AVR Recomendations

[jremsen]

I am seeking advise on the best A/V receiver to buy for my needs and equipment - for example my new speaker set up tips state that Audyssey and similar speaker enhancers have to be disabled!
I recently purchased a pair of Golden Ears Triton 3 tower speakers for my
Home Theater / 2-Channel Stereo media room. These unique speakers have a rated sensitivity of 90 Dbl, an 800 watt amp and dual
sub woofers built into the towers and go as low as 21Hz so there is no need for a separate sub woofer.
I listen to my music (2 channel) through a new Harmon Kardon 85 watts per channel stereo receiver which gives me plenty of clean HiFi sound.
The H-K Stereo receiver replaced my old NAD 7240 Power Envelope Stereo receiver, which could not be repaired. I listen to my music via a Thorens
TD-318 manual belt driven turntable, a Rotel CD player and via an iPod.
I would like to upgrade from my current but old Denon AV-1082 HT/AVR for movies and as a backup to my stereo receiver so the new one has to have
a Phono input in addition to the ability to play from my Network and / or iPod.
I have done some research and know that Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha all make quality AV receivers and I have also seen an NAD AV receiver that I know
will have plenty of power and will provide quality sound but it lacks some of the new features of the other brands like the ability to run the system via an iPad or
phone app. I would say that my budget would be between $500.00 - $800.00 for this purchase.
I should also mention that I will be treating my basement media room ( 21' L X 11' W X 7' H) which is 3 walls and a floor of concrete with studio quality foam in all the corners,
additional acoustical panels as bass traps on the back wall and will also treat with acoustical foam for first reflections along the side walls. I will also use some diffusers in the room.
I hope that I have provided enough information for you to make informed recommendations and thank you for your time and attention to my request.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I am seeking advise on the best A/V receiver to buy for my needs and equipment - for example my new speaker set up tips state that Audyssey and similar speaker enhancers have to be disabled!
I recently purchased a pair of Golden Ears Triton 3 tower speakers for my
Home Theater / 2-Channel Stereo media room. These unique speakers have a rated sensitivity of 90 Dbl, an 800 watt amp and dual
sub woofers built into the towers.

I would personally set up your 2 towers as main L/R speakers + LFE and use Stereo 2.1 mode even though you have just 2 towers.

The AVR's front L & R speaker output goes to the regular speaker posts. Then output the AVR Subwoofer/LFE to the LFE inputs of the 2 towers as you would for 2 subwoofers. Set the built-in subs to 12 o'clock/50% position.

Then use Audyssey XT32 and turn on Dynamic EQ, but turn off Dynamic Volume.

Then go back and manually increase the subwoofer speaker channel level as desired. You can use an iPad Denon remote app to adjust the built-in subwoofer level up and down to suit your taste.

Oh, yeah, I would get the Denon X4000, which you can get from Amazon Warehouse for $676 delivered.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00CALM17C/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1416341829&sr=8-1&keywords=denon+x4000&condition=used

But I would call Electronics Expo and see if they would beat Amazon's price and sell you a brand new one for $676 shipped.

BTW, I've called Denon twice and they said that open box items through Amazon Warehouse direct (not 3rd party) gets full Denon warranty.

Anyway, that's what I would do.

 

[zieglj01]

Denon X4000 is brand new at Crutchfield - and free shipping
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_033AVX4000/Denon-AVR-X4000-IN-Command.html?tp=179&awkw=75621873025&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=47439274105&awdv=c

 

[GIEGAR]

Denon X4000 is brand new at Crutchfield - and free shipping
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_033AVX4000/Denon-AVR-X4000-IN-Command.html?tp=179&awkw=75621873025&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=47439274105&awdv=c

OP: Another vote for the Denon X4000. You could save another $100 (less shipping) by going factory refurbished, but at $800 shipped for new one it's already very good buying.

Importantly for you, it has a dedicated phono input (with built-in preamp stage), which the lower level Denon models don't have.

 

[jremsen]

It was also suggested to me that the Onkyo TX-NR828 would fit my needs and costs around $599.00 with similar specs. I have an older Denon and love it but have also heard good things about Onkyo AVRs - Thanks for responders.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It was also suggested to me that the Onkyo TX-NR828 would fit my needs and costs around $599.00 with similar specs. I have an older Denon and love it but have also heard good things about Onkyo AVRs - Thanks for responders.

A few of us have had some luck with Onkyo, but most of us would run in the opposite direction of Onkyo.

 

[GIEGAR]

It was also suggested to me that the Onkyo TX-NR828 would fit my needs and costs around $599.00 with similar specs. I have an older Denon and love it but have also heard good things about Onkyo AVRs - Thanks for responders.

Here's a direct comparison: Onkyo TX-NR828 vs Denon AVR-X4000.

I believe the primary determinate of overall audio quality in modern AVR's is the implementation of their auto setup and "room correction" routine. In this regard, the X4000 with the top-of-the-line Audyssey MultEQ XT32 (with SubEQ HT) is two tiers above and way ahead of the 828's standard MultEQ. This is the main reason why Denon has hit the sweet spot for many with the X4000. (http://www.audyssey.com/technologies/multeq/flavors)

Onkyo generally tends to pack more power and features into models at lower price points. Onkyo has had serious reliability issues in the past (HDMI board failures), however I believe they have begun to address this in more recent models. There are, naturally, still some residual concerns around reliability. (Disclosure: I own a 4 year old Onkyo.)

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

As much as I love my TX-SR805 (which has MultEQ XT btw, aka almost 8 year old model has better spec than it's modern equivalent )
I have to agree with the rest. Get a Denon and you wont regret.
Onkyo really dropped the ball on Audyssey - I assume license for MultEQ is cheaper than much better XT or XT32

 

[Mark of Cenla]

I like the sound of Yamaha AVR's. Peace and goodwill.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I like the sound of Yamaha AVR's. Peace and goodwill.

 

[jremsen]

Just wanted to report back that I am awaiting the delivery of my Golden Ears Triton 3 towers - to be shipped at the end of November. To AcuDefTechGuy and other responders thanks - I took your advice and was able to purchase a Denon AVR X-4000 via Amazon for the incredible price of $599.00. It was a like new / open box item from a high end audio store. It looks brand new and I have yet to test it but if all goes well this should be a great center of my H/T system. I will also try and set up the speakers as suggested utilizing Audyssey. I am also planning to add Belkin 5000 series speaker wires from BlueJeans Interconnects. Thanks again for the assistance and advice. Hope to be enjoying this system by the beginning of December.

 

[zieglj01]

Enjoy the adventure