Denon 985s, will it be my next receiver (1 Viewer)

[ChadLB]

Only time will tell....

Well I went to a local shop and brought my music and compared a couple of recievers.Ok well mainly the HK 430 and Denon 985s as they fall in the same price bracket. I had already took home a HK230 a while back and thought that was better than my Pioneer 811s/parasound combo - HK was hooked up to parasound as well.. After listening to tunes for around 2 hours I decided to give the Denon a try. I also currently have the Yamaha HTR 5760 at home and I am going to try and get the Pioneer Elite 53tx.
I am going to do lots of testing this weekend(off Friday - Monday) with music and movies:
Pioneer
Yamaha
Denon
Pioneer Elite

Pioneer with parasound amp
Yamaha with parasound amp
Denon with parasound amp(not sure there will be a difference)
Pioneer Elite - no parasound

This may help others that are looking to buy any of these items.
I will also try and post some pics this weekend.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Chad,

Looking forward to hearing your impressions of the 985s (a.k.a. - the AVR-2805, silver model.)

I was able to see both the AVR-3805 and the 2805 on a shelf side-by-side. I didn't compare the sonics, but the 3805 seemed to have a bit more "heft" to it and I liked the read-out slightly more on the 3805. Again, these were just the impressions I collected in 5 minutes of visually comparing them.

Have you been able to secure a pretty good price on the 985 vs. the $899 list price on the AVR-2805?

Thanks ... and, I look forward to your updates on the 985.

 

[ChadLB]

Wayne,
I bought it locally for $899 but if I like it I will see what they will do or I may look elsewhere for a better price.
The 3805 is out of my price range so I really don't want to look at that one though I might as my contact for the Pioneer(his boss is being difficult). He will give me a great price on the Elite 53tx($800) but said something about not returning it at that price....well how am I suppose to do my testing. I will hear more about the Pioneer on friday.
I may also go to the other shop that carries both the 2805/3805 and compare as the 985 was bought at another place and that is the only new denon they carried.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

I'm giving the 2805/985s some strong consideration as a possible replacement for my elite 43TX. I would probably get the Denon in August/September then add an external amp in November/December (probably Rotel). Seems like it would make an exceptional pre/pro, especially with the room-eq being identical to the 3805 AND including the microphone. I found it for $650 shipped online (985s).

 

[ChadLB]

Stephen,
Yes I have seen it for those prices as well. I will hopefully to some testing starting friday.