805 can only upscale to 1080i and it will let 1080p signal pass through.

as for 806, yes, it can upscale to 1080p...

I was so tempted on the Onkyo 805 due to the components used and also the weight..it's twice of denon 2309!...wow...
I tested denon 1st with Incredible hulk at chapter 18. Well, I must admit that denon has much more dynamics and it definitely has more refine sound.
I then switched to Onkyo 805 and sad to say that the sound was a bit too tight, maybe it's new out of the box and yet to be run in. The sound was rougher compared to denon. What I meant with rough is onkyo would throw all the impact to you without having to separate the depth of the sound..
so overall, i'm more satisfy with denon. I believe onkyo would hv more slam but i must say the dynamic in denon has put itself into a better position to let us feel the impact immediately...

Where did you audition? Some shops favor for certain brands, it could be that the Denon has been tuned and calibrated to the room, while the Onkyo hasn't. I'm not saying Denon is not good, it's just the Onkyo wasn't fully prepped for the room.
I wasn't satisfied with my 875 first, but after auto-calibration, it gets better. And then I went further by settting my own EQ, it's the best thing I've ever heard. For the record, I've own a Yamaha 1800 before.

I auditioned it in CMY damansara. I must say the 805 that I have tested has not been run in and yet to be fine tuned for the room. That probably is the main reason I got rough sound.
However, I must admit that Denon is probably has more refine sound and it's more of a all rounder but Onkyo is warmer and tuned to become a "Home Theater Receiver".

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Added on December 22, 2008, 10:29 am
I have not tried marantz as it is not available for testing...
So are you satisfied with your 805?

Hi guys what do you think of denon 1509 & 1909?
i like 1909 a lot but i can only afford 1509.
do you think i should just end up with 1509?
Thank you..

I have browsed throught the threads and sadly found NONE.....

Shall we open a new Denon AVR thread for all the owners please.....@_@

There seems to be tonnes of posts in AVForums about Denon AVR. Sounds like a hot item in UK.

those 4308, 3808, 2808, 2309....it's all mid-level to the US/UK customer....their prices there are so competitive with the Yamaha prices unlike here....Yamaha seem like proton to everyone and Denon is the Benz and Onkyo is the Jap made....

I heard there are a few versions for 2309 not sure how true it is. Some with pre-out (made in japan) and some without (made in china)..
u got quoted near to 3k for 2309? where did u get quoted? I got 3.4k..and that's quite a good price already (with installation)..

I dont know why UK buyers rate Denon AVR highly. Maybe it has good reputation and its all round strength and excellent sound separation has made it even more demanding.

Well, maybe the problem here is its over-priced tag that refrain potential buyers to even consider it. I think 2309 & above model are all made in Japan compare to 1909, made in China. Have anyone owned a 1909 Denon avr? I thought it is a very respectable amp. As in M'sia, there is only one model of 2309 as far as I know.

ohh...i didnt realize the black colour amp is "water stock"..but as far as I know, you can get the black colour amp from legitimate dealer who gets their stocks from wo kee hong (sole distributor)...

I have very much decided to go for denon mainly because denon has better clarity, sound separation and dynamic. I couldn't get these quality from 805 which i doubt it's mainly because it's a new amp when i tested it and it has yet to be properly tuned.
Furthermore, I believe these 2 receivers are having different characteristic with onkyo having warmer sound and better slam while denon has better clarity, dynamic and refinement. Eventually, it's very much boils down to what I want.
From the comparison that I have done on sunday, denon is a clear winner for what I am looking for although let go 805 would be quite a waste if judging both receivers from spec...

Hi mpyw,

Thank you so much...yes, i do read chinese..It helps heaps...Do you mind to post the review for denon 3808 as well? Just to make a direct comparison between onkyo and denon..

btw, merry christmas to everyone

The 'Full Band' setting on your Onkyo is the equivalent of the 'Large' speaker setting on other receivers. What this means is that you are telling your Onkyo AV Receiver that your speakers are capable of reproducing the full range of frequencies, including the lower bass frequencies / LFEs. When set to Full Band, your AVR will play the low frequencies through your main speakers and (depending on your other bass management settings in your AVR and subwoofer, e.g., Double Bass setting in your AVR and subwoofer crossover level in your subwoofer), also through your subwoofer. Most people recommend setting your main speakers (fronts, center and surrounds) to 'Small' or, in the case of the Onkyo, changing the Speaker Config setting to a specific crossover frequency other than "Full Band" - most people set it to 80Hz THX as a starting point (even if your main speakers specifications i.e., frequency response range says they can handle frequencies below 80Hz). This will ensure that the bass frequencies below the crossover level get sent to your subwoofer (which is best equipped to handle them) leaving your main speakers free to deal with the higher frequencies above the crossover point.
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Do you mean the dialogue coming from the center channel is too soft and cannot be heard clearly? Or the audio from the fronts (left and right)? Are the ambient sounds from the surrounds fine? How does the bass from the subwoofer sound? How many positions did you measure using Audyssey? The more positions you use, the more information Audyssey has to work its magic. i typically use all 8 positions available.

From my own experience, Audyssey didn't significantly alter the loudness of the audio coming from my speakers but greatly improved the focus and soundstage. Before Audyssey my jazz and classical pieces sounded 'boomy' and the vocals and individual instruments were less 'defined'. After Audyssey, the individual vocals and instruments seemed tighter / more defined and you could identify their respective positions in the soundstage better. On some CDs, the soundstage also felt wider, more expansive. The only downside for me was that Audyssey seemed to set the bass too low/soft. I used to push the bass levels up by adding +3dB to +5dB from whatever level Audyssey set for my subwoofer (which worked great for movies but less so for music).

When you say dialog from the concert, do you mean concert _DVDs_? Or do you mean _CDs_? If DVD, do you select the same audio track as movies. i.e., Dolby/DTS or do you watch in Stereo/2-channel audio mode? If the dialog/vocals sound fine when in stereo / 2-channel (or even 2.1 channel) mode but sounds soft when listening in one of the 5.1 listening modes (DD/DTS/THX) then you may have to consider the possibility that your center channel speaker is defective (blown tweeter perhaps?).

You can always test to see if Audyssey EQ is the cause of the softer audio - just select the Direct listening mode in your Onkyo (which turns Audyssey EQ off) or better yet, go into your Onkyo's setup, under Speaker Settings - Equalizer (or something like that - am posting this from my office so can't go and check the exact name of the setting) and instead of 'Audyssey' change the equalizer setting to 'None'. Now, play the same DVDs using the same audio tracks as before and see if there is a difference. If yes, then Audyssey is probably the culprit. You might want to try calibrating for all 8 positions using Audyssey (see this link for a good Audyssey setup guide).

Hope this helps.

If however you don't hv a SPL meter, then try playing a music track that has good sustained bass (e.g., a jazz piece with a repeating double-bass riff going in the background - Diana Krall's S'Wonderful comes to mind but there are many others). The idea is to adjust (lower?) your sub's volume control until the bass sounds natural and blends or matches well with the rest of the music/instruments (you'll know if it's set too high because the bass notes will sound unnaturally 'boomy' and tend to overpower the other mid to higher frequencies coming from the vocals and other instruments).

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Added on December 30, 2008, 7:40 pm

After running Audyssey calibration, you should never adjust the sub level using the sub's volume control. Audyssey will keep track of changes made using the 805's levels and adjust its EQ to compensate so that the calibrated EQ settings aren't affected but if you change the level through the sub's volume knob Audyssey will have no knowledge of this and it will probably screw up your carefully calibrated EQ.

I got mine many years ago, brand is Extech but I forget the model no. I think it is something like 307737 (Extech has a range of different SPL meters available). Got it in KL from a shop called Vanguard Electronics S/B - Tel: 03-20788213, website: Vanguard Electronics. Can't remember the price i paid back then, though. Most people in the forums use the Radio Shack SPL (either the analog or digital model). I don't know where in KL you can get these though. Maybe someone in these forums can help. The advantage to getting the Radio Shack model is that it is the de facto popular model and there are readily available SPL compensation charts available on the 'Net to account for its know inaccuracies (esp. at the lower frequencies which you will be using to measure your subwoofer's response). I haven't been able to find similar charts for my Extech SPL.

Don't quite understand what you meant to say by that? The distances Audyssey gives for each speaker is the distance from the first measurement position to the respective speaker, so that if the distance it sets for the Front Left speaker is 11 feet it means that it has determined that the distance from that speaker to the first position where you placed your Audyssey calibration mic is 11 feet. Which is why you should always take your first measurement from your primary listening position. A -3.0dB for the front speakers should be fine. Audyssey sets my Fronts at -4.5dB (Left) and -5.5dB (Right).
Have you tried disabling Audyssey equalisation in the 805 Setup and seeing if this makes a difference to the volume levels? What were your Speaker Level Calibration settings in the 805 prior to running Audyssey? Does it make a difference if you restore the settings for the speakers back to the original dB levels?

You should place the calibration mic on a tripod or stand instead of resting it on top of the sofa back rest (read the Official Audyssey Thread for reasons why).

Depending on the source (DVD/BD and the particular movie) i normally watch at between -20dB to -13dB (as mentioned earlier, different movies hv different loudness levels). Also time of day 'cos i hv to watch at lower volume at night if i dont want trouble with my wife (and neighbours)!

SQ-wise, it should make absolutely NO difference whether the 606 or the 51FD does the decoding. Most ppl prefer to hv the AVR decode since then they get to see the HD audio format on the AVR's display instead of PCM.