Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Which Receiver Onkyo 797 or Denon 3802

Hey all I'm going to get my Axiom's shortly. 150 center 60's Front and 22ti for the surround. Which receiver do you think will best fit. The Onkyo 797 or the Denon 3802. Both are similar in price and I'm not sure which one to get. Please help as I am going to order shortly
Thanks
Joseph Nardi

That is exactly what I have! M60's, VP150, M22's & a Onkyo 797. It is awesome for both HT and music! I looked at the 3802 also but gave the nod to Onkyo mainly because I have a friend with a Onkyo that is 19 yrs. (the receiver) that gets played EVERYDAY and has been to hell and back about 6 or 7 times. I have never seen a receiver hold up to the abuse he has put it though. Like very,very,very,very poor ventilation stereo rack. The rack touches both sides and has about 1 1/2 in. clearance on top. The top surface gets cleaned about every 4 yrs or so. And I have seen 3 denons go bye bye in 2 1/2 yrs. or less....... It was easy for me! The speakers are unreal. I made the mistake of also getting the Swan Diva's to compare. Axiom WON and I LOST $348 in total for shipping cost to me and back to them. I really hope they drop the ******g boxes on their bare feet!!!!!

You are deciding between two excellent choices. The Denon has a little more power, which from a technical and viewpoint is an advantage. The Denon also has another channel which if you were considering setting up four surrounds would be a must. Other than this they are so close I think I may go with the one that you like the feel and features of the remote best.

Ian Colquhoun
President & Chief Engineer

I agree it's a tough choice based on the specs. The Denon has 7.1 vs 6.1, plus the extra 10 watts per channel. But the Onkyo has 192khz/24bit DAC's compared to the Denon's 96khz/24bit DAC's, and the Onkyo also has THX processing and more digital inputs.

The Onkyo website doesn't offer much information about their products, so there are a couple of things I can't determine: 1) Does the Onkyo have something similar to the Denon's 5/7-channel stereo (ie multi-channel without dsp effects). Also, what are the crossover options of the 797?

Ian, you mentioned the extra power of the 3802 as a factor. Given the speaker setup Joe mentioned (which is what I am also considering), how much of a real world difference would the extra 10 watts p/c make? After all, you have to double the wattage to get a 3db increase, right?

You are correct, the 10 watts is almost meaningless in the real world. I felt it was a very small advantage at best. Assuming the dynamic head room is the same for both amplifers (big assumtion), then it would represent about 1% more real output.

Ian Colquhoun
President & Chief Engineer

"I made the mistake of also getting the Swan Diva's to compare. Axiom WON and I LOST $348 in total for shipping cost to me and back to them. I really hope they drop the ******g boxes on their bare feet!!!!! "

AHHH- SO someone has FINALLY tested the Axioms vs. the Swans- with the expected results, I might add. There is another thread here at Axiom that is LOONGGG regarding the Chinese (*cough* -wahrfedale- *cough* ) DIvas vs. the Axioms... Why not post your complete thoughts on your test there??- I for one would be VERY curious to read it!!

I agree. I would love to hear about your Swan vs Axiom comparo.

I have the 3802 and 4 M22s with the EP-350. You gotta love these speakers! The VP150 is in the near future.
I was worried about having enough power. Once I hooked everything up I no longer worry about the quality or level of sound. I am more than happy with the Denon, but everything that I have read puts the products pretty close. The Denon won for me due to the 7.1 and 110 watts.
Check out www.audioreview.com.

Good Luck!