Build Quality, Clean Sound, Clean Power, video up-conversion, Surround Modes

Remote could be lighter and more ergonomic, epecially if you are going to use it as your "master" remote.

I researched quite a bit when shopping for my new AV system for the new house. My narrowed my receiver options down to a Denon or Onkyo in the $800-900 price range. I decided on the Denon for multiple reasons... But let's get to how this thing performs... My speaker setup is as follows: 7 speaker setup (no sub), 2 Axiom Audio M60s for the front R/L, an Axiom VP150 center, and some OK in-wall speakers for the 4 surrounds. (Wife wouldn't go with having speakers hanging from the ceiling and walls :) Let me just say that the Denon pushes these speakers FREAKIN AWESOME! The Axioms can handle up to 250W and the Denon is pushing out about 110W / ch. If I am under powering the speakers, you will be hard pressed to convience me of it. The Denon has truely clean power and sound output. I usually watch movies in Dobly or DTS surround - they perform flawlessly. The 3803 delivers as a true "home theater" receiver. We rent movies now more than ever due to the quality sound experience we get at home. This is directly attrbutable to the Denon's performance. I have found that the 7 speaker stereo mode is the best while watching standard 2 CH TV. Though the Pro-Logic II mode works quite well for 2CH content too, I just prefer the higher volume level when all 7 speakers are going instead of just the center for dialog. It's easier to hear the content. I listen to classic and hard rock / blues rock / and soft rock via a Panasonic DVD player. If you want it LOUD, the Denon 3803 delivers. I have not cranked it up all the way, maybe 80% and I literally "felt" the music. The most amazing thing to me with the Denon is that even when cranking up the volume the sound is very clean, IE no distortion... I like to watch movies with the sound cranked up pretty good, -15Db on the volume. The Denon does it's job very well. On another note, I particularly like the upconversion of video signals. I had my digital cable box running into the S-Video input and then out via the component connection and the picture quality was great. Did I see an improvement in picture? No not really, but it makes it much easier to setup ONE device (the receiver) to control all the inputs (audio, cable, dvd player, Xbox) The 3803 was pretty easy to setup and configure the inputs as well as the surround levels. The controller is freakin huge and would be my main issue with the system. Plus it is heavy. I use my Cable box remote 99% of the time (not the best remote either, but it's light and ergonomic). The only reason I have to use the Denon remote is if I need to change the audio surround mode or need to select a different input source. I would recommend Denon products to anyone, especially this particular model since I am familiar with it. Denon's are not the "low cost leader" and this is a GOOD THING! You get what you pay for.

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Phillips A/V receiver

build quality, power, range of inputs/outputs, video conversion

weird 'negative' volume range (0db = loudest, -99db or whatever = quietest)

I hope neither my dealer nor Denon themselves read this review! I upgraded from a AVR-3802, primarily to get the benefit of only one set of outputs (component) to my plasma, despite a load of different video input standards. This is a great plus. Basically I'm a big fan: it plays music (whether classical, rock or 60s Tamla and soul) beautifully and still rattles the windows on movies. The reason my dealer/Denon won't like this review is that the dem room has Denon's top-of-the-range AV amp and I'm blowed if I can hear any improvement over the 3803. Maybe in a HUGE room, but my living room ain't small. I agree with all the comments about battleship quality; you wouldn't want to drop this on your foot! The setup is a fag, but aren't all setups? Once done, it's fit-and-forget. All in a very high quality offering, irrespective of what you throw at it.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR3802 (also awesome) Arcam AVR200 (OK, but can't match the Denon) Onkyo (noisy fan, brutish/unsubtle)

Configurability, physical practical indestrucability

Procedure to adjust relative speaker output volumes (ie, rear surround : front surround : mains) requires several menu traversals then a nauseating white noise generation - can't they just give us a froggin set of logical pots at the surface? Also, have to get clever and adjust mains at -12 and rears at +12 to acheive 24 foot sonic separation - how about maybe, uhhhh, unlimited? Who decided 24 feet - did I miss a meeting. In summary, the hardware is 100% magnifique but the someware is only 89% thereof. The manual is fair - hello? ever hear of an interactive CD guys?? with actual demos - wow, what a foreign concept. Why do I get 30 CDs from AOhelL each year teaching me me how to make 3 mouseclicks, but I have to decode read 100 pages of 'lost-in-the-muliply-translated' pmanual pages that now have blood and beer stains on the dog-earned pages that are barely surviving the increasingly frequent assaults of my wonderfully curious 3 year old Kevin.

I want to comment on the physical integrity and sheer ruggedness of this receiver. My builtin entertainment center is about 11 years old, and it was a tight squeeze to get this monster inside. It is even more fun to work on the extensive cabling. Picture this: 3AM and I decide to try and get component X working. The entertainment center is adjacent to an elevated fireplace mantle, and the shelf for the receiver is about 7 feet off the floor. I am balanced percariously on a crappy stepladder, slowy pulling the shelf & 3803 forward to give my hands and arms another 2 inches of clearance to do the hook up. You certainly know what happens next... The shelf is mounted on 4 adjustable pins. As I slide the shelf forward, it falls off the back pins. Hey, I'm pretty strong, but I can't catch this monster as it freefalls ""4 feet"" and crashes on the hard cold ceramic tile. My first thought was "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" and then "oh phuuuuuuuuuuuuuuckkkkkkkkk". I was quite emotional, especially since I had now owned the unit a whopping 36 hours, and had it actually working about 6. After the valium took effect, I picked up the 3803 expecting devestation and despair--- BUT GUESS WHAT--- it was OK, it still worked!. Glory was mine. But then, I noticed the gorgeous input selector know was pushed in about 1/2 inch. Adrenaline surge. I inspected it further.... indeed the face assembly was crunched and smushed a bit. In all honestly, I felt very fortunate that this minimal damage had occured as a direct and well-deserved consequece to my utter stupidity. So then the decision becomes: do I send it off for repair or do I "fix it myself". Suddenly I had the same jubliant feeling I experienced so fondly looking at my Mom's new toaster when I was 6. So, being a macho engineer, at 5am I reached for my tools. The repair was stricly mechanical, exposy here, metal straightening there. Three hours later (I was very slow and deliberate) I was finished. I did lose functionality of the radio tuner input, which I never use, but all else is wonderful. Of course, I voided my warranty (it was a refurb so big whoop). Now about 9 months later, I am ordering the service manual to restore my beautiful baby to her pre-moron glory. In summary, this Denon not only sounds good, but she can take a fall. This is indeed a very well engineered and manufactured instrument, and I am so in love with her I may need more therapy. She needs a 4 inch input with an off/on switch. Tampa Pete

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Carver m1.0t, Audio Control C101, Onkyo P-304, Yamaha TX900U, AR-TSW910, Velodyne 15 inch detonator, JBL Pro Series transducers, bloody ears

Everything

Nothing

I'll make this short. Everyone on here is raving over the fantastic 2-channel sound this receiver is capable of. They are correct. My XBOX sounds AMAZING because of the high end Burr Brown DACs in this unit. Use pure direct, it sounds even better. Now, the thing I want to point out that no one else has talked about on here. This unit is tough as nails. I have had a faulty speaker with a blown tweater, and some problems with speaker wire coming loose. Even though this could have blown my receiver or speakers, the receiver on every occasion has gone into protective mode and just just off. One of those times I had the receiver quite abit louder than reference levels. Any other receiver would have gone through complete melt-down. I have eliminated any further possiblities of this happening now, but am thankful the 3803 has held up even when it should have blown up.

plenty of options, clean and powerful sound on music and movies, built quality very good, love pure direct mode for music.

None so far

I have owned this unit for a couple of months now. I think I can comfortably give an accurate opinion. This is a very impressive receiver. I owned a NAD T751 before this, that had a very nice sound, but after sending it out four times to be serviced I ended up just giving it away hence the 3803. The 3803 has plenty of power. It sounds very good on music and "great" on movies. Compared to other products in its price range you just cant go wrong with this receiver.

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Sony, NAD, Kenwwood, Marantz, B&K, Pioneer My System Receiver:Denon 3803 DVD/CD:NAD T5550 CD(MP3):Sony CDP-CE275 Mains:Klipsch KLF20 Center:Klipsch KLF C-7 Sub:Velodyne FSR-15

Power, cleanliness, straightforwardness, flexibility, expansiveness, & overall design.

Front display panel --- hard description (see above). Support --- I e-mailed Denon as I was somewhat confused as to setting up my multi-zone speakers --- they've never e-mailed me back. I'd be picky to say that for all the money I paid for this unit, the remote's display could/should be in color LCD.

Why waste your time looking anywhere else? This unit has everything and more. A lot of folks complain about the remote (too bulky, too difficult, too whatever). Is it perfect? No, but show me a universal remote that is! No one ever said life was perfect anyway. I fell in love with this system from the first time I heard it and that admiration/affection will grow in time. Power --- awesome. Cleaniness of sound --- you betcha. Design --- very good (the one drawback is the "hard" coding on the front display of what is hooked into the thing --- I would have liked to be able to program onto the main unit's display what they are (e.g., SACD/DVD-A player instead of me having to say it is a "VDP"). I've owned McIntosh separates, Phase separates, and a SONY-ES line A/V receiver and none could touch this unit. This unit would rival and top many of today's separates costing much, much more. This unit is built like a tank too. The setup is really simple --- remember guys, read & follow the instructions. I know we're not real good at this but if you do, it is simple, albeit time consuming, to set this bad boy up. And if you have a lot of pieces to plug into this thing, don't worry as there's way more than you'll probably need (6 optical ins, 2 optical outs, 5 coax ins, 3 component ins, seemingly countless S-video ins, on and on...); great design and separation on the speaker terminals too. Like I said, don't waste your time looking for any other unit. If you've got the money to live in this neighborhood, don't cheap out on another unit just to save a couple hundred bucks. I looked at a much less expensive SONY ES (7A) --- forget-about-it. B & K 507 --- very close but clumsy front panel design --- takes a number of entries to get to play what I'd want. Pioneer Elite, two units --- does Pioneer produce anything that holds up? My system includes a pair of Def Tech 2002TLs in the front, Def Tech C/L/R 2300 center, Def Tech Reference SuperCube sub, Def Tech BPX rears, Speakercraft ROX speakers for my patio, Denon DVD-2900 SACD/DVD-A player, SONY 300-disc carousel DVD player (DVP-CX875P), Pioneer Elite PDR-W37 CD Recorder, two (2) SONY CDP-M555ES 400 disc CD players, SONY MDS-501 MiniDisc player/recorder, & Mitsubishi WS 48311 HDTV. All plugged into two Monster Power HTS 5000 (protect your investment). I am sure 7 to 10 years from now I'll have to switch this out for some new toy in order to keep up with new technology but I will have lots of enjoyment between now and then with the AVR-3803. If you are into SACD/DVD-A, this unit sounds incredible when the 5.1 is playing. That is what got me started in upgrading from my 333ES Sony receiver. My SACDs & DVD-As just didn't sound all that impressive with the unit. So I auditioned some "newer" units and noticed a huge improvement in performance; the 3803 blowing everyone else away. Again, don't fret and don't waste your time looking anywhere else. You're ears will love you for buying this wonderful receiver!!!

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See above.

- Sturdy, Strong build - Excellent depth and soundstage - Powerful amp - Crystal clear sound at high volumes - Video switching superb - Pure Direct mode awesome for music listening - Remote looks/feels expensive - More than enough inputs - AM/FM signal adequately strong

- Setup menu only accessible on TV screen - No Denon Link (but that is why the 3805 is on its way)

First off, here is the rest of my system: - B&W DM602 S3 fronts - B&W LCR600 center - B&W DM601 S3 surrounds - 32" HDTV Sony KV-32HS500 - Denon DVD-2200 Before purchasing this receiver, I auditioned the Onkyo TX-NR801, Harmon Kardon AVR630, and Denon AVR-1804. I always thought that my Denon DVD-2200 wasn't capable of producing rich music and heart-pounding surround sound. Boy was I wrong! The only thing that was lacking was not my DVD player, but rather the receivers that I had auditioned. I recently just picked up the 3803 and found it to be an excellent receiver. The backpanel is well laid out and easily configurable. Banana plugs is a MUST as it will save you hours of hook-up time. The 3803 made all the difference from the first time I turned it on. I don't just hear the movie soundtracks anymore...I "feel" them! Sound reproduction is very accurate and detailed. I hear even the softest sounds in movies with the volume at -15db. The 3803 really makes my center and surround speakers come to life. While watching LOTR: The Two Towers, I skipped to the big battle at the end just as the men were awaiting the arrival of the orcs. As they stood there it started drizzling and I could not believe the extremely rich detail of the raindrops hitting the metal armors "tink...tink....tink". WOW! Bass is awesome and pretty intense. The 3803 does an excellent job with soundstage as well. I would be listening to music in 2-channel stereo, and my brother-in-law could not believe that nothing was coming out of the center speaker. It literally makes my front speakers appear to be transparent. SACD and DVD-A sounds incredibly smooth and soothing. If you must audition just a single SACD album, then consider Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. The level of depth and realism is brilliant and mesmorizing. It envelops you and makes you want to close your eyes and feel the music. The 3803's Dolby ProLogic II mode is also very nice when listening to 2-channel sources. Video switching on the 3803 is superb as well. It allows you to connect any video source to the receiver and then it outputs it via a single component video (also considered upconversion)! This means no more switching between the TV/Video modes on the television. Nevertheless, a direct connection is always the best so I still use component straight from my DVD player to my TV. Another nice feature is the Pure Direct mode for listening to music. Pure Direct turns off all video-related circuits, enabling the most sonically enjoyable listening experience. I love it every bit! Many reviews on here bash on the remote and manual, but I guess it all depends on our personal preferences. I have always been an avid fan of Onkyo remotes because I find them easiest to use. Everything on the Onkyo remote just seems to be placed in the right spot. The 3803's remote is not all that bad either. In fact, I found it to be user-friendly and well-built. The backlighting is a bit awkward as most people have stated because nothing is written on many of the buttons, making it useless in the dark. Other than that, the 3803 has a decent remote and easy to follow instruction manual. My only gripe with this unit is that the setup menu can only be displayed on the TV screen, and not the front panel of the receiver. That means I have to turn on my TV whenever I wish to tweak a setting...kinda annoying when I'm just listening to music and not watching DVDs. This does not take away from its overall performance rating though. I still give it a perfect 5 stars!

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Denon AVR-1804, Onkyo TX-NR801, Harmon Kardon AVR630

Tight bass and superb detail. Sweet and crystal clear high end detail. I can't see myself going beyond this. The Parasound amp may have something to do with this. It is still an excellent reciever outside of the Parasound Amplifier, which is excellent.

Absolutley none!

This is an awesome product. I upgraded from a Avr-2800 to the 3803 and have been blessed with an incredible sound stage. The 2800 was awesome matched with my Parasound amplifier, but this reciever is supreme in sound and definition. I've never heard sound so clean and defined like I have with the 3803. The remote is easy to understand and so are the instructions. So to take a jab at all you Dolt's who can't grasp the remote control issue'. It's not that difficult. Read the frigging manual. If you have read sony, yamaha, and marantz instuction manuals' it's a cake walk. I don't know what you are all complaining about. And I'm French Canadian, not from the orient. JEEEZE. The remote works flawlessly. This is a high end piece of equipment, treat it with respect. I'm running all Paradigm Speakers, -11Se fronts -Lcr350 center -Mini Monitors for surrounds -Titans for rear surrounds -Ps1000 Sub, I tried the Ps1200 but it did not have the tight punchy bass I was after. This is an excellent mix. The sound is rock solid and with more detail than you could wish for.

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Sony, Marantz, Yamaha

1. made in japan 2. not a sony,hk,yammy,or any other circuit city junk. 3. volume need not equal distoration!

none period!

This is a post-review in regard to my previous 3803 review. I have now owned this unit for four months. It sounds much better then before! Believe me I have now used it non-stop music/movies. Basically buy from a authorized dealer to start with. 98% of the problem you may have with this unit is all ready solved that way. I am punishing this unit all day and in turn punishing my speakers actually more than the receiver. The power transformer inside this thing is as large as my head! The back is laid out like a champ! ht options are blowing my neighbors away! very easy to use and look at all in one unit. Sure the 3805 is now going to be available and it will be excellent I know. And you think the trap door is all cool looking "don't you." Well for a few hundred bucks and a few relative small upgrades it's yours. I mean the hole trap door thing sucks buy one and you will soon find out. I am even happier that I bought the 3803. I buy reliable,easy to use equipment that is built well. enough said. now go buy your receiver!

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everything under the sun

great sound,heaps of power,surround features that are hardly even available yet,adding to the longivity of the product

um...um..ummm..none

I upgraded from a simularly powered annologue Dennon amp purely for the advanced digital features available i.e. DTS,Dolby Digital etc. and the dedicated surround sound that is only available with digital.Obviously I am a Dennon fan but I am open minded...I just love the way both my Dennon amps sound.The AVR-3803 has a bold gutsy sound ,crisp,clear and extremely accurate to the way the sound source intendered it to sound and with power to burn(I still have only managed volumes just passed halfway).I have never heard as much as a hint of distortoin yet although my Aaron(Ausie brand)speakers with moster cable are much more than adequate(which I think is important).My music tastes are diverse to say the least and to my delight the 3803 has reproduced every genre with outstanding quality.Movie suround is ubelievable(as good and better than the picture theater).The best thing I like about digital is the complete silence at times of silence in the sound track(no hissing what so ever,even at extremely high volume).I'm not going into the buttons,features,remotes,whistles and bells which I think are fine,so if you want to here about that stuff read someone else's review.When buying sound....listen if you like it thats the main thing.In my opinion the 3803 is excellent in the sound dept.

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Harmon Kardon (great for rock&roll)