Choosing the Right Receiver

[sjbrush]

A little background. A while back I had a buddy that was really into is home audio system. I told him I was thinking of getting a Bose system and he laughed me out of the room. Long story short he convinced me to buy Definitive Technology speakers. Here are the speakers I ended up with:

Supercube 1 - 1500w subwoofer
CLR 2002 - Center Channel
StudioMonitor 350's - Front Speakers
BP-1.2X's - Rear Surrounds

I picked up an Onkyo to power this system and the sound was good but it wasn't quite what I had imagined. My wife also commented that she heard a friends Bose system and it sounded a lot better. Frustrated and about to move to a new city I sold the Onkyo receiver thinking that was the root of my problems. Looking back it probably had a lot to do with my room setup as well. Now it's been three years and I haven't setup the system or replaced the receiver.

So here I am searching through the forums trying to get some insight on how to chose the right receiver for my system. I spent about $2k back in the day on those speakers and am looking for the right receiver to really blow away any Bose system. I'm just not really sure what specs I'm looking for and how much I should spend. I have no idea if I'll notice the difference between a $500 or $1k or $1.5k receiver. My searches so far have led me to the Denon's (x2300/x3300/x6200).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Cant’ tell from your post if you just recently acquired the Def Techs or were using them back when you had the Onkyo. But good sound is mainly about the speakers, so any receiver you buy will blow away the Bose system. Buy one based on the features you need or want.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[shadyJ]

The receiver won't make much of a difference. I think the Deftechs should be able to outperform the Bose system, but you need good speaker placement. Give the speakers a healthy stand-off distance from the walls. Have the speakers aimed at the listening position rather than straight ahead. Make sure the tweeters are at or near to ear height at listening position. Try to have the speakers form an equilateral triangle with the listening position and the left and right front speakers forming corners. This is a pretty good diagram:

 

[sjbrush]

Thank you for the feedback. That diagram really puts in perspective how poorly I had my speakers setup previously (a lot had to do with how the room was configured).

Based on what you said about the receiver do you think I would be fine with a AVR‑S920W (90 Watts) vs the AVR-X3300W (105 Watts)? Just not sure how much the power output will matter in my case.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thank you for the feedback. That diagram really puts in perspective how poorly I had my speakers setup previously (a lot had to do with how the room was configured).

Based on what you said about the receiver do you think I would be fine with a AVR‑S920W (90 Watts) vs the AVR-X3300W (105 Watts)? Just not sure how much the power output will matter in my case.

The additional 15W is relatively meaningless; to gain a mere 3dB in spl it takes a doubling of power, so you're talking less than 1dB difference. Choose a receiver based on features/connectivity you need.

 

[everettT]

Your fronts dip bellow 4ohms so if your listening levels are moderate at times you might want to consider avr that is rated for that. Also what crossover setting did you use with the onkyo? You probably want to try 100/110hz since your speakers tool off right around 80hz.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Thank you for the feedback. That diagram really puts in perspective how poorly I had my speakers setup previously (a lot had to do with how the room was configured).

Based on what you said about the receiver do you think I would be fine with a AVR‑S920W (90 Watts) vs the AVR-X3300W (105 Watts)? Just not sure how much the power output will matter in my case.

90 or 105 watts doesnt really make a difference. Get receiver from Denon, Marantz or Yamaha that has all the connections / features you need. I would look for receiver that has sub eq build in (Audyssey MultEQ XT32 for example) I think higher end Denon and Marantz models come with MultEQ XT32, not sure how it goes with Yamaha as they use Ypao.

edit: and like have been said, speaker positioning has really big impact on your sound experience.

 

[3db]

90 or 105 watts doesnt really make a difference. Get receiver from Denon, Marantz or Yamaha that has all the connections / features you need. I would look for receiver that has sub eq build in (Audyssey MultEQ XT32 for example) I think higher end Denon and Marantz models come with MultEQ XT32, not sure how it goes with Yamaha as they use Ypao.

edit: and like have been said, speaker positioning has really big impact on your sound experience.

YPAO also EQs subs.

 

[sjbrush]

Your fronts dip bellow 4ohms so if your listening levels are moderate at times you might want to consider avr that is rated for that. Also what crossover setting did you use with the onkyo? You probably want to try 100/110hz since your speakers tool off right around 80hz.

I'll have to start doing more research now that you point out ohms and crossover settings. I don't recall focusing on those aspects in the past. Most of the receivers I've been looking at only mention 8 ohms.

I did see the AVR-X6200W features high current transistors that are able to drive low impedance 4 ohm speakers. The biggest consideration here is that this AVR costs north of 2k. That's more than I had intended on spending (<=1k) but I might consider it if it would really make a difference in the sound quality.

Edit: The AVR-X3300W has both the Audyssey MultiEQ XT32 and says it can easily handle 4 ohm speakers. This unit is new from Denon and is 1k so it might be the right choice for my budget.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

YPAO also EQs subs.

Reason I said I'm not sure about it.
Is it so with all Ypao versions? Or is it like with Denon and Marantz that it is only included in higher end models?

 

[lovinthehd]

YPAO also EQs subs.

My understanding is the latest YPAO still only eq's down to 31Hz, altho the manual PEQ in the unit can do 16Hz....

 

[everettT]

SJ where are you located? Accessories 4 less has the Marantz 6010 for $799 refurbished fwiw.

 

[shadyJ]

Most of these receivers can handle 4 ohm speakers. But for those with less robust amplifiers that aren't explicitly spec'd for 4 ohms you may not want to crank the speakers loud for extended periods of time. I wouldn't worry about the impedance of the speakers vs the amp unless you are prone to very loud volumes.

 

[everettT]

Well the 45 degree phase angle doesn't help much. And the below 4ohm dip occurs below 200hz. Not saying anything other than if at moderate levels it may present a difficult load.

Note I'm not an EE, so someone with that background may chime in. I'm just good at following instructions, as my wife says

 

[lovinthehd]

Reason I said I'm not sure about it.
Is it so with all Ypao versions? Or is it like with Denon and Marantz that it is only included in higher end models?

All Audyssey with MultEQ, MultEQXT or MultEQXT32 will eq your sub, it was the 2EQ version that didn't....http://www.audyssey.com/technologies/multeq/flavors

 

[tyhjaarpa]

All Audyssey with MultEQ, MultEQXT or MultEQXT32 will eq your sub, it was the 2EQ version that didn't....http://www.audyssey.com/technologies/multeq/flavors

Hmm.. There was some differences in bass management then? As if I remember correctly XT32 was recommended when I was getting my receiver.

 

[lovinthehd]

Hmm.. There was some differences in bass management then? As if I remember correctly XT32 was recommended when I was getting my receiver.

As you move up the ladder so to speak, you get more sat/sub filters employed (look at the chart at the bottom of the page I linked earlier); for subs 128x for MultEQ and MultEQXT and 512x for XT32. I do think XT32 is significantly better than XT (I have avrs with both).

 

[sjbrush]

SJ where are you located? Accessories 4 less has the Marantz 6010 for $799 refurbished fwiw.

I'm currently in NC but moving to CA at the end of the month. Thanks for the heads up. It looks like that has everything I was looking for at a great price.