B&K Seperates or Denon 5803 (1 Viewer)

[chung_sotheby]

It means "I'M a HO," just in case you are near one of the fellow hometheaterforumer's home town and are looking for a good time

But on a more serious note, it really means:

I n
M y
H umble
O pinion

Cheers

 

[Tim L]

Matthew , are you saying that there is litle difference in sound and quality between the AVR507 and the B&K seperates? You've got my curiousity peaked now-exactly what would be the upside of getting the seperates (besides the extra wattage) versus the 507 then? thanks
Tim

 

[MatthewJ S]

the extra wattage.............

 

[Chas_T]

It means "I'M a HO

ROTFLMAO

 

[Mark All]

Nice one Chung! I never thought of it that way before.

Tim, both are great choices and I don't think you'd regret either. I went for a Rotel amplifier and a Denon 3803 receiver as a pre-pro myself because of a desire to limit the expenditure on that end of the home theater system. There are pros and cons to either the B&K setup or the 5803, but very few cons with either choice. Any chance you can try one of the systems out in your home, keep it if you like it, or return it if you don't? I'd probably pick the B&K first myself.

 

[Tim L]

It seems the B&K has the votes- thanks everyone for the advice- but I am surprised not more 5803 owners chimed in- I'm not looking for a debate or anything-just information-but non-the-less-all has been helpful
Tim

 

[Thomas Monahan]

What's the going price on the Ref 50?

Thomas

 

[Todd Schnell]

Hey Tim,

I'll chime in on the 5803.
I was in the same boat as you last year, & had planned on going with the Outlaw separates.
After the long wait & initial problems with the Outlaw 950, plus the fact of needing more features I went a different route.
Here was the way I looked at things.

It really depends how much you want to spend, as well as your speakers & other equipment.
How revealing is the rest of your set up?
If money is no option, or if you can get a really good deal on the B&K separates I would lean that way.
I would expect you will pay at least 1k more for the B&K separates though.

I own the Denon 5803, & IMO for the street price of under 3k (from an authorized local dealer btw) it holds its own very nicely sound wise, & is loaded with features.
I would never even consider paying retail for it.
Same for the B&K, & perhaps other flagship receivers.
Among others, I listened to Anthem AVM 20 & Anthem amps, B&K Ref 50 & ref Amps, & 507 receiver, as well as the Pioneer 49txi (which I didn't care for as much for music).

I can tell you this about the Denon in my set up.
It has plenty of power.
Also if this means anything to you in one of the latest issues of Stereophile Guide to HT, if memory serves me correctly it did over 200Wpc in stereo at 8 0hms.
5 channels driven I believe it did 170 watts at 8 ohms.
They had 4ohm ratings as well that looked pretty good too, though they stated it shut down driving 5 channels at 4ohms to ridicules levels.

The 5803 is fantastic for HT, but music is my first love, & the Denon in pure direct mode sounds damn good listening to music.

I personally think the Denon, B&K receivers are very attractive at this price point.
I didn't get to compare the Denon head to head with the B&K equipment, but did compare the B&K ref separates to the 507 receiver, & the 507 really held its own.

Now if you have 4ohm speakers I think I would stick with separates.

Good luck & let us know which way you go.

Todd

 

[Tim L]

Thanks for the info Todd- and yes I am getting a pretty good deal on the B&K stuff-but I am more concerned with quailty than saving a few bucks,and yes I also thought about going with just the AVR507-which just about identical to the seperates (except for the power of course) I have always liked the Denon products also. A few B&K owners have said that it takes some time to set up their gear- and to have some patience in this area- so I guess its not as user friendly out of the box as I thought it would be, oh well.
Tom -to answer your question I believe the going list price on the ref.50 is 3K but I know you can find it cheaper in a number of different places ( B&M or online). thanks again
Tim

 

[Jerry St.Marie]

The reason it could take a little time to set up the B&K is because it's very flexible and has a lot of options. Download their software and take a look at it and you'll see it can actually be a lot of fun and not very hard.To me user friendly means I'm given more choices as the user.