Denon AVR-2802 6.1 Channels Receiver

The Denon 2802 is probably the best home theater receiver you can get for the money. It retails for about $800 but web prices are much lower. I never thought of buying a Denon before. Afterall, Sony seems to dominate in just about every sector of electronics. But even Sony is not what it used to be. I've owned countless Sony products, and I'll admit, that if you want a reasonably priced, easy to use, no frills, no hassles kind of a receiver, then get a Sony. But for my home theater receiver, I wanted all of those things and then some. The Denon 2802 features solid construction (a must for me). And the power and sound quality is unparalleled for this price range (it retails for about $800 but web prices are much lower). It is a 6.1 channel receiver with DTS encoding. I'll admit, it doesn't have the plethora of DSP (Digital Signal Processing) sound fields as some other receivers but who cares when you're watching movies in DTS. But even with listening to music, regular 5 or 6 channel stereo is a pleasure. What I like most about the Denon is its pure, clean sound, which is vital since I listen to a lot of music. Lows are pounded out without reserve and highs are crisply reproduced with unrivaled realism. But put in a high action DTS encoded movie and you'll swear you're actually in the middle of the all the live action. From the thunderous roar of an F-16 afterburner or the delicate tinkling of bullet shells falling on pavement, the 2802 will bring you as close to the action as you can get for around $600-$800.

I will warn you though, that the 2802, while a superb instrument, does require some "skill" in setting up and learning how to use. The interface is not exactly user friendly. The remote is neither intuitive nor attractive. The user manual is hard to understand at times. But get past these minor setbacks and you'll be sure to enjoy hours of music, movies, or whatever you fancy. After all, once you set it up, you shouldn't have to mess with the settings much anyway. Personally, this did not matter to me, as I would have bought it just for the sound.