Building HT: Denon vs......

[mhp]

All:

Am building a dedicated home theater room. I have several questions that I'd like your opinions on. I supppose that means I'll post several notes in multiple areas of the forum.

Equipment from my current system that will make the move to the HT room:

Speakers:

2 B&W CDM7SE (front L+R)
1 CDMCSE (center)
2 B&W CDM1SE (surrounds)
1 B&W ASW2000 (sub)

Hardware:

1 BAT VK-200 (amp, currently for front L+R)
1 BAT VKD5 CD player

(Yes, I know, some of this is probably a bit excessive; I worked in high-end a/v for several years, and I got some great deals. Unfortunately, I'm back to the real retail world now.)

I've an old Rotel receiver. Been happy with it, for the most part, but it can't do SACD or DVD-A. So, time to upgrade.

My first ever audio receiver was a Denon DRA-825R, and it still works. In fact, it's sitting right here with a couple Magnepan SMGas running my computer sound.

I've been considering separates (Anthem? Integra Research?) or a high-end receiver like the Denon 5805. Either way, I'll probably continue to use by BAT VK-200; it's a great piece of equipment.

I don't have much interest in multi-zone stuff.

I would like THX, and I'm intrigued by the room eq stuff that Denon includes.

And I'd like my SACD/DVD-A stuff to sound as good as it possibly can.

Comments would be appreciated about my situation: is the price/feature jump from the (new) 4806 worth the extra cash? Given that $6K is pretty insane.

Thanks.

 

[jimgoings]

I am quite happy with my Denon 3805... have you considered it? Do you have any other specific requirements? Do you need video upconversion? Do you listen to music or HT or both? Which is more important?

 

[nibhaz]

I'm not a proponent of suggesting that receivers have a particular sound and that they should be paired with a certain brands of speakers. With that said I'm quite happy with my Onkyo/B&W combination and within my long list of upgrades I see Integra Research separates towards the end of the list. However I think you would be equally satisfied with the offerings from Denon, Yamaha, NAD, Rotel, and pretty much anything else in the price range you appear to working with, it's just that some will offer a better ROI depending on your viewpoint of the A/V world.

 

[Wyngdh]

If you've got the cash, why not go for the Denon 3805 AVR and 3910 Uuniversal Player? With the D-Link, you're in for a blast!

 

[Takeereasy]

Maybe take a look at Outlaw seperates. For somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 grand you could pick up a new 990 processor and 770 amp that has 200 watts per channel X 7 channels. The new 990 is a step up of the Sherwood p965, a very highly regarded pre. Heres a link to the page for it 990 . Good luck with the HT build.