Yamaha RX-V2500 or Denon AVR-3805?

[BobPrill]

Which one is a better performer?

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Not to be sarcastic, but the one that suits your musical and HT tastes the best. They are dead even in reliability and quality. Denons are flat, Yamahas are brighter. Why not consider Marantz?

 

[WoodieB]

Basically whichever one you like the looks of and feature set the best. I've had a Yamaha before, have a Denon now, you can't go wrong with either. I'm not so much of a proponent of different sound signatures between manufacturers.

 

[warpdrive]

"Yamaha is brighter"

I'm not even sure that is really true anymore. Recent Yamahas are very warm sounding, including my 2400.

 

[Corry]

I went through the same comparison.... I went with Yamaha and I couldn't be happier.
I tested both... it's funny how all the sales guys try to push the Denon.
They seem to make more money on the markup with the Denon....

Even if you test both it depends how each dealer will have them tweaked and setup... I know some of the stores would make the cheaper hdtv's look worse so they could sell the higher priced products better...

"See the difference, you pay for what you get..." or that sort of thing...anyway I'm getting off topic...

good luck !

 

[ninja12]

I am in the same boat. I am looking at the Denon 3805 and the Yamaha 2500. I went to Tweeter yesterday and listened to both receivers. The Denon was 1199 and the Yamaha was 999. After listening to both receivers, I didn't hear that much of a difference between the two to warrant the 200 increase for the Denon. The Denon did sound fuller when I played the music CDs, and the Yamaha sounded better when I played the DVDs. Of course, the sales guy was trying to push the Denon. I just saw on Myer-Emco site today that they have the Yamaha 2500 for $899. So as of this morning, I am leaning towards the Yamaha because I look at more DVDs and movies than listen to music.

I guess the bottom-line is that is boils down to personal preference. The best thing to pick one bring it home and try it out. If you don't like it, take it back and get the other. You will not be making a mistake with either IMO.

Good luck!!!

 

[Leprkon]

if you need the the Denon link (questionable at best) or the fully-powered third room (which is an advantage to some), then Denon is the way to go. If you want to save the $ 150 or so, then it's the Yamaha.

I think the Denon might have a couple of extra video inputs for x-boxes, etc. The Yamaha will let you use "prescence" speakers for front surround.

Both are solid choices.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I just got a 3805 (dealer pricing) and didn't see in the manual that it offers powered zone 3. Could be wrong on that, but the zone 3 is a fixed level output - usually for distributed audio. I'm maybe 60% sure on that though, so not really confident.

The Denon does not really have any more inputs, outputs, or anything else. They are almost identical across the board with gazingas and gonzoutas. Really, really, a personal choice.

I personally won't ever buy from Marantz until they decide to higher an engineer and management that cares about improving their products.

 

[Leprkon]

I just got a 3805 (dealer pricing) and didn't see in the manual that it offers powered zone 3. Could be wrong on that, but the zone 3 is a fixed level output - usually for distributed audio. I'm maybe 60% sure on that though, so not really confident.

technically correct.. no power to Zone 3 if you have a 7.1 set-up. 3 should be powered if only 5.1.

 

[Duffinator]

You can power zone 2 or 3 using the two extra channels if you are only using a 5.1 setup. The Yamaha 2400 only had two component inputs, one of the reasons why I bought the Denon, but the 2500 now has three. I use the powered zone for bi-amping and the other zone for multiroom distribution. Either receiver is a great choice and should have more than enough power for most home theaters and music systems.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Bob,

If you are a patient man, you can get a steal on the Denon. I've ordered from this company and they are trustworthy. You can call them to find out about availability - someone will answer the phone. I am amazed at the pricing here. I bought my 3805 from www.ubid.com for $840 and cannot be happier, but am amazed at the pricing from Macmall. Would have saved $110!

www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail~dpno~444317.asp

 

[BMXTRIX]

technically correct.. no power to Zone 3 if you have a 7.1 set-up. 3 should be powered if only 5.1.

You can power zone 2 or 3 using the two extra channels if you are only using a 5.1 setup.

Yep, that's exactly what I thought. Only power to zone 2 OR zone 3, so not possible for 3 fully powered zones. Also, I am almost positive zone 3 is fixed output, so no volume control which means that it has to hit a volume control somewhere or another pre-amp or an amp with volume control.

I wouldn't want to use zone 3 of the receiver running at full volume for sure.

I would expect zone 3 would run nicely into a distribution amplifier and volume controls in rooms though. It's what I would use it for in a custom install... or to feed FM radio into a audio switcher/preamp.

Anyway, I believe that the 3805 really has almost identical feature sets as the 2500. Which means that sound is what matters... and the two really aren't that far off with sound. So, maybe the price is something to look at and perhaps the warranties. I love my Yammie, but wouldn't have a problem owning a Denon either.

 

[Leprkon]

I love my Yammie, but wouldn't have a problem owning a Denon either.

that pretty much says it all...

 

[trevorgray]

You mentioned a $200 price difference, but forgot to add that the Denon doesn't come with the microphone to do auto setup (but for some reason the model below it does). Add another $65, at least, to your $200.

I went thru the same struggle that you went thru and went with the Yamaha because everything I read said that it was better w/ TV (HD of course), movies etc. I spend more time watching movies than I do listening to CD's or SACD's. Also, the $200 price difference didn't factor into my decision making at all. I figured that I will be using this receiver for years so that difference means a small percentage of pennies for each day or, for that matter, each use.

I am extremely happy with my Yamaha 2500.

 

[lynn2c]

I went throught this too and bought the Denon. For one, I found a better deal, yes from an authorized dealer. Didn't care about the mike because I'm not a fan of autosetup and I just hate words like Yamaha, Toyota, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi and so on and so on.

 

[Mega2000]

the main thing that made me keep away from the denon was the controler of the 3805, I hated it. I also like the GUI of the Yami 2500. Both the recievers were WAY to much for me but I don't want to have to upgrade for at least 7 + years.

 

[ninja12]

I went with the Yamaha 2500 for the following reasons:

Price - Yamaha (899 w/mic) Denon (1199 w/o mic)
Watts - Yamaha (130) Denon (120)
Speaker connections - Yamaha (Can connect presence speakers)
Denon (Can't connect presence speakers)

 

[JeffreyDJ]

I also considered the 2500 and the 3805. I chose the 2500 because I too *hated* the remote of the 3805. The front presence speakers also seemed helpful. And because I lean more toward movies, it became a no-brainer for me. My wife listens to more music, but with her iPods and 192k streams from it, not much is gonna affect it for the worse anyway


In the end, because they were so close in my book, those few little things above tilted it enough for me. I'll admit a slight Yamaha prejudice played into it as well.

 

[dave christoff]

HHX Certification

The Yamaha 2500 is THX certified and the Denon 3805 isn't. Wonder if Denon even bothered to have it tested/certified? Does the certification mean much?

 

[Zarg]

Opinions Are Like ... Um, Well You Get the Picture

Denon 3805 --

1. Audioholics AV Receiver of the Year 2004
2. Quality throughout
3. Remote is problematic and sucks battery life (see numerous Forum posts)
4. Auto room set up and EQ requires purchase of a mic and is somewhat inaccurate (see Audioholics Review and numerous Forum posts)
5. DSP not so good (see Audioholics Review)

Yamaha 2500 --

1. Quality throughout
2. DSP pretty good (See Audioholics Review)
3. YPAO auto room set up and EQ accurate (See Audioholics Review)
4. Was not Audioholics AV Receiver of the Year 2004

You make the call.