Audioholics review of the Denon AVR-5803!

[gene]

<font color='#000000'>Here is my review of the Denon AVR-5803 A/V receiver. &nbsp;

Exclusive Audioholics Review of the Denon AVR-5803 A/V Receiver

I should have the Denon DVD-2900 review up by next week.</font>

 

[Yamahaluver]

<font color='#0000FF'>Nicely written Gene, if this doesnt convince the sceptics that there are receivers out there which can do great justice to HT as well as 2-channel stereo mode listening, I dont know what will.

It is great to see that manufacturers are bringing back the pleasure of 2channel high quality amp sections in their receivers making the need to buy external over hyped power amplifiers superflous.</font>

 

[Eric]

<font color='#000000'>A very good review Gene! However, I have a very different opinion of, and experience with, Denon’s Technical Support group.</font>

 

[petermwilson]

<font color='#000000'>Hi Gene,
Peviously I felt that &quot;SECRETS&quot; had the most comprehensive review. &nbsp;You have bettered that IMHO, well done.

I have an upgraded 5800 which is about 95% of the 5803 as the upgrade did not touch the video side and unlike the 5803 dsp modes cannot be invoked on the analogs.

The two features that I felt you might have made a bigger deal about are 1. Unlike any processor that I'm aware of the 5803 has 2 sets of analogs. Since I have 7 and 5 disc entry level dvd-a and sacd players it easily allows me to be patient with regard to a COMBI MLTIDISC player with a digital connection which I suspect in the next upgrade will expand on the Denon Link.

2. DolbyHeadphone. It's really quite a marvel and if you Google it you'll find it's not that widely available.
My neatest experience with it was while playing a film in DTS mode late at nite and being yelled at to turn it down.
I plugged in the headphones and watched the faceplate of the 5800/03 go DTS + DolbyHeadphone.

One other small thing. I have an SDI modded Panny rp82 which I use with the HOLO3D vid scaler and so do not use the dvd-a function of the Panny because I play music all the time and don't want to wear it out due to its video prowess, but I do use it for the few RedBook cds that I own due to its upsampling RE-Master feature which allows upsampling to 88.2 from 44.1

The manual of the Panny states to check your processor because just because it will do 96 doesn't mean it will do 88.2
Sure enough with re-master on I put in a cd and saw the face of the Denon go PCM 88.2. &nbsp;That capability was added with the upgrade and is standard on the 5803. I don't know how widly it's available otherwise.

I use 5 Totem Model 1 4ohm speakers for music, have a pair of Axiom QS4 Dipoles surround B for film and Monitor Bronze 4si for effects. &nbsp;Everything runs without the 5800/03 breaking a sweat. &nbsp;It's the first quality processor/amp I've ever owned and after almost a year I feel it might be a lifelong love affair.

Again, great review.

Peter m.</font>

 

[gene]

<font color='#000000'>Guys,

Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.  The AVR-5803 is such a sophisticated and complex piece.  It was very challenging to cover all of the major feature of the unit and keep the review from running to novel length.  Peter, you are correct, it is very commendable that the AVR-5803 includes two sets of 6CH inputs.  Since I was testing the unit with a Universal player, I failed to stress the importance of this feature.  As for the Dolby headphones, yes another feature that has value add that I did not include in the review.  I just bought a laptop with DVD and will probably sink some money into a decent set of headphones very soon.  Any suggestions?

I will ultimately be writing an addendum to this review if Denon announces any upgrades after Cedia.  At that time, I will comment on these features in the update.

Eric; &nbsp;I realize customer support can be a hit or miss with any company depending on whom you speak with at any giving time. &nbsp;One thing that really impressed me was the very knowledgeable staff that Denon has supporting their products. &nbsp;I have found that they really understand audio/video formats and standards, etc and also take customer feedback very seriously.</font>

 

[petermwilson]

<font color='#000000'>Hi Gene,
Your absolutely right, you could go on forever about this unit, and btw their 8ch analog inputs although I don't know of any units doing 8ch output or software recorded that way.

If you have the manual that comes with the 5803, there's a discussion with regard to recording in DolbyHeadphone to some kind of unit right out of the jack &quot;I think&quot;, anyway it might be neat to try if you can keep it for a while.

Headphones are really personal I've found but Grado rs1's are awsome but I don't use phones enough to justify that quality.

Maybee Denon knows something we don't.

Again great review.

Peter m.</font>

 

[Khellandros66]

<font color='#000000'>Awesome Review, probably (no wait lets see who all has done a 7 page review), ah definitely the best review of this receiver I have had the pleasure of reading. &nbsp;I wish my RX-V1300 could allow me to setup DSP modes differently for each input and for individual Dolby Digital, Dolby EX, DTS, and DTS:ES.

Now I am thirsty for a November Face-Off between it and the RX-Z9.

Bob</font>

 

[Eric]

<font color='#000000'><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">
Eric; &nbsp;I realize customer support can be a hit or miss with any company depending on whom you speak with at any giving time. &nbsp;One thing that really impressed me was the very knowledgeable staff that Denon has supporting their products. &nbsp;I have found that they really understand audio/video formats and standards, etc and also take customer feedback very seriously.
</td></tr></table>

I’m very glad to hear that you received such good support. I’m even more pleased that the 5803 received such praise – it’s truly an outstanding unit.

Not wanting to belabor the point but I feel it is important that I post this.

You may remember my post about the 4802R pure direct mode fault? I found my own workaround on this issue and confirmed (with Denon) no damage will be done using it. As a matter of fact, I had to troubleshoot the problem myself then call Denon Tech. support and tell them how to reproduce the fault and how to fix it. Clearly, if I could troubleshoot this down to the speaker configuration Denon’s tech. support should have been able to as well.

I don’t think this was a “one bad day” type issue as my dealer worked with tech support for five days before I got involved.

Not meaning to bash Denon here by any means (I own about $5k worth of Denon equipment) but the grass is not as green on this side of the tech. support fence.

If Denon is reading this I’d like to request a white paper be added to the 4802R link addressing the “Pure Direct Mode LED does not illuminate after selecting Pure Direct Mode if ‘none’ is selected for rear center speaker” issue.</font>

 

[gene]

<font color='#000000'>Bob;

Thanks for your feedback.  Actually my review is over 14 pages in Word  

In all likelyhood, I will be doing a part II or &quot;Long Term&quot; evaluation of this product in the near future since there are other features mentioned in a previous post, as well as Denon's proprietary digital link, which I have not covered in my current review.  

But first I have to complete my review of the DVD-2900    

Eric;

I fired off a link to your last post to my contacts at Denon.  Perhaps after Cedia they can get back to you on this.  I understand where you are coming from and I hope you can get resolve to your situation ASAP.</font>

 

[Eric]

<font color='#000000'>Gene, my most sincere thanks for your help!

I look forward to discussing this issue (and solving it) with Denon.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Gene,

I was all but walking out the door today with a Denon AVR 5803 after reading your article when two things hit me:
1.) DVI inputs are coming for everything
2.) Sony's new 9000ES receiver

Can you address my DVI future concern and tell me where to buy Sony's at discount....assuming you agree. &nbsp;Ha! &nbsp;

I love my Denon 5600. &nbsp;In years past I have already experienced buying just before S-video, then just before fiber optic, then just before component, and now.....DVI. &nbsp;While my Denon 5600 did it all except component, I just want to stay ahead of the already DVI bandwagen. &nbsp;Thanks.</font>

 

[gene]

<font color='#000000'>Andy;

If you have a digital display that utilizes DVI and your happy with the Denon brand, you may wish to wait for their announcement on the upgrade plan for the 5803 and future models. &nbsp;However, I cannot recommend the new Sony receiver since we have not yet evaluated it. &nbsp;I understand your concern with buying products that offer the latest and greatest, but it seems to early to tell at this point.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>On the bottom of page 1 you say that the AVR 5700 has a plastic door on the front. That is incorect, it is a heavy gauge aluminum door that is anodized black to match the rest of the face plate. Other than that, great review &nbsp;

</font>

 

[gene]

<font color='#000000'>Paul;

Hmm, maybe it was the AVR-5600 I saw that cheap plastic door on. &nbsp;Surpisingly, Denon missed that when reading over my review. &nbsp;I will update accordingly. &nbsp;Thanks for your feedback.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Hey - How about a review of a Pioneer flagship, say the 49TXi? I've noticed a conspicuous absence of any Pioneer product on your site.</font>

 

[gene]

<font color='#000000'>ss9001;

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Hey - How about a review of a Pioneer flagship, say the 49TXi? I've noticed a conspicuous absence of any Pioneer product on your site. </td></tr></table>

We would be happy to review the Pioneer Elite flagship receiver and we have no conspicuous (as you so eloquently put it) reasoning for not having a review of the product other than Pioneers failure to respond to our request of a review sample. &nbsp;In the past, we had the opportunity to review their Universal DVD player, but after pointing out all of its shortcomings, Pioneer and Audioholics decided to wait for the next round. &nbsp;That was well over a year ago so I suppose we can try to contact them again. &nbsp;It may help if all of you email Pioneer on our behalf to request review samples.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Gene - Thanks for the input on Pioneer. I was wondering if you had or were planning to review their products. Sounds like Pioneer hasn't taken the opportunity presented.

Hopefully, you'll get a chance in the future.</font>

 

[Jaycan]

<font color='#000000'><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">It may help if all of you email Pioneer on our behalf to request review samples.</td></tr></table>

I have emailed Anthem requesting an AVM 20 loaner for Audioholics to review. Hope my $0.02 helps.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>any word on a 3804 coming soon? &nbsp;And if so what improvements might we expect?</font>

 

[Syd]

<font color='#000000'>Very good review of the receiver I've been considering. I'd appreciate any comments about using it with M&amp;K S-150 speaker set with a MX350 sub. &nbsp;Thanks.</font>