Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
I sampled the two not too long ago...other than the YPAO thing that's a dynamite feature, I noticed 2 things. 1st, the Denon's DSP's don't compete with Yamaha's, however that being said, most DSP's aren't to my liking anyway. I can't remember the exact ones, but there were 4 or 5 I thought I'd actually use with the Yammie, particularly for movie playback, the Denon's just sounded bad or weren't noticeable at all. I don't know if they weren't properly calibrated or what, but it left a bad impression.

2nd, for music playback, both were reasonably equal...in HT we shut the mains off, and I found the Yamaha to just sound better. There was only a 5 piece Energy speaker system hooked up in the room, and a switching board was used, but the difference in HT was noticeable out the centre, and 2 rears in LOTR (the demo DVD). We did our best to compensate for volume. Sounds were just a bit crisper and seemed more real, especially the swords clanging. This might be a preference thing and I realize is totally subjective, but alot of people I've spoken to since then have seconded my sentiments that the yammie was just a tad bit better when all channels were driven in HT.

That being said, if YPAO or DSP's aren't something you'd use or find much value in, the Denon 2803 is a very good receiver, and I'd put it toe-to-toe with any in this price range.
Marantz had a pretty decent receiver too (don't recall model #) that we placed in a distant third, definitely worth sampling if you come across them.

I don't think you can go wrong with either model, on account of features, reliability, and prices, I'd give the RX-V1400 the clear edge, and I intend to purchase one myself shortly.
Thank you very much for the helpp! Think im gonna get the yammie