Denon AVR-5803 vs. AVR-5805 - HDMI cable question

[FoggyBiker]

Hi,
Recently I purchased a Denon AVR-5803 av receiver (on eBay of course). I discovered - to my dismay - that there is no HDMI cable hookup on this receiver. I have a high end HDTV and speaker system that I want to get the most out of. Am I going to be better off getting the AVR-5805 with the HDMI connector, or will this be noticeably better than sticking with the 5803 and using composite cables? Thanks for your thoughts on this.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I don't even think HDMI was around in 2003 when this AVR came out.

What are you looking to do and what speakers are you powering? The mid level Denon 3808 is a great AVR and you can negotiate the price down to 11,00-1200 bucks. If one needed more power, he could add an outboard amp and still come out way cheaper than the 5805.

 

[perato]

Composite and S-video cables can pass up to 480i signal. HDMI can pass up to 1080p signal. There are cheaper alternatives than the AVR-5805 (MSRP US$6,000) if all you want is HDMI. The Denon AVR-3808CI is certainly cheaper and there are many other receivers from Denon and other manufacturers such as Onkyo, Yamaha, Pioneer, etc. that have HDMI.

 

[strube]

...component video can pass 1080i though, and HDTV is all 1080i or less AFAIK. I would say you can live with that - considering you already bought the thing. You may be missing out on some lossless sound for hi-def movies (sometimes - not all high-def movies even have anything better than regular old Dolby Digital) as far as sound is concerned.

Lots of us have older receivers with no HDMI. I just run good old-fashioned digital optical and coaxial cables for DTS and Dolby Digital surround, and since I have the player that does it, I run 5.1 analog and let my BD player decode the lossless sound (for the discs that even have lossless sound), though I am not sure I could tell the difference in a blind test.

For video I have a separate $30 Monoprice HDMI switch that works just fine to get the 1080p signal to my display. That solution is fine IMO, and since you already bought the thing it would certainly be one way you could go.