Denon AVR-2803

Anything but mid-level

By Tony Davey

January 2004

Denon AVR-2803 AV receiver. $2299

It seems strange somehow, starting near the top of the food chain and working my way down, but that is what has happened over past months with Denon receivers. My reviewing of Denon's product started with the AVC-A11sr and then to the AVR-3803 and now down to the AVR-2803. Although there has been a steady regression through the range, one thing has remained constant: Denon have yet to disappoint.

The AVR 2803 is in the middle of a long line of home theatre receivers and although this may be a mid level receiver, based on the features and performance it offers, it is anything but mid level.

Before looking forward at this receiver, we must look back at what it is replacing, what would compel someone to upgrade from the 2802 to the 2803. The 2802 was acclaimed by many users as being a solid performer and outstanding value for money, so why the new model?

Receiver growth

The AVR 2803 has grown an additional amplifier to now offer 7.1 surround sound as opposed to the 6.1 from the 2802 although power output has remained stable at a healthy if not cat-scaring 90w per channel. There is an improved fully programmable remote in the offering with glow in the dark keys and full bandwidth component video switching amongst the improvements.

As would be expected, there are the usual array of home theatre and musical "surround sound" modes (why, oh why, do they insist on having these?) and an internal AM/FM tuner.

Most noticeable about the 2803 when listening to audio CD's was its smoothness and warmth. This receiver was very strong in the mid range. CD's were very easy to listen to for great lengths of time without tiring me out. The Denon's smoothness in my set up was slightly at the expense of some bottom end punch, the 2803's 90 watts per channel just wasn't enough to drive the bass drivers of my power hungry Image Reference speakers to the level I enjoy (although this was easily countered with the use of my sub).

Home theatre delivery

Home theatre is what this receiver is all about and home theatre is what it delivered.

The AVR 2803's smoothness that was revealed with CD playback was transferred across to the home theatre realm, only this time with the .1 in the 5.1 configuration that I use, there was no issue regarding bottom end punch.

My recently acquired R1 version of The Lion King (yes, I admit it, I own it) is full of home theatre goodness, especially with the wonderful musical opening score with its mix of choir the wonderful orchestral music and the heavy bass of the elephants stomping along the 2803 reproduced the surround experience well with my home theatre alive with the sounds of Africa.

Voices in The Lion King are very mixed, from a young playful yet innocent Simba (Jonathon Taylor Thomas) to the pomp and arrogance of Scar (Jeremy Irons) through to one of the deepest voices in existence, Mufasa (James Earl Jones) the 2803 was able to faithfully reproduce the character of all.

Directional effects of the 2803 was very good, with surround activity readily located when necessary (specific noises in the surrounds) but equally the 2803 blended the surround activity into the overall character of the movie to simply envelop the listener.

Ninety watts per channel doesn't sound like a lot of power in today's terms, but for home theatre, I did not find it lacking (particularly as the use of a subwoofer is far more "acceptable" in home theatre experience than generally accepted in hi-fi circles). The 2803 was able to cope being pushed to louder than normal levels and sustain those levels for as long as needed. Even though the receiver was pushed like this, it still held its form and didn't let highs become bright and over bearing (as can happen with lesser receivers). Loud simply didn't seem loud until someone tried to get my attention.

In the modern age of home theatre, it is impossible for companies to rest on their laurels and think "well, we've done all that we can and our product is good enough". Here is a good example of a manufacturer taking the basics from an already successful product, adding in another channel of amplification, improving the remote (one of the weaknesses of the 2802) and also adding in component video switching (although no up-conversion as with the 3803).

Only individual user preferences can determine if it is worthwhile upgrading from 6.1 to 7.1, but if you are in the sub-$3000 market for a home theatre receiver and you don't want to sacrifice enjoyment of two-channel audio, find one of these and give it a trial.

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