Denon AVR-5803A Receiver Experience?: Pretty Big Bucks Involved. (1 Viewer)

[Arthur S]

I have had my eye on the Denon AVR 5803A for a couple years. I know it is discontinued but they come up for sale every now and then. It has some features that I like and is certainly a beast at 64 pounds. I realize it lacks features on the 4806 like Audyssey.

I would spend up to $1,800 for one in mint condition.

The Atkis remote doesn't sound very friendly.

Any owners out there who can comment?

I know I could get separates for this much, but I already have a Citation 7.1 amp should I feel the need. I hardly think I will, however, as the 5803 actually delivered 118 watts into 7 channels simultaneously.

All comments are welcome.

Thanks

 

[John S]

You just cannot go wrong with Denon 48xx series or the 58xx series in my opinion.

These are brutes and a good step up from the 38xx series.

$1800?? Hard not to tell you to look at the 4806 though.

I like H/K's AVR7300 for these sorts of bucks as well.

I just can't see how you can go wrong with the purchase at all.

 

[ScottCHI]

http://www.shopping.com/xGS-5803_Den...in_id-3058238~

http://cgi.ebay.com/Denon-AVR-5803-R...QQcmdZViewItem

 

[StanB]

I have the 5803 with the lastest updates. I've really enjoyed it but I'm moving to separates, so I'm thinking about selling the denon. It's in mint condition. Let me know if you're interested.

 

[Mark@M]

Just purchased the 4806.

- Audyssey is great. Much better than me sitting on the couch for an hour with a SPL meter.
- Setup is a bear! But...that's the trade-off for the flexibilty it has. Every input/output audio or video is configurable. Manual sucks (as Denon's manuals mostly do). Took me a couple hours to get it the way I wanted it
- Signal up/down conversion is nice..no longer do you have to connect composite video from the receiver to the monitor just to see the receiver set-up menus
- Has the latest processing from THX to DPLIIx
- Has the latest connections - Denon Link, two spec. 1349 Firewire connects, ethernet and RS-232 for control and computer setup, HDMI and DVI. It also switches the HDMI inputs and Lord! More digital audio inputs/outputs than a man could ask for (#1 reason I replaced my 3600)
- Remote is an A+ for coolness factor and a D- for usability. Didn't make me ditch my ProntoNG Pro (I'm pretty fussy about my remotes and have yet to find the perfect one). Others my disagree.
- Has XM receiver built in (antenna is optional but readily available)...very cool feature
- Phono input for those of us still with turntables (feature that's starting to disappear)
- Dobly headphone jack...haven't played with this much but seems pretty impressive in the couple of minutes I tried it
- Pricey, but you get lots of bang for the buck. Lists at $3500, but I've purchased a lot from my local dealer so he gave me a price break and I ended up paying a pretty good $2900 for it. I was going for separates...AVM-30 pre-pro and 7 channel amp, but this had more power, similar specs, more features and a much cheaper price. Going with the cheaper 4806 made my wife happy(er) too .

Just to let you know, I replaced an old workhorse Denon 3600DTS receiver that is still going strong in my bedroom now. Why? 'Cause of obsolescense...it doesn't have the newer processing formats, can't handle 7.1, doesn't have enough (any) component inputs/outputs much less switch them..no DVI, firewire, HDMI, DPL-IIx, no 5.1 inputs for DVD-Audio/SACD, and only TWO, yes TWO digital inputs (one TOS and one coax). Not good for a guy with two satellite receivers, a DVD reference player, DVD-A/SACD reference player and a DVD recorder. Why do I mention this? Because you might want to rethink going for an older receiver (wonderful that it is) that doesn't have all this new fangled stuff. Granted, if the 5803 has everything you'll ever want in a receiver, by all means go that way. But the 5803 is a couple of years old already and is already getting long in the tooth and you ought to take that into consideration.

You might also wait for a few months until the new Denon 3806 and 4306 are out. Both have most of the features of the 4806, but at a much more reasonable price. Audioholics forum has a pretty good thread regarding them. You might be interested.

Lastly, have you looked at Outlaw Audio? For $1800 you can just about get their new pre/pro and an amp. Good, quality sound, with the latest processing and connections. You do sacrifice some bling though. If you're like me, you probably don't care too much about that. Give me good quality sound over bling any day..

Hope this helps

Mark@M