Denon 985s or 3803 (1 Viewer)

[ChadLB]

Which one would you go with and why?

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

We've talked about this before, but if you were planning on using the external amp you currently have or plan on adding a more powerful one in the future I would go with the 985S for its processing and room-eq. If not, I would go with the 3803 for its stronger amp section.

What kind of price are you finding on the 3803? Dakmart has b-stock 3805s for around $850 and they are an authorized dealer. If that's not much more than you're paying for the 3803 then I might go that way as well.

 

[ChadLB]

3803 b-stock like 529.95 .....

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Stephen,

I had forgotten about Dakmart. At the price they are selling the AVR-3805 (both silver and black versions) - it hardly seems worth it to save a few bucks and buy a receiver off of eBay. I'd have no issue with running a refurbished 3805.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

3803 BStock for $530 is a heck of a deal. There are tons of 3803 users and it's proven as a very solid receiver. I'm really hoping they get some 2805s or 985s in around the $500 mark.

 

[ChadLB]

Stephen,
That is why I am undecided.
Lots of people out there love the 3803. I really like the 985s so far. Suprisingly I actually like the silver finish also...
I think next week I am going to see if the local shop that carries Denon still has a 3803 and I will A/B that with the 2805 as I bought the 985s somewhere else.
The reason I am looking at these 2 is price point.
The only thing the 985s has over the 3803 is PLIIx which doesn't really matter for my setup and the auto setup which is a nice feature. could I live without it and just use my handy SPL meter and DVE...probably.
And yes I understand your earlier post....
985s and amp
3803.....
I think next tuesday I might have to make a trip back to the local hi fi shop....

Anyone else have input....

I know you have been waiting for the Pioneer 1014....not sure about upconversion on it but I think at my local shop it will be going for $499....
No input on the internals of it though...

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Well the thing that makes the auto-setup so great is the room-eq. Hours with an SPL meter can't get the results that these auto-eq systems can even if the receiver has the proper parametric-eq (which most don't). The 43TX offers an intermediate step with manual MCACC but it really only lets you match the center and surrounds to your mains and doesn't really let you get flat room response.

I know I keep harping about the 2805 and external amps in your threads and similar. I'm guessing the 2805/985 have decent internal amps and at the price point I bet it's a very good piece. That said, the 2805's processing and especially the room-eq matched with a good used 5ch amp would seem to me to be the absolute best you could do in the sub-$1500 market, better than any of the receivers out there at this price point.

It'll be interesting to see what I end up with, but I do want to wait until the new Pioneer stuff is out since I've had good luck with it so far. Being out of the country until august makes the wait i little easier. I had a deal lined up to trade my 43TX and $500 for a used 49TX but it fell through. Too bad, I'd love to see a flagship on my shelf... maybe someday...

 

[ChadLB]

That 49tx would have looked great....and done great.

I did bring my Denon in to another shop and compared it to the 53tx and in 2 channel stereo I preferred the denon sound...this a choice of course but I think either would get the job done. I could get the 53tx from them for $800 and the cheapest I found thru an authorized dealer was I think $775(not sure if that was shipped though).

I think next tuesday will help on my decision as long as that store has the 3803 still.
The 985s has to go back monday as the place I bought it from only has a 15day return policy.

My current parasound amp doesn't seem to help the Denon that much. I think if I wss running 4/6 ohm speakers that required a little more power the amp would but with what I
run they don't require the power.

So I would probably sell the Pioneer/Parsound combo and just use the Denon and then maybe look for a good 2/3 channel amp down the road....

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Chad,

I'm interested in hearing your impressions of the Denon AVR-985s vs. the Yamaha HTR-5760. I'm also with you on the silver color used by the Denon receivers - like it a lot. It's much more of a gun metal color than a silver like is used by Sony on their ES receivers.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Wayne,

I had the Yamaha RXV-1400 (same as the 5790) for 3 weeks and have had a Denon AVR-2805 (same as 985s but in black) for 2 weeks now.

My reason for swapping was frustration with Yamaha's user interface and very intermittent audio dropouts when playing demanding dts soundtracks with PLIIx processing.

First impressions were that the Denon was much easier to use, interface still not as good as the Pioneer 45tx I killed with a cup of spilled coffee but way better than the Yamaha.

As far as sound goes, at first I was a bit put off with the Denon. I'd run the auto eq on both units and both have 8 band parametric eq.

At first blush the Denon sounded a bit flat and a bit bright compared to the Yamaha, but I wasn't playing anything I'd played a lot on the Yammie so it could have been a difference in how the movies were mastered.

Last night I ran the first half of LOTR/fotr on the Denon for the first time, a movie I'd played on the Yamaha a couple of times (the Ballrog sequence would trigger the audio dropout--split second audio dropout never in the same place twice and only once per playing). In the opening scene of Gandalf and Frodo riding in the cart I was hearing the birds chirping all around me, just as with the Yamaha. The difference was that with the Yamaha I heard generic birds chirping, with the Denon I felt like if I were an ornithologist I'd be able to tell you what kind of birds were chirping.

I slipped Two Towers in for a bit and found that for the first time I didn't have to turn on the subtitles to understand what Gollum was saying.

I then played a bit of Blade II and again got the distinct impression of hearing better detail and better channel separation all around than with the Yamaha.

 

[ChadLB]

Wayne - sent you a email.

 

[ChadLB]

Well my receiver and amp are up for sale now I need to decide which route to go. Hopefully I can check out the Denon 3803 locally first then decide...........