Denon AVR-2808CI A/V Multi Source/Zone 7.1 Receiver w/ All New Processing Built-In/2 v1.3a HDMI Inputs

The sound and video are great and it seems to be a pretty good value. This is of course the most important factor. Various audio sources can be enriched, and video upcoding even of standard DVDs very effectively provides a crisp, rich signal to my 1080i monitor.
However it seems the "operating system" was designed by Microsoft engineers. Unfortunately it is incredibly and unnecessarily complex. The documentation, although extensive, is disorganized and incomplete. It is necessary to jump back and forth through the manual to gather information. Countless technical terms are never defined or explained.

Pros: has all the current codecs and processing power that anyone could need. Also has great, clean power output. Finally, it has preamp outs for upgrading to a better amp.

Cons: only has two HDMI inputs (that's all I needed though, and the replacement model has 4), is pretty bulky, and draws a ton of power. All of these are expected though.

I purchased this receiver to replace an older AVR without the advanced connectivity and processing this unit features.
This a very full featured receiver. I selected it over a few competitors (Yamaha, Onkyo) in part based on the strength of its video processing which i have never found uselful on an AVR before. With this unit I can detect subtle improvements on analog video upconversion, less on non-HD digital (such as DVD).
The audio performance of this unit is also a step up from my old one, the EQ program works well. I am using a 5.1 setup and hope to use the extra channels for another zone or two of audio.
Set up of this unit is easier after learning to navigate the menus; there are a lot of customizable functions which is great but the learning curve is steeper than most AV products.
The remote is better than most but again a bit cumbersome to set up. The second zone remote is a nice bonus.
I could use one more HDMI input and an RDS display for analog FM radio, otherwise this does it all. Current pricing is excellent; the 09 model is hundreds more and does not offer many upgrades other than extra HDMI inputs.

The Denon AVR-2808CI has all the bells and whistles one could want or needed. It sounds great weather your using it for the tv surround or watching a movie. The manual is great at telling you what cables to use where and what kind you can use. But it is of no help when setting the unit up. The on screen menu is very cumbersome and not very well laid out. This reciever is deff. not a plug'n'play deal. It will take you a good 4-6hr's to set up depening on how much stuff your connecting to it, trust me I found out the hard way when I started at 8pm and didn't finish till well after midnight.

All in all this unit is far and away the best I have ever had as far as sound quality goes. Once set up its a breeze to use. If your looking in this price range This is one unit to deff. consider.

First, a little background (be patient!):

I spent a lot of time auditioning bookshelf speakers. My intention was to slowly build out a full surround system by starting with two solid front speakers for stereo listening. I wanted to make sure they sounded good for music, because I believe music is much more demanding on speakers than movies are. I ended up being very impressed by the Totem Rainmakers, although I really love the way B&W speakers look. I think Totem's outperform B&W at my price point. I decided I would get Totem Dreamcatchers for my rears and center since they sounded very good for their small size. I ended up getting the Dreamcatchers first because I got a good deal on them. I decided I would break them in first, then rotate them to the back and buy the Rainmakers when I was ready. That way, when I was all setup, everything would be broken in. Although I auditioned both Totems on a tube amp, I had read good things about the Denon's musicality and was sure it would do very well.

My sources into this are the digital out from a PC and the digital out of my LCD TV. I don't have digital/HD cable, I just decode the QAM signal coming through the cable for free in Manhattan, which has Dolby surround on nearly all digital channels (if the content supports it).

Now on to the receiver:

The receiver handles my 4ohm speakers very well, maybe because they're fairly efficient. It drives them at very loud levels (although they're not full broken in yet so I haven't pushed them) without getting too hot. I was originally thinking of getting the Onkyo 805, so heat was a concern for me. No problems here.

The Audyssey calibration at first sounded like it mellowed out my sound too much, but as the speakers have broken in I really prefer it. I should actually rerun it now that I'm half way through the break-in period to see what it finds.

The Denon has plenty of settings for simulating arenas, as well as PLII settings and neural and all of that. That's to be expected from a receiver at this level. I don't use them, because I like to hear the sound as it was recorded (or close to it). It also accepts plenty of digital encodings, in case I ever get that Bluray player. The receiver should last long enough that I'm sure I'll have a Bluray at some point. The issue that's a bit annoying (not a fault of the receiver) is that when I output digital audio from my TV, it is delayed a bit either by the TV or the receiver before it gets to the speakers. So the lips and speech are a bit off, but it's not terrible. Whenever I get around to actually subscribing to digital cable, then I'll be running HDMI into the receiver and out to the TV, so I'll be able to properly sync the audio to the video.

The remote is kinda stupid. I paid the extra money to get this over the 1908 (I believe that's the equivalent model) because I wanted the newer Denon look with the rounded front bezel, the new Denon font, and the remote (in my defense, I didn't pay much more for this). The remote is literally a thin electro-luminescent screen that sits above regular capacitance keys/buttons. It is NOT a touchscreen LCD. Given that, it does serve its purpose. I haven't programmed my TV into it, but I may at some point.

This Denon does have Night Mode, but all it does is very noticeably compress loud audio. I don't think it's as good as Dynamic EQ, but oh well.

The speakers sound brighter (not necessarily a good thing) and much more detailed (a great thing!) than I remember them being when I auditioned them. I listened to some jazz last night because I wanted to see how the system handled it. When I put in Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, I could hear the reed on the sax's, the brushes on the snares, and the cymbals sounded perfect. Everything was placed where it should have been, with a crispness that wasn't there when I heard it the tube amp at the stores. When I listened to softer acoustic music, vocals were very airy. The fiddle/violin on Nickel Creek albums sounded great, very lifelike with superb detail. I am harping on this detail thing because I really was impressed. However, I found that this detail came at a cost-- the highs seemed slightly harsh especially after prolonged listening at high levels. Maybe the Denon emphasized the high frequencies, maybe my speakers aren't full broken in, but I tend to blame the former for my issues. I tend not to like to fool with EQ too much, especially after Audyssey did its thing. The EQ might be able to solve this, but I might have to sacrifice some detail.

Overall, I really am happy with this receiver. It has all the features I need, although an extra HDMI and Dynamic EQ would have been nice. Then again, I'm currently not using ANY HDMI on this. The audio is very crisp and detailed, but may my speakers borderline harsh. That may be fixable with rerunning Audyssey or manually turning down the treble though, or may change as my speakers mellow. But for now, that's what I've noticed. If I remember, I'll try to update this review in a few months once everything has settled.