Need 9.2 amp w/o gizmos around $1500

[kresty]

It seems like amps all have a bajillion extra non-music things. I need a good sounding something "simple" to watch movies on. Not FM radio. Maybe an XBox. I don't have 51 inputs, only a few. I'd rather it not be so tall it needs a special space or so heavy I can't lift it in place.

It seems like everyone (at least the ones I've looked at) seem to try to differentiate by cramming in as many "features" as possible. I can stream stuff from my XBox, I don't need an amp that somehow knows everything about the internet. I need one that knows how to play audio.

I like my Onkyo's sound, so am considering the TX-RZ920, but it's tall & heavy (I mean, I can live with that, but why?) and has more buttons than I could possibly use, and I don't really need a big display distracting me from my movie. It seems like it isn't power hungry, and cooler is good.

Where do I look to find something that isn't trying to be a swiss army knife and just knows how to make good (movie) sound?

 

[panteragstk]

You're going to end up with a receiver like the Onkyo you posted. I say that because anything like what you're describing is probably out of your budget range. You'd have to go separates really because anything (even most separates) are going to have all those bells and whistles you don't want. Just kind of how it is.

 

[kresty]

You're going to end up with a receiver like the Onkyo you posted. I say that because anything like what you're describing is probably out of your budget range. You'd have to go separates really because anything (even most separates) are going to have all those bells and whistles you don't want. Just kind of how it is.

Thanks, that's kind of what I figured, but thought I should check before I plop down $1500

I confess I'm quite happy with the Onkyo's I've had. (Well, I was annoyed when one died a few years after warranty). The Magnolia showroom folks try to entice me into their favorite brands, but I'm not really hearing anything compelling. I end up feeling like I'm not looking in the right place.

 

[John Parks]

How tall is too tall? Most higher end receivers will let you turn off the display, if it bothers you. If you are still bothered by how big the displays are, the ones on Marantz models are pretty small:

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[panteragstk]

Thanks, that's kind of what I figured, but thought I should check before I plop down $1500

I confess I'm quite happy with the Onkyo's I've had. (Well, I was annoyed when one died a few years after warranty). The Magnolia showroom folks try to entice me into their favorite brands, but I'm not really hearing anything compelling. I end up feeling like I'm not looking in the right place.

I have an Onkyo that's been in service for many years, but it had a bad HDMI board that was replaced by Onkyo at no cost. They dropped support for Audyssey which made me transition to Denon who I've been very happy with.