Denon 5800

rookiejk · October 2003

I am looking a purchasing a used Denon 5800 receiver. I know that this receiver was the top of the line model before the Denon 5803. Am I better off with a new 3803 or a used 5800? I know that a new 3803 w/warranty is going to run 900-1000. The 5800 I can get for 1100, and it is in good shape. I am going to be running 2 RTi12s an Csi5 and 2 Fxi30s. It will be used for 60% HT and 40% Music. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

ken brydson · October 2003

How 'bout a NIB 3803 for less than $700?

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12308

rookiejk · October 2003

Is that the price for the 3802 or the 3803? I couldn't find anyone on that link listing a 3803 for less than 700?

ken brydson · October 2003

The link is for the 3802 but they're out so they've been substituting the 3803. There have been several members who've snatched them up. Read down through the whole thread.

rookiejk · October 2003

Do you think that the 3803 for 700 is a better deal than a used 5800 for 1100? Here's a link to a review on the 5800.

http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?12

ken brydson · October 2003

Sorry bro, I'm not one of the "true" experts here. Was just trying to show you what looked like a pretty good deal. I'm sure some of the other guys will chime in with their .02. Good luck in whatever you decide.
By the way, welcome to the forum. Lots of knowledge and fun to be had here

hoosier21 · October 2003

I would get the 3803, has all the newer formats, 7 ch of power, video upconverting.

bigsexy1 · October 2003

Can the 5800 be upgraded? I think it can if I'm not mistaken, but I'm not 100% sure. If it can (and if it hasn't been already), check to see how much it costs, and what exactly it includes.

Otherwise, I concur with Ken and hoosier, 3803 all the way!

acdds · October 2003

I picked up the 3803 from 6ave.com for $649.06. I was suspicious because of low price at first but I've had it for 2 weeks now and absolutely no problems. I definitely pick on up. The up conversion is nice. Plugged both my Denon 2900 components and my XBOX components into the 3803 and ran one set of cables to the TV (my set only has 1 component input).

rwrvpem · October 2003

The 5800 can be upgraded, but I think the cost is something like $1000.

Rick

fireshoes · October 2003

As far as pure sound, there's no doubt that the 5800 will crush the 3803; it's just a matter of whether you need the extra features the 3803 has. I'd go 5800 and be a happy camper.

acdds · October 2003

Now that I think about it, if I would have had the chance I would jump on the 5800 too. That is the Denon flagship model even if it is a few years old.

bigsexy1 · October 2003

fireshoes
"As far as pure sound, there's no doubt that the 5800 will crush the 3803;"

Maybe not by as much as you might think. The 5800 speced out to only 138 X 5 watts per channel, all channels driven, which actually isn't half bad. However, the 3803 simply has way more processing power than a pre-upgraded 5800. Now after the upgrade, it might be a different story, but as someone else pointed out, that would be an extra $1000 or so.

rookiejk · October 2003

Does the 3803 have enough power to run the Rti12s, or am I better off going with the Rti 10s and getting a subwoofer instead? The Rti12s are $400 more than the 10s, but the 12s give you an extra mid and 7' sub. What do you guys think? I was planning to go with the 12s and wait for a while to buy a subwoofer, but if I did buy the 10s I could easily get a decent sub for the $400 difference.

eclypse · October 2003

I'd go with the 3803 myself if i could.. I just bought the 12's late last night at www.crutchfield.com and now there runing low on stock on the black pair.

Get that and use yor old receiver to bi-amp the 12's.. The main receiver for the "Top" speaker terminal = tweeters & mid drivers.. the 2nd receiver will run the 6 woofers total via the bottom speaker terminals.

For the extra 4 i'd go with the 12's.. i did hehe. Just the extra driver and woofer and the size statement was enough to say yep.. i'll take the twin towers!

aubyn97 · October 2003

what about the 4802r

bigsexy1 · October 2003

Guys, I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I'm sure that the 12s are exactly just like the 150s, and there is no receiver that I know of (with the possible exception of maybe the Sunfires as I don't know much about them) that will properly drive them when they are set to large. You could always hi-pass them when run with a sub, but then what's the point of even having them in the first place in that case? You need a seperate power amp of at least 200 watts per channel minimum, and it's debateable if that is even enough. Em was driving some with a 125 watt per Rotel amp, and he even admitted that they need more.

rookiejk · October 2003

If I were to power the 12s with a seperate 200+ watt amp, should I just them through the 3803's preamp into the seperate? How much am I looking at the buy a nice amp to power them?

Would the 3803 be able to power the Rti10s sufficiently? Would the 12s be enough to compensate for no subwoofer or is it a better deal to buy the 10s and a sub. Especially if I am paying 400 more for the speaker and 200-400 more for the seperate amp?

bigsexy1 · October 2003

Yes, run the 3803's main l/r pre-outs into the main ins on the power amp.

The 10s would be an easier load to drive than the 12s for a 3803, but it still might not be quite enough. The best bet maybe for a set of 8s as mains, set to small, with a seperate sub. Then there would be no need for a seperate power amp.

*******EDIT********
BTW, yes, the 12s would probably be OK without a sub, but then I'd reccomend no less than a 300 watt power amp (or some combination of 2 power amps in a bi-amp arrangementwould probably be cheaper, say a 200 watt for the woofers and a 100 watt for the tweets/mids) in that case.

rookiejk · October 2003

If I were to bi-amp could I run the mids/tweet with the 3803 amped output out and the woofers with a seperate 200 watt amp? Do you have any recommendations for decent amps?

bigsexy1 · October 2003

Yes, you could do that. You could even do it with the3803 itself if you were only using a 5 (and not 7) speaker surround set with it's other 2 unused channels, although that still wouldn't be enough power using the 3803 itself to bi-amp.

As for amp rec., if you will definitely be using a 3803, then I'd see what Denon themselves has to offer. I don't know about their product line up, but I'm sure that they probably have a seperate power amp in the 200 watt per channel range for sale.

rookiejk · October 2003

I was not able to find any amps on Denon's website? Maybe I am looking in the wrong place.

Also, regarding your comment that if I were only running a 5 channel system, I could output the extra 2 channels to the front speakers, wouldn't the receiver be sending a different signal to those 2 usused channels, than the 2 front channel outs? This would be especially interesting in a HT setting.

polkatese · October 2003

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/AVR4800LIT.pdf

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/products.asp?l=1&c=2

rookiejk · October 2003

But those links are for receivers with integrated amps. I am looking for a seperate 200 Watt powered amp to use through my 3803.

I have been looking on Ebay and all of the 200 W/channel amps are in the 300 dollar range. Is this about right? I really don't want to pay 300 on top of the 700 i paid for the 3803. Would it be wiser to pay less and bi amp the speaker with a 100W/channel amp only for the subs? Any recommendations on amps? Has anyone else delt with this issue? How did you resolve it?

Denon 5800

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