AV switchingup-down video conversion Excellent Price Great sound with plenty of power OSD setup Numerous inputs

The remote sucks, can't be read during daylight hours. No HDMI support. Speaker termination could have been more accomodating for large diameter speaker wire. No microphone for auto setup and EQ. Lack of hard buttons for common functions on receiver.

I am not one to update my equipment frequently and have been very pleased with the quality, features, and longevity of my Technics SA GX910 that I retired to the master bedroom. At the time, it was cutting edge with Dolby Surround Pro Logic and 4 channel surround. But, to get true 5.1 performance, it was time to upgrade to the Denon 3805. I had recently purchased a Denon 910 DVD player and was very impressed with its performance and cost using Faroudja DCDi technology. This receiver makes watching movies an enveloping experience that draws you in with its excellent sound that compliments the HD picture from the front projector without overpowering the viewing experience. I like that. I grew up listening to Altec Valencia speakers and appreciate speakers that are extremely efficient. I do not know how well this receiver would work with less efficient speakers but with the Klipsch system, there is more than enough power to make the entire home shake. For the price, the Denon has ample inputs for audio and video although I sure would have liked an additional HDMI input and output. Configuration and setup of the receiver for all the inputs and outputs was a snap with the OSD and the pure direct feature is great for two channel stereo and tv sound (it took me a while to get all the speakers). Needless to say, my wife and I do not go to the movies any more. Any why should we? Concession prices are skyrocketing, inconsiderate patrons, no pause or rewind, and the picture and sound quality is considerably better, especially in HD. I considered Rotel and others but Denon came through as the best value and fit for my family.

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Technics and Harman Kardon

Power is more than I expected. Sound is awesome. Surround sound flows nicely around the room.

Manual

I have just jumped off the edge into this home theater equipment, and am so glad I bought this Denon 3805. It is an excellent partner for my HDTV. I have been using a 25 year old Pioneer SX 3700 receiver and my 20 year old Bose 501s for music, and a Bose Lifestyle surround system for movies. I could not stand to listen to music through the lifestyle system, and hated that I had no remote or easy way to listen to CDs. I had a portable Sony hooked up to play CDs. I am trully in love with the sound coming out of my Denon. I didn't have enough money for a complete new speaker package, so I'm starting out with a Polk LSiC center. The difference from the lifestyle cubes is amazing. I can now hear what people are saying. I am having to get used to everything going through the receiver instead of the TV. I did have a problem getting the Denon remote to learn the cable box functions. Every time I tried to get it to learn the 7 key, it locked up. For now, I'll just use the cable box remote to change channels. The salesman at Tweeter was extremely helpful, and he even drew an elementary wiring diagram that made set-up a piece of cake. The Denon manual is pretty poor as far as diverse diagrams. Thank you Les for that diagram. The sound from the Denon is incredible. I can't wait to upgrade the rest of my speakers this summer, and trully move into the modern era. I don't have a subwoofer yet, so the movies don't have the booming bass that is required, but the music sounds great through my Bose 501s that I am currently using as the front sides. I am using the double cube speakers from my lifestyle system for the rear surround speakers, and they are only OK. I just don't appreciate the thin sounds that any of the small speakers have. The surround sound used to be very choppy, like when you listen to someone on a voice activated speaker phone. Now, with the Denon, the surround is seamless and natural. Even my wife could tell the difference, and she would have chosen a boxed set from walmart. The remote is unlike anything I have ever used before, and I am having fun learning it's different functions. I am a little concerned about it's longevity since I have never used that sort of touch pad before. It just doesn't feel as solid as buttons. All in all I am extremely pleased with my purchase, and am a Denon fan for life.

Bright sound Solid Bult

Remote Control

I upgraded from the Denon 2801. Once I figured out the setup proccess the sound was awesome. It made my Bostonn Accostics really come to life! I didn't care for the remote. The sound is much more brighter than the yamaha receiver.

Burr Brown DAC's (top of the line) 120 watts of HI CURRENT amps X 7! Reference playing level for me is @ -15 as with the 3802 I in most cases at the loudest played it @ -10. The 3805 has a noticeable power difference as that extra 10 watts really does make a difference!

The remote is sleek and a really cool concept, but it does feel a bit fragile for long term use. Manual is about par with past Denon manuals which is poor. Denon needs an english version thats more intuative.

I have upgraded in the past 4 years from the 2802, to the 3802, and now the AVR-3805. Denon has continued to set the standard for home theatre technology as far as the all in one H/T receiver is concerned!In each upgrade,I have always considered other brands at the same price point, but Denon simply takes the cake for what you get dollar for dollar.I can do a blind test on all the competition and no brand (in my opinion) comes close to the Denon as far as over all power is concerned, as the 3805 is truely competing with much more expensive "all in one" H/T's. I could berely tell a difference in a blind test comparing the Denon 3805 vs. the B&K 507. The 507 did edge out the 3805 with just a more overall powered feeling, but other than that, they sounded about the same.The B&K cost over twice a s much too! I also used the auto set up mic, but after comparing the auto set up versus my personal taste, I prefered my own setting rather than the auto set up.The mic might be useful for one that has never owned a Denon before and wants an easy way to calibrate their system. The nice thing is, you can save the mic's setting, and also keep your own personal setting as well if you prefer to switch back and forth. The 3805 is very user friendly with the help of the on screen menu, and you can explore the 3805's options over a period of time simply by acessing the OSM and navigating around. The remote is also well laid out compared to past Denon remotes, although, it seems with time it might ware out with its fragile feeling design.Personally, I bought a Sony RM-AV300 wich controls up to 18 components and I believe 8 macro (1 touch turns several components on/off) funtions. I just took the Denon remote and programmed my Sony. The manual as many have said before, truely is hard to understand and expects the buyer to already be somewhat knowlageable about A/V receivers for it to be useful.Personally, I suggest taking the remote and turn on the "on screen" option and familiarize yourself that way. Overall, this Home Theatre receiver is rated very high on most reviews throughout the internet, and as Home Theater Magazine said "The 3805 has once again raised the bar for the H/T industry", and I fully agree! I was impressed with my old 3802 which never gave me a problem once with 3 years of hard demanding use.So one can only imagine what the 3805 can do!

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Denon,AVR-483,1802,1804,2802,3802 Denon DVD-2800,DVD-3800 (current DVD player and works well with the 3805!)

Build quality, sound, expansive features for audio and video decoding

User manual is the poorest I have ever seen!

First blush...have only had the receiver 24 hours. Found the auto set up to be simple, but I did reset the FR/L and SR/L to "small". Other than that, it was a breeze (get the mike!). I had it done in less than one hour. This is an initial set up, obviously there is more tweeking to come. The remote is usable, but not intuitive. More info as time/experience accumulate...

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None

3805 uses the best of Burr-Brown DACcs. Pure Direct Audio Mode provides stereo that is as good as most systems get! No kidding!

Ground loop buzz or hum is created when using 2nd or 3rd zone to biamp front left and right speakers.

Sssssssh! Listen up! Want to improve the already great sound of your 3805? Set all speakers to large; turn subwoofer OFF or NONE. Set to play on Pure Direct. The full signal + LFE is sent to your L&R mains. Connect a "Y" adaptor from your front L&R preamp outs to your subwoofer in. Why do this? This removes a crossover that results in even warmer, sweeeter but cleaner sound! Believe me...you are not getting the most potential out of either your speakers or amplifier without setting up the 3805 in this manner. I also use a SignalCable 8' power chord that gives a superior current flow that improves dynamics very noticeably, along with SignalCable interconnects and speaker cable.

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BIG POWER!, Build Quality, Remote Design, Burr-Brown DAC's, Component Video Up-conversion, HDCD Decoder, Auto EQ w/ opt. mic, Denon Link, etc...

Mic for the EQ is an extra $70,b Remote Function- But I didn't buy this thing for the remote!

I'm upgrading from a Denon 2801 to a 3805. I thought the 2801 was a great receiver, but the 3805 is out of control. I could not be more pleased with my purchase!! I have gone through all of my old CD's and DVD's and played them again just to hear them on the 3805. I auditioned the 2805 against the 3805 with the same CD playing. The 3805 sounded much more dynamic and a little more powerful. I cosider this receiver a real bargain for the performance you get.

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Denon 2801,1804

Just an update to my previous review: For Christmas I got the DMS-305 microphone. It is extremely easy and logical to use. It made an obvious and positive difference in how my system sounds. Since I like more bass slam in watching DVD's, I re-adjusted the subwoofer setting after using the mic. I saw a review which compared the 3805 unfavorably to the Denon 2500. I had owned one of those. I found it to be thin and cold and listening to music was unbearable. I find the 3805 to be exactly opposite. If he feels the 2500 is a better piece of equipment, I suspect that the other individual has a defective unit. The other possibility is that the 3805 is revealing the flaws in the rest of the components in his system. I had that happen a couple times - I added a better quality component and my system sounded worse because it revealed the problems with the older components. I continue to enjoy the 3805 and have no complaints except the manual.

Sturdy, Very Clean, Powerful, easy to setup. Onscreen display on same Video input is great. No need to switch Video modes to Turn on/off Cinema EQ...

When can Denon Send out the RF Remote Control Units... Seems too delicate with this EL remote control it's shipped with... Can't beleive they sent the sae one with the AVR5805.

Denon AVR 3805... I've had this thing now since June. I have yet to run into any Flaws. This was the Best Purchase thus far. Mighty upgrade from my DenonAVR3200. I am so glad for the Component Outputs. I noticed one thing with this... It seems to be clearer with the output going from the receiver to the Component inputs on the back of my TV. ( Hitachi 53in. wide screen). For some reason the outputs from my cable box to the TV was not all that great. Maybe because of the bigger bandwidth on the AVR3805.(100Mhz). I setup the sound using a sound meter instead of the microphone. I'll tell you, maybe it's in the setup most speakers don't sound well. I have Definitve Tech BP2000's. They were underpowered with the AVR3200. Now that I got this setup right( and no, the Owners manual is not all that bad). I love the PURE DIRECT MODE. My Speakers have never sounded so good. My CD's sound like someone is actually standing right there in the room. I agree its not well written, but if you read it a couple of times, you can actually make this sound better in my opinion by manually tweaking this unit then with the Auto Setup using a Microphone. That all depends on how your Speaker Setup is Setup in your Entertainment Room. I'm not Rich nor are most, but lets face it, we don't all have a Rectangle Room with all 4 Walls evenly spaced out. That looks good in a Crutchfied Picture in the ULTIMATE HOME THEATRE description. However, most of us are not that Lucky. My one disappointment still is with the Remote. Yea, the new is much better then the oringinal, However, its still a feel a little too flimsy. I wish they would have shipped it with that Nice RF remote they sold with the 5803. Again, the batteries are good for only about a month and a half. Overall, this is a Hell of a Unit. Again, if you properly setup and tweak everything thing, including the EQ, you'll find this is a Hell of a Unit. You can crank this Baby way up and I have yet to hear any kind of distortion. This was well worth every penny. Heck, Watching Football on High Def with this Turned on Sounds GREAT!!! I swear, you would think you were at the game... It sounds so real. My neighbors can't get over this unit. Can't wait for SuperBowl Sunday!!! I do understand some people feel the Pioneer sounds better. But that all depends on what speakers you have and your room setup is like. You can't satisfy everyone. Would highly recommend to anyone interested.

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Power, channel seperation, improved remote

sound (audio quality on music), auto room equalization needs improvement

The Bottom Line First: The Pioneer Elite is a better receiver. I know many will disagree. However in my home theater room on my NHT Evolution speakers, on both music and movies, the Elite sounds better....clearly better! I purchased the Denon because of all the great reviews I've read. After 3 weeks of tweaking the sound and careful listening to my favorite CDs and DVD movies, I took the 3805 back to the dealer. I did the auto sound setup several times and tried every mode and variation I could find. I was able to get some improvement over straight out-of-the box....but I couldn't get it to sound as good as my 2 year old Pioneer Elite SVX45. I enlisted the ears of my family and friends. The vote was unanimous for the Elite. Perhaps on different speakers, the Denon would sound better. The NHTs are very "honest" speakers and the Denon just sounded dry and even harsh and brassy with some types of music. (especially female vocals) Things I liked about the Denon: channel seperation, power, the remote control. It's a quality receiver and no doubt those who buy it will be happy so long as they don't compare it head-to-head with the new Pioneer Elite receivers such as the VSX 56txi.

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