I went back to the store to compare and the guy was using streaming direct on 2 of the Elite they had all (3) 52TX, 54TX, and 56TX Stereo Direct on the 52TX and direct on the Denon. Since he did not know what he was doing I finally found a different store that had the 52TX, and 54TX and the Denon 3805 in the same room and the guy knew what he was doing. I ended up comparing the VSX54TX to the Denon 3805 both in direct mode. I went in wanting to prefer the Elite because it is cheaper by $170.00 Here is what I heard.
The guy started out with the Denon and as soon as he switched he made the comment about the midrange seeming more prominent on the Elite, it was and it was very noticable. The voice (Diana Krall) was focused right in the middle in a very small area with the Elite and forward sounding. As soon as we went back to the Denon it was a bigger soundfield almost like you were comparing a regular speaker to a bipolar. It seemed to have more depth and also I think the Denon seemed to have more bottom end to me. We used 4 different speakers, Polk LSi9 bookshelf, LSi15 floorstanding, Sonus Faber floorstanding and Martin Logan Mosaic and it did not matter which the voice was more forward on the Elite in a confined area. The Denon was a very detailed and more balanced sound, I did not find the Denon to be bright at all and neither did the guy at the store. Like I say I was hoping to want the Elite but what I heard today changed my mind. What a bummer, now I will have to spend more money and get the Denon. This is just my observations on what I heard from a comparison between the two. I am not trying to influence anyone else on what to buy. They are both very good products and everybody has different preferences and everyone can interpret what they hear differently.
Anonymous
Posted on
I own the denon paired up with b&w 703 and let me tell you the sound that comes out of this combo is unbelievable............
That info is muchly appreciated. I don't have a local dealer that carries both brands, and was wondering what the differences are. As I will be getting a new receiver once I get some more money, I will keep this in mind. Thanks for the post
I keyed in the Denon model number AVR3805 at the top of this page and it brought up some editorial and consumer reviews. One of the consumer reviews said something to the effect that the Denon had a bigger sound field also. This was not a subjective situation. No matter which receiver you preferred you can!t help but notice this was exactly the way it was presented.
When both receivers are in Direct mode bypassing everything I don!t think you can change speaker settings like you can with surround sound. I am going to make sure today that there could not have been some settings that were causing this from the Pioneer because the sale ends today and I have to make a decision unless I go with NAD which does not seem likely at this point. I have very little time so if there are any Elite people that know if there could have been some setting that cause this in bypass mode please let me know as soon as possible.
slappy
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Im running a Denon 3805 with a 2900 universal to a pair of JM Lab 707s's and im pretty impressed with the sound. The denon 3805 is a good reciever, all around. I dont think you can buy a better one for the money, especially if you get a good deal. My only gripe is that the Remote totally sucks. Yeah, it is cool, and flashy, but damn, i think a group of 13 fingered chimpanzee's coulda come up with a more ergonomical design.