denon 4802 (1 Viewer)

[Brent Hatfield]

What do you guys think? Sounds like a nice piece of equipment. I would think this would be a better piece than the avr-5800 if you can settle for a little less power.. I wonder how much it will cost. 5800 is looking a little outdated compared to this thing.. Debating whether to wait for this or go for the 3802.
http://www.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/AVR48023final.pdf

 

[BrianBHD]

The 3802 isn't in the same league as the 5800 (power, THX, inputs/outputs, upgrade capability, remote, sound quality, etc). The 5800 will have an available update for current owners this fall anyway.
I have the 3802 and it's an awesome receiver for the money.

 

[Arthur Legardo]

Well, there goes my budget. I was hoping to pick up one of these as soon as they hit the shelves, but now that Denon going to include the RC-8000 remote it will probably waaay out of my budget. Too bad.

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My DVD Collection

 

[Patrick G]

Is there ANY chance that the forthcoming 5800 update will include THX post processing for DTS ES Discrete?

 

[Bruce Abar]

I have owned the 4800 since it was released, and I can tell you it is a nice unit. The stupid question I have is to upgrade to the 4802?

The 4802 has all the new bells and whistles, I doubt it will sound any different from the 4800. Mainly used as a processor would you upgrade from the 4800 to 4802?, I have bypassed the mains with the MA700 marantz units.

Bruce www.dvdtracker.com/~bruceabar.asp
[Edited last by Bruce Abar on July 30, 2001 at 07:06 PM]

 

[TomH]

Bruce,
One nice feature of the 4800 is the ability to reassign the two front main amp channels. How much of an improvement did you see with the MA700's?
Tom

 

[Brian_J]

Interesting that the crossover points are 80, 100, 120 as on 3802 and 40 and 60 to boot? Guess you gotta spend a few hundred extra bucks to get those two lower crossovers.
Brian
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Zed's Dead Baby...

 

[Bruce Abar]

Well Tom, with all the upgrades I done, from Yamy 793, 795 to 995, Denon 3300 to 4800, adding the Mono blocks gave the most detailed improvement, not only louder, but a nice sound stage and perfect imaging with my speakes, and no shut downs. I have the psb golds, and as nice is these speakers sounded with my previous a/v's, the marantz mono's realy made them sing!
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Bruce
www.dvdtracker.com/~bruceabar.asp

 

[TomH]

Bruce,
I know some 3300's had a shut down problem. Have you seen this with the 4800?
Tom

 

[TomH]

With the typical 30% Denon discount that is only $1750. for a receiver with more features and only a bit less power than the 5800. It has a serial port but does not mention SW upgrades. SW upgrades should be essential for a 7.1 unit in this class.
Tom

 

[Bruce Abar]

Tom,
Yes I had the 4800 shut down, but like I said, they were powering the Golds. The 4800 would not shut down on normal listening levels.( say 85db while playing a movie). only when I played music to loud.
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Bruce
www.dvdtracker.com/~bruceabar.asp

 

[Charles M]

Where can I purchase one online. Tom mentioned 30% off at $1700. I was going to get the 3802 next week...But. Until I seen the specs for the 4802, all I can say is WOW! Did anyone notice DTS new 96/24 processing? The first to have it. I'm wondering how Yamaha will try to match Denon's new receivers. I'd be willing make an investment on this unit without worrying about upgrading a year from now. I've had my avr1700 since it first came out, I still think it's a great piece, do DTS. I've have been waiting for the right time to do an upgrade. I thought I had it with the 3802. But the 4802 sound nice. I'd be willing to to spend $2000 on this unit if I could get it for that much. If anybody knows where would be a good place to get one for under 2k I would appreciate it. Thanks, Charles
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[Henry W]

You can say "wow" all you want but this unit will be obsolete in less than 18 months just like the 4800. There is no upgrade path mentioned in the literature. I got excited about the 5800 and now less than 12 months down the road the 5800 looks to be totally obsolete in another 6 months. It is certainly not up to date with current technology.
In the future I'll spend my money with a company who has a proven history of upgrades rather than with a firm whose product is obsoleted every 18 months. Why buy integrated AVR receivers that require a new purchase every 18 months to stay up to date when you can purchase upgradable equipment? Initial cost may be higher but over the long run I'll spend less money and have a better quality product with brands such as Meridian, Lexicon, and Tag.
Best regards-Henry
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[Alan Wild]

Henry,
Are you sure about the lack of an upgrade path? The 5800 is supposed to be software upgradeable. Although I haven't found a reference to it yet in the literature either. The 4802 definately has a RS-232 port on the back of it.
I was contemplating trading-up from my 3801 to a 3802, but with the additional x-over points, power, additional inputs, THX post-processing, etc. etc. etc. I may just hold out for the 4802.
-Alan

 

[Keith M.]

I cant believe all these posts...
How can you all actually think the 5800 is obsolete? It is still in a class by itself. The bottom line is sound quality... And nothing comes close. The internals, build quality, power supply, and amps are the influencing factors here. Sound formats, Decoding/Compression algorithms, sampling rates, etc. will continuously be introduced and should not be the selling point of a high-end receiver. There is a point of diminishing returns and I think we have reached it. Being a current 5800 owner, i could care less about DPLII or so-called POST THX processing on DTS sources. Give me a break...
THX is the king of marketing gimmicks. DPLII is simply dolby's answer to DTS' NEO:6 or Lexicon AXIS7. THX POST processing would not be necessary if they would simply increase the quality of recordings during mastering and stop playing around with Matrix based decoding. In my eyes, when it comes to innovation Dolby has been beaten by DTS and they should just roll with the punches. Why in the hell didnt they concentrate there efforts on a discrete based Surround EX.
How much better is DPLII than NEO:6? Which Receiver has DPLII? Who cares, matrix decoding is not why I invested so much money in dvd or the 5800. It was good for what it was back in the day, but now it is pointless. I bought the 5800 for three reasons sound quality, sound quality, and sound quality... On the rare occassion that I want to enjoy a stereo source in full surround, i simply choose NEO:6 or one of the numerous convincing DSP modes. This is more than adequate for the FEW times I would use it.
Adjustable Crossovers. Yes, this is nice. But does not make a receiver OBSOLETE!!
The reason these companies continuously churn out new receivers every 6 months with hardly any differences, is because the majority of consumers think the same way as those in here. "Uh Oh, new useless format has come out that ill never use, I MUST UPGRADE MY OBSOLETE RECEIVER!!!" If we all continue to fall into this vicious cycle, they will continue to come up with brainless innovations to add and charge us for...
Keep in mind, these are only my opinions. Yours may differ.
ahhh....I feel better.

 

[Shane Martin]

Adjustable Crossovers. Yes, this is nice. But does not make a receiver OBSOLETE!!

I think it does. This feature absolutely changes the way my system sounds. If I had to live with the standard crossover that Denon provides(80hz) I would return it the next day because I use larger main speakers and the 80hz crossover sounds horrid on my setup.
About the obsoleteness, If I owned small bookshelves and used the 80hz crossover It wouldn't sound too bad for a while until I got larger mains which would benefit from the lower crossover point(40 or 60). So if I bought new mains and had to use the 80hz and it sounded horrid I would upgrade my reciever. Since the Denon 4802 has this feature the reciever is ready for my future purchases unlike the 5800 which would become a relic.
See my point?

 

[BrianBHD]

I don't see your point, because Denon has promised an upgrade to the 5800 which I'm sure will include everything in the 4802 and more. It is scheduled for October. How is a flagship receiver, which Denon has promised to provide upgrades for ever obsolete? I'm sure it won't be free, but much less than a new one!

 

[Greg_Bedard]

What is the 3802 going for? I can't find any info anywhere?

 

[Keith M.]

Shane:
If an adjustable crossover effects the overall sound of your system that dramatically, I think you have more obsolete equipment than just the receiver.
But seriously, an adjustable crossover is a far cry from making a flagship receiver obsolete. The crossover point has been pre-determined to be the "optimal" setting. There are reasons for small vs. large settings. Look into them.
If you are going to self proclaim "the" flagship receiver (5800) as obsolete, please give more concrete arguements. Granted, I am biased being a current owner, but I am also willing to upgrade when it is warranted...and it is NOT!
The 5800 is still the king of receivers and is not even close to being OBSOLETE. Im sure others on this HT forum will agree...

 

[Oliver]

@Keith M.
I read your comments on why you bought your AVR 5800 and I must admit that sometimes I tend to forget that I bought mime exactly for the same reason you did. But it is really hard to look away when all those new formats seem to suggest you that you will not be able to live without them.
Anyway, all your points are perfectly right. We should start enjoying what we have and not what we desire.
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