I compared the Denon 3803 against the HK 525 and the matchup proved a mismatch. I found the 3803 a huge disappointment. The Denon felt cheap, looked like a early 90's receiver and had a dull - non-engauging sound. Plus, the remote was just horrible. The HK was more modern looking, had a ton of 2nd zone features, accurate amp ratings, solid construction and bass management for all inputs and surround formats. Another nice feature is the front panel inputs that can be converted to outputs for digital recording, etc. One negative I should mention is the limited # of digital inputs. It should be enough for most though.

I cannot speak for the others you mentioned, but do try to demo each even if you cannot compare directly against one another.