Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater I need a new receiver

Hi all,

I need a new receiver. Anyone have any thoughts on which is the best choice in the $1000 to $1500(USD)? I am considering the Denon 3803 which is around $1200 new. Refurbished, one can be had for around $649 from Denon authorized e-retailers (eCost.com) or $809(dakmart.com) . Any thoughts on buying a refurbished unit?

I need a new job/career. One that pays well by the hour, is part time work, and doesn't require working late, early, or on weekends....

but aside from that aside....

GET THE DENON refurbished if it comes with a standard Denon 1 year warranty. If it doesn't, get the new one, as long as you can afford it.

I can't say much about a refurbished unit but a friend of mine just picked up a demo Denon 3802 and i have to say, i'm very impressed.
The US equivalent cost would be about $930. You might want to consider trying to find some demo models or the remains of last year's models while they are now on sale and being pushed out for the newer items.
Call around.

I think Denon receivers carry 2 year warranties.

I too am considering the refurbished Denon 3803 or H&K 525, I have heard pretty good feedback about refurbished equipment.

Mike, I thought sushi might give you his thoughts on this, but unless there're some other features that you're looking for, I don't see where you're going to do better than the Pioneer 45TX he has(which is being closed out)or its replacement, the 53TX, which is just coming in. The automatic MCACC speaker calibration and equalization is a very significant feature.

I've got a refurb H/K 525, and I've had no problems with it. Looked brand new when I got it out of the box, and has functioned perfectly!

Yeah, I kinda thought Sushi would weigh in here also...he does everywhere else eh' (ynuk,ynuk). Just kidding Masa.

I've been trying to find some reviews on the Pioneers and information on the MCACC thing but haven't located any yet. Any suggestions on where to look? I don't trust salepeople at the stores to know the straight poop.

Mike, there's been considerable discussion of MCACC in the receiver section of the AVS forum. There's a shoot-out in the British magazine Hi-Fi News where the European version of the 45TX bests competing models from JVC, Onkyo, Rotel, Sony and Yamaha.

Did you get to peel the faceplate protective plastic off, too?

Ha ha. Yes. Once I realized it was there. It looked a lot better after that, too.

Mike,

If I were you I would get the Elite 55TXi at this time. The updated 9-band MCACC equalizer is nice (the same EQ is also featured in the 53TX). Moreover, the i.Link featured in this model seems quickly becoming the industry standard for the digital connection for the upcoming generation of DVD-A/SACD players.

Hi,

You can get some pretty good deals on Denon stuff in Asia but you have to live with several issues....

New Denon AVR3803 (gold version) 110/220V version retails in Hong Kong at around USD 725.00. Of course shipping would cost you atleast USD 150 or so by Fedex to US.

Also the warranty is only valid in Hong Kong so it cannot be used in the US. I sent one to a friend in the US 3 weeks back.

Denon subsidizes these for the China market and some Hong Kong dealers have access to these goods.

Good luck in your hunt !

Say, Sushi.. Could you give me the make/model and web site for that 55 TXi ? I'm in a funny mode today, and it's got me thinking I need to upgrade.. I've still got to read that thread over at SV you refered to the other day on this new MCACC feature.. But if this unit has IEEE connections, I'm really going to be happy..
thks..

I went to Ultimate Electronics today to check out the Pioneers but the Elite 55TXI hasn't hit the stores yet.

The Denon converts S video and composite to component. Should I assume that the Pioneer does also?

Right. I believe that the 55TXi is the first $1K-ish receiver to feature the i.Link/IEEE1394/FireWire. The pioneer web page hasn't yet been updated (they are usually slow). Here is the Pioneer press release, and here is the AVSforum thread about these new receivers.


And no, Mike. As far as I know, the 53TX/55TXi does NOT upconvert videos (but double-check the PR above). Among the Elite receivers, only the flag-ship 49TXi does it, I believe.