There is something about the new range of AV receivers hitting the market today, they just seemed to have stepped it up a notch in performance and are forever pushing the "bang for the buck" boundary.
Denon's latest high-mid priced offering (is that an oxymoron?) is a stunner. Feature packed, great sounding and a great looking piece of gear to go with it.
The AVR 3805 comes equipped with 120 watts of amplification for all seven channels, the usual array of home theatre and musical "surround sound" modes plus the 3805 incorporates Dolby Pro Logic IIx. This is similar to DPLII, however DPLIIx offers support for full 7.1 analogue surround over the 5.1 from DPLII. The 3805 also includes video up-conversion, allowing a composite or s-video signal to be passed via the component leads.
In addition to the thousand or so video and audio inputs is "Denon Link". This allows you to connect Denon's universal DVD players digitally to the amp and pass a digital signal for high-resolution audio (DVD Audio and SACD). This is a bit of a coup for Denon as both high-res camps are very nervous about the signal being passed digitally.
Whiz-bang set-up
As is becoming the trend lately, the 3805 incorporates a microphone and a plethora of set-up whiz-bang gadgetry to get the optimum settings for your room and your equipment. Although the set up procedure may appear less detailed than one from Yamaha (running a single pink noise tone through each channel rather than a variety of sounds), the result is similar and once underway there is little for the user to do other than to sit back and relax while the 3805 auto-calibrates.
One nice inclusion with the 3805 is Denon's latest back-light remote. This is a piece of genius, fully learning, touch panel with the ability to have various macro's and other user programmed features all at your finger tips. Whilst it does take some pre-reading of the manual to fully understand its intricacies, it really can be "the ultimate control" for all your home theatre gear.
Super surrounded
Having not ever utilized more than 5.1 channels of surround, I was anxious to see how the 3805 would sound in 7.1.
Stunning, simply stunning. The response was akin to a well tuned V6 engine. Like the V6, the power of the 3805 can surprise you, with the ability to switch quickly and effortlessly from mild to wild and back to mild in a heartbeat but it is never obtrusive and not fatiguing during extended listening.
As mentioned above, this was my first 7.1 experience and adjusting to the additional surround information took some getting used to, but I am pleased I took the plunge. Whether it's in 5.1 or 7.1 configuration, the 3805 creates a wonderful atmosphere to the sound field. This is easily demonstrated in the DVD The Day After Tomorrow with excellent weather effects coming through the surround channels, enveloping the listener into the frozen world.
Bang, crash, boom, rumble and thump. These are but some of the sounds the average (okay, not so average) home theatre nut strives to maximize. The 3805 has power to burn when it comes to aggressive sound tracks with excellent dynamic range.
Musically, the 3805 has what I would describe as a familiar Denon sound for CD listening, very well balanced. Right across the sound spectrum, the 3805 faithfully reproduced each CD with nice weight to the sound. Highs and mids were well integrated with the volume knob easily being able to be turned a few more turns than it should without sending you running from the room. I found I could easily switch off my sub when listening to CD playback and not feel myself pining for more bass.
If I had to sum up the sound in a word, it would be refined. Not overly aggressive yet powerful enough to cope with all the peaks and troughs of modern soundtracks. For an AV receiver, the 3805 is extremely musical with no noticeable musical bias.
I was originally apprehensive about letting my old AVC-A1 go, it had served me well for so many years, but even after the first few weeks of the 3805 in the house, the A1 won't be missed.
