I am getting ready to drop $$ on a new receiver. The Denon 5800 is what the dealer is recommending. Is this any good? Something better @ a comparable price? I appreciate the input.

Bruce

I looked at online reviews as my basis for the receiver
that I chose. I also compared features, power and price
and Onkyo won. I made the right choice and I could not
be more happy (actualy I am giddy like a School Girl)

Don't take my word for much, look at all the brands
before you buy.. They are ALL good but some offer way
more for way less.

I also have the Onkyo. I think it was the best choice

Hey, star: I too have an Onkyo, the TX-DS989. I think it's better than the Denon, although retailers will generally agree that the Denon is incredibly reliable. It certainly has more power (170 W vs. 130 W); it also has two sets of 7-channel inputs and comes with the Aktis touch-screen remote. The Onkyo comes with what I consider to be one of the best all-button remotes in the world.

And, while the 5800 was introduced with DTS-ES discrete capabilities, the Onkyo is upgradeable and now has all the DTS-ES functionality as well as Dolby ProLogic 2. There's a key word right there: "upgradeable".

There's a new, less expensive Onkyo, the 898, which has very much the same feature set as the 989 but is not upgradeable, and costs about $1000 U.S. less. The Integra version of the 898 will include the new touchscreen remote; on the Onkyo side, the remote is a buyable accessory (the remote is similar to the Pronto Pro). ... Mike

This message was edited by Mike Riley on 09/21/01 09:13.37.

The Onkyo units mentioned above are great, but if you really want a Denon go for the 4802. The 5800 owners are screaming bloody murder due to the fact that their flagship machines don't have DPL2, and DTS-ES Discrete (I believe), and their machines aren't easily upgradable. Rumour has it that the upgrades will cost them at least $100 and it is hardware based unlike Onkyo's recent software based upgrade to their 989.

Right now the 4802 has all of the bells and whistles of the 5800, and then some, costs a little less than the 5800 and costs MUCH less than the forthcoming 5802.

I installed hundreds of both these brands of recievers and fair number of these models...if i were to lean to one or the other i would lean towards denon...the 5800 is often use as a reference reciever in most a/v mags. ...onkyo's also break a whole lot more...it's not that i don't like onkyo...it's just my experience that denon is much better receiver .....(i also recommend the 4802)....robert

Does Dennon produce a receiver that is THX Select or
THX Ultra Certified for under a grand? The 5800 is a
great receiver and it should be with an M.S.R.P of
$3700.00!

I know I didn't want to spend 4K to get a THX Receiver.
:)

Either way you can't go wrong.

.... anyone seen starstrk lately?

StreetDude,

Yeah I beleive he is on his way to purchase the Onk 989
THX Ultra Receiver :) I spoke via email with him and
described what he could expect from Onkyo and he seemed
interested. I said the final decision is yours and that
Dennon also makes a great product but the pricing is
not on par with Onk.

Thanks for all the help. In my short time since I started frequenting this site, I found it intertesting that most like either Onkyo or Denon. I have found very few references to other recievers.

Thanks again.
Now to decide what DVD player to get.

Wow. The final decision is mine? Cool. SD

Don't ask me about DVD players, I have a Sony DVP S360
and I think it's fantastic. But I hear all this hoopla
about Progressive Scan yadda yadda.. I don't know how
much better it could be than what I have now which is
crystal clear..

I am thinking about upgrading to Sony's 5 disk DVD
Changer though, since I don't want a dedicated CD
player in my setup.

I agree with Arthur. I have the 3801 and love it and got it for a good deal at my local dealer. My brother just got the 4802 and it is awsome. Shop around and put some pressure on your local dealer and see what kind of discount they'll give you. Believe me, they have a lot of room to play. With THX Ultra, DPL2, DTS and DD 6.1, the 4802 is a great receiver, you can't go wrong. Cool remote as well if you like the touch screens.

Hey Guys, I too was looking to upgrade my receiver. I noticed that the Denon and Onkyo were mentioned, but what about Yamaha and Sony? Does anyone have any feedback on the high-end Yamaha models??
Thanks,
Julian

I upgraded to the Denon 3801 from a Yamaha RX-V793 and glad I did. My speaker system is a Paradigm Monitor tower system with dipolar surrounds. I found the Yamaha / paradigm match incompatible. The Paradigm speaker is a very accurate speaker and I felt the Yamaha gave them a "thin" sound. The Denon seems to really push the speakers and gives a presence in the sound I never heard before with the Yamaha. Now, I did jump up about 25 watts a channel with the Denon but I don't believe that to be the difference in the sound quality. Also, I was never a big fan of all the Yamaha surround fields. They are really big on these but I found almost all of theme cheezy! The Denon has only a few and sound great, especially their "matrix" surround mode while listening to CDs. Good luck.