Many of us yearn to own a glistening flagship receiver: the prestige . . . the state-of-the-art performance . . . the vast array of features . . . the satisfaction of knowing that you own the very best. But flagships can be prohibitively expensive, as well as awkwardly large and extremely heavy. Ask any admiral. And then there’s the complexity issue. Some of these behemoths are so versatile and have so many connection and setup options that you almost need a professional installer just to open the box! Fortunately, you can get most of what a flagship receiver offers — and save a couple thousand bucks — by checking out receivers hovering just below the top of the line, receivers like Denon’s AVR-3805.

It has everything required in an up-to- date digital A/V receiver, including the latest 6.1/7.1-channel Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES decoding as well as Dolby Pro Logic IIx (DPL IIx) and DTS Neo:6 processing for multichannel playback of stereo program material or rechanneling four-channel Dolby Surround programs. Power amps are provided for the usual five main channels plus two back surround channels. And you get a nicely varied array of additional digital ambience modes as well as a virtual surround mode if you can’t fit or don’t want surround speakers in your listening room.

On the other hand, in case you want to install and switch between two pairs of surround speakers — one optimized for multichannel music (monopole speakers at ear level) and the other for movie soundtracks (high-mounted dipoles) — the AVR-3805 has Denon’s usual second set of surround speaker connectors and internal switching. Having two sets of surround outputs is such an excellent idea for playback of DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD, and even multichannel music video that it’s surprising more companies don’t offer this feature.

The AVR-3805 does have three other important features that seem to be catching on among the higher-end receivers. The first is Denon Link, a multichannel digital input for compatible DVD-Audio and SACD players. Unlike the FireWire (a.k.a. i.Link) digital connections offered on some other gear, Denon Link is a proprietary system using a back-panel RJ-45 connector, and at this writing only one Denon player (the DVD-5900) has a corresponding output.

When you use the Denon Link connection, DVD-Audio and SACD signals are sent from the player to the receiver in digital form. Besides simplifying the wiring (one cable instead of six from the player’s multichannel analog output), a digital hookup lets the receiver do the multichannel decoding as well as the bass management and speaker-distance compensation processing — which does not happen when you use the receiver’s multichannel analog input (the stereo analog inputs are processed correctly).

The second notable feature has more to do with convenience than performance. The AVR-3805 upconverts composite- and S-video signals to component video (interlaced only). You can hook your composite- and S-video components to the receiver while the receiver connects to the TV with component-video cables only, greatly simplifying the wiring. What’s more, the receiver’s component-video inputs are wideband, which means they’ll pass the progressive-scan output of a DVD player or high-def signals from an HDTV tuner.

Complete user-friendliness is the receiver’s third key feature, led by automatic setup, which is surely the greatest single contribution to A/V convenience since the infrared remote control. With a simple menu selection, the receiver balances the channel levels — something that usually requires a sound-level meter and is nearly impossible to get right when done only by ear. Yet achieving a proper balance is essential if you want to hear what a movie’s sound designer or a music recording’s artist and producer intended for you to hear.

Here’s how it works: You place a small microphone at ear level in the prime listening position and start the auto-setup process. Short bursts of calibrated noise are sent to each speaker output in rotation, and from what the mike picks up (or not) from each speaker, the AVR-3805 determines the size of the speakers you have hooked up (for bass-management purposes), whether they’re in phase, and how far each one is from the prime listening position. The system then calculates and adjusts the balances between the channels, including the subwoofer, using half-decibel steps, and compensates for speaker-distance variations in 1.2-inch increments.

The receiver will also automatically adjust an eight-band parametric equalizer applied to each main channel. You can choose between no equalization and three automatic-EQ settings. Auto-EQ sounds like almost as good an idea as the automatic speaker balancing, but in practice I found it a hit-or-miss proposition. Still, it doesn’t hurt to try it out. And Denon makes it easy to cycle though and compare the three EQ settings or to leave out the equalization altogether.

All in all, the auto setup was remarkably accurate and produced sonic results that were just as satisfying as I got using the old-fashioned sound-level meter setup technique, which is also possible with the AVR-3805. Calculated speaker distances to the mike were usually within a couple of inches of their tape-measure lengths (the biggest error I got was about a foot), and the speaker balances came out within a decibel of each other when I checked them with a sound-level meter.

The Denon receiver's ability to play loud without strain in multichannel mode was a boon to action-adventure movies like the remastered 6.1-channel DVD of Running Man.

In listening tests, the AVR-3805 performed with distinction. Even before I made any lab measurements, I could tell that the receiver had superior dynamic range just from its audibly superior background noise levels with so-called 20-bit music CDs and its ability to play very loud without strain in multichannel mode. These characteristics, especially the ability to play loud, were a boon to action-adventure movies like the remastered 6.1-channel DVD of Running Man. (How many other films can boast the future governor of Minnesota, the future governor of California, and Richard Dawson, the host of Family Feud, here in his greatest film role?)

PLUS Easy and accurate automatic setup. Good power reserves with very low noise levels. Denon Link digital multichannel input. Nifty, almost buttonless backlit remote control. Video-format conversion facilities. Excellent value. MINUS No bass managment for external multichannel input.

Even more spectacular was the extended and exhausting battle sequence from The Matrix Reloaded, which, though “only” a 5.1-channel DVD, sounded as good with the AVR-3805 as I remember it from an Imax screening of the movie. Multichannel imaging and ambience also came out just fine throughout the 6.1-channel Pirates of the Caribbean (whose packaging makes no mention of its 6.1-channel status). Try the gunshot fusillades during Johnny Depp’s escape on the pier (Chapter 3).

Denon’s AVR-3805 is that rarest of components: an A/V receiver that’s perfectly balanced between the conflicting demands of versatility and usability, between sheer audio performance and an affordable price. Using its ultra-cool, almost-buttonless, blue-backlit remote control (whose capabilities are conveniently duplicated on the front panel) together with its marvelous automatic-setup features, you can do a better job of setting up the AVR-3805 — and therefore achieve better sound quality — than is likely with many more powerful and costly receivers. Considering how comparatively difficult to set up and adjust some flagship models are, any pirate worth his eyepatch would steer directly toward the AVR-3805 instead, a not-so-hidden treasure.

PDF: In the Lab