Denon ADV-1000 DVD Surround Receiver

Advantages: Does exactly what it says on the box !
Disadvantages: So far, none ! Although even I find that difficult to believe

...I started off my surround sound adventure with an older Marantz, but the call of DVD Audio proved to be too strong once I had actually heard (and felt) it. I take great pride in my HC system, and it has taken several years to get it right. Some earlier components did not match sonically with others, and it took about 4 years of juggling to get the setup I now have. This currently comprises the following, and this is the system as reviewed : The Denon 1803 AV receiver Pioneer 656A DVD player Thompson 32" WS 100Hz TV Sony VHS recorder Sky TV Speakers : Fronts : Acoustic Energy Aegis EVO3's Rears : KEF Coda 7's Centre : Tannoy MXC Sub : Yamaha YST-SW320 All speaker cabling is bi-wired where possible, with as chunky a cable as my house furnishings will allow ! Interconnects are generally optical where possible, or QED... Read review

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Advantages: Great picture and sound quality, Good build quality, Champagne gold finish looks nice
Disadvantages: MP3 feature not as good as it should be, Not cheap

...Background Information I had been looking for a DVD player for quite a while, but I wanted the full DVD experience. Not just the great picture quality but the full Dolby 5.1 surround sound. I had also decided to replace my HI-FI system, I did not have the space for both so a Home Theatre System was the answer. Buying a home theatre system I started by looking in the major electrical stores, where I found some nice Sony and Panasonic systems. These systems sounded ok and the picture quality was good, but the small speakers struggled sometimes and the playback of CD's did not sound very good at all. I was going to need a Home Theatre System with a bit more power so I decided to spend a little more cash, after all a good HI-FI system would cost around £800. Next stop was a specialist Home Entertainment shop, the trouble... Read review

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Advantages: Perfect muscle amp, wide array of connections, ability to drive the most demanding speakers, remote control
Disadvantages: Price, weight, setup, THX Ultra 2 required to bring out the best

.... The film contains a very difficult sound track that includes explosions and bullets whizzing around. The Denon shrugs its shoulders and gets down to work, no problem, the effects are steered around the room as if you were in a sphere of sound. Musical reply is average, there are certain imaging problems, instruments are not placed as preciely as they should be at this money and the bass can sound over blown and flabby even in direct stereo mode. The receiver does have an excellent DAC, it uses the highly acclaimed AL-24 Bit decoding process, which i have to say is very impressive. Multi-channel music play back is wonderful, SACD and DVD-A is much better than CD reply, also the difference can be heard, a very rare occasion! This amp is a wonderful piece of home cinema kit, though to be used by an expert and a very wealthy one... Read review

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