I am in the market for a home theater receiver (upgrading from an old Yamaha stereo receiver) and I have narrowed my search down to the 1050 and the Denon AVR-1803 I have a Toshiba DVD player, Toshiba 27" Cinema Series Television and Denon CD changer connecting to whatever receiver I choose. It will be driving my B&W DM100i speakers which will be eventually upgraded to 601 S3s. Slowly I will be adding additional speakers, but for now just 2 speakers.
My question is this, from reading the messages on the saloon I believe that the 1050 is an excellent receiver, but my concern is with future expansion. I'm concerned if later on I want to add DVD-A, SACD or whatever other new technology comes along I won't have room. The Denon has a lot more inputs than the Outlaw. Do I need all this extra expansion? I also wanted to know if any 1050 owners have heard the Denon and how does it compare to the 1050?
Let me know.

Thanks.

I haven't heard the 1803, so I don't know how the two compare. I was very pleased with the sound of the 1050 when I had one (upgraded to a 950 earlier this year). I suspect that some others around here may have already made the comparison between the two.

If your concerns are future expansion, both receivers offer certain limitations. The Outlaw has somewhat fewer inputs than the Denon (no component video switching, three S-Video inputs vs. the Denon's four, one less optical digital input). Both have a single 5.1 analog audio input for DVD-Audio or SACD. One thing that the 1050 has that the Denon lacks is pre-amp outputs. If you decide to add external amplification at some point down the road (which may or may not be in your upgrade plans), the Denon would not allow you to add an amp.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Also, here are a few other threads that might be of use to you:

New Denon 1803 vs Outlaw?
1050 consideration, what is the competition?
Outlaw 1050 or Onkyo SR-600 ???

Also, there is a comment in the last thread indicating that the 1803 does have pre-amp outputs. I revisited the Denon site (including a picture of the 1803's rear panel) and a glance at the manual). The 1803 has a "zone 2" function similar to the Outlaw 950 pre/pro, which has a two-channel pre-amp output that would allow you to connect a stereo amp driving speakers in another room and listen to different source in the other room. It does not appear to have full pre-amp outputs.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

If you can find them, I'ld also check out the Integra line from Onkyo. I'm using a DTR6.3, and to me the sound was far superior to the compairable Denon reciever.

Jason

OK, I must reply to this, last weekend I went looking at all the stereo shops in Atlanta that sells the Onkyo, Yahama, Denon, and Pioneer, what I found was lightweight, faint sounding componets with alot of plastic. So I ordered the 1050 the other day. I just was not impressed with all there functions, I want good clean sound. I am use to the Carver receivers, the sound is outstanding to me. I cant' afford the Sunfire so I chose to try the Outlaw, how can you go wrong if get 30 return policy.

Thanks to everyone for their replies; they have been very helpful. I am concerned about the lack of Dolby PLII but I also wish to run a pair of outdoor Infinity speakers from the unit as well. Any suggestions. My family room has sliding glass doors that lead out to our deck. I am currently running wire from outside into my current receiver I use the A/B switch to play either outside only or both in and out. Is there a way to achieve this with the 1050? I know Denon has something on the 1803 that lets you use the 6th channel for this type of setup.

The only way to run a "B" set of speakers with the 1050 is by getting an external speaker switch control. Or I believe you can use the 1050 as a pre-amp and connect an amp to the 1050 and hook the second set of speakers to that amp.

Larry

You can use the pre-amp outputs to feed a separate amp (or an old receiver acting as an amp) to achieve what you are looking for. The 1050's internal amps will still work, so you won't lose the main speakers. If you don't have the space to keep the old receiver around, the speaker switchbox that LarryTT suggests is a pretty good alternative.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

I have compared the Denon 1803 and the 1050 in the same room and the 1050 was the clear winner.The Denon 2802 was close and I would guess that the 3802 would be superior,however one was not available.The 1050 remote is far superior to any Denon remote!

I have used this speaker switch before:

http://www.monstercable.com/home_av/audio_cables/speaker_switchers.asp

sounds ok, with no problems

RE: "B" speakers. At Gonk's suggestion (see the thread, "One more time: 'B' speaker hookup (long)"), I am using my old 2 channel amp to drive 7 sets of extra speakers. This has worked great. Rather than using the switchbox from Monster (or Russound or Niles), I am using individual controls from Paradigm (which are a copy of the Niles switch) mounted in a single panel in my gear "closet." The individual switches are cheaper than the switchboxes, and the switchboxes are limited to 6 sets of speakers. If you are only using one or two extra sets of speakers, you don't need impedance-matching/protecting controls--wire into the A and B outputs on the extra amp you are using.

Just remember that Neo6 is an alternative DSP to Pro Logic II. While I'm not familiar with Neo6 I've read that each has is own strengths and weakness.

I too wanted AB ability as the Master bedroom is on the other side of the wall from my rack. I been haunting these pages for months already to buy a 1050 and use one of the alternate solutions. But, at the last moment I bought a Marantz SR7200(refurb). For me the price difference was covered by not needing a separate amp for a second zone.

Just like 1050 owners I was astounded by the sound difference from my previous receiver. Your present speakers are going to sound even better than they do now once you hook the 1050 up.

Now, that I've experienced the difference in sound. I've already got upgrade-itis. I don't think I can talk the wife into separates for a year or two so the 770/950 will have to remain a goal for me.

how about the new Marantz 4300 or 5300? anyone tried these receivers?

Why would you pay that much extra money for a Marantz, when the OUTLAW is the better deal!

Well, some folks have preferred the sound of Marantz receivers over the 1050 -- it's not a universal reaction (several have come to the opposite conclusion and gone with the 1050), and the Marantz's that have been preferred have been the more expensive receivers. It's the first I'd heard of the new Marantz receivers, though, so I don't know much about their features or performance...

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Doesn't the Mag Review of the 1050 found on the outlaw site reference sound stage vs the Denon 3802...other than the feature advantages of the 3802 the sound seems to be similar with the review giving a slight nod to the 3802 for depth.

I didn't think this was the kind of performance advantage I wanted for twice the price...but if if the component switching and other items are needed then the Denon is a better value.