Great specs

Poor reliability and terrible service (for my unit, anyway).

I'd like to provide a detailed review of this product but I can't because it died after one and a half weeks of use. And now Denon won't honor their warranty because they say that the dealer (eCost) isn't authorised. But that is really Denon's issue; not mine. Suffice to say, I won't deal with eCost again, but I also never buy another Denon product. Their lack of customer service is unconsionable.

THX ULTRA, 5 CH STEREO, A/V INPUTS, DD INPUTS

REMOTE, Volume display to small

Awesome, Upgraded rear speakers at the same time. Now have (all Mirage) front speakers OM-6, center OM-C3, rears OM-R2. Matched with this receiver, DVD movies sound incredible. In the 10 years living were we do. This is the first time I have been asked to turn the volume down and it was not due to the loudness, but the shaking of the house. We were watching the beginning of Saving Private Ryan. Volume was at +8 (normally at -16). Sound crystal clear.
This receiver is the finest I have used to date.

Similar Products Used:

DENON 3600, YAMAHA 2092

Input levels adjustable, EX ready, easy handling, 5 channel stereo is nice when partying.

Sound

The unit I had at home was AVC-A10SE which is the European version of the 4800 without the tuner section. I´ve tried all above at home for some time.

I have an old Sony Pro Logic Receiver that I want to replace. For some time I was locked on to the Denon AVR-3300 due to it´s many good reviews, but I couldn´t find an ex. to try for some months so I started trying other equipment.

I started with the Sherwood and for the money it was ok but not that big improvement over my old Sony in music. Nad sounded good on music but came without DTS and was a pain to use (slow switching between inputs and so on). Then I finally got the AVR-3300 to try and it didn´t do it for me I rather go with the Sherwood. These 3 receivers is in the same price range eq. $1000-1300 here in Sweden.

Well I came to the conclusion that I must aim higher so the next step was a big one to the TAG McLaren AV32r($2800) and Rotel RMB-1095($2500) combo. Boy did it start to sound like something, sweet music and very good cinema sound, unfortunely the TAG had problems passing some video composite signals that I fed it so I hesitated.

Then I tried the Marantz SR-14(18) and I liked it, not as good as the TAG combo but it got a good tuner section and a wonderful remote (here in Europe it comes with RC 5000 a.k.a. Philips Pronto). Well for $3500 I couldn´t deside since the TAG support had promised a software patch to change video input levels, so I brought the Marantz back but I kept the remote (just love it).

I was waiting for the patch for the TAG and visited the Denon dealer (they also have NAD and Marantz) and he showed me this all new AVC-A10SE with THX EX decoding but no amps for it. Well I thought I can take it home for a try and if it is any good I´ll keep it, even if it was a step down with it´s $1850 price tag (my girlfriend is getting tired of having new stuff to learn every week). I´m sad to say I had to return it. The sound is not to my liking, harsh highs, terrible voices when turned up, cymbals sound compressed. The DAC took away soundstage and musicality compared to my old CD´s (Pioneer PD-S904) internal DAC. The bass is good and had some punch to it even compared to the Marantz.

I wanted to like it and save some bucks, but it all comes down to "You get what you pay for". So I´m still waiting for the fix for the TAG McLaren or trying the new Onkyo TX-DS 989 which ever comes first.

BTW, I did a stupid thing and listened to the Meridian 561 $4800 at the dealer who has TAG and Rotel, that could be a very expensive listening session.

My stuff so far:
Receiver: SONY GX900ES Pro Logic (got to go)
Remote: Marantz RC 5000 (King of the hill)
Front: Canton Ergo RC-L (best there is for $2000-$3000)
Center: QLN Qubic FS600 (had the matching Canton but this sounds better)
Rear: JPW ML510
SUB: Waiting for a Paradigm Servo 15 that´s on backorder
CD: Pioneer PD-S904 (waiting for SACD/DVD-Audio)
DVD: JVC XV-505 (probably exchange it with Pioneer DV-F727)
TV: SONY 36" KV-36FS70 (all new, but to small for my new living room, probably replace it with 50"-55" projection TV)
VCR: JVC HR-S8600

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-3300, Sherwood 945 II, NAD T770, Marantz SR-14(SR-18), Tag McLaren AV32r with Rotel RMB-1095 Amp

Plenty of inputs and outs, 8ch inputs, well build,and great when use as a pre amp.

maybe a volume control with half DB increments.

I purchased it from The Good Guys the week it came out and I had it for about a little more then a month. I went with the Denon over Yamaha because of hte THX chip. I used to have the DSPA1, I like the DSP that it has but, I don't use it often enough to miss it. I like the direct mode on the Denon that the DSPA1 didn't have.
I am only using the Denon as a pre amp/DAC for my C.E.C transport and my Adcom stack. The combination of the transport and the internal 24-bit/96 khz DAC is a charm. The only complain is the heat. As we all know heat is the biggest enemy of electronics. So I took it one step forward and opened it up. Wow! It is very well laid out, clean, massive Toroidal power supply, and point to point soldering. I then trace the wires from the Toroidal to the amplifier and disconnect them. I then tested everyhting ou and it worked perfect without the heat. Note that doing so will voild the warranty.

Equipments: JM Lab Electra 920 speakers, C.E.C. transport, Sony DVPS7700 dvd player, Adcom GFA7500 & GFA5200 amplifiers, and MIT wires all around.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha's RXV1

Solid build, excellent features, esp. THX-EX and DTS-EX 6.1

none

The power! I cannot turn my volumn up beyond -15 or it rattles my walls! This thing is more than what Denon promises, it is so cool to finally, finally, have a reciever capable of pumping out serious sound. I realize there is always, always something bigger and badder out there (read 5800), but at this price I could never come close to a level like this unless it was the 4800. I sampled Sony's STDR777es, (too bright) the JVC RX1028 (yeah, I know...I was desperate and didn't know better..god, how much life did I waste trying to read that thing into something it could never be!), I read, read, read, everything I could get my hands on and the 4800 kept coming-up as the best for the buck. Others will surely argue. Let 'em. I'm laughing all the way through the DVD aisles. Obviously I'm not am audiophile, far from it. I'm a movie fanatic, and thank god for DVD and the 4800. Every sound is punctuated with power. For normal tv viewing I leave it on -50 and the dialogue comes through just fine. No strain. I have a good room (18x18) and solid speakers (Energy Encore 2), so I'm lucky to have the Denon to set it all off. I could spend hours talking about how good my movies (and music) sound, but if you've got one, you know. I really owe a lot to everybody here who posted such informative stuff about the unit. This site really is the best for testing the waters short of going out and listening. Anyway, I have a lot to learn about making the 4800 sing better and I will be paying close attention to learn what works for others here, and I'll let you know what I find out.(It's true: do not, do not, try to pick this thing up fast the first time. It will crack your back).

System:
RCA 36" HT (the last holdout)
Sony 560 DVD
Yammy for the THX rears (100watts-2channels)
Energy Encore 2 w/ 8" subw.
The 4800 (yeaaaahh!)

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha ProLogic RX-V490

Buy at Cellular connection, NOT CRAZY EDDIE

I tried to buy at crazy eddie...terrible mistake! This company will charge you hidden fees and lie about stock....

Crazy Eddie senT me a very expensive HDTV that was DOA and refused to exchange it. Instead they convinced me to go through 6 months of manufacture service calls and the TV still does not work. I paid 3k for this TV 6 months ago. To make matters worse they sent me the wrong TV that took 3.5 months to come in when I was promised 4 weeks! This was not the model I ordered! They told me that if I fixed the TV and got it sold locally that they would hook me up on future purchases. I'm still trying to fix the tv to sell it. Anyway tried to buy a Receiver, first they lost the order for 3 days, then said they just sold the last one and weren't exactly sure when the next would shipment was arriving. They took $27 off the price. That was it! and said they couldn't do better. Remember my 3k wrong broken tv...guess not! They then tried to charge me an extra $25 shipping and handling compared to the website. I CANCELLED MY ORDER WITH THE FRADULENT CRAZY EDDIE....NEVER AGAIN THEY ARE CROOKS!!!

Similar Products Used:

s

Remote control needs to come into the 21st. century, volume level too difficult to read from across the room.

I auditioned several units to replace my Yamaha RXV-2092 which I had in use for about 2-1/2 years and was not pleased with the other units in comparison until I tried the Denon AVR-4800. I really liked my Yamaha - that is until I hooked up the Denon. Movies came to life in a more realistic way, dialog was clean and clear (as it was with the RXV-2092) but gun shots, explosions, etc. had a great deal more "punch" or response with the Denon.

I thought the RXV-2092 was musical when listening to music, again, it fell behind when compared to the Denon. One of the reasons for looking at new recievers was to add DTS as an option. When we did side by side comparisons of the "Hell Freezes Over" DVD in PCM stereo, the denon was so much easier to listen to. Of course in DTS mode we could not make the same comparison with the RXV-2092, but we did with other units and again the Denon sounded better to me, my wife and to guests we had invited for thier opinion.

I could not be happier with my choice, in fact each day we are more confident we made the right choice.

No, I don't work for Denon - in fact I have never been fond of them because of looks and thier remotes, but this is a real bargain if you are looking at raw power, transient resonse, versatility, clean sound and a "warmth" without "colorization".

Our system:

Hitachi 50" Ultra Vision RPTV
Denon AVR-4800
Yamaha DVD-S796 Single DVD Player
Energy AC300, LF, Center & RF
Energy RVSS Surround
Klipsch SW12 Subwoofer
Hitachi Super-VHS VCR
Sony EVS-3000 Hi-8 VCR
Monster HTS2500 Line conditioner

Similar Products Used:

RXV-2092 Yamaha, RXV-3000 Yamaha

Clean power, thx, 7 channel stero, easy setup

As others have stated, the remote needs to be refined.

After months of research, I finally took the plunge and purchased this gem. From the moment I hit the power button I knew I had the right one baby!

It woke my Atlantic Tech 270s from the dead! Every movie I watched before was like watching/listening with a muzzle. Now they are ALIVE!! The sound stage and imaging...WOW!!! Heat, Bone Collector, the Matrix, and even Excaliber ROCK!!

I've experimented with the DSPs just "because". They weren't factors when I decided to buy, so they're not an issue.


The 7 channel stero, I love it. Being enveloped in Lee Morgan's Sidewinder, Horace Silver's Doodlin', or Miles' So What is very very nice.

System includes:

32" tube (53w mitsu digital in the works)
denon 4800
carver 400t drives rear surrounds
atl tech 270 thx
crappy speakers for rear surrounds.

I'm more than happy with my 4800.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer elite, Onkyo

This a follow up

This is actually a follow up review. I recently purchased new speakers and cables to make use of the Surround EX function that I purchased the POA-5200 Amp for. What a difference! I can't believe how this receiver shines. Here's my system now:
61" PROSCAN RPTV
PHILIPS PRONTO REMOTE
X-10 Lighting control
DENON AVR-4800 Receiver
DENON POA-5200 Amp
DENON DVD 1000 DVD Player
BetterCables all around (speakers/s-video/audio connects)
THE PHASE TECH TEATRO SERIES SPEAKER SYSTEM (7.2 setup) :
2 - PHASE TECH 11.5 Towers for L/R fronts
1 - PHASE TECH 6.5 Center Speaker
4 - PHASE TECH 4.5 Surround Speakers
2 - PHASE TECH 10" Subs
Rocked my world. NO MULTIPLEX can come close to this sound! My neighbors hate me but F@ck em'. Sounds insane! Check out some pics of my setup at:
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/drksaint/HTindex.html

Flexibility, power, ease of use, intuitive controls, good manual.

remote could be better

This is a follow-up to my previous post. I moved into my new home and set everything up: ML Sequel electrostatics are my mains, Klipsch center, surrounds and subwoofer, cheesy Toshiba DVD Player (will replace it soon!), Sony Mini-disk deck, Sony CD Changer, DBX 3BX range expander, Sansui SE-9 Compu-equalizer, Teac X1000R open reel deck, Panasonic stereo VCR. My family room is about 20 feet wide and 35 feet long.

Hookup was relatively easy because the manual is very clear about how to attach all your components. The on-screen menu is very easy to operate and setting the levels of each channel is a breeze! Put in Xmen DVD to test everything and when the THX screen came up and the sound started getting louder and louder and then the room started shaking! VERY COOL! When I came to, it was a much quieter scene in the movie and I turned down the volume a bit! :-)

Using the receiver for music is easy too. I messed with the 5 channel stereo mode for music and didn't really care for the sound of it too much, so I'll just use stereo mode.

Overall, I'm very happy with this unit. It's powerful, easy to get set up and running and very flexible.

Similar Products Used:

Denon Seperates