Denon AVR-3808CI or Onkyo TX-NR906?

[Sammy]

Well that's the question. They're both nice receivers, but how do they compare side by side in your opinion?

[sokrman14]

I have the denon, i obviously prefer this over the onkyo. There was a recent review done on Denon vs Onkyo, and the denon ousted the onkyo in terms of sound quality. I will browse for it and post it to you. It was for their lower end receivers, but it should still hold true for their higher end ones.

[sokrman14]

Denon receiver review

Although this is a lower end model, they said that the remote lacks, although the AVR3808 has a very nice remote, and that the plain On screen menu sucks, but once again the AVR3808 has an Graphical On Screen menu which I can vouch for is amazing. It is the easiest menu to navigate that I have ever used, and I have played with a lot of receivers, including onkyo.

[Sammy]

Yeah, I'm looking at the specs on them both and the Denon does look better for a receiver in the same price range...

[Squozen]

I've always really liked Denons and would have one now if the equivalent Yamaha hadn't been available for $500 less.

[Sammy]

At this point it's 90% Denon and 10% Onkyo.

[jeff92k7]

When I was looking to replace my HTIB a year or two ago, I did extensive research on receivers to find what would:

1. Sound the best and
2. Give a good balance of features while
3. Meeting the price range that my wife and I agreed upon.

I chose a Denon. It doesn't have every feature available (no HDMI and no TrueHD or DTS-HDMA) but it does sound fantastic.

I looked at all the major brands and read many, many user reviews and settled on the Denon brand, mainly because the Harmon Kardon that I wanted was out of our price range. Other brands (Onkyo, Yamaha) offered more features but didn't rate as high on sound quality, so I found the Denon to be a good balance.

[Sammy]

There's a lot more votes for the Denon, but with no explanation as to why you would vote that way. Anybody care to elaborate on the reason that you voted for the Denon or the Onkyo?

[blujacket]

Originally Posted by Sammy

There's a lot more votes for the Denon, but with no explanation as to why you would vote that way. Anybody care to elaborate on the reason that you voted for the Denon or the Onkyo?

Reliabilty would be the #1 reason.

[Robmx]

Originally Posted by blujacket

Reliabilty would be the #1 reason.

+1

I have had way too many bad experiences with Onkyo back in the 90's to give them another try... Once I switched back then to Yamaha I never looked back.

[wdhays]

Several of my other posts may give you some relevant information that you are looking for.

I will try to give a brief answer here. It really comes down to price/ performance, for me. I am currently waiting to receive my TX-SR876. I just returned the 806.

My attraction to Onkyo in either case is their BTL feature(bridging to 210 watts, each, for the fronts). Onkyo's website says the 806 has it, but it is an error, that they have yet to correct. The 876 does, in fact, have it. Denon doesn't offer anything like this, at any price.

Your Monitor 50's would deliver much more of their potential with 200+ watts driving them, as well.

The reason I didn't choose the 906 is that for $300.00 more, I didn't think 5 more watts and a 5 amp larger current supply was worth it. I have a HTPC for networking.

I was unimpressed with Onkyo, over the phone, dealing with the advertising issue.

The 806 did sound very good. I just wanted more power for my mains, without going to outboard amplifiers.

Depending on how the 876 turns out, Onkyo may or may not get my vote. Denon has never disappointed, they just didn't have what I was looking for in this case. Yamaha & Pioneer have some impressive units as well, but the good ones are out of my price range. Unfortunately, I have been unimpressed with their entry-level to mid-level.

At this point, if I am not satisfied, it will probably be separates for me. Emotiva is looking pretty good.