the denon 5803 is almost twice the size of the sunfire ultimate receiver. the denon is a little more involving when setting up. i found the denon to sound a little more cleaner than the sunfire though. its really a matter of taste. they both sound nice. for 4 grand each, they both should sound good. i didnt like that i could plug any of my other components into the back of the sunfire.
Denon 5803 Vs Sunfire Ultimate Receiver
What are your opinions on the Denon 5803 and Sunfire Ultimate Receiver for a home theater setup? I would likely rarely listen to music, so concerns about music quality are secondary.
I listened to both at a local SoundTrack (part of Ultimate Electronics). Unfortunately the two receivers were in seperate rooms, so the difference may be more in the rooms and speaker arrangements than the receivers themselves. In those setups, however, the Sunfire receiver sounded a lot better (again it could have been room and speaker arrangement differences).
Also, it doesn't appear that the Sunfire is THX certified. I'm not sure if that really matters if it performs well.
I am also planning on upgrading my speakers. My current plan is to go with a full complement of Paradigm reference speakers.
I listened to both at a local SoundTrack (part of Ultimate Electronics). Unfortunately the two receivers were in seperate rooms, so the difference may be more in the rooms and speaker arrangements than the receivers themselves. In those setups, however, the Sunfire receiver sounded a lot better (again it could have been room and speaker arrangement differences).
Also, it doesn't appear that the Sunfire is THX certified. I'm not sure if that really matters if it performs well.
I am also planning on upgrading my speakers. My current plan is to go with a full complement of Paradigm reference speakers.
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