Quality AV Receiver

T

tequilasunrise

Audiophyte
First: I'm new to the forum and not an AV pro (I am an educated technical professional, for what that's worth, however)

Several years ago I decided to build a quality (yet affordable) AV system at home. I know this isn't high end stuff (relatively speaking), but I purchased an Onkyo TX-SR607 receiver and Polk speakers (models irrelevant for the purposes of this post).

Last year, a set of component video inputs on the receiver died. I didn't lose much sleep over it, as they were rarely used and the receiver was already out of warranty anyway.

This year, my HDMI I/O starting getting flaky. It began with very intermittent video glitches, and just gradually got worse to the point this fall where the receiver was not usable to route video (audio was fine). After doing some research, it appears many people have had this problem.

I took the receiver to a local, Onkyo-certified repair facility. They want $326 for the repair, which includes replacement of the HDMI board. The repair shop says Onkyo supposedly improved the boards, but that the board still only carries a 3 month warranty from Onkyo.

So, I need to make a decision. Spend $326 to get it fixed (didn't cost much more than that BRAND NEW), with a risk that it will die again in a couple of years, or buy something else new and use the Onkyo as an audio receiver only.

But I'm hesitant to buy anything else new at this point. When I decided to buy the Onkyo, I thought they had a good reputation and reviews. I'm worried that if I change to another brand I may get similarly burned as soon as the warranty expires.

What happened to quality products?? Any suggestions (based on real, long term experience) on a quality, modern AV receiver that won't require a second mortgage on my house?

I welcome everyone's feedback. Thanks!
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
First: I'm new to the forum and not an AV pro (I am an educated technical professional, for what that's worth, however)

Several years ago I decided to build a quality (yet affordable) AV system at home. I know this isn't high end stuff (relatively speaking), but I purchased an Onkyo TX-SR607 receiver and Polk speakers (models irrelevant for the purposes of this post).

Last year, a set of component video inputs on the receiver died. I didn't lose much sleep over it, as they were rarely used and the receiver was already out of warranty anyway.

This year, my HDMI I/O starting getting flaky. It began with very intermittent video glitches, and just gradually got worse to the point this fall where the receiver was not usable to route video (audio was fine). After doing some research, it appears many people have had this problem.

I took the receiver to a local, Onkyo-certified repair facility. They want $326 for the repair, which includes replacement of the HDMI board. The repair shop says Onkyo supposedly improved the boards, but that the board still only carries a 3 month warranty from Onkyo.

So, I need to make a decision. Spend $326 to get it fixed (didn't cost much more than that BRAND NEW), with a risk that it will die again in a couple of years, or buy something else new and use the Onkyo as an audio receiver only.

But I'm hesitant to buy anything else new at this point. When I decided to buy the Onkyo, I thought they had a good reputation and reviews. I'm worried that if I change to another brand I may get similarly burned as soon as the warranty expires.

What happened to quality products?? Any suggestions (based on real, long term experience) on a quality, modern AV receiver that won't require a second mortgage on my house?

I welcome everyone's feedback. Thanks!
Older Onkyo's are known to eaht their HDMI boards due to lack of proper cooling of the unit as a whole. I don't know if the newer Onkyo's still exhibit this problem or not. If it were me and you still wanted to keep Auddessy, I would look at Denon or Marantz. If Auddesy doesn't matter, than look at Yamaha who uses YPAO as their room correction facility. Yamaha is tops in reliability and customer service.
 
S

sterling shoote

Audioholic Field Marshall
Consider a Sony ES receiver . None of my Sony ES components is less than a decade old and yet no issues other than the replacement of a single transister on my TA-E9000ES pre/pro, which was required last year.
 
H

hjustin

Audioholic
Consider a Sony ES receiver . None of my Sony ES components is less than a decade old and yet no issues other than the replacement of a single transister on my TA-E9000ES pre/pro, which was required last year.
Do the Sony ES receivers offer any kind of room correction?
 
H

hjustin

Audioholic
Yes, auto calibration on some models. Check out the STR-5800ES.
My budget is more in the STR-1800ES range ($699). I called a local Denon dealer last night and he was extolling the virtues of the 1800 but I'm reluctant to move away from Denon.
 
H

hjustin

Audioholic
First: I'm new to the forum and not an AV pro (I am an educated technical professional, for what that's worth, however)

Several years ago I decided to build a quality (yet affordable) AV system at home. I know this isn't high end stuff (relatively speaking), but I purchased an Onkyo TX-SR607 receiver and Polk speakers (models irrelevant for the purposes of this post).

Last year, a set of component video inputs on the receiver died. I didn't lose much sleep over it, as they were rarely used and the receiver was already out of warranty anyway.

This year, my HDMI I/O starting getting flaky. It began with very intermittent video glitches, and just gradually got worse to the point this fall where the receiver was not usable to route video (audio was fine). After doing some research, it appears many people have had this problem.

I took the receiver to a local, Onkyo-certified repair facility. They want $326 for the repair, which includes replacement of the HDMI board. The repair shop says Onkyo supposedly improved the boards, but that the board still only carries a 3 month warranty from Onkyo.

So, I need to make a decision. Spend $326 to get it fixed (didn't cost much more than that BRAND NEW), with a risk that it will die again in a couple of years, or buy something else new and use the Onkyo as an audio receiver only.

But I'm hesitant to buy anything else new at this point. When I decided to buy the Onkyo, I thought they had a good reputation and reviews. I'm worried that if I change to another brand I may get similarly burned as soon as the warranty expires.

What happened to quality products?? Any suggestions (based on real, long term experience) on a quality, modern AV receiver that won't require a second mortgage on my house?

I welcome everyone's feedback. Thanks!
Electronics fail...no one can guarantee otherwise.

My first ever receiver back in the late 90s was an Onkyo refurb that I bought from OneCall. It failed after about 2 years. I moved onto a Sony that also failed. Next purchase was a used Denon AVR-3300. That one lasted for years until it finally failed in April 2011. I replaced that with a Denon AVR-591 (aka 1611) that I am still using. No issues whatsoever.

In fact, I'm selling the 591 to a buddy on Saturday putting that money towards a new receiver. I've spent hours browsing forums and reading reviews. I'm might try another Onkyo but trends would indicate that recent model years have experienced quality issues. I've ruled out most other brands because I am very pleased with Audyssey. Are Yamaha and Pioneer's room correction better? No idea and I don't have the desire to buy those products and test them in my home.

So I'm sticking with Denon. Their quality is as good as can be reasonably expected. They offer a lot of bang for the buck and have the features that I find desirable.

Good luck in your search!
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
Electronics fail...no one can guarantee otherwise.

My first ever receiver back in the late 90s was an Onkyo refurb that I bought from OneCall. It failed after about 2 years. I moved onto a Sony that also failed. Next purchase was a used Denon AVR-3300. That one lasted for years until it finally failed in April 2011. I replaced that with a Denon AVR-591 (aka 1611) that I am still using. No issues whatsoever.

In fact, I'm selling the 591 to a buddy on Saturday putting that money towards a new receiver. I've spent hours browsing forums and reading reviews. I'm might try another Onkyo but trends would indicate that recent model years have experienced quality issues. I've ruled out most other brands because I am very pleased with Audyssey. Are Yamaha and Pioneer's room correction better? No idea and I don't have the desire to buy those products and test them in my home.

So I'm sticking with Denon. Their quality is as good as can be reasonably expected. They offer a lot of bang for the buck and have the features that I find desirable.

Good luck in your search!
Apparently you can now get a 1912 fully network and Airplay capable, for $330, I pay over $400 and thought itr was the best deal out there at the time. Or if you want to future (obviously no such thing) proof, try and stretch your budget to grab a 4311 before they disappear.
 
H

hjustin

Audioholic
Apparently you can now get a 1912 fully network and Airplay capable, for $330, I pay over $400 and thought itr was the best deal out there at the time. Or if you want to future (obviously no such thing) proof, try and stretch your budget to grab a 4311 before they disappear.
I'm may end up with a $300 2112. Will know on Saturday. Otherwise I'm looking at the 1713. I'm curious to see if MultEQ XT is (for real) noticeably better than the MultEQ I have now.

And by the way, Tequila, I would put that $326 towards a new product before repairs.
 
Hi Ho

Hi Ho

Audioholic Samurai
I am an installer and the company I work for also services all types of electronics. The least troublesome product? Yamaha, hands down. Denon, Onkyo, Sony, and especially Harmon/Kardon are all more problematic with Onkyo and Harmon/Kardon being the worst. Sony makes mediocre audio equipment overall.

There's a reason I own a Yamaha and that 90% of our installations include Yamaha receivers. That's not to say that there aren't other good products out there but we don't like wasting our time and losing money on unreliable products and we go for what we find to be the most trouble free.

Denon isn't too bad in the reliability department but I've seen a higher percentage of failures than I'm comfortable with to recommend and I don't think their current line is the same quality as the units they were producing a couple years ago.
 
H

hjustin

Audioholic
I am an installer and the company I work for also services all types of electronics. The least troublesome product? Yamaha, hands down. Denon, Onkyo, Sony, and especially Harmon/Kardon are all more problematic with Onkyo and Harmon/Kardon being the worst. Sony makes mediocre audio equipment overall.

There's a reason I own a Yamaha and that 90% of our installations include Yamaha receivers. That's not to say that there aren't other good products out there but we don't like wasting our time and losing money on unreliable products and we go for what we find to be the most trouble free.

Denon isn't too bad in the reliability department but I've seen a higher percentage of failures than I'm comfortable with to recommend and I don't think their current line is the same quality as the units they were producing a couple years ago.
Where does Marantz fall on the quality spectrum, in your experience?

The consensus on many AV forums seems to indicate that Audyssey-based products offer the best room correction among affordable receivers. Which means you're buying a Denon, Onkyo, or Marantz. Onkyo seems to have quality issues. So that leaves the other two.
 
Hi Ho

Hi Ho

Audioholic Samurai
I don't have much experience with Marantz so I cannot really comment. If you want Audessy I would go for the Denon. Whether Audessy will make a big difference or not I have no idea. I've seen it give great results and terrible results. The lower end Audessy isn't really much different than the lower end YPAO setup that Yamaha uses. The higher end Audessy stuff is where they get their reputation from.
 
S

sterling shoote

Audioholic Field Marshall
I am an installer and the company I work for also services all types of electronics. The least troublesome product? Yamaha, hands down. Denon, Onkyo, Sony, and especially Harmon/Kardon are all more problematic with Onkyo and Harmon/Kardon being the worst. Sony makes mediocre audio equipment overall.

There's a reason I own a Yamaha and that 90% of our installations include Yamaha receivers. That's not to say that there aren't other good products out there but we don't like wasting our time and losing money on unreliable products and we go for what we find to be the most trouble free.

Denon isn't too bad in the reliability department but I've seen a higher percentage of failures than I'm comfortable with to recommend and I don't think their current line is the same quality as the units they were producing a couple years ago.
What makes you say Sony makes mediocre audio equipment overall? Their ES line, by most all accounts I've seen, as well as my experience with the concept, has never, in its 30 years of manufacture, deserved such a disparaging word. I understand why you would want trouble free, it's obviously good for the sort of work you're in; but, seems Sony has a relationship with installers which precludes the sort of disasters you are alluding to.

One more thing, when you base a comment on a brand appearing to show up for service more than others you must keep in mind the quanity of product sold. If Sony makes a million of something and there's a .1 percent need for service over the life of the product you'd see more of these units in your shop than from a brand producing one hundred thousand of something with a 2 percent need for service.
 
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P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
I think people are going to have their own experience with certain brands and products no matter what. Having said that, I seem to have seen quite a bit of reported heat related issues with Onkyo in the past. As for Sony, lots of negative comments on a couple of forums in NA but don't seem to be out of proportioned reliability issues; and I have the impression that they are more welcome outside of NA. I never had any trouble with my Sony receivers over the years. No trouble with those I know own by friends and relatives, entry level ones included. I would just go with whatever features are important to the OP, price, looks etc., and don't give up on something that may suit his need but just because it is a Sony product.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
I don't have much experience with Marantz so I cannot really comment. If you want Audessy I would go for the Denon. Whether Audessy will make a big difference or not I have no idea. I've seen it give great results and terrible results. The lower end Audessy isn't really much different than the lower end YPAO setup that Yamaha uses. The higher end Audessy stuff is where they get their reputation from.
My older RXV-1800 sports :p the early YPAO and for my listening position, worls exteremely well. Their newer stuff is far better offering multipoint eq.

There are a few members in here that even turn off the room correction facility saying they don't like it. It all depends on the listener. :)
 
gmichael

gmichael

Audioholic Spartan
If you want a receiver that is going to last and have the fewest problems, then Yamaha is the way to go. The audio is right up there with the others as well. The auto room correction does a great job.
Check with Newegg for sales. I picked up the RX-A3000 for much less than list price just one year after it came out. Something like the RX-V573 should be far more than you need.
 
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