Denon 5805CI A/V Receiver

August 2007 By Kim Wilson

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You’ve probably noticed that with the increased sophistication of home theaters purchasing an A/V Receiver has become a daunting process. There is just so much to consider. How much amplification is enough? Do I want a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system? Will there be enough digital video and audio inputs for future growth? Can I run separate zones for whole-house audio? Are all the latest technologies and features included or am I going to be hatin’ life next year when the new models roll out? Is there anything new on the horizon I should wait for?

If you’ve been putting off making a purchase and looking for the one product that has it all, assuming price is no object, it’s hard to image that any manufacturer will ever pack more into an A/V Receiver than Denon has in the THX® Ultra2 certified 5805CI. With enough amplification to run two separate 5.1 systems, all the latest surround formats, automatic setup and room EQ, HDMI switching from up to five sources, multi-zone A/V and networking capabilities this AVR redefines the term fully loaded.

Denon’s flagship 5805CI is an impressive piece of gear housed in the legendary high-gloss chassis that is distinctive of other Denon components. Even with all the controls and functions accessible via the front panel, the 5805CI has clean lines and an uncluttered appearance.. There are only a few controls that are always visible such as two knobs (volume and function select) and the Zone 2/3/4 selection buttons. Several LCD lights under the display panel indicate what functions are engaged and which input has been selected. Everything else is hidden under a panel.

Underneath the panel are three rows of small buttons and a circle of navigation controls. These functions are all duplicated on the supplied remote control making it possible to use either the front panel controls or the remote to make all adjustments. Also, there are jacks for connecting the microphones that are required for using the MultEQ XT and MultEQ XT Pro auto-set and room EQ plus a set of video (S-Video/composite) and audio (analog) inputs. While it’s easier to set up the 5805CI using the OSD (on-screen display), the front panel display offers a good deal of information. So, once you learn your menu selections its possible to make some quick adjustments using only this display.

The learning remote controller packaged with the Denon 5805CI is compatible with other Denon products. There are 36 pages of manufacturers preset codes in the owner’s manual to integrate the remote with non-Denon products, too. The remote offers both hard buttons for the most common functions such as power, volume, and menu navigation plus a pressure sensitive membrane for lesser-used functions.

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