Clarity, Seperation, All around perfect

Too good to be true, Hard to beleive what you are hearing are not seperates

This receiver totally kicks ass!!! I will not have to buy another receiver for a very long time. I have found my keeper. The speakers I currently own are the M&K S-150 THX Ultra Speakers. This receiver totally does them justice. If anyone is looking to spend under 5,000 dollars on audio equipment, I completely hands down reccomend this receiver. This receiver is definately best in it's class. No better yet it is in a class of it's own.

Similar Products Used:

Denon Avr 3300
Yamaha DSP-A1
Onkyo TXDS-989

An upscale version of AVR-4800 and 5800

Heavy weight, too sexy to create jealousy among people who can't afford it

Please pardon my cheating: I do not own the 5800, but I do own the 5700 and have experience with the newer/less powerful 4800, and I can't keep quiet when someone's low enough to turn down such an advanced and musical piece of gear like the 5800 from Denon.

First off, I agree that the AVR-5800 is nothing short of stunning for a total package priced under $10,000. It would be hard to find one that combines the 7.1 surround processing capability, the 7 channel power, the musicality, and the excellent build into a single unit at this price. I've seen online price for as low as $2,700, and I got my 5700 for $1,950 new in perfect condition. Marantz and Yamaha, to their credits, do make some receivers with the same caliber, so I can't say they sound better or worse. If there are differences, must be personal taste. But I know I can and use the banana connectors for speakers with the 5700 and 4800, so you'd better check with others to make sure they offer the same care and quality.

The minute I hooked up my friend's AVR-4800, I knew it sounded as good as the 5700, being a bit less powerful aside. In fact, I had to admit the 4800 offers a clearer surround separation and a higher soundstage compared with the 5700.

Similar Products Used:

AVR-5700, AVR-4800

Power,connectivity,sound{duh},a remote Spock would die for.

Runs a little warm,weight,limited soundfields.

This is a great product. All the connections and outputs you could possibly need. Don't buy this if you don't own or plan to own a DTS DVD player,this system shines in DTS mode. I dug out my SGT.PEPPER CD to test the system with music I'm very familiar with,popped on the headphones and immediately heard sounds I've never heard before,and I've worn this disc out since 1987. Then the new T2 DVD in DTS,it was theatre quality sound,clear as crystal. Then Immortal Beloved 5.1, no DTS,lush beautiful sound. You won't regret buying this system in my opinion but you will need good speakers and I won't lie,I've only had this sucker four days and I may be overlooking something,but this is reference quality all the way .Buy and enjoy!

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-5700

Clean presentation, 170 watts/7 channels, Awesome, read review

None so far

My first impressions

It is hard to know were to start when trying to describe my impressions of the Denon AVR-5800. I will try to be fair and not let my personal enjoyment slant what I hope to be an objective evaluation. To put all of this in the context of my point of view, I will first give a quick rundown on my equipment and setup.

My home theater was built for Surround EX and custom crafted for the size and power of all of the components. I was fortunate enough to get some very good insight on the direction Denon was taking and some info on size and power of this new beast. Since all of this is new construction, I was able to execute most of my desires considering the room that was being used for this adventure. I have wired my home for three zones, which the 5800 will complement very nicely. My entertainment room is 15Wx22Dx12H, around 3,900 cubic feet. My sweet spot is about 8 feet from the rear wall. It is hard to say if the centerpiece of my entertainment center is the Elite PRO-710HD or the Denon AVR-5800, but the combination is breath taking. My main speakers are Dahlquist DQ-28's, nicely complemented with Boston Acoustics VR-12 center and DX-Pro sides rears (two). The surround speakers are mounted where the wall and ceiling meet, slanted at a 30-degree angle for the sides and 40-degree angle for the rears. I now see that Denon is recommending mounting the surround speakers as high on the wall as possible. This provides an absolutely phenomenal sound field when using diffused speakers. The sides are mounted directly across from my sweat spot with the rears mounted far enough from the side wall so that they are just inside of the main front speakers. Speaking of the mains, they are angled to the sweat spot forming an almost perfect equilateral triangle. The two enclosed cabinets with glass doors are between the main speakers and HDTV. The Velodyne F-1200 subwoofer is located under the left cabinet. On the sides and above all of the equipment are graduating arches forming an amphitheater effect. You probably need a picture to appreciate all of this.

Now for the Denon AVR-5800. As the reports and forums have already testified to, this is a very large and heavy unit (almost 62 pounds), not necessarily made for limited shelving space. I would say that typical shelves allow for 17 inches deep. This unit is 19-9/64 and needs every bit of it. Since I have enclosed cabinets, my first problem is getting this unit to fit neatly with the cabling into 23 inches. The solution for that will be cutting into the rear wall. We knew it was going to be tight and had already planed for this. There are a number of reason why the depth was limited to 23 three inches (that is another story), but the original depth was increased after obtaining some information on the 5800.

The unit is very clean with only two knobs, one large and one small, a power switch, and two small buttons for THX Home Cinema and Pure Direct mode. The other 18 buttons and two small knobs are hidden under the lower front panel, which drops down with the touch of the lower part of the panel. With the Aktis remote or the Pronto, you would have very little need to use any of these buttons. A short note on the Pure Direct mode. You may have read that the 5800 has two DACs per channel for a total of 16 DACs. In the Pure Direct mode, the 5800 reconfigures itself to 4 DACs for each of the two stereo channels. That's eight DACs for Pure Direct mode. I would call that advanced technology. Also, I have been asked the question about the use of the base unit for the Aktis. The 5800 accepts IR signals and therefore can be used without the base. All of my Pronto settings for the 3300 work without problems on the 5800, but there are new setting on the 5800. The pronto learns from the Aktis without any problems.

Wiring this monster was very time consuming, but hopefully something that I will do only once. I resigned myself to having it professionally done when I had the entertainment center built. There is conduit that runs between the cabinets with exhaust fans and great wire management, but not something that I want to mess with. However, the technician kept rescheduling me because of the delays in the 5800 delivery. Therefore, I either wait for the next opening in his schedule or do it myself. With the 5800 sitting in front of me, it isn't hard to jump to the conclusion that I did it myself. The shelves extend full length and will hold a minimum of 100 lbs. This only made the rear of the 5800 partially accessible, enough to look straight down on the rear edge of the unit, but not enough to see the labeling or plugs below the top row. So, I printed a large picture of the rear of the 5800 and let my fingers do the walking as I patiently found the right cable and located the right plug. What an experience. It also didn't help that I kept hearing a noise from my office saying, "You've got mail". I may have been first to post that I received my unit, but at some point I had to walk away from my computer so that I could play with my toy. Another point that I should mention concerning the wiring. I found the layout of the 5800 to be very logical and easy to follow. This testimony is in recognition that I did a blind connection of my cables. The left speaker terminals are logically on the left side and the right speaker terminals are on the right side. Each row of plugs addressed a different feature of the unit, starting with the top for all of the Component connections, then the Composite video connections, then the S-Video connections, then the RCA-in connections, then the RCA-out connections, to the bottom where you find all of the digital connections. Smart and clean, nicely done Denon!

Lets talk about the fan issue. I have played this unit very loud for periods upwards of 45 minutes and have not heard the fan during loud or quite passages. As stated in the Denon Operating Instructions "The AVR-5800 is equipped with a cooling fan to prevent the temperature inside the set from rising. The fan is activated under certain usage conditions. It is temperature and volume level sensitive, to minimize or prevent audible fan noise." I have been told that there are two fans in the 5800. If the fans were working, then I would say that they work flawlessly. I have not detected any audible fan noises and do not see this as an issue.

Now on to my video and audio experience. Since I am going to focus on audio, I will address the video and get it out of the way. I may have posted (I don't remember at this point) that I was using a Denon AVR-3300 to setup my entertainment center and test all of the wiring. This turned out to be a great decision. It took weeks to build, test and resolve all of the issues with the entertainment center. Now that I have the 5800, I have not had to deal with any of the "is it a connection problem or a problem with the 5800" dilemmas. One of the issues that came up during the original testing was the component video switching. I am using Monster Mseries cables. We originally tested a direct video signal from my Elite DV-F07 to the Elite PRO-710 and compared it with switching through the 3300. We, the technician and I, were not able to see a visual difference between the two. Obviously this is a visual test and not measured by instruments, but the fact that we could not see a difference was encouraging. I am now switching through the 5800 and my first reaction is wow!. I don't know if it is technically possible, but the color separation and detail looks better through the 5800 than through the 3300 or direct connection. There are a number of scenes in The Matix and other DVDs that have always bothered me. When I viewed sections of the DVD's last night, there was no evidence of my previous problems. I know I am not doing this subject justice, but my information is limited at this point. I really need to do more testing to see if I can give a better explanation of what I experienced. And for those wondering about switching HD signals, I do not have a HD source. I am waiting for the new satellite units, probably the Panasonic, but all manufacturers have been delayed due to problems with DirecTV.

Now, on with the Audio discussion. My first impression of using all 8 channels was unremarkable. I basically was not getting much more than I did out of the 3300. I know this was a quick reaction, probably tainted with greater expectations. This was not an assessment of clarity or separation of sound. Never the less, what did I spend all of the money on. It was good, but not spectacular based on my experience with the 3300. After about a half hour, I noticed that the 5800 display showed 6.1 Surround. This made sense, but where was the THX processing. Ah, there is a button for Home THX Cinema. One click of the remote or from the front panel of the 5800 and, you guessed it, my first sense of being there. Now I understand what this THX processing is all about. Based on my research and auditioning, there was really never any question of wanting THX, but the actual experience in my own home theater was emotional. I tried a few movies last night and no, I do not have The Haunting in 6.1 discrete. I had hoped that it would be included in Denon's first shipments, but I was not that lucky. After about 15 minutes, my wife emerged from the bedroom (about 12 or 1 in the morning) and asked if I was enjoying my new toy. At this point I decided to shut everything down and start again in the morning. As we settled into bed (no details here), she spoke about the difference that she heard in the sound. She had heard all of the movies that I was testing many times. There was enough difference that she was compelled to comment on it. This was a very good sign.

This morning has been spent playing various DVDs that I have used to demonstrate various capabilities of my system. Since I have used them so much, it is easy to use them as a reference point. Let's start with the THX Surround EX Demo DVD. I normally only play TEX (the THX Robot) and Jungle Sounds because I really have not been impressed with the other three Demos, Broadway 2000, Astronaut's Wife and Austin Powers. I now find all of these to be very enjoyable, even Austin Powers. They each bring out a different aspect of the THX Surround EX capability. This alone is enough to sell me on the 5800, but believe me, this doesn't scratch the surface, nor will I be able to in this short (maybe getting long) first impression write-up. Also extremely noticeable was the absolute quite that takes over when you change from loud scenes to low or no sound. In fact, turn off the source and turn the volume up on the 5800 and it is dead quite. The sound is so clean that it is not fatiguing to the ears and allows for the 5800 to be played at higher levels. The other very noticeable benefit is the loss of brightness. The 5800 makes even the most dynamic sounds flow at a warm embracing tone. I don't know if the way that I am describing this makes sense, but it has a significant effect on the overall enjoyment.

Another DVD tested was The Bone Collector in DTS. I like this one because there are a lot of subtle sounds as well as dynamic changes that show the breath of the system. My favorite piece for testing is when the first victim is discovered and a train may destroy the evidence. The oncoming train quickly erases the faint sounds that are detected all around you. You can't forget the impression that this huge locomotive makes as it bears down on the Officer. It is also extremely noticeable as to how much clearer my center channel handles the dialogue and dynamic range of sudden and rapid changes in the sound stage. The voices have much greater clarity. Also I noticed another capability of the 5800. I had to stop the DVD several times for phone calls. It was pointed out to me by the Manager of Showcase Home Entertainment (who was also getting a delightful first hand review of the 5800) that there was no delay in the 5800 to sense and switch to different sound formats. If there isn't any digital sound from the DVD, the 5800 doesn't know to use DTS (unless you lock it on DTS). Every time the movie was starting and the first sounds were heard, the 5800 had immediately switched to DTS. It is done so quick that you don't detect any delay what so ever.

Let's move to the beach scene in Saving Private Ryan. Now for all of us, this part of the movie has an emotional impact when you see the reality of war. If we can just set this aside for a moment, I want to address being there. Not actually at the battle, but the 5800 making me part of the catastrophe on the beach. I have always been presented with a wall of sound when playing this piece. You know that this is happening right in front of your eyes with enough noise behind you to give it a feeling of being real. Lets take the next step. I am talking about wanting to duck from bullets. I am talking about the complete feeling of being on the beach. The 5800 has added a new level of appreciation for this awesome footage of the first landing. I will not try to tell you that you haven't already appreciated this with other processors and amplifiers, but it was a revelation for me that I find very difficult to describe other than I was in the center of it all.

There are many other things I want to say about my first impressions, but this is getting long. I probably won't be posting much more since I am leaving town on Friday for ten days and still have a to-do list to handle from my wife. By the time I return, there will probably be plenty postings giving you first experience and maybe even some detail reviews. There is so much more for me to explore before I can write about it. I trust that you will forgive me for stopping here. I hope this was helpful.

it has what you need

learning to use it

I could write good things about the Denon AVR-5800 forever but that would repeat other reviews I've read and reiterate the manufacturer's claims. Instead I'll focus on the difficulties I've experienced. If there is anyone who reads this and understands more than I do, I need all the assistance I can get and would welcome any comments.

Progamming the remote took forever and I quite frankly didn't program a number of features because of the difficulty. The Denon remote would not learn from several remotes and I had to use a previously programmed One For All Remote to teach the Denon how to operate all my equipment. It had difficulty with both my Quasar VCR and General Instrument cable box remotes.

The biggest difficulty I have is picking the right mode for listening. I've found 7 channel stereo works best for music.
I find that I have to alternate between DTS and THX to find the right mode for cinema. I do not get an automatic switch over or anything like that. I start out with DTS and if it sounds right I leave it. If the sound is not correct and sounds out of balance and unnatural with exaggerated highs and lows, I switch to THX and it works perfectly. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. It took me a month to figure out DTS was the best mode for most movies.

Overall I love the amplifier and would recommend it to anyone who needed one. I just hope I never need service. I had an AVR-4800 which needed service and I never saw it again. I turned it in to the store, an authorized service center, August 18 and finally got credit for it October 10. The store had no idea how to repair it. I heard all kinds of tales including one from people at the Denon factory service center who told me there were no spare parts in this country for the unit. Supposedly Denon replaced the circuit boards and shipped it back UPS to the store. Then UPS detroyed the unit in transit. That is when I got a store credit.

If you want a great unit, buy the AVR-5800. I really enjoy the sound.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-4800, Onkyo THX-919

it has what you need

learning to use it

I could write good things about the Denon AVR-5800 forever but that would repeat other reviews I've read and reiterate the manufacturer's claims. Instead I'll focus on the difficulties I've experienced. If there is anyone who reads this and understands more than I do, I need all the assistance I can get and would welcome any comments.

Progamming the remote took forever and I quite frankly didn't program a number of features because of the difficulty. The Denon remote would not learn from several remotes and I had to use a previously programmed One For All Remote to teach the Denon how to operate all my equipment. It had difficulty with both my Quasar VCR and General Instrument cable box remotes.

The biggest difficulty I have is picking the right mode for listening. I've found 7 channel stereo works best for music.
I find that I have to alternate between DTS and THX to find the right mode for cinema. I do not get an automatic switch over or anything like that. I start out with DTS and if it sounds right I leave it. If the sound is not correct and sounds out of balance and unnatural with exaggerated highs and lows, I switch to THX and it works perfectly. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. It took me a month to figure out DTS was the best mode for most movies.

Overall I love the amplifier and would recommend it to anyone who needed one. I just hope I never need service. I had an AVR-4800 which needed service and I never saw it again. I turned it in to the store, an authorized service center, August 18 and finally got credit for it October 10. The store had no idea how to repair it. I heard all kinds of tales including one from people at the Denon factory service center who told me there were no spare parts in this country for the unit. Supposedly Denon replaced the circuit boards and shipped it back UPS to the store. Then UPS detroyed the unit in transit. That is when I got a store credit.

If you want a great unit, buy the AVR-5800. I really enjoy the sound.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-4800, Onkyo THX-919

Performs as advertiesed, seems to me to be the best receiver out there.

Forget about the size - Weight!

It seems to be pefroming as advertised, nice and clean sound, good and easy set up. Manual could be a bit more extensive, still cant figure out the deal with FM antenna, yet, despite all things it has good performance, solding casing and it could replace a heater in your home, so make sure you have some space around it.

Sound is clean and crisp, and so is the picture. Number of optical connections provide room for expantion. Despite its price I would definately recommend it to others. But watch that box, dont let it land on your foot it is heavy.

Similar Products Used:

AVR-900

Best receiver around...

See previous review

To all you that have questions, and no reviews...
Please do not ask questions here!
A good place for 5800 (and others) questions is http://pub7.ezboard.com/baussiedvdandhtforum

I have not had it long enough to find any.

I have not had it long enough to find any.

My Ride:
Denon AVR-5800
Proscan 27" UPGRADE SOON I PROMISE!
Sony DVD-7000
Sony Playstation 2 (DTS):LOL:
Sony ES DCP-79ES 5 disc changer
JVC HR-D970U VHS
Velodyne F-12 Subwoofer (Left & Right pre and post)
Polk LS-90 Front
Polk CS-450 Center
Polk LS-FX Rears Bipole/ Dipole (Speaker A)
JBL Sat 1 System (Speaker B)

I have a technical question moreso then a review. I have a Velodyne F-12 which has Left & Right inputs and outs, the Denon only has one Subwoofer Output which is located at the PreOUT area under the CENTER Left input (see web link http://www.dba-pr.com/clients/denon/products/ces/5800back.jpg
), they only give you one (RIGHT) sub pre out which is not marked in the picture.
My question is this; would I benefit from just connecting the left to the center out which is marked on my unit and connecting the right to the only marked SW pre out on the unit?
I'm not sure if there will be any difference with only having the right right side connected to the sub and leaving the left side not connected since LFE is a mono signal. Would this mess up any phase or any other nuiances in listening?
Or if that is just too confusing, should how should I connect my Left/Right sub up to the Denon when sub has a L & R input but my receiver only has one SW out?

Any suggestions???
Please and thank you!
jamo74@home.com

Similar Products Used:

Sony ES, Kenwood Stage 3 Seperates, ADCOM 6000 5ch AMP, Yamaha RX-E100 Mini System, Harman Kardon AVR 25,

compact, 7 channel amplification, good user interface

7 channel amplification, remote and display is small

While this may get me zapped by Bob, I'll still give it a shot!! :) (Agree M.L's (nice pseudo by the way) review was harsh)
I have had the denon for about 4 months and think it is a fine unit, YET 7 channels of amplification can not logically keep up with a descent 5 channel amp during intense use. Unfortunately I also went through two units before finding a solid 5800. (granted the problems were not major, on one missing internal peice and on the second a short that would not go away)
Though the 58 is now sounding pretty good, I think it is folly to say this unit can do as well as a lot of good seperates. Yes, price is good if below 3 in my opinion, but I think I'll rely on seperates.

BUT- A good RECEIVER

Similar Products Used:

Lexicon DC-2, Proceed, Pioneer