Which A/V Receiver - Onkyo or Denon

[Hk Chuck]

I have Mirage OMD-15 fronts, an OMD-1 center channel and two OMD-R sourround speakers. I would like to get two OMD-5 for the rear speakers but they are proving hard to find. I find myself vasilating between Denon and Onkyo receivers. I do not have an unlimited budget but something within a two or three thousand price range for the receiver is feasible. I would use the system almost exclusively for Home Theater as opposed to listening to music. I am beginning to think I should wait till all the new models from these two manufacturers are out. Any advice you can pass along to help me decide would be appreciated.

 

[Lordoftherings]

Onkyo TX-SR876.

Hi Hk Chuck, and Welcome to the club.

With your Mirage OMD speakers, I will aim for the Onkyo sound, I think they will match better with the sound from this Japanese manufacturer.

Right now, you don't have to spend that much money my friend. You can get an excellent receiver that would do full justice to your Mirage speakers, and it would only cost you less than $900.
Here:
@ http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKTXSR876BLK/Onkyo/TX-SR876-7.1-Channel-Home-Theater-Receiver-black/1.html

You won't gain that much by waiting, and besides it will cost you more, which will be waisted money anyway.

Get that 876 from Onkyo, and let me know what you think after you've been blown away from your couch. Trust me on that.

* And in the future, you can add or replace your speakers by much bigger ones, and that Onkyo TX-SR876 will make them sing 'no problemo' my friend.

Regards,
Bob

 

[Hk Chuck]

Onkyo NR906 vs 876

Thank you for your advice. I have been leaning towards the Onkyo but more so the NR906. Any thoughts on it versus the 876? Are the differences signigicant enough to cause one to prefer one over the other. I think that the "NR" status means that it can be tied into the internet and that might be of value for upgrading... ect.

 

[Lordoftherings]

Thank you for your advice. I have been leaning towards the Onkyo but more so the NR906. Any thoughts on it versus the 876? Are the differences signigicant enough to cause one to prefer one over the other. I think that the "NR" status means that it can be tied into the internet and that might be of value for upgrading... ect.

Hey, you got the extra dough, go for it. The 906 is for sure the better one.

Do you want to know what $420 more buy you?
First, even if the 906 is the better one between these two, the 876 still remains the best deal.

OK, with this out of the way; the 906 has gold plated RCA connectors all around (I believe so). The 906 has a toroidal transformer, a Network port (but not very sophisticated features from it), still it allows you to plug to the Intrnet and play with some radio from some sites and stuff like this (it ain't my bag, that's why I ain't an expert about those features, it's all about personal taste), what else? Might be one or two more small things, but nothing to lost sleep over.

So, what you think now? I thought so too. Just like I said, the 876, at $420 cheaper, it's the better deal.
Now, it's your choice. But you know the score now too.
* Sound wise, video wise, power wise; all the very same. Mainly the toroidal transformer, and the "N" for Network features, plus maybe some gold plated jacks. Is it worth $420 for you?
For me, it ain't.

Cheers,
Bob

Note: By the way, the 906 is $1,299.99 right now at Accessories4Less.
And the 876 is only $879.99

 

[termin8ted314]

Hi Hk Chuck, and Welcome to the club.

With your Mirage OMD speakers, I will aim for the Onkyo sound, I think they will match better with the sound from this Japanese manufacturer.

Right now, you don't have to spend that much money my friend. You can get an excellent receiver that would do full justice to your Mirage speakers, and it would only cost you less than $900.
Here:
@ http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKTXSR876BLK/Onkyo/TX-SR876-7.1-Channel-Home-Theater-Receiver-black/1.html

You won't gain that much by waiting, and besides it will cost you more, which will be waisted money anyway.

Get that 876 from Onkyo, and let me know what you think after you've been blown away from your couch. Trust me on that.

* And in the future, you can add or replace your speakers by much bigger ones, and that Onkyo TX-SR876 will make them sing 'no problemo' my friend.

Regards,
Bob

What do you mean by the "Onkyo sound"
I have been looking at receivers and have seen a few people say that certain brands sound different.

 

[Lordoftherings]

What do you mean by the "Onkyo sound"
I have been looking at receivers and have seen a few people say that certain brands sound different.

For me, the Onkyo sound is the right sound. It match many speakers, I don't know what Onkyo put in these machines, but it ain't bad at all. There is no harchness here, just a bit of missing resolution, but you can gain a lot from Audyssey. So, in general, from the analog Pure Audio mode, the sound is quite right, neutral, does not add anything that it should not, just missing that last minute of detailed resolution. So you automatically loose some depth of perspective, plus some spaciousness of soundstage.
No Audyssey EQ, no THX, no x-over, no sub, no digital, no compression of any sort here; just straight 2-channel stereo full range Pure Audio mode listening.
That's my own judgement, and it also correlates with the impressions of few other people.
Thanks for asking.

Bob

 

[termin8ted314]

For me, the Onkyo sound is the right sound. It match many speakers, I don't know what Onkyo put in these machines, but it ain't bad at all. There is no harchness here, just a bit of missing resolution, but you can gain a lot from Audyssey. So, in general, from the analog Pure Audio mode, the sound is quite right, neutral, does not add anything that it should not, just missing that last minute of detailed resolution. So you automatically loose some depth of perspective, plus some spaciousness of soundstage.
No Audyssey EQ, no THX, no x-over, no sub, no digital, no compression of any sort here; just straight 2-channel stereo full range Pure Audio mode listening.
That's my own judgement, and it also correlates with the impressions of few other people.
Thanks for asking.

Bob

I have no analog sources. All HDMI. I ruled out onkyo a while back and was pretty set on a denon but now im rethinking!

 

[bandphan]

If a receiver has a signature sound, I wouldn't buy it. Avrs are transparent except when EQ is applied. Even the newer high end tubes from Mac are hard tell apart from their SS amps.

 

[lsiberian]

You're HK chuck. Why not check out HK?

 

[anamorphic96]

If a receiver has a signature sound, I wouldn't buy it. Avrs are transparent except when EQ is applied. Even the newer high end tubes from Mac are hard tell apart from their SS amps.

I second this as well. Receivers do not have a sound unless the tone or EQ functions have been applied.

 

[rnatalli]

Both have Audyssey so that's a good thing. I'd go Denon myself. They tend to be less buggy, more reliable, and run a lot cooler than the comparable Onkyo receivers.

 

[audiofox]

In my experience, there is far more variability between the responses (and perceived sound) of different speakers and between different source material (DVDs, CDs, etc) than you will ever hear between two solid state receivers with similar output power capability, unless of course the receiver output amps are driven into compression or there is intentional equalization of the analog signal prior to final amplification. That is still the case for analog sources (turntables, tape decks, tuners) but not nearly so for digital sources (which is one of the purported advantages). FWIW, I have two Denon receivers, but I selected them for their various features (decoders, etc) and the appearance that they did not modify the analog signal unless that was the desire via EQ or tone controls.

 

[cwall99]

If a receiver has a signature sound, I wouldn't buy it. Avrs are transparent except when EQ is applied. Even the newer high end tubes from Mac are hard tell apart from their SS amps.

You know, I've never been tempted to take my system apart, put in a different receiver, and hook it all back up again to see if a receiver makes a difference in the way the system sounds. Seems like a lot of work to me for what would, at best, be a faulty A/B comparison.

But that's why it's fun to go to Hi Fi shops. At least there you can come close to doing an A/B comparison... so long as it's among models they carry and have in that showroom.

I share your opinion, though, that a good AVR should NOT have a signature sound. You want it to take those incoming signals. DAC 'em and/or amp 'em and send them on their merry way to your speakers without imparting anything extra to that signal.

Does mine do that? Who knows? Like I said, I've got other things to do with my time than tear apart my system. All I know is I really like how mine sounds, and that's good enough for me.

 

[Hk Chuck]

I was afraid of this.....

You're HK chuck. Why not check out HK?

I forgot that there was a company in the audio business that has its initials as HK. Let just say there is another company that goes by the same ones.

 

[Lordoftherings]

About Lordoftherings? Do they make any receivers? At all?

About the Frotel?

And what a Frotel sounds like? Anyone? What's the Frotel sound?

 

[Tomorrow]

Let just say there is another company that goes by the same ones.

The number 91 rings sweetly in my ears!

 

[PENG]

As Bob explained in his post #6, by Onkyo sound he meant neutral sound. I can agree with that for sure. The only problem is, I found the HK sound, Denon sound and Yamaha sound pretty much the same kind of sound, that is, quite neutral as well. I am talking about their mid range receivers not the entry ones.

 

[Lordoftherings]

As Bob explained in his post #6, by Onkyo sound he meant neutral sound. I can agree with that for sure. The only problem is, I found the HK sound, Denon sound and Yamaha sound pretty much the same kind of sound, that is, quite neutral as well. I am talking about their mid range receivers not the entry ones.

You got it Peng, just simple as that.
If he would asked me what is the Denon sound, I would have start by neutral, then gave my own personal opinion on my Denons at home.
Same with Marantz, Yamaha, ...

But as most people here like to believe, and I respect their beliefs, is they all sound the same. Good then, just buy the cheapest receiver with the most and best valuable features for you only, and no one else.

 

[audiofox]

My point was that our "beliefs" about a receiver's response is a minor factor in determining the overall sound of a system, which is dominated by the speakers.

 

[Lordoftherings]

Personal opinion.

In my experience, there is far more variability between the responses (and perceived sound) of different speakers and between different source material (DVDs, CDs, etc) than you will ever hear between two solid state receivers with similar output power capability, unless of course the receiver output amps are driven into compression or there is intentional equalization of the analog signal prior to final amplification. That is still the case for analog sources (turntables, tape decks, tuners) but not nearly so for digital sources (which is one of the purported advantages). FWIW, I have two Denon receivers, but I selected them for their various features (decoders, etc) and the appearance that they did not modify the analog signal unless that was the desire via EQ or tone controls.

My point was that our "beliefs" about a receiver's response is a minor factor in determining the overall sound of a system, which is dominated by the speakers.

Hi audiofox,

There are many variables as to what determines the final sound that we hear.

* Janis Joplin's or Jim Morrison's voices sound different for each one of us, and some like it more than others. *

That's the best analogy that I can come up with.
From this you can build your own interpretation.

Cheers man,
Bob