Denon 3805 v Bose AM 15 or 16

[Law]

<font color='#000000'>Hi All

I am looking for the best amp to drive my Bose AM16, I settled on the Denon 3803 till read about the 3805. I think! my research is over but i will value your input. What do you all think of the combination of the 3805 and the AM16?

Law</font>

 

[jeffsg4mac]

<font color='#000000'>Hello, welcome. Either of those receivers will be overkill for what you have. Buy the one you get the best price on. The 3803 I suspect will start drying up and the price dropping because of the 3805.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Thanks for the reply,

I have heard the very same commet a few time but as yet no one cal tell me why. Can you pleaase tell me why you think the Denon will be an overkill for the bose? Is it because the bose dont require that much power to drivethe satelite as the sub is active?</font>

 

[jeffsg4mac]

<font color='#000000'>Well since you asked I might as well get it out in the open so you won't feel bad later. I absolutely mean no disrespect or insult to you at all, after-all I once owned a set of bose 301 series II's.  You are not going to find many bose fans here, me included. Most of us all agree they are junk wrapped in a fancy marketing scheme. What you have is basically a bunch of small transistor radio speakers in a plastic cube coupled with a subwoofer that was made for a PC not a home theater. You really would not hear much difference between a Denon 3805 or a $199.00 sony from best buy attached to a set of bose. Not to discourage you, by all means get a Denon, you can upgrade the speakers at anytime. Again I mean no disrespect to you and your speakers, if you like them great, you are the one listening to them. A lot of us here have built and designed our own speakers and myself have also worked in speaker repair for a time so we know whats in a bose speaker. Again no insult intended or implied

Just to add, I just looked at the Bose site, I could not find the specs for any of their systems on their site, not even the 901's. What are they hiding? As if we did'nt know.</font>

 

[zipper]

<font color='#000000'>Very tactfully done Jeff.</font>

 

[Law]

<font color='#000000'>Honesty will never offend me

, I appreciate your expertise in this field.  I went for the bose as my dearly beloved partner did not want to have the big speakers

.  I have since convinced her of the appeal of large speakers, i think!. I may invest in some B&amp;W and move the Bose into the master bedroom.

I heard the Denon recently against the Harmon Kardon and the Denon to my ear handled both DVD and Music better. A must for me as I love my music. Can you suggest any other amps that can handle this combination of music and DVD? I would be happy to buy a cheaper amp if i get the same level of performance!

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[zumbo]

<font color='#000000'>B&amp;W is a great choice. They do require a great deal of power to perform to their utmost capability.

Do you have a current a/v receiver?</font>

 

[zumbo]

<font color='#000000'>B&amp;W is a great choice. They do require a great deal of power to perform to their utmost capability.

Do you have a current a/v receiver?

OOPS!

</font>

 

[nm2285]

<font color='#000000'>Look into Marantz and Integra. &nbsp;IMO, they will both be more musical than the Denon and the Integra (not sure about the Marantz, even though it is no slouch) will probably handle movies better. &nbsp;Both will have ample power reserves for speakers like B&amp;W if you go that route.</font>

 

[Law]

<font color='#000000'>I have a Sony receiver that i will be passing on to my younger brother.  Infact he has already taken it. I sit and watch the Speakers like a piece or Art, longing for sound to come out of them (Note: i did not dare say the Bose Speakers

) I heard the Marantz sometime back and did not think much of them sorry, maybe they were not setup properly.. I will give them another chance.</font>

 

[Rob Babcock]

<font color='#8D38C9'>I know this is a little off topic, but there are quite a few other really nice speakers you can get that are nearly as small as the B(l)lose that sound infinitely better. &nbsp;PSB, Parasound, Monitor Audio, Gallo and several other companies make truly tiny systems that sound huge. &nbsp;And if you're willing to step up to slightly larger bookshelf speakers and a sub, then the audio world literally is your oyster.

Now, as to the receiver: &nbsp;everyone here will put in a word for the brand they personally prefer, and I'm no different. &nbsp;I've had great luck with Denon- I have a 3802 (might get a 3805 eventually), and I haven't heard anything for under $2500 that I'd rather have. &nbsp;Again, given the speakers you're using it may not matter too much, but buying more receiver than you need will allow you to keep it longer while you upgrade other stuff. &nbsp;Beware, though, that higher-end receivers have the shelf life of cut flowers. &nbsp;By the time you get them hooked up, the manufacturers have already begun designing the replacement model!

&nbsp; That doesn't mean your old model isn't good anymore (hey, I still like my 3802!), it just means chasing the latest &amp; greatest is almost futile right now.

Although I'd prefer the Denon, if you can budget it you'd be better off getting a bit cheaper receiver and upgrading your speakers. &nbsp;If you're honestly happy with the ones you have, then just be sure to spend some time with the remote of the receiver you want. &nbsp;The remote will be your main interface with the unit, so get one with a remote you like (or at least don't hate). &nbsp;Also ask to see the owners manual or view it online- it sucks to buy a component that has an indecipherable book of gibberish.

</font>

 

[Rob Babcock]

<font color='#8D38C9'>BTW, how large is your room? &nbsp;You could probably go with one of Denons cheaper models and get 90% of the features but with a bit less power and save hundreds of dollars. &nbsp;The 2800-series has almost all the same features but slightly less power and is a lot cheaper. &nbsp;By going to a cheaper model you can save even more but you'll lose preamp outputs- that may not be an issue unless you plan to go with outboard amps.</font>

 

[Law]

<font color='#000000'>The room is 5150 x 3150 (16'11 x 10'4).  

I have been looking at the Denon AVR-770SD (slimline), I am not sure if it has enough power to drive the Bose. Ooops i meant small horrible speakers that my wife made me buy

It will certainly be cheaper than the denon 3805 and will leave me with some change left over to buy propers speakers one day

. I will appreciate your comments on this Denon slimline amp.

What else will i loose in terms of connectivity? How useful is firewire (iLink) etc.. The slimline amp has a matching Denon DVD770SD which wi will get if i go that route.</font>

 

[Rob Babcock]

<font color='#8D38C9'>Ahhh! &nbsp;Are you by chance a Brit? &nbsp;That little gem isn't available (thru legitimate channels anyway) in the US, I'm sad to say. &nbsp;I've lusted after that one for a while now. &nbsp;The Denon AVR-770SD utilizes Tripath amps; for my money, that chipset is SOTA. &nbsp;There isn't much I've heard that can compare.

Word is Denon is considering importing that one to the US. &nbsp;I sure hope they do.</font>

 

[Law]

<font color='#000000'>U guessed right, I am a Brit. That Amp and DVD combo is available in the UK so i have another amp to consider. I take it from your comments, you have not had the chance to play with the slimline denon, however you believe the technology used to build it, makes it a credible contender? It recently scored 5* rating in a slimline test in Home Theatre magazine.  Have you seen the spec or will you like me to post the spec online?. Pioneer has a slimline version vsx c501 but I did not think much of it. It was a bit too flat on the music side for my liking.

How would you compare the slimlines with the bulk size of the 3805's? Does size! matter in this arena</font>

 

[Rob Babcock]

<font color='#8D38C9'>Anything you can post would be great. &nbsp;I've listened to Tripath amps; that fact and my general opinion of Denon products would make me very interested in the 770. &nbsp;Digital amps are creating quite a buzz right now, especially on this side of &quot;the pond.&quot;

I imagine the slimline form factor is a big deal for some, but not really to me. &nbsp;In fact, I'd love to see a 3805 (maybe call it a 3806) with 7 x 125 Watt Tripath amps. &nbsp;There's only room for so many inputs on a small receiver, so I'd like to see a larger one like the 3800-series go digital.

The exciting thing to me is that supposedly Tripath is working on a new amp chip that will accept a digital signal directly. &nbsp;That gives you the potential to keep the signal in the digital domain literally from the session recorder all the way thru the chain to the speaker! &nbsp;No analog conversions from recording thru production, and none from the disc thru the receiver and right to your speaker.</font>

 

[Law]

<font color='#000000'>I have placed my order for the Denon AVR770. I will be bring you all my first hand report.  Watch this space.

Unfortunately the matching DVD770SD was not multi region

so I am still on the look out for a good DVD player to complement the AVR770SD</font>