Upgrade Bug Again...

Grimster74

Once again, the upgrade bug has grabbed me by the nads. I know this sounds weird but beings I'm a die-hard Sony man I thinking of changing manufactures. I've recently downloaded the pdf files for the Denon 3805 and the Denon 2900 and so far I like what I see. The wife and I are taking out an equity loan on the house and after doing all the improvements and paying off the bills I have about $2500 to play with. The wife will even have her own money to play with. I waiting for the 3805 to hit to stores so I can go listen and play and my local Tweeter said they should have the unit on March 9. I've already read rave reviews about the 2900 so there is no worries there.

So with that said, can anyone give me reasons why or why not I should upgrade the receiver. I don't want this to be a Sony bashing thread I would just like to hear from fellow Polk members what they think. What are some of the pluses of the Denon over the Sony. I know the next thing someone will say is try to go with seperates but I really like the flexability of a receiver. So, if I do decide to upgrade, which will be near the end of the month, I will have a Sony STR-DA4ES receiver and a Sony DVP-NC685V DVD/SACD player for sale. You can view them on my system showcase here...

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/showcase/view.php?userid=40818

All input will be greatly appreciated.

pjdami

If it were me, I would definitely do the Denon 2900. The Sony ES receiver vs. the Denon 3805 is more of a personal preference or lateral move to me but I haven't heard the 3805.

fireshoes

The Denon 2900 is going closeout at my store soon. I don't know if a replacement is coming out or if we are just not carrying it anymore, but you might be able to get a better price on one if it is.

ken brydson

Me and Doro will miss you in the ES club

Frank Z

Since your in the mood, why not make the jump to seperates?

Grimster74

Well, after much conversation with the better half. Think I'm going to keep my Sony receiver, buy the DVP-NS999ES dvd/sacd player and thinking of buying an amp, just not sure which amp yet. The one thats really grabbed my attention is the Outlaw. Seems like the best bang for the buck.

Grimster74

Okay fello forum buddies. I took the plunge Saturday. This has been a debate for a couple of weeks but I finally made a decision. Well here goes, I pre-ordered my Denon 3805 Saturday from Tweeters. I'll have 30 days to make my decesion to keep it or not but the salesman told me chances are I will not be returning it. The new receiver should be in by March 19th.

Here are a couple of other questions though. When I purchased the 3805 the salesman offered the extended 5 year warranty which I did not purchase. Is this something I should go back and get beings the unit is new, meaning, do you think I should have purchased this plan just in case they're some bugs with the unit. I beleice he said the cost was $80.

Second question, I was going to purchase the Denon 2900 Saturday also but after comparing the 2900 and the 2200, they damn near seem the same. Went to Crutchfield.com and did a side by side comparision the other then a few numbers and the size of the unit, they are the same other than the $300 price difference. Honestly, can someone tell me if it's worth the additional $300 to buy the 2900. Thanks in advance.

shack

Originally posted by Grimster74


Here are a couple of other questions though. When I purchased the 3805 the salesman offered the extended 5 year warranty which I did not purchase. Is this something I should go back and get beings the unit is new, meaning, do you think I should have purchased this plan just in case they're some bugs with the unit. I beleice he said the cost was $80.

I would never purchase an extended warranty on a A/V receiver. #1 it already has a 2 year warranty...right? (Tweeter is an authorized dealer.) With most gear, if it is going to go bad it will do so before the warranty expires (MOST OF THE TIME!)

#2 More importantly... as before....2 year warranty. YOU WILL UPGRADE BEFORE THEN! You know it...it will happen...money down the drain.

Originally posted by Grimster74
Second question, I was going to purchase the Denon 2900 Saturday also but after comparing the 2900 and the 2200, they damn near seem the same. Went to Crutchfield.com and did a side by side comparision the other then a few numbers and the size of the unit, they are the same other than the $300 price difference. Honestly, can someone tell me if it's worth the additional $300 to buy the 2900. Thanks in advance.

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13877&highlight=denon+and+2900+and+2200

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12267&highlight=denon+and+2900+and+2200

Try the search feature sometimes...works great!

dorokusai

Ken - Damn him, damn him and his Denon

Grim - I wouldn't really consider the 999ES because of some less than stellar PQ reviews. The Denon has the lockdown on this bracket, IMO. The 2200 is a great machine, the 2900 ups the ante in DAC and PQ if I recall due to upgraded/different chips. Anyone know the exact data?

I also considered the 999ES for a very long time, but have done alot of reading over the months, and have settled on the Denon 2900 minimum, for my needs.

Extended warranty? I would leave that to your judgement.

Grimster74

Shack, thanks for reminding me about doing a search, never even crossed my mind and great read by the way.

Doro, thanks for the input on the 999ES. Beleive me, I've been doing some comparision the last couple of weeks also on the 999ES and the 2900. If the 999ES had reviews as good as the 2900 I would probally already own the 999ES. And as we all know, I prefer to keep the DVD player and Receiver the same line so I figured I'd give the Denon a run for a while.

By the way, by the end of the month I'll have a Sony STR-DA4ES receiver and a Sony DVP-NC685V DVD/SACD player for sale. For those that don't know the receiver isn't even a year old yet and the DVD/SACD player is only 3 months old.

shack

Originally posted by Grimster74
By the way, by the end of the month I'll have a Sony STR-DA4ES receiver and a Sony DVP-NC685V DVD/SACD player for sale. For those that don't know the receiver isn't even a year old yet and the DVD/SACD player is only 3 months old.

Originally posted by shack
#2 More importantly... as before....2 year warranty. YOU WILL UPGRADE BEFORE THEN! You know it...it will happen...money down the drain.

I rest my case!

Grimster74

Just a final follow-up on this whole situation. I went out last night and purchased the Denon DVD-2900.:D The authorized dealer knocked off an additional 10% because I couldn't make up my mind between the 2200 and the 2900. On top of the 10% he knocked off, the reason I purchased the 2900 was I didn't want to be sitting downstairs two weeks from know wondering if I should have purchased the 2900 if I would have purchased the 2200. This crap is so damn addictive. The wife claims she is going to take away the internet if I buy another damn thing after I get the new AVR-3805 and the DVD-2900.:D

fireshoes

Hey Grim, congrats! I think you'll really like the new gear.

faster100

any background on the new 3805?? what's new since the 3803??

Grimster74

Hey faster, I've attached a link for ya to check out.

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/AVR-3805%20Final.pdf

If this link doesn't work, check this one out

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

Grimster74

For those that haven't seen it yet, which I'm sure not many haven't seen it yet.

Grimster74

And the front.

faster100

what's this thing running $$$ wise

Grimster74

With panel down.

Grimster74

MSRP is $1199.99

faster100

and street value?? I got my 3803 from 6th ave for 648.00 msrp is $999.00

faster100

where did you get yours from?? and for how much if you don't mind??

Grimster74

Not really sure what the street value is on the unit. I purchased mine from Tweeters and paid $1080. They knocked 10% off because of the deal Crutchfield is running. You purchase 2 components from Crutchfield before March 31 you get 10% off.

faster100

hmmm, LOL.. 3803's are selling for 700 + on e-bay.. used. this has a removable power cord, improved screen, this 3803 i can hardly read from 8' away.. But its a great unit.. don't think i could justify the upgrade already though.. any real deal breakers that made you want this receiver?? spell it out for me... LOL

Grimster74

To be completely honest with you. After reading all the hype about the Denon DVD-2900 as far as picture quality and sound quality goes, I went and checked it out. Absolutely fell in love with the 2900 and its features, a must have. So, I'm the type of person that prefers to keep the same manufacture throughout, so that is where the 3805 comes into play. One of the main features that made me choose the 3805 over the 3803 was the extra component in. I needed the extra set due to having the PS2 running component along with the DVD player and the high def. box, just one less connection to the tv. Know all the video switching can be done at the receiver.

fireshoes

Check out the gun-metal silver and the sweet remote too!

Grimster74

This sucks, just called Tweeters today to check the status of my Denon 3805 and 2900. As far as the 2900 goes, it is at the store. As far as the 3805 goes, claim it won't be in until the 30th of March. Can someone please tell me why Crutchfield is already sending them out and yet a local chain will not be getting them in until the end of the month. I been half tempted to cancel the order with Tweeter's and order it from Crutchfield.

amulford

Can't answer why, but good things come to those who wait. Have patience, it will be there and you won't be disappointed. Why don't you go ahead and get the 2900 now? Then you could do a comparison on the differences on the two receivers using the same quality source...

I'd like to hear it;)

fireshoes

We don't have them yet at American. I don't think my local Ultimate does either.

Grimster74

Okay Fireshoes, just out of curosity, if they are not in America yet then why is Crutchfield shipping them, not trying to be a smart **** or anything, just curious. Maybe Crutchfield has some inner connections or something.

The other thing I meant to follow-up on was I decided to get the extended warranty on both units. If anyone would like to know, here are my final purchase prices from Tweeters. Denon AVR-3805, MSRP, $1199.99, I paid $1080 plus $40 for the 5-year warranty and the Denon DVD-2900, MSRP, $999.99, I paid $900 plus $99 for the 5-year warranty. I received 10% off the equipment because I took in a copy of the Crutchfield add stating if you buy 2 peices of A/V gear your received 10% off. So roughly I dropped $2210.

ken brydson

Originally posted by Grimster74
Okay Fireshoes, just out of curosity, if they are not in America yet

He said American, not America