Denon delivers a winner at a reasonable price.
Written: Mar 24 '01 (Updated Mar 24 '01)
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Pros: Multiple inputs and outputs, Denon quality
Cons: Flexibility causes a steep learning curve to operate.
The Bottom Line: Hifi performance at a midfi price.
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| curtinfamily's Full Review: Denon AVR-2801 5.1 Channels Receiver |
I recently went absolutely nuts researching to find a good audio receiver. I kept scouring web sites, tested equipment in stores, read audio and home theater magazines and talked with people. I considered spending more money but then thought about my last receiver, a Pioneer, which lasted eight years before a channel blew out rendering it useless for home theater and set a price cap of $500 after having broken the budget of $1000 for the speakers (Anthony Gallo Nucleus Micros). I was just about to buy the Yamaha RXV 995 when a friend told me about the Denon. Well when I tested out the Denon I was hooked.
This receiver will give me plenty of years of use. Since standards change and today’s technology is already obsolete in the R&D centers, I wanted a unit that was flexible enough to grow, could be upgraded, was reviewed well by others and flat out performed at a much higher level that I thought possible at my budget.
Price:
This unit retails for over $700. When you search using Dealtime, yahoo shopping or My Simon, you will find prices on this unit all over the place ranging for as high as full retail down to less than $450. In looking at price, you have to compare the stores. Read their information. I noticed some of the cheaper Internet shops sell the receiver for $449 but when you read their fine print, they do not give you Denon’s warranty. It is likely that the receiver will fail in early use during the break in period much more so than later on down the road. Denon’s website even says be careful in buying their products over the Internet. In many cases you may not get the warranty. So, I finally found a place in NJ called AMDV. I got the unit for $467 and $30 for shipping. The unit arrived within five business days and came with the warranty card and their web site even mentions the product is factory fresh with the warranty. The warranty in case you are wondering is one year.
Reputation:
Read all of the sites like Epinions, CNET, Audio Review and others and you will see that Denon's are always rated very highly. Also when you go to a traditional retailer, they always promote Denon products if they have them. It is an excellent midfi brand.
Flexibility:
I use my audio equipment primarily for home theater. I borrow DVDs from the local library and when my children finally fall asleep, I kick back, put the blanket over myself and watch a good movie. With this in mind, I wanted the maximum in flexibility. In this price range, the Denon was the most flexible of receivers due to the following:
Surround Sound Processing:
Unit handles Dolby Digital, DTS (Digital Theater System) and Dolby Prologic. It is also a 24 bit DSP processor as well as DDSC-Digital and 5 Channel Stereo.
Power:
The unit has five equal 90-watt channels into 8 ohms. The sound is crystal clear at less than .05% Total Harmonic Distortion (THD). That is pretty good for a midfi receiver.
Speakers:
It has the traditional 5.1 channel set-up, center, front left and right, surround left and right and the subwoofer. You can use banana plugs or the binding posts for direct connections. Save your money and forgo banana plugs. A direct connection to the speaker binding posts is much better anyway as it results in less distortion. You use an RCA cable for the separate subwoofer output (here I used a Monster subwoofer cable). For most cables and connectors I use monster or Acoustic Research products. However, for the speaker wire, I used straight oxygen free wire which can be purchase at Home Depot for less than $10 for a hundred foot roll. It is called thermostat wire and comes in 18 gauge, which is perfect for satellite speakers. Quite honestly, comparing this cheap wire to my old expensive speaker wire, the sound seems to be better with the thermostat wire (albeit marginally) so why spend any more than you have to. Gary Pelled turned me onto this wire from Anthony Gallo www.roundsound.
The unit provides an A/B switch so you can listen to it in multiple rooms.
Inputs and Outputs:
You have inputs and outputs for everything such as:
- Digital Audio – 3 optical and 1 coaxial.
- Svideo – Five inputs and three outputs
- Composite Video – Five inputs and three outputs
- AC Power – Two inputs so that you can integrate your system.
- Six pre-amp outputs.
- Six channel input for future expandability (such as a new home theater standard is developed)
Safety:
The unit has a high-speed protection circuit to protect the speakers form damage due to power spikes.
Build Quality:
This unit is solid and looks just like Denon’s higher end equipment. They kept the knobs and buttons on the unit to a minimum instead making you rely on the remote and on screen display. So you control the unit from your sofa instead of on your hands and knees. It forces you to learn how to use the remote.
Learning Remote:
I am still getting used to this unit so I can’t speak to the remote yet. However, with added flexibility come steeper learning curves to operate equipment. Anyway, I have not tested each of these features but Denon claims the remote is capable of macro programming. It comes pre-installed with codes for other major manufacturers. You can program the remote to learn what other remotes do. So, in essence, you need no other remotes. I am lazy when it comes to this. Once I have the sound dialed in, I tend to keep all the remotes on my end table. The remote also has glow keys that charge when the lights are on and glow in the dark. You also get 40 station presets. I only have 16 programmed in.
Set - Up
Set-up is fairly easy, you just use the onscreen display to adjust your room size from small to large, balance the speakers to your liking, adjust the bass and treble and you are done.
Fruits of Hard Work:
So far, I have watched Apollo 13, Gladiator and Eyes Wide Shut. In the action scenes, the room is filled with surround sound. A lot is happening to make it difficult to distinguish which speaker is delivering the sound. Instead it sounds as if you are in the movie with sounds coming from the direction where they should be. The clarity is incredible as well. Of course the beautiful sound could be the result of my speakers but nonetheless, the receiver can share in the credit as the digital processor delivers the signal. Now, I am going to pop in Matrix and enjoy.
On the music end, this receiver kicks butt. I have listened to everything from classical to metal and hip-hop. I am very impressed. The receiver’s sound is solid and does not break up until the volume is nearly full.
In writing this review it is probably important to tell you what equipment I am using. My DVD player is the Apex 800 (see my review). My speakers are the Anthony Gallo Nucleus Micros with the Anthony Gallo MPS 150 subwoofer (I would write a review of these impressive speakers but there is not listing for it). My VCR is an older JVC SVHS Hifi unit. No use stating model number as it is over 8 years old. Together, these components work incredibly as a system.
In Conclusion:
If you don’t want to break the bank on a receiver but want as much flexibility as possible with the opportunity to upgrade in the future, this is the best unit out there that can be purchased for less than $500 street price (new). However, be careful of gray market goods and open box items.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 467
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Epinions.com ID:
curtinfamily
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Location: Bayside New York
Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
A financial planner, gadget freak, mountain biking father of two.
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