What's the best $500 AV Receiver for 2014?

[3db]

I didn't know how to add a link to post#1 so I just posted this http://forums.audioholics.com/forum...-room-eq-systems-avp-avr-users-thread-13.html at the end of that thread. It is a decent FAQ sheet by Denon Australia and I thought it saves one time Googling randomly.

The article does talk about fuzzy logic and pattern recognition so I do thing steve is right in assuming it would "toss out" extremes, sort of, in a sense. It doesn't seem like they do averaging as they claimed others (some) do. The only averaging they mentioned was time averaging but that seemed to be done regardless of single or multiple positions. They are not going to get into too much details for understandable reasons but it you read all 7 pages you probably will have most of your questions answered. Whether you believe them or not is a different story but keep in mind at least they spent many years of research in a reputable university plus the fact that the founder is an EE with a Ph.D degree so advanced maths including Fourier analysis and various mathematical transforms vital to time and frequency domain analysis would not be a problem for their research team. We are both EE so I assume we can give them some credit for not ignoring physics and having developed this thing in a relatively academic environment.

Thanks Peng.. You and Steve did provide meaningful insight without resorting to slogs or outright dismissing or assuming other alternatives for my inquiry

 

[Pdaddy]

Fusion 8100?

Not sure if this model meets all the criteria but I recently bought the Emotiva Fusion 8100 for $499 (no tax and free shipping so truly less than $500) and have been very impressed.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The best AVR is whichever one that has the best features you like, the best sound you prefer, and the best price you are willing to buy.

 

[sledhead1]

I would have liked to see that Emotiva compared too.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I would have liked to see that Emotiva compared too.

I think all these $500 AVRs would sound about equivalent in Direct Mode (no EQ, DSP, Tones, etc.).

So probably the main differences would be the features you want and your subjective preferences of the different EQ & RC software.

 

[Acoustat]

If one does not experience a sweet spot in their setup,
does not play the Wizard of Oz role entertaining multiple seats
then you're missing a very enlightening experience albeit greedy
it is one to be experienced.

I find myself possibly in the market for an AV pre amp.
I"m also finding in the Denon and Emotiva pre amps, that I looked at
they offer quality balanced outputs over any correction program.
The 2 first pre amps I looked at last night are in the ~ $1000 range
and declare better sound and offer no Audyssey, which I was actually
looking for, for the HT end of things. (to have Audyysey)
So why is it, that these 2 upgraded pieces below have no costly amps
built in, yet still have dropped the Audyysey?

https://emotiva.com/products/pres-and-pros/xsp-1

Denon DN-500AV - AV Surround Preamplifier | Sweetwater.com

Now I find it to be interesting that distortion is specd out
on AVRs that incorporate Audyssey, without Audyssey engaged.
I drink pure water over pop most times, but there is that meal
that just screams carbonation or when pure doesn't cut it and I want
grape juice instead. Trust me, my morning coffee elixir is far from pure
but I want to know what's in it.

So I ran Audyssey on my 2 ch stereo just for giggles to see what it said about my
imperfect room acoustics. My R speaker is near a corner and just out from that corner
~5' is my fireplace that comes out from the wall maybe 4'
The L speaker is a couple feet from an 8' opening to our kitchen and then a corner.
Audyssey set my L speaker at +6db and the R at +4.5db based on 3 location tests
using Audyssey Platinum. I would like to repeat this test for a single sweet spot reading
just to see the compensation for room irregularities.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I find myself possibly in the market for an AV pre amp.
I"m also finding in the Denon and Emotiva pre amps, that I looked at
they offer quality balanced outputs over any correction program.
The 2 first pre amps I looked at last night are in the ~ $1000 range
and declare better sound and offer no Audyssey, which I was actually
looking for, for the HT end of things. (to have Audyysey)
So why is it, that these 2 upgraded pieces below have no costly amps
built in, yet still have dropped the Audyysey?

https://emotiva.com/products/pres-and-pros/xsp-1

Denon DN-500AV - AV Surround Preamplifier | Sweetwater.com

Room Correction software cost money.

For people who don't care for any of that or have something else that does the job just as well, then that Denon pre-pro seems like a great price.

As for me personally, there is no way I would give up Audyssey Dynamic EQ.

 

[Acoustat]

Room Correction software cost money.

For people who don't care for any of that or have something else that does the job just as well, then that Denon pre-pro seems like a great price.

As for me personally, there is no way I would give up Audyssey Dynamic EQ.

I'm just saying that dropping 7 amplifiers, and all that's involved in making them work
and warranty them, that the Audyssey should be available on these models, especially
if you're opting not to or cannot use the balanced outputs. I think they're fudging us out of that
on these models.

 

[yettitheman]

Hard choice between the five mentioned honestly. Of course, anyone who's been around me long enough will say that I voted for the Yamaha.
Wrong.
I had to go with the Sony. I think that people in the market today, wanting a $500 receiver, have certain expectations about integrated features and connectivity. For me, the newer options include wireless internet connectivity, apps, and Bluetooth. The fact that the Sony natively handles a majority of wireless connectivity options is a bonus, meaning the customer won't have to purchase the "accessories" later on down the road, potentially taking up more space, and placing other small strange boxes near the receiver.

Video connectivity is another big thing. Most people looking at these, are more than likely looking to connect at least a cable/satellite box, a Blu-Ray player, a gaming console, Roku or similar video streaming device (if their BDP doesn't have their streaming app on it), and the occasional computer or HD camcorder. That sounds like a reasonable list of connectable video options, and while the Sony does lack one less port than the others, it seems to make up for that shortcoming by having the best supported (at least on paper) HDMI specifications available, meaning that you should be slightly more future proof (but it seems like the technology for this changes fairly rapidly, and it could be completely out of date in six months, but that's just babble now). Still, knowing that you have the best compatibility from the get-go is a confidence builder. You have the ability to change parts of your home theater later on down the road without (hopefully) worrying too much about what new device you can connect. Mind you, it's all subject to change anymore, but for the now, it makes sense.

What baffles me is the lack of component on this particular unit, and then decided composite is good enough for you. Yes, if your looking at a unit like this today, the manufacturers are assuming you have a bit of a restrained budget, but you have some very new high definition components to connect to it. If you want more legacy connections, they will be happy to sell you a unit costing at least $300 more, that has more I/O. At least it has sensible connections for digital inputs (two optical and one coaxial), and most people looking at equipment like this will more than likely have a CD player or another device that has a optical out instead of coax.

The auto calibration is a bit of a pitfall for some on the mainstream consumer level, but I feel that this affects a small number of people honestly. People that don't know this is not as good other calibration systems found on other units won't likely ever notice, and a true audiophile will usually work at the basics before tackling something like auto calibration. It should still have enough going for it to sound well, when set up correctly.

The only thing that hasn't been gone over, at least that I've seen, is the layout of the OSD. I don't know if any of these have an OSD, but some receiver menus can be trickier than others to navigate and set up the receiver the way you want. From recent experience, most of Sony's OSDs follow a pretty unified pattern between devices, whether it be their gaming consoles, Blu-Ray players, or televisions. So, it would seem if this unit has an OSD, it would be very similar, and should prove to be pretty straight forward and intuitive. But, I have no first hand experience with this, so your mileage will probably vary.

All in all, it's splitting hairs, and the best receiver is the one that will do what you want it to do. For someone that doesn't, I think the Sony has the ever so slight edge. The fact that the price listed in the matrix is right at the $500 mark, instead of $50 over, also makes it a bit more true and honest for comparison of $500 dollar receivers, although it never hurts to see what you could get for $50 more dollars. The prices should also come down after a few months, think Black Friday deals, and other sales that online distributors frequently have.

 

[asere]

I know this thread is old but per Onkyo. They have updated the AccuEq to Eq the speakers and sub now.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The best $500 BRAND NEW AVR today is the Denon X3100 (MSRP $1000) on sale at Amazon.

 

[3db]

The best $500 BRAND NEW AVR today is the Denon X3100 (MSRP $1000) on sale at Amazon.

Define best

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Define best

50% off MSRP or more.

The Denon X3100 is a $1,000 AVR, but it's on sale now for $500 brand new. If the sale ends, then it will no loner be the best "$500 AVR" since it will not be $500 anymore.

 

[asere]

50% off MSRP or more.

For the money you could do better at that price or for less.
The x3100 has no Atmos and no DTS X and no hdmi 2.2

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

For the money you could do better at that price or for less.
The x3100 has no Atmos and no DTS X and no hdmi 2.2

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

It depends on what is important to you.

Even the bottom of the line newer AVRs have all that.

I couldn't care less about any of that. ATMOS, DTS X, HDMI 2.2 are of ZERO importance to me.

My eyes can't even tell the difference between 720p vs 1080p, much less 1080p vs 4K from 12 FT or more away.

ATMOS & DTS-X are both gimmick to me in the overall scheme of things.

So everything depends on what is important to you.