[SethOakley]

I just recently purchased the Denon AVR 2803. It is a great receiver and I've completely enjoyed it, that was until this weekend when I made a return trip to the store that sold me the Paradigm Speakers. I started looking at some of the Onkyo Receivers, and found that maybe I should have bought one of them.

Mainly I looked at the TX-SR601. It said 110W x 6 Channels. My Denon is 90W X 7 channels. However, I'm starting to lean towards the 6.1 setup anyhow.

Finally the other difference I noticed was that of 100MHZ Component Video Switching on the Denon vs the 50MHZ Component Video Switching on the Onkyo. Is that going to be a huge difference.

I paid $699 for my Denon 2803 about two weeks ago. He said he would sell me the TX-SR601 for $399. Would it be worth selling my Denon and going to the Onkyo? He also made me a great deal on an Onkyo DVD player, and I like for my stuff to match if I can keep high quality. This is just something I'm considering and would like opinions from both sides.

[James_Roberts]

I would check out the 6ave.com deal on the Denon 3803. You could get about $50 back and get a brand new 3803 with full warranty from Denon. (648.06 shipped) I did it.. great receiver. I was a little apprehensive at first dropping a lot of money (for me) on a receiver, but it is great. No regrets at all.

If not, the onkyo is a nice receiver, but the 3803 better.

[SethOakley]

You think it would be worth the upgrade from the 2803 to the 3803?

I wish I could sell the 2803 for anything close to what I paid, but I doubt that will happen.

[Dan Hitchman]

Yes! With that deal, I'd upgrade. Return the 2803 to your dealer for a full refund if you can get the 6thave price break on the 3803.

Dan

[Wayne Ernst]

Quote:

I paid $699 for my Denon 2803 about two weeks ago. He said he would sell me the TX-SR601 for $399. Would it be worth selling my Denon and going to the Onkyo?

There was a used Denon 2803 being sold for $300 the other day in one of the audio for sale areas. I'm not sure how much of a hit you would take in selling your 2803, but it could be significant - unless, your dealer wants to take it back. I couldn't believe the price.

If I were to ever jump ship for an Onkyo receiver, the 700 series is the minimum that I'd get because that is where they start installing pre-outs on their receiver line. You never know when you might desire an external amp for more power.

Link to where I found the 2803 (used) listed for $300 - AudioShopper.Com

[JamieS]

Did you listen to the Onkyo?

I wouldn't even think about selling the Denon for the Onkyo unless you liked the sound of the Onkyo BETTER. You are going to have to listen to this thing and the power ratings can be highly suspect. Onkyo's in the PAST (don't know about the new ones) have tested out far below rated all CH driven. If the DENON makes an honest 7 X90 and the Onkyo makes 100 W 1 CH driven but only say 70 W X 6 all driven ...well you get the picture.

Haveing matching components like DVD, Reciever etc. performance wise is meaningless. DVD players out put digital. the sound is dependant on the DACs in the reciever so an Onkyo, sony, etc. DVD hooked up through Toslink will sound exactly the same .

I don't think the Onkyo is "bad" but I just can't see any benifit at all to selling the Denon and taking a loss to move to a product that isn't superior (unless of couse as I said you LISTENED to the Onkyo and found it superior). If you really want your stuff to match maybe you could just put an Onkyo sticker on the 2803

[John Garcia]

I think the 601 would be a step down from the 2803, but you should be looking to get the 3803 in any case if you can still get the $648 deal.

[John S]

After installing two, what are considered entry level Onkyo 6.1 recivers over the weekend, I have more respect for them now.

I do think you would be downgrading on the switch some though.

Unless the 2803 is just not meeting your needs, and the Onkyo would meet some need that is not being met currently.

[Vincent_S]

quote:
Mainly I looked at the TX-SR601. It said 110W x 6 Channels. My Denon is 90W X 7 channels. However, I'm starting to lean towards the 6.1 setup anyhow.


You can run your Denon 2803 in 6.1, just go to the OSD and set the surround back to 1 speaker instead of 2.

[BrianWoerndle]

Power numbers are meaningless. Receiver's powere is limited by the power transformer. The less channels you are driving, the more power is available for each channel. So theoraticlly, the Denon should output 105w x 6. Neither of them will ever get anywhere near that with all channels driven. Most receiver will output 30-40w all channels driven. Although I think I remember a review with real test results show that the 2803 could output about 70w x 5. So the 2803 should have more than enough power for you. And I can't think of any features the 601 has over the Denon.

As far as the 3803, it is not much different than the 2803. Unless you really need some of the extra features the 3803 offers, like Pure Direct Stereo, a 5th optical input, A or B surrounds (the 2803 has A or B fronts). I would not take a loss for the 3803. The 6ave is a super deal, I spent over $1k for my 3803 when they first came out. But I don't think it would be worth it to take a loss on the 2803 for the 3803.

[SethOakley]

Thank you all very much for the responses. After doing further research I found that the Onkyo is definitely not worth the switch. You all made some great points, such as the fact that there is no pre-out in the scenario where I would use separate amps. Anyway, I always wanted to have a Denon Receiver, so I may as well stick with it because it is really good. The main draw for me was that I thought the Onkyo had more power, but I found that its is actually only 85w x 6, not 110w. Plus, the 100 MHZ Component switching in the Denon is nice cause there is virtually no loss in quality. I might be crazy, but almost think it looks better when I go through the receiver with component vs straight to the projector.

Anyway, thank you ALL very much

Denon 2803 will remain!