Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners I may need a new receiver, after all

If you are really looking for a warm amplifier, you may consider a departure from the mass market crowd of denon, yamaha, sony, etc.
To me, all this talk is like comparing versions of Hondas and trying to say one is better than the other because of the color.
Do yourself a favor and visit a "high end" shop, kick back and listen for a while. Bring your favorite CD's. Personally, the warmest amps I've heard are like MacIntosh (not in the $500 range) and Nad, which has integrated amps starting around $500. They also make a killer AV receiver for around $1000, depending on what you are looking for.
Keep in mind the signal is only as good as the weakest link. Upgrading a receiver may put you on the path of a new CD player, DVD player, and so on .
Enjoy !

Pete, thank you, As I paws to reflect, your observation bears out my original premise.

Andy, if you can catch an extended warranty from jandr, you should be OK. I bought a refurb Denon DVM-4800 from ecost 11/03. It was their top o' the line 5 disc CD player that has an MSRP of $1199 (might be discontinued now). The thing is a beast and has a bucketful of DACs. It is ALSO a progressive scan DVD player and the PQ is terrific. I was just noodling around for a 5 disc CD to replace my 9 yr old Sony (shudder) and to use for Christmas music and parties; just an uninterrupted supply of background music. I stumbled across the 4800 for $319 and after some research on refurb/B-stock and ecost, I grabbed it. It's been terrific. While ecost is an authorized etailer for refur/B-stock, you only get a 90 day warranty, so I bought another year at ecost for $30. My thought was refurb means a problem was found & fixed ( and the unit should theoretically be about perfect) and B-stock gets me to something cosmetic that won't affect performance. Either way, I get Denon quality and performance at savings over $850. The 3803 is a terrific unit and at that price, a steal. However, do a bit of research before you pull out the credit card.

AudioFile - welcome to the mayhem. I had considered separates myself. When I was able to score the 3803 and have it act as a pre/pro as well, the decision became a bit muddy. One of the things I considered was the really robust feature set the Denon had in relation to the front end separates and the cost differential. I think separates are also a great choice, but the price of HT starts to climb pretty quickly once that step is taken. You also hit the really big nail on the head - other components begin to cry out for improvement!!

I emailed jandr about the authorized dealer thing. I received a reply that said they are indeed a Denon authorized dealer. I followed the supplied link which didn't work. I did a search for New York. It appears they are an authorized B&M.

I checked on the Denon website and J and R is an authorized dealer. Wonder how they got refurb 3803s? Might be from their own returns. No matter. Sounds like a good deal for this puppy. I'm guessing they won't have them long.

I see it now, I had only looked at the "E-tailers" listing. Good thing you are all more thorough! It is mighty tempting, any word on when they will be getting them in stock?

Editing...

I just called them, supposedly they will be getting them in a week or two. They do only come with a 90 day warranty, but for $30 it can apparently be extended to 3 years (covering repairs through local Denon repair shop.)

sigh. I guess you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
LittleB, you really should listen to the amp first, and if not, make sure they have a $$$ back guarantee. If you are looking for warm, I don't think you're going to get it with a Denon. And, if it's refurb, ask yourself why so many?
It's worth it to stretch a little and purchase a Receiver that is going to make you happy.

I'm pretty happy with my refurb. I'll point out that they are often refurbs because they were demo models, or people returned them because of reasons other than defectiveness. I'll also point out that refurbs are also tested more than new units. Testing=good. And if they've got the same warranty, why not?

I hear you talkin' loud and clear

I'm afraid the difference in SS amps is rather debatable. We've certainly had a lot debates about it!

For the warm sound, you should probably consider tubes. Having not heard some in a comparative setting, I can't really speak to the quality, (at the last shop I went to to compare tubes vs. SS, the salesdork told me I was "silly" to want to compare the two, as people usually have a preference one for the other...) but they're definitely warmer than SS. No matter what the name on the plate is.

After thinking over my initial posting here, I don't think the term warm really applies. Ray3 pretty much nailed it when he used the term smooth.