I am in the process of upgrading my entire home theater components. I am considering the Denon 1802 w/ 80 watts of power and I was wondering if that would be enough to power the M80 speakers? I normally listen at low to moderate volumes. I plan to purchase the M80's, VP150 and QS-8's over the next couple of months, but want to make sure the receiver can power them sufficiently. I know the Denon 2802 offers 90 watts of power, but I don't really need all the extra 'features' so the 1802 would work as long as it would power the speakers that I want.

I appreciate any help you can give.
Thank you.
-Bradley

The 2802 is not just 10W more in power. I believe its amp section is better as well. If I were you, I would go with 2802 because of the 6.1 feature that should last you a couple more years before upgrading.

On the other hand, the 1802 has a pre-out which should enable you to hook it up to an out-board piece and improve the sound if you're sure that you won't be needing the 6.1. But try watching Gladiator with 6.1 before making your decision, you may like it.

In short, the 1802 is powerful enough to push the Axiom's you have in mind, given the sensiblity rating of these speakers. You may also want to look at the review of 1802 conducted by the editor of "cheaphometheater.com".

Regards,
HT_Man

Thanks for your reply. I guess in reality I'm trying to justify spending an extra $300 for power and features that I wouldn't use. I don't have any need for 6.1 sound because there is absolutely no place for rear-center surround speakers. As far as specification differences between the 1802 and 2802, there are some small ones, but not sure enough to jusify the extra money... especially if the 80W of the 1802 will power the Axioms that I'm going to buy. I have heard that you don't need much power to make the Axioms sing! :-)
The review on the website that you listed helped encourage me on the 1802 as well.

Sincerely,
-Bradley

I bought the Denon 1800 2 years before I bought the Axiom Epic 80 (SVS sub) and have been using them together for 4 months now and haven't had a problem.

The 1800 is rated at 75wpc for 8 ohm in sterero and 110wpc for 6 ohm.
Dynamic power is 100w (8ohm), 145w (4 ohm)

I too was looking at the 2800 but decided I did not need the meagre extras for more money.

I think you should be happy with the 1802.