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Strengths: Fabulous sound reproduction, surpasses THX standards without having to pay extra for the THX brand.
Solid construction. Intuitive controls on the deck.
Weaknesses: Remote is a bit confusing. Helps to have a little bit of experience to set up and calibrate the system out of the box, but not necessary (if you can read and follow directions, you will be ok).
Summary: I currently have it set up in the 5 speaker configuration, 2 front, 2 back, center and sub. Running it into all Velodyne speakers, including sub. Additionally, I run the 2 front speakers thru a Harmon Kardon 2 channel amp (200w/ch). Honestly, the latter is an overkill. I found the amp on clearance for $90 and justified its purchase by hooking it up to the theater config! The 110W per ch can handle the most demanding movies with no problems. I am currently upgrading to an HDTV (Sony KDS 50XBR-SXRD) with an HD DVD (Samsung HD960) with HDMI outputs and briefly considered upgrading to the 3806, but besides the auto calibration and the ability to run HDMI thru the reciever, (nice conveniences) I could not justify dropping the extra $1000. The 3803 has the optical inputs to support HD audio and I will run the HDMI directly to the TV. So 3 yrs on, the 3803 remains relevant to the current technological improvements in the home theater market. Thats what you get with Denon. Its worth the small premium you pay over competitors ... more on that below. I did a lot of research on Home Theater surround sound processors when I went out to buy in 2003. And to give you background, I am a stereophile of sorts. In the 2 channel world, I own or have owned Macintosh, Conrad Johnson, Rega, McCormack, etc components. I believe that engineering trumps looks always and that most people don't realize that with a little research one can get the same (or very close - tenths of % points) performance of $30,000 systems for a tenth of the cost. From that perspective Denon AVR series can hold its own with some (not all) of the best engineered systems out there and simply blows away most of the retail names (Harmon Kardon, Bose, Yamaha, Sony, Phillips, JVC, etc) it shares shelf space with at the local electronics store. My test DVD at the stereo store was "Out of Sight", (1998)with Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney, Directed by Steven Sodeberg. imdb.com/title/tt01207... The scene where Karen Sisco (Lopez) was held hostage in the trunk of the car by escaped inmate Jack Foley (Clooney) as the car speeds along the freeway. The background noises - squeaks, rattles of the car, the clicking of the wheels over ruts in the road and the muffled engine noise is a real workhorse for any sound processor. The 3803 reproduced the richest most realistic sound effects compared to the Harmon Kardon and Bose. The latter tended to sound "loud" and the expense of reproducing the mix of subleties. Hands down winner. I would highly reccomend taking this movie for any evaluations you may undertake before you buy a surround sound processor.
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