amp, and I think it does that job very well. Dolby Prologic II is a revelation! I had never heard analog stereo sources sound so good. And Dolby Digital and DTS are much better still. As for the remote, I understand that a lot of people dislike it and all of its buttons. I would like to praise it for its ability to send several macro commands as an all in one deal. This feature is very spouse friendly. My wife pushes 2 buttons and on comes the TV, the 2802, it switches to DVD, or LD, or SAT, remembers the sound setting, then turns on the source device. She loves it. And when I want to do some tweaking, I can "tweak" to my heart''s content. This Denon A/V amp is a great buy!

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Pioneer

Great sound at high volume. Better than I ever could have imagined. You won''t be disappointed. This receiver will shake the house if you have compatible speakers.

You will have to invest in earthquake wax if you plan on really testing this puppy''s limits. Knick knacks and the Denon to not mix.

I have this hooked up with the Klipsch Reference Series spkrs. I use it for both HT and music. It grades well for both. This bad boy fills up my entire house, so if you are thinking it might not be loud enough for you, think again unless you are 75% deaf. If this receiver does spew out any distortion, I could not detect any at a ridiculously high volume. For watching movies, this baby will do all you want it to do. I am quite sure my entire neighborhood will attest this receiver is as solid as advertised. Watching the Matrix for the first time was truly an experience. Other receivers offer higher watts per channel, but they do not sound as loud or as clear as this Denon.

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Onkyo Yamaha Pioneer Sony

It''s Denon!! Power, Clarity, Price, Style, Options

Remote and Guide can be tough like any new thing but I got use to it fairly quick.

This amp has all I expected! I''ve had a Denon AVR-85 for a year now and I''m hooked on the 5 channel stereo sound from this little amp. So of course when I wanted a little more power I purchased a bigger Denon. I purchased this amp in Canada and got a great discount on my American Dollar which gave me the budget to buy this peice from a local autherized dealer. So I''ve got the great warrenty and no mailing! I love these amps and unless something terrible happens, I''ll own 1 for life.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Denon AVR-85

DTS-ES 6.1 decoding and speaker outputs.
Clean sounding, no hisses.
goodly number of inputs/outputs, including optical and coax.

remote could have been better designed.
missing onscreen master volume display.
no bass/treble adjustment knobs on main unit.
no a/v input jacks on front panel.

So, two years after I bought my DVD player (Sony DVP-S330, works OK, touch wood no C:13 or No Disc errors) and big-screen TV (Sony 53"), and with brief interruptions for beefing up my "media" room in other ways, I finally went in to "complete" my home theater.

For A/V receivers, my short-list included
Denon AVR-2802 or 3802
Yamaha RX-V800 or V1000
Harman/Kardon AVR-320 or 520

Of course, I happen to know some true audiophiles, who are also good friends of mine, so instead of looking at me with contempt, they jusy shook their heads wisely, and conceded that I could do worse.

Early on, I removed true 7.1 systems from the list due to budget considerations and owing to the fact that movies don;t yet encode for 7.1 and may not for a year at least. Considering that a 5.1 receiver is obsolete because Gladiator and some other movies already are encoded for 6.1, I expect 6.1 to be a good way to future-proof for the next 18 months. Even when 7.1 movies (Star Wars II, perhaps) appear in the next year, 6.1 should recreate most effects pretty well.

The H/K looked attractive due to MP3 and HDCD decoding, but had less power 65W and only 5.1 outputs. And I have heard of too many quality issues. I might buy the cheaper H/K DAL 150 to connect my considerable MP3 collection to the receiver in the future. And I will be buying a CD changer soon enough and can buy one with HDCD decoding if I so desire. Hence scratched.

The Yamaha was a strong contender, but it was priced higher than equivalent Denon models, and for that offered additional DSP modes, recreating the ambience of various concert halls and churches. I don;t care about them. I care about my media room ambience. Hence scratched.

Again, I was tempted to buy the 3802, but decided that 2802 was a good entry level choice for me. So far, I am happy. Sound is strong, clean. DTS/Surround effects are reproduced well. Vocals (Doors, Eagles, U2, ghazals, indian classical) sound great. michael jackson is OK, although i had to reduce the volume because the bass in "Dangerous" can be irritating after some time. (perhaps I need to move the subwoofer somewhere else) Zakir Hussein's tabla comes out very well though.

I plan on evaluating it and doing switch-in comparisons with my friends' systems (Yamaha, H/K, Denon) and will post my findings then.

My Setup: Polk Audio RT600i, CS245i, RT25, PSW350.

BTW, I got mine as an open box with a 5 year extended warranty slapped on, along with a free subwoofer for $599. Hence a great deal.

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This is my first true rack system audio component.

Awesome Reproduction for home movies. Needs to be tweeked for music.

Remote
For the non audiophile it takes a while to set this up. You will not be able to plug in cables and turn it on. Set up is about 1 hour process. Well worth it for quality.

Awesome reciever for the price. Have patience when setting it up. Remote is not very intuitave for operating other components. Much easier to leave all remotes on table.
Listened to it compared to Sony ES no comparison Onkyo was a close runner up. Using reciever with Polk RM 7600 great match. Dealing with Mike at http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/ was a pleasure might pay slightly more than other online dealers, but he answered phone when called and shipped reciever for 3 day at no charge so I could have ie for weekend.

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Yamaha 1000

Quality construction, excellent sound, value, excellent customer support from the corporate office, remote control

Manual needs an English reviewer to tweak the final draft before being released to the public

After serious real-time reviews of several AVR's from Yamaha and Onkyo, and reading for hours at a time user and pro reviews, I decided that the 2802 was the best bang for the buck. I made an excellent choice. It is designed for someone needing high current capability with a nice bit of power to each channel. I am astounded at the build quality, ease of use of the remote regarding its large keys and color coding, and the overall sound. Since I bi-amp with two subs and two mains, the left over Denon amps have been put to use for patio speakers. However, driving two mains from the on on-board amps was impressive. DSP, decoding and are first rate. I don't think anything can seriously touch this model for less than $800 or so.

I'm not sure why some are complaining about the remote - you should have seen my old upper-end Onkyo - it was the pits - closely spaced small keys with tiny white lettering and just alot of clutter. The design of this remote is VERY user-friendly IMO.

Advise you spend some time with the manual before you start pulling your old wires, as this receiver is very comprehensive and powerful, when set up correctly.

This is a receiver that should be able to handle your audio and video needs for many years to come. In fact, with all its bells and whistles and high tech design, I don't see how it could ever become obsolete.

Hank Snow

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Onkyo, Adcom, Denon, Aiwa, Soundcraftsmen