The AVR-1803 is a perfect example of the importance Denon places on home cinema in its line-up. At £400 this isnt the brands cheapest amp, but it does offer a very high specification list for the price tag, especially from a company with as impressive a reputation as Denons.
The receiver supports Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES with 6.1 channels, plus Dolby Pro-Logic II and DTS Neo: 6 analogue surround decoding. Its also one of Denons first budget models to sport six equally powered channels, in this case six 80Watt power amplifiers.
The AVR-1803 has some nice touches too - the front-panel optical digital input, component video input switching, and a good pre-programmed remote packed with control codes. The fascia lacks a flip-down front section, there are no on-screen menus and the front-panel display isnt bursting with information, but those are the only real differences between this receiver and Denons more expensive gear, at least to the naked eye.
Fortunately, despite the lack of on- screen info, the AVR-1803 is extremely easy to set up and use, thanks to the clear instruction manual, and you will have the amp running inside of half an hour. The grey, tiny lettering on a black background on some of the tuner buttons is the only blot on the copybook, but its built to last.
The AVR-1803 represents a good balance between replaying music and movies, although it doesnt have the cinematic sparkle of the Yamaha or musical mastery of the Marantz in this Mega Test. It excels at low levels, where it sounds warm and fills the room with well sized, quiet images. Turn up the wick to average listener levels and the same characteristics hold true. However, big rooms, inefficient speakers and people who like to play sounds at party volume may find the Denon gets hard in the treble, while the bass becomes thick and stodgy.
Ultimately, the balance of good musical and quality cinematic performance wins out. Its a clean and detailed sound, locked tight to the loudspeakers, but its articulate with it. When playing Enemy at the Gates, the dialogue is extremely precise, with Jude Laws slightly too polished common man accent and Bob Hoskins slowly Americanising patter clearly defined. The underground scenes are also extremely claustrophobic, the amp creating a really dark oppressive atmosphere.
While the soundstage is good in cityscapes, its only on the large-scale vistas - like the hunting scenes in Gosford Park or the final rail-yard scene in Enemy at the Gates - that the Denon closes its ranks and sounds less expansive than the film requires.
On music, too, it gives an exemplary performance. It presents a clean, detailed and musical soundstage with most CDs, although something with a big bass rhythm can become boomy. It sounds delicate and airy on the solo piano of Bach Partitas, but is quickly overawed by the bass of Gorillaz vs Spacemonkeyz. As with the cinema sound, played at low to mid volumes, music is lithe and natural; only when you play it loud do the limits show.
This Denon is an extremely strong package, especially if you dont plan to raise the roof with non-stop cinema parties at full tilt. In the real world, the Denon AVR-1803 is an ideal compromise for those after music and movies without favouring one side.
6.1 channel AV receiver, 80Watts per channel, additional speaker terminals to provide for 7.1 channel surround systems, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro-Logic II and DTS ES, sophisticated 32-bit Digital Signal Processor plus 96kHz 24-bit audio D/A converters, component video inputs and outputs, designed to retain optimum DVD picture performance
The Denon AVR-1803 6.1 channel receiver is great with both music and movies, but could do with a little more fire in its belly
This article first appeared in Home Entertainment Issue 114 - March 2003
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