What speakers to buy for Denon AVR 3808 receiver ?

like many, you have the situation backwards as the speakers are the most important part. As a Denon user, I have no argument with your choice.

The Feb 2008 free online issue of Playback, incorporating The Perfect Vision, has a good article of proven, quality choices for bookshelf speakers under $1000. The fine brands presented offer many, somewhat more upscale choices. http://magazine.playbackmag.net/playback/200802/?u1=texterity

The Absolute Sound, October 2007 issue#175 has their annual Editor's Choice Awards. Check it out, too. Obviously, the new annual issue is due soon.

I have a long held belief that you must commit seriously enough to get out & audition the possibilities yourself. If living in the boondocks, planning some weekend trip to a sizable city for access to hearing them is necessary.

Then there are some makers that sell internet direct bather than through dealers. They do have substantial customer support but involve the advantage (to them) that once they get their brand in your home, you will be somewhat hesitant to go to the trouble of repacking & shipping them back. They love getting their foot in your door.

C/Net has reviewed a couple of brands of internet direct speakers & rate them highly. Actually, if you approach the local premium dealer sincerely, they will probably do as mine will, letting you take them home for a week or so. Maybe they will require a credit card number for their safety. The point is, contrary to the typical way big stores like BB & CC operate, some good customer service still exists.

Back to the direct seller possibilities, if you promise yourself you will be disciplined, you could try them. In addition to the fact C/NET reviews some highly, our ambitious member, jostenmeat, claims to have found the performance & value leader of all. A direct maker/seller from California, Ascend, he claims can't be beaten for performance & value. I have not heard the Ascend although I wish I would have the chance to.

I've given sources for a good start. Go absorb them then post back for more specific or personal recommendations by several posters here.

Just for the mains? Im curious for future reference, whats the volume of your room, and is it open?

Off the tip of my tongue, Id be interested in Salk Song Towers for internet, and Dynaudio Focus for B/M brand. However, I've seen Contour line sell for within your budget, even if they rarely drop that low, on the classifieds. Contours are some of my fav speakers Ive ever heard in a store.

However, there are just too many good choices here. Id be curious about PSB Synchrony, but could bust budget a tad, depending on how much you can talk dealer down. They are lifestyle types. Hmm...

oh possible issue. The PSBs above, and possibly the Dyns too, do like more power. Probably too much load for a 3808. PSb for example has 4 ohm nom and min, and Dyns have mega beefy voice coils.

Um... Yea if bookshelves, Ascend Sierra-1s are top of my list. With money in pocket.

Paradigm, maybe you can swing the Sigs. However, there was a recent blind shootout, with Paradigm dealers involved as well, and they actually chose PSB over their own product.

Also, they are arguably ugly, but Id like to hear some vandersteen someday.

Oh yeah, yet another ID brand that gets a lot of praise is the lineup from AV123. They are said to be rather particular in their sonic signature, but people love em.

Remember, if willing to go used, you can usually afford the next model up. Cheers.

I better get out there and listen. would you go for bookshelf speakers and add a subwoofer for the base ?
I am actually going to by the entire system after a recent move to Brazil and is considering a Denon DVD player and a Technics turntable. Is it worth goinh for the Denon 2930 to get the Denon link functionality or would the 1940 work just fine ? In other words, is the Denon link value/money or just hype ?
Regarding the discussion about internet dealers and shops I can get 20% lower price on the net. I can go and do my research in shops and see if I can negotiate a good price by referring to the net prices.
Just out of curiousity, what do you guys have at home ?
Thanks for the advice.
Mikeltxu

There is waaaaay too much info you are not sharing. I could ask you many more questions, but heck you didn't even answer my first two.

Just MY OPINION: I think spending anything substantial on a DVD player is silly. Except in the case that you have a TON of DVDs, and want the best PQ possible, then Id get the best player OR receiver with good VP.

A PS3 is a very decent upscaler. But even a well converted pic does not even compare, in the slightest, to a decent Bluray. Good bluray players are being had for $270 now. There is no comparison.

If you watch a lot of TV, and want to spend decent coin on VP, Id opt for the receiver to do it. After all, a DVD player won't scale TV signals. If you are REALLY serious, then get outboard VP, anything from EDGE to Lumagen.

So, that's my opinion on spending on a DVD player. Denon Link? Well, I dont care, that's for damn sure. My radio freq remote is $73 shipped. That includes the blaster.

I can't answer the bookshelf / sub thing. Movies or music? I guess if I had enough money, and music was a primary concern, and the room was not small, and HT was important too, Id go towers.

Sub is an absolute essential, IMO, for HT. Music only, you don't need it IMO. Depending. You still can get LFE from mains w/o sub, but the signal is greatly attenuated first of all, and most mains have a hard time w/ midbass let alone high energy levels of low bass.

It would take too long to type out model #s of what I own to you, but brands include Martin Logan, PSB, Cambridge Audio, Jolida, NAD, Onkyo, JL Audio, JVC, Panasonic, Toshiba, Belkin, Monster, Monoprice, URC, Studio Tech, DaLite, GIK, Real Traps, and more.

You have a big enough budget to get a full 5.1 setup.
Sound from speakers is a personal thing, my short list JBL, Harmon Kardon, Klisph, Boston Acoustics, Polk Audio, Cerwin Vega, Advent, ETC.
They are so many very good speakers on the market. Take some of you favorite CDs and spend a few hours just listing to speakers. Don't rush out and by the first set you hear, good speakers can last a life time. My JBL speakers are over 40 years old and still sound great. The Speakers are the MOST important part of the sound system the Receiver is the second. John

thank you guys for the input, I can see you are a lot more into this stuff than I am.
The conclusion of your posts is that I need to find some dealers, where I can listen to the speakers "in action" and maybe ask to have the favourite candidates at home for a week.
Thanks again.