Recommendations for A/V receivers in the $1000 - $1500 range?

[Darrenmc]

Keeping in mind that sound quality is a preference over bells & whistles and the receiver would be used 50/50 for 2 channel audio and surround sound, what would be your recommendation/s in the $1000 - $1500 US price range? At this point I don't have the cash to go seperates. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[solomr2]

I picked the Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi over the Denon (2807) and Yamaha. It has 140W x 7.1, 4 x HDMI inputs, 3 zones, THX ultra 2, integrated Ipod, for around $1200. Tough to beat IMO.

 

[mazersteven]

Keeping in mind that sound quality is a preference over bells & whistles and the receiver would be used 50/50 for 2 channel audio and surround sound, what would be your recommendation/s in the $1000 - $1500 US price range? At this point I don't have the cash to go seperates. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Sound Quality? I don't think you'd hear a difference if any, in two of the same price receivers. And yes you can get seperates in the $1500 price range.

Speakers are going to make the most difference in Sound Quality, not receivers.

What speakers are you using, or do you need to purchase speakers?

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/970.html

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/7075.html

 

[gzyzwc]

Keeping in mind that sound quality is a preference over bells & whistles and the receiver would be used 50/50 for 2 channel audio and surround sound, what would be your recommendation/s in the $1000 - $1500 US price range? At this point I don't have the cash to go seperates. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You have the budget. http://www.emotiva.com/products.html look at the LMC-1/LPA-1 I have it at 899$ to your door it is in your budget (actually a little less, and lets you get a better sub!!). It has very few bells and whistles, and you can read reviews of it on this site

 

[Darrenmc]

Sound Quality? I don't think you'd hear a difference if any, in two of the same price receivers. And yes you can get seperates in the $1500 price range.

Speakers are going to make the most difference in Sound Quality, not receivers.

What speakers are you using, or do you need to purchase speakers?

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/970.html

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/7075.html

I'm using Angstrom Modular 2's(rear), 4's(front), 8'S(powered subs) and the 6c Centre Channel for speakers. I don't think I need an upgrade with the speakers.

 

[mnnc]

Keeping in mind that sound quality is a preference over bells & whistles and the receiver would be used 50/50 for 2 channel audio and surround sound, what would be your recommendation/s in the $1000 - $1500 US price range? At this point I don't have the cash to go seperates. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Emotiva...you get quality, bells/whistles, and more important...customer service. Plus they have upgrade deals/specials that are practically unheard of.

 

[Darrenmc]

The dealer I normally go to has a demo Onkyo DS989 a/v receiver and a Onkyo DV-CP704 dvd/cd player that he sell both to me for $1600 and take my used equipment(Onkyo TX SR-701 a/v receiver, Teac DV-L800 dvd player and an old Denon DCM 340 cd player)????? I saw that the DS989 retailed for around $2300.00US when it first came out. Is this a good or bad deal?

 

[mazersteven]

The dealer I normally go to has a demo Onkyo DS989 a/v receiver and a Onkyo DV-CP704 dvd/cd player that he sell both to me for $1600 and take my used equipment(Onkyo TX SR-701 a/v receiver, Teac DV-L800 dvd player and an old Denon DCM 340 cd player)????? I saw that the DS989 retailed for around $2300.00US when it first came out. Is this a good or bad deal?

Just my Opinion

But when you talk about an Onkyo receiver costing $2300 bucks I'm looking somewhere else. Like Denon. Onkyo is good stuff in the lower end receivers. I just don't think they compare to the higher end Denon, Yamaha, Marantz receivers. Just my Opinion.

 

[Darrenmc]

Just my Opinion

But when you talk about an Onkyo receiver costing $2300 bucks I'm looking somewhere else. Like Denon. Onkyo is good stuff in the lower end receivers. I just don't think they compare to the higher end Denon, Yamaha, Marantz receivers. Just my Opinion.

Fair enough. I've been dealing with this guy for a long time now and he runs a small outfit so I'm not so sure that I'm always getting the best deal and that he just needs a quick buck, hence why I'm asking if it's a good or bad deal? I've been out of the A/V scene for a while and just started upgrading again. Like they say DTA(Don't Trust Anyone) although after 20 years of loyalty you'd like to think you can.

 

[mazersteven]

Fair enough. I've been dealing with this guy for a long time now and he runs a small outfit so I'm not so sure that I'm always getting the best deal and that he just needs a quick buck, hence why I'm asking if it's a good or bad deal? I've been out of the A/V scene for a while and just started upgrading again. Like they say DTA(Don't Trust Anyone) although after 20 years of loyalty you'd like to think you can.

That was a $3200 unit in 2001. It's not the newest receiver on the market. Not that it has to be the newest, but you'd like to get something a little more up to date with the newest features.

Like the Denon 2807 for about the same money.

Also for a DVD player look at this unit, only $229

http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_index.html

 

[mazersteven]

The dealer I normally go to has a demo Onkyo DS989 a/v receiver and a Onkyo DV-CP704 dvd/cd player that he sell both to me for $1600 and take my used equipment(Onkyo TX SR-701 a/v receiver, Teac DV-L800 dvd player and an old Denon DCM 340 cd player)????? I saw that the DS989 retailed for around $2300.00US when it first came out. Is this a good or bad deal?

Also take a look at this

http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_index.html

If I was going to spend that kind of money on a receiver I would seriously look into the Denon AVR-2807, and the Oppo. Just my Opinion.

 

[MACCA350]

I'm using Angstrom Modular 2's(rear), 4's(front), 8'S(powered subs) and the 6c Centre Channel for speakers. I don't think I need an upgrade with the speakers.

I was just looking at your speakers and noticed you're using the modular 4's for fronts and the 2's for rears On Angstrom's website they show the 4's as bi-polar (for rears) and the 2's as mono-polar (for fronts). Both have the same frequency response(60Hz-22KHz) so unless you have another reason for using the bi-polars as fronts, I'd suggests swapping them around and at least try the 2's up the front and the 4's up the back since a bi-polar design is normally used for rear surround speakers

BTW, If that was a typo....please ignore this post

cheers

 

[cfrussin]

Recommended Receiver

Keeping in mind that sound quality is a preference over bells & whistles and the receiver would be used 50/50 for 2 channel audio and surround sound, what would be your recommendation/s in the $1000 - $1500 US price range? At this point I don't have the cash to go seperates. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I started out with a Denon 3805 a few yrs. ago. Then went to the Rotel RSX-1067. Loved it. Then moved up to the Outlaw 990 with a Sherbourn 200 wattx7 amp. With all Aerial speakers. Due to a severe budget overrun on our new house I had to downsize. I sold the Outlaw and Sherbourn and bought the Pioneer VSX80 Elite. For $650 I was very surprised by how good it sounded and how easy it was to setup. I ended up trading it in and upgraded to the Yamaha RXV2700. THAT was a big dissappointment! I bought it because I'd owned many Yamaha's in the past and the salesman said it'd be the best piece for HT. My opinion is it was hard to setup, the remote sucked and overall it was not very exciting. So I returned it and got Pioneers VSX84TSI Elite for $1400. It's no separate system, but I LOVE it. Period. And I'm running two pairs of 4 ohm A/D/S's and an Aerial CC3B. And an Outlaw LFM Plus. All in all I can't justify spending any more money unless I could go back to the Outlaw/Sherbourn system. Hope this helps if you haven't bought yet.

 

[cfrussin]

Oh yeah, I forgot. When I sold my Outlaw/Sherbourn system, I also got rid of a Denon 2200 that I paid $600 for. It was good and I had no complaints about it. But I went with the Oppo 980 for $249 and I have it hooked up with ONE hdmi cable and I've been able to play everything with it. Love it and would highly recommend it!