fellow Canadians

[3db]

I have a shot of picking up a brnad new never been taken out of the box Yamaha RXV1800 for $850 Cdn from an authorized dealer not including taxes. Do you think this is a good buy?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I would comment but I am not Canadian....

 

[3db]

I would comment but I am not Canadian....

*LMAO* Go ahead. I'd like to hear your thoughts. I only asked Canadians because our dollar has tanked compared to the US currency so what you can buy for your dollar is considerably more than what us poor Canadian shleps can buy with ours.

 

[PENG]

I would say it is a reasonable price but if that's not exactly not what you want then it is not a good enough price.

 

[3db]

I would say it is a reasonable price but if that's not exactly not what you want then it is not a good enough price.

Its as nice a gear as I'll ever be able to afford going thru a dealer. It has all the bells whistles and even those I can't take advantage of yet because I don't own a high def tv nor do I own a blue ray player.

I can't buy the equivalent in a Denon because of their crazy mark-up. I've got time yet to make this purchase and I'm doing some serious thinking. Your inputs are appreciated.

 

[jostenmeat]

Its as nice a gear as I'll ever be able to afford going thru a dealer. It has all the bells whistles and even those I can't take advantage of yet because I don't own a high def tv nor do I own a blue ray player.

Then I say keep your money. If you don't need it, then heck, you don't it yet. There will ALWAYS be some deals to be had, and with what I've seen so far in my limited time with AV... it seems stuff just gets cheaper and better anyways. And of ALL the stuff that gets superceded, it appears to me that nothing does so faster than the HT audio processor...

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I just don't like the 1800 or the 3800. The poor OSD, small volume display, and the inability to assign the 12v triggers just makes it a no go for me.

I think there are more things I dislike about it but I can't remember them.

 

[3db]

Then I say keep your money. If you don't need it, then heck, you don't it yet. There will ALWAYS be some deals to be had, and with what I've seen so far in my limited time with AV... it seems stuff just gets cheaper and better anyways. And of ALL the stuff that gets superceded, it appears to me that nothing does so faster than the HT audio processor...

I suppose your right but what I've heard from a few colleagues that Japanese equipment will become expensive in the near futur becuae the Canuck dollar is falling compared to that of the yen.

The other reason is I would want a new receiver is that I can use it for SACD or DVD-A. I can't do that with the receiver I have now (Technics SA940) as it lacks any kind of analog input. That receiver is almost 10 yrs old now but its still going strong. So far, it has only one glitch that I can live with other than teh lack of multichannel audio inputs.

 

[Davemcc]

The cheapest I've seen the 1800 sell for is $999. The price seems OK considering the 1900 is going for $1299.

If you don't have an HDTV yet, I would suggest that that will be your next most significant upgrade.

 

[PENG]

The other reason is I would want a new receiver is that I can use it for SACD or DVD-A.

You can probably get the 3808 for a very good price right now and even better in the new year. It is arguably the most popular Denon receiver since the 3805. It practically has everything the RX-V1800/3800 has plus individual channel crossover frequency adjustment, Ethernet port for web contents and firmware upgrade, excellent ACD outputs (second only to the comparable Onkyo/Integra models), hi def color GUI, transformer hum that is almost inaudible and is lower than that of some toroidals, Denon link for SACD/DVDA if you have the right Denon universal players, runs relatively cool, ability to drive 4 ohm speakers according Denon FAQ, and top notch reliability track record.

If you stick with your Technics and start saving $100 a month, by next spring you should be able to pick up a cheap 3808 with the $850 you are now ready to spend on the 1800 that you may regret for the years to come because it does not have some of the popular useful features. Either way you may not gain much in sound quality so the biggest gain is in the features department.

I agree with Josten, if you can wait, wait for prices to go down some more. The 1800, 3800, 3808 are almost two years old. Prices can only go down, not up, regardless of the fate of the C$.

 

[Nomo]

I have a shot of picking up a brnad new never been taken out of the box Yamaha RXV1800 for $850 Cdn from an authorized dealer not including taxes. Do you think this is a good buy?

I have the 1800. I paid $900 for it.
Quite frankly, while it's not a terrible receiver in any respect; if I had to do it again, I would look elsewhere. Pioneer, Denon, maybe..maybe Onkyo.

disclaimer:
The above statement comes from a snobby American who does not have to worry about inflated prices on imported goods.

 

[3db]

Some new flyers came in with teh newspaper and I've noticed 2 Onkyo dealers here in town. I'm looking at the TX-SR706. How does it comapre to the Yamaha RXV1800?

 

[Bluesmoke]

I've seen several Future Shops clearing out the Denon 988 (2808) receiver for $799 new in box. I'm pretty sure you can haggle the sales guy into $750. To me, this is a better receiver overall.

 

[3db]

From what I've learned from this post, people are leaning towards the Denon because of the features. If these features were to be used on a daily/regular basis, I would probably save up for the Denon. But I'm a type of guy that sets and forgets so accessing these better features just aren't that important.

This receiver will play dual role as my 2 channel rig and as my HT receiver. I'm more music oriented with 75% of my listening done in 2 channel mode, direct by passing all signal processing. The other 25 percent is movies/tv

I think I'm leaning towards the Yamaha based on my habits/preferences.

Thank you all for commenting. It did make me think of what I wanted from the new receiver.

 

[Cpt.America]

Poster #1 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #2 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #3 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #4 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #5 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #6 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #7 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Original Poster = I think I'm leaning towards the Yamaha based on my habits/preferences.

 

[Nomo]

Poster #1 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #2 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #3 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #4 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #5 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #6 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #7 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Original Poster = I think I'm leaning towards the Yamaha based on my habits/preferences.

We are talking Canada here. Life sucks up there right now for buying imported electronics.

 

[3db]

Poster #1 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #2 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #3 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #4 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #5 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #6 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Poster #7 = I don't recommend it, because bla bla bla
Original Poster = I think I'm leaning towards the Yamaha based on my habits/preferences.

That's right slick and if you read sloooooooooowly, you understand that the recommendations were features that are NOT important to me.

 

[3db]

I put a down deposit on Yamaha and managed to get another $25 off. I've paid $825.00 Cdn before taxes for the RXV1800. I've less than a 12 hour window for me to install this unit into my HT equipment rack without the wife knowing about it.

For those who have this recvr, where is the connection for the mic used for the auto calibration? Is it in the back panel or front? If its in teh back, will it be OK to always leave it connected as the cabinet this rcvr will be going into is very tight for space and almost next to impossibe to get at from the back. The cabinet is a 2 piece with the audio storgae portion on the bottom and the top half holds the tv which is placed tight against the back wall.

 

[Nomo]

On the front. Behind the front door.
That receiver needs room to breath. At least 2 inches on top. If it's real tight you should seriously consider a cooling fan.

 

[kriktsemaj99]

For those who have this recvr, where is the connection for the mic used for the auto calibration? Is it in the back panel or front? If its in teh back, will it be OK to always leave it connected as the cabinet this rcvr will be going into is very tight for space and almost next to impossibe to get at from the back. The cabinet is a 2 piece with the audio storgae portion on the bottom and the top half holds the tv which is placed tight against the back wall.

You can't leave the mic connected, as it automatically goes into the auto-setup menu when the mic is plugged in. But the connection is on the front and easy to access.

My 1800 does get a bit hot and I have more space than you. I rigged up a 12V computer fan powered from the switched outlet on the back of the 1800 (probably not really necessary but it does keep it cooler).

I have been happy with the sound quality of the 1800, and frankly don't care about the retro looking OSD as I often don't even turn on my projector and just use the front panel display to adjust things. My only complaints are the little things that Yamaha could have fixed but didn't:

• volume display too small to read (solved with an RS-232 connection and a computer always connected).
• the fact that it won't pass blacker than black video levels (partly solved with a BD player that can raise the brightness at the source for those very rare movies that are encoded with the wrong black level).