[timoteo]

I have narrowed down my selection of HT receivers to these two models. I was about to pull the trigger on the Yamaha when I started reading some nice things about the Dennon.


Here is how I see it:

• Denon is slightly more expensive (about $150 street)
• Yamaha sounds a little better for HT apps, Denon for music ... IMHO.
• Denon is using Burr-Brown DAC's ... sixteen of them! Yamaha does not use Burr-Brown components.
• Denon is 7.1 sound, and Yamaha only 6.1 -- no biggie now, but could be in the future for me.
• I don't believe the Yamaha will do down and/or up-conversion of a component signal. The Denon will.
• Yamaha will not let you view the receiver's OSD through the component out (moronic), Denon will.
• Denon specs component switching at 100mhz! I believe Yamaha is only around 50mhz or less. Although for HD and DVD, 50 is probably plenty, right?
• Yamaha does not do DTS-96/24, Denon does.
• I know Denon remembers settings for each INPUT, unsure on Yahama, but would think so.

I believe the playing field is level otherwise. Did I miss anything? Anyone care to comment, correct, give advice, etc. Any or all would be GREATLY appreciated.


I realize the "how they sound" item is HIGHLY subjective, but still would be curious to hear various people's opinions on the matter. As I said, I almost pulled the trigger on the RX-V2300, but for $150 more it seems like the Denon is MUCH better and well worth the extra cost. Am I missing something?


THANKS!!


-Tim

keywords: yamaha rxv2300 rxv-2300 rx-v2300 denon 3803 AVR-3803

 

[Jamey F]

I think you have it right except IMO, I think Denon is generally better than Yamaha for both HT and Music. I thought that before I bought my older receiver, but I decided to save the few clams back then. I wasn't going to make the same decision again when I purchased my 3803. For that reason, I didn't listen to the 2300. If you say you like it better for HT, I'm not trying to convince you otherwise. As for the Denon, I love it, and I haven't looked back at anything else I could have gotten. There are going to be more inputs/outputs on the Denon and the extra formats/channel will be more future proof. The biggest disadvantage of the denon 3803 is its remote. Do not consider it as usable. I use a pronto neo instead.

 

[timoteo]

What's the big drawback on the remote? (Is it backlit at least?) Thanks for the input, it is much appreciated.


I think the HT sound is very close with just a slight edge to the Yamaha, but it is negligable really ... I would be very happy with either sound wise I believe. (And I am comparing Denon and Yamaha in general not these specific receivers -- so it's really not even part of the equation entirely.)


-Tim

 

[John_AG]

A similar question was asked recently on an another forum

THe thread is long but the guy was finally convinced to purchase the Yamaha.


The Yamaha RX-V1300 is another option to consider - this is what was presented to me last

week at a local hifi shop along with the AVR-3803 and the Rotel 1055.

THe salesguy's comments were the Denon couldn't

match the power of the Rotel or Yamaha, and save some $$$ and go

for the Yamaha unless music was very important in which case go for the Rotel.




Cheers

 

[Peccavi]

Denon gets the nod for feature set , but I would give the nod towards Yamaha for sound quality, reliability and balls....go with your gut....

 

[Jamey F]

First let me say I am picky...with a "P". The 3803 remote isn't laid out that well. It's not user friendly. I didn't use it except to learn some of the features off of it into my Pronto Neo. It has all the things needed in a remote. It learns, can be programmed, and does have a back light. It looks kinda cool, but all that doesn't add up to an easy to use remote. I would look at the added expense for a better remote if you go either route, but I don't think the Denon would even be an option to use it as your only remote due to user UNfriendlyness. The Yamaha 992 remote I had was fairly nice. I used it as my only remote 90% of the time. I then purchased the Pronto Neo before getting the 3803. It does everything for me. I haven't picked up a remote for any of my equipment or my remote lighting for over a month. The only IR remote I can't replace with the Neo is my fireplace, but only because it has a built in thermometer.

 

[dearlv]

Step up and get the Yamaha 3300. It blows the Denon 3803 away. Better remote, much better sound (even blew away the Yamaha RX-V1). It does not do video conversion, but anything you use with component shold go right to your source anyway. I have used both extensively.

 

[timoteo]

Thanks all, I really appreciate the comments!

Quote:

Step up and get the Yamaha 3300. It blows the Denon 3803 away.

I have certainly looked at the 3300, but it would REALLY blow out my budget. $850 for the Denon was pushing it. (Too many hobbies!) I'm surprised it does not do video conversion though, are you sure? Component switching is a must these days, and very few projectors have multiple component inputs. People in some of the Home Theater threads report there seems to be no signal loss passing through the receiver.
Quote:

Denon gets the nod for feature set , but I would give the nod towards Yamaha for sound quality, reliability and balls....go with your gut....

I'd tend to agree with you on reliability especially, and more historically sound quality as well. Now, I haven't checked under one of these in a long time, so I'm not sure about the other. I suppose you mean ability to produce the wattage advertised?


And thanks John for the link and info, checking out the link now.


Many thanks,

Tim

 

[Tom_Bombadil]

In your first post you submitted that the Yamaha sounds better for HT. Was this based on personal first-hand listening experiences? I know this is subjective and so any two people could disagree, but IMHO the Denon is better on HT sound quality. I think the 3803 has an excellent processor section and would give it a clear advantage against the Yamaha in this area. If you look at the parts and chips used in each, the Denon is a step or two up almost everywhere.


But they will sound different, so it falls to you to determine which is better. I own older receivers from both and they've both been excellent for many years. Back in the late 80's and early 90's, the Yammies had a clear build quality advantage vs Denon. I don't think this is true anymore.


Tom B.

 

[timoteo]

Thanks for the insight, Tom. I have not done an "A-B" with these two specific receivers, but historically the Yammies always sounded a touch better to me -- in the HT arena anyway.


-Tim

 

[fireshoes]

You do get the rs232c on the Yamaha, which gives the option of downloading new sound fields as the come out. Also if multi-zone is a possibility, you do get dedicated zone 2 speaker outputs, plus the B speakers are assignable to zone 1 or 2. You would not have to drop the surround back channel like with the 3803.


They are both tremendous receivers though.

 

[Gai Pan]

"you do get dedicated zone 2 speaker outputs"


Does this mean you don't need a separate amp in zone 2, as you do with the rx-v1300?

 

[Brauma]

I am shopping for a new receiver myself (looking hard at the Yamaha 2300) and your thread jumped out at me. Since you spoke so highly of the Denon 3803, I did some Google surfing to read more about it. I found it on this site for $808:

http://www.legacyaudiovideo.com/denonreceiver.html


If this unit is all some have made it out to be, I may have to buy one myself. That price is about $100 than I had in mind to spend so I'll check it out at my local A/V store ASAP.

 

[Jamey F]

Quote:

Originally posted by fireshoes You do get the rs232c on the Yamaha, which gives the option of downloading new sound fields as the come out. Also if multi-zone is a possibility, you do get dedicated zone 2 speaker outputs, plus the B speakers are assignable to zone 1 or 2. You would not have to drop the surround back channel like with the 3803. They are both tremendous receivers though.

The 3803 has the rs232c also. The 3803 has 7 channels of amplified power. You can choose either 5.1 + zone 2 or 7.1. I'm not sure whether or not you can do 7.1 and zone two with the addition of another amplifier. What I don't understand is why you would want to do that. I would get another receiver instead of adding the amp for a secondary room.

 

[fireshoes]

Quote:

Originally posted by Gai Pan "you do get dedicated zone 2 speaker outputs" Does this mean you don't need a separate amp in zone 2, as you do with the rx-v1300?

The 1300 will let you assign the B speakers to zone 2 also. It's in the setup menu.

Originally posted by Jamey F
The 3803 has the rs232c also.


I don't believe the Denon's rs232 will allow for downloading of the sound fields, just the custom install control.

 

[jcwroton]

I've owned both Denon and Yamaha recievers. My first receiver was a Denon which bought in the late 80's and I still have and use. Aroung 1993, I upgraded to a Yamaha receiver to take advantage of Dolby Surround. A couple of months ago, I bought the Denon 3803. I have been extremely happy with the 3803. I like the sound overall much better than my old Yamaha. Admittedly, its not a fair comparison given the age and price difference between the two, but I was never quite happy with the Yamaha as I felt I should have been.


One item to correct on your comparison list, the 3803 does not let you view the OSD through component - only composite and S-video.


Contrary to some other posts here, I don't mind the Denon remote. I found it quite useful to control the receiver, my tv, my Directv receiver, my VCR, and my DVD player. Could it be better - sure, but it has cut down on the number of remotes I need to use.


In any case, I am sure you will enjoy either receiver, but, in my opinion, if you are going to spend the money, you should get something that is going to keep you happy for a while. I believe the Denon is a little more future proof given the decoding it can do, the component switching bandwidth it can handle, and the number of input and outputs it has. Just my $0.02!


John

 

[Jamey F]

"The 1300 will let you assign the B speakers to zone 2 also. It's in the setup menu"


I don't see how this is different than the 3803 in disirability. The 3803 can have a 5.1 setup with two zone 2 channels or 7.1,OR you can hook up a second pair of rear speakers playing 5.1 and still two channels left for zone 2. Most of this can be switched any time through use of the menu except going from 7.1 to 5.1 with two sets of rear speakers. That is determined by how you plug in the speaker wires to the rear of hte receiver.

 

[Gai Pan]

Jamey,

I don't think it's about desirability -- I think fireshoes was addressing my question earlier in the thread about the 2300's zone 2 capabilities.


GP

 

[timoteo]

Quote:

One item to correct on your comparison list, the 3803 does not let you view the OSD through component - only composite and S-video.

Really?? Wow, that's a shocker. I had read info and posts to the contrary. Have you ever tried sending it an INTERLACED signal. It could be it will not send the OSD on a progressive signal.


Also, how do you feel about its component switching capilities ... have you noticed any signal degradation? Are my megahertz figures accurate -- only around 33-50mhz for Yamaha, 100mhz for Denon?


Thanks!


-Tim

 

[Jamey F]

Quote:

One item to correct on your comparison list, the 3803 does not let you view the OSD through component - only composite and S-video.

That's at least misleading if not outright incorrect. You can, and I do, use the OSD with only my component outs hooked up. What the 3803 will not let you do, is view the OSD on top of a component feed (overlay). If you want to change your settings, press the OSD button, and a blank screen will pop up with the OSD information. If you want to check surround parameters, do the same thing.


What is NOT shown through the component signals is the volume control, and perhaps some obscure things that would normally be overlayed on top of the normal viewing picture. This isn't a sacrifice, it's a benefit (IMO). Denon would have needed to mess with the signal coming in to overlay on top of it. That is unless Denon wanted to scan each signal for it's type and have that many OSD formats. Would you want to pay for that to see an ugly volume bar on your TV?