AVR 5800 - WHAT?!? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!
Nov 29 '00
It's rare that I find a piece of audio equipment that just astounds me. It's not often you find a product that is as feature-complete as humanly possible. The amount of engineering that must have gone into this receiver is astounding.
(By the way, I hate to put this epinion here, but there's no AVR5800 category yet. My apologies. I'll move this when there is one.)
I was revamping my entire home theater system to go HDTV. Why? I don't know. Call it "Early Adopters Syndrome", a disease i've been afflicted with seemingly from birth. I did a little reading around the usual places, and decided that I was going to purchase either the Yamaha RXV-1 or the Denon 5800. I chose the 5800 because it was only a couple of hundred bucks more than the Yamaha, but had an astounding 170 watts per channel distributed across 7(!) channels. I figured this baby would keep me in Home Theater Nirvana for several years to come.
It also seemed the best choice for my audio/video integration needs. Since I have a couple of components (not to mention a TV) than use Component inputs and outputs, the 3 sets of them included on the 5800 seemed like a great idea (and they are). The component inputs also accept wideband signaling for High Def equipment.
A plethora of sound standards are supported, including Dolby Digital Matrix 6.1, DTS ES 6.1 (including 6.1 discrete mode), THX 5.1, THX SURROUND EX. The 5800 is also THX Ultra rated, though I personally feel the whole THX certification is a "Boutique" certification stating you're in some kind of club.
Out-of-box experience
When I first received this receiver, it arrived at my door via UPS (ick, I hate them). The receiver itself is a whopping 78 lbs shipping weight, so be prepared to have some help getting it up the stairs if you're frail. The receiver itself is also quite large, so make sure you have a decent rack to accomodate it. Even my high-end Salamander rack required that I remove the back plate to get it in (and needs to stay that way!). It's a large, sleek black unit that's almost 9" high and 19" deep!
The receiver itself includes the RC-8000 Atkis remote (more on that later), which operates in both Infrared or RF mode (RF mode utilizes an integrated charging/base station with an antenna). The unit itself is also pretty large, somewhat larger than a Phillips Pronto (which I prefer). The remote comes with rechargable batteries as well.
Documentation is also very good, with manuals for just about everything, including separate manuals for the RF Base Station (1) and Remote (1).
Setting up
Wiring everything is standard fare. For speaker interconnects, I highly recommend banana plugs. Having to deal with stranded bare wire is a pain in the rear end. You're much better off crimping on a bunch of these plugs, as it'll cause you a lot less grief, especially in a crowded audio rack.
Setting up analog devices is just like any other receiver you've ever experienced. Setting up digital devices is a little less straightforward. You have 10 digital inputs to choose from, 3 coaxial (RCA-type cable), 6 optical (TOSLINK type) and 1 coaxial RF (RCA-type for use with Laserdisc players that support AC3). They're all labeled numerically and not assigned to any particular device. You actually configure that later as part of the receiver's on-screen display.
You get 8 preamp-outputs (7.1 - 7 mains, 1 sub) should you desire to ever run separate amplifiers (with the quality of this amp though, why would you?).
Once you have everything plugged in, and your speakers are all set up, it's time to use the remote, configure it briefly, and hit the "Setup" menu. The setup menu allows you to do just about everything. You can configure how your want your Bass routed, how you want your levels set for each discrete channel, bass and treble expansion on a PER SPEAKER basis, subwoofer designation (THX compliant or sub+main routing), and delay timing. Since almost all surround sound formats require some kind of delay, you can easily configure this delay by telling the receiver how far away you're sitting from each speaker. It then sets the delay accordingly. Very nice. The only issue I have with this is that the on-screen display has to use either S-Video or Composite outputs (you won't see anything using Component outpus). Minor issue.
You can set individual bass configurations for each sound format (Stereo through all the THX modes). You can assign each digital input to the component of your choice (VERY nice). You can do all of this on-screen with the Atkis remote. I didn't even have to touch a page of the main receiver manual. Everything is laid out very well and it all makes sense.
Performance
My first test was with Saving Private Ryan. WOW.
My previous receiver was a Yamaha RXV-2092 which didn't do DTS. I wasn't aware of just HOW big of a difference DTS makes, as I was very happy with the performance of Dolby Digital. I can honestly say the difference is night and day. There appears to be a far greater degree of separation among all speakers, and the fidelity is just awe-inspiring. My sunfire signature sub seems to love the levels coming from this amp. My KEF 15.2's sound terrific. I'm completely astounded by how this receiver sounds. I can't say enough good things about it. It blows away the Yamaha 2092 in all ways.
The remote is another story though. I don't like it *AT ALL*. While it's got multiple pages for each device, and each devices buttons can be configured, the layouts appear to be static and unchangable. I understand there's some software coming out for the RC8000, but no one has led on as to whether this will allow you to change the layout.
My recommendation is to buy a Phillips Pronto or Marantz RC5000i. If you don't want to have to learn another remote besides the Rc8000 for receiver use, you can still download the AVR5800 configuration from www.remotecentral.com, which is an identical copy of the RC8000's functionality. For multiple devices, the RC8000 is cumbersome to use, and the layout just doesn't make sense to me.
Summary
If you're into home theater, this is THE RECEIVER TO OWN. Yes, it's pricey, but it has every kind of functionality any home theater enthusiast would ever want. It's THX ultra certified (if you're into that kind of club thing), supports discrete 6.1 sound formats, has a 7 channel amplifier at 170 watts per channel (with ultra-low distortion), tons of optical and coaxial digital inputs, HD-ready component inputs, and a VERY well-laid-out setup menu that will have you up and running in no time.
My advice? Buy this receiver if you can afford it. You'll be set for a long time to come. Denon has set the standard for what a home theater receiver should be.
Pros: Extensive surround mode support, THX Ultra certified, 7 channel amplifier at 170 watts per channel, very intuitive setup menu.
Cons: The remote stinks, but aside from that, nothing significant.
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kweckstrom
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Member: Karl Weckstrom
Location: Emerson, NJ
Reviews written: 100
Trusted by: 99 members
About Me:
Voted "Most Likely to be Photographed as a Bigfoot Sighting" by his senior class.
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