The Denon 3803 was pretty much the only other one I was considering it against. I wanted at least 100 watts per channel, 7.1 possibility, dual room capable, and one that will fit me good for a while down the road. I liked both receivers but leaned towars the Sony for....
1)Price, it was cheaper than the Denon for a lot of the specs I wanted
2)Quality, I am familiar with Sony products and while they arent the best out there, they always gave me the bang for the buck that I wanted.
3)Sony points, I get extra bonus points for every dollar I spend on Sony stuff through citibank.
4)Recommendations, actually this was number 1 or 2...but there are quite a few people here(much more audiophile than I am) that layed it down to me and told me how great it is(thanks Rex

)
5)Looks, this wasnt a heavy factor in my decision. But I like the fold down front panel on the DA-4ES and a few of the other options on it.
Overall, I havent had it very long to fully play with it(nor do I have my full 7.1 setup in yet), but all in all, it did more than I expected and I am very happy.