Denon 3803 vs. Outlaw 950+7100 (1 Viewer)

[Yogi]

"I would defintely use the 3803 as a prepro and add a good external amp."

And that way you can get the upgrade kick twice for the same price. Isn't this hobby fun?

 

[Ricky T]

Energy Take 5 speakers are great, I like them alot and have helped two co-workers build hometheaters with the Take 5, budget sub, and receiver. On driving these speakers, I don't think you will notice any differences between a 50x5 receiver, an 80x5 receiver, a 100x5 power amp, or five 300 watt monoblocks.

I also believe that prepros and receivers change rather quickly; the landscape can change quite a bit in 12-18 months (ie, the new Outlaw prepro).

The Denon 3300 was a competitor to his Yamaha 995 in 1998. Since then, Denon has gone: 3300 > 3801 > 3802 > 3803. The 3802 at $595 NIB from 6ave would be a noticeable improvement over the 995 (especially DPL2 and 6.1/7.1 modes).

 

[kevitra]

Question for you 3803 owners - I had a 3802 and the 'direct' mode wasn't so great, compared to my 2 channel Rotel preamp. Did they substanitally upgrade the 3803's direct mode over the 3802?

I realize 'direct' on the 3802 should have no processing, but I was never overly impressed with it.

 

[Eric A]

Question for you 3803 owners - I had a 3802 and the 'direct' mode wasn't so great, compared to my 2 channel Rotel preamp. Did they substanitally upgrade the 3803's direct mode over the 3802?

From what I understand they did make substantial improvement. Not necessarily in Pure Direct mode but in using the AL24 upsampling in conjunction with Pure Direct it is significantly better. I am repeating what I am told though as I have not heard the difference. This was told to me by a good friend that sells these units in conjunction with a Music Fidelity integrated for folks that want to do 2-channel first and have HT as an afterthought. The Music Fidelity runs over $3k.

 

[Geo]

Sounds like the Denon 3803 maybe the best sub $1K pre/pro out there. And as a bonus, it comes with amps for your surround speakers! Pretty cool stuff.........
Regards,
geo

 

[Philip Hamm]

Either is going to make you happy. Remember you need more cables for the separates. I would also check out the Rotel receiver in that price range. If you're thinking of DVD-Audio or SACD down the line, or maybe different sized speakers around your room, bass management features of the 950 are very compelling.