Advice on receiver to drive Energy Veritas?

[steverlynch]

I just purchased an Energy Veritas speaker set up (2.3's, center, surrounds). Does anyone have any advice on a receiver in the $800-1000 range that would be a good match to drive these for a 5.1 home theater set up? Any help would be much appreciated as I am a relative novice.

Thanks!

 

[Duffinator]

Harman Kardon

Either pick up a used HK 7200 or see if a 7300 has fallen into your price range. They both are terrific receivers and have plenty of juice. Be warned, they are monsters so make sure it fits into your space.

 

[Takeereasy]

I agree with Duffinator 100%. You will need a very beefy amp to truly get what those Veratis are capable of out of them. Here is a link to Harman Kardon's online Ebay store. It is actually Harman Kardon selling their refurbs and they are backed by a 100% Man warranty. Harman's ebay site . It seems that there are a couple of goodies going today by the way. You can buy a refurbed 7200 from Harman's own website for about $900 or a 7300 from the same website for about $1300 by clicking here . The ebay auction will close for most likely between $800 and $900 dollars and the unit will be coming from the same place so I'd go the Ebay route.

I just don't think that Marantz, Denon or Yamaha receivers in this price range will compete with these Harmans power wise, and Veratis are some power hungry speakers (not a bad thing, just needs to be factored in).

 

[steverlynch]

Thanks folks..

Would the Yamaha RX-V2500 work ? At 130w/c, it appears to have more power than the HK AVR-7300 you suggested and its cheaper. I would feel more comfortable buying new vs. a refurb

Steve

 

[eddiem67]

Denon 3805 will do the job. Shoot me an email

 

[tuuney]

I agree with Duffinator 100%. You will need a very beefy amp to truly get what those Veratis are capable of out of them. Here is a link to Harman Kardon's online Ebay store. It is actually Harman Kardon selling their refurbs and they are backed by a 100% Man warranty. Harman's ebay site . It seems that there are a couple of goodies going today by the way. You can buy a refurbed 7200 from Harman's own website for about $900 or a 7300 from the same website for about $1300 by clicking here . The ebay auction will close for most likely between $800 and $900 dollars and the unit will be coming from the same place so I'd go the Ebay route.

I just don't think that Marantz, Denon or Yamaha receivers in this price range will compete with these Harmans power wise, and Veratis are some power hungry speakers (not a bad thing, just needs to be factored in).

I'm not sure if you live close to Fry's electronic store. They had an AVR7300 for sale last week $1300. Yes, brand new.
You won't regret if you could afford it. EXCEPTION - you ought to upgrade your audio stand as well since this beast won't fit in most of ordinary rack.

 

[Duffinator]

Thanks folks..

Would the Yamaha RX-V2500 work ? At 130w/c, it appears to have more power than the HK AVR-7300 you suggested and its cheaper. I would feel more comfortable buying new vs. a refurb

Steve

It's not more powerful. Do a search on Sound and Vision magazine and check their benchmark test results and you'll see the HK has more power. HK tends to underrate their power vs. other manufacturers overrating theirs. The 7200/7300 has a more robust power supply than either the 2500 or 3805. There are many thoughts on refurbs and I fall in the camp of why not. The reason why there are refurbs in the first place is the new product failed. I've been purchasing refurb equipment for many years including several HK receivers and my current Denon 3805 with no problems.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Thanks folks..

Would the Yamaha RX-V2500 work ? At 130w/c, it appears to have more power than the HK AVR-7300 you suggested and its cheaper. I would feel more comfortable buying new vs. a refurb

Steve

Duff is correct. The RX-V2500 won't hold a candle to the AVR7200/7300. Neither will the Denon 3805 - I own one. These HK's are 55-61 lbs. Their original MSRP's were $2000-$2400. They are massive.

 

[Xsound]

You might want to look at the Pioneer Elite VSX-56txi as well. The elite receivers have very beefy power supplies (15lbs!), huge capacitors (2x27,000 uf), and the mosfet outputs don't get bogged down with power hungry speakers. It is a great receiver. Not too much press/reviews here in the states, but the British press seem to really like them. check out what hi-fi, home cinema choice, and some of the other UK magazines.

 

[Apogee]

I would recommend Rotel or Arcam - with high current (even the low
end of Rotel or Arcam will likely be in your budget. Have a listening test
with your Energy and decide.

I'm a big fan of Yamaha but I think the European stuff with high current does
a better job - but it comes with a price.

I have Yamaha 2500 driving Energy CC1 and C5 front and Encore. It
sounds ok, but it will sound better with Arcam/Rotel, but I want to
stick with my budget. (I got my Yamaha in Canada for $1100, but Arcam is $2000)

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

You might want to look at the Pioneer Elite VSX-56txi as well. The elite receivers have very beefy power supplies (15lbs!), huge capacitors (2x27,000 uf), and the mosfet outputs don't get bogged down with power hungry speakers. It is a great receiver. Not too much press/reviews here in the states, but the British press seem to really like them. check out what hi-fi, home cinema choice, and some of the other UK magazines.

That unit does have more current and available for a longer period of time than does the 3805 or 2500, but still no where near what the HK's have. I think the VSX-59TXi would be a better comparison. The 56TXi doesn't have the massive heat sinks for extended heat dissapation like the HK's do. The 56 TXi weighs in at 44lbs. The 59TXi comes in at a whopping 68lbs, but is priced to show it. IMO the HK7200/7300 is by far the best deal for a $900-$1350 budget. Period.

 

[Xsound]

Buck,
I agree that the 7300 is a heck of a receiver. I would consider stepping up to it for the video capability. His original post said he was looking at $800-$1000 for a receiver. Finding the 7300 for under a grand is hard to do unless it is used. It seems like even the remanufactured ones on e-bay get bumped up to about $1100 before the auctions close.

Plus I am a sucker for firewire/i-link, though it appears as if HDMI (or other new tecnonlogy) may kill off Firewire's stint in home audio.

 

[steverlynch]

Thanks for the feedback folks

I am a little wary of HK as I had a HK AVR 25 (late 90's) that died twice on me as did my HK CD player - do you know of any reliability issues with HK or did I just lemons? I'd like my equipment to last more than a few years.

Thanks

 

[Takeereasy]

The odds of you seeing this in time are pretty low, and I've read you experience and reluctance to buy HK again, but take a look at this guy. HK 7200 going really soon.

 

[PENG]

I have the same speakers. I power them with a 3805 plus an Adcom GFA-555 for the front L/R channels. To my surprise, the 3805 really did okay on it own but I prefer to use the 3805 to take some load off it so it can last longer. If you are not concerned about my perceived longivity issue, I say go with a 3805 or RX-V2500. If I were in the U.S., I would be tempted to go with the HKAVR7300. On the other hand, I thought we sometimes tend to exaggerate this "all channel power" and "high current" thing too much. Regardless, the 3805 will beat any HK models (in terms of 1,2,5 channel output power) except for the 7200, 7300 and the older 8000. Very few receivers can beat those HK monsters in brute power.

The 2.3i is very inefficient compared to the Connoisseur series such as the C9. When I demoed the 2.3i versus the C9 with an Arcam AVR300, everytime I switch to the 2.3i I have to crank the Arcam up by at least 3 to 5 dB in order to make a fair comparison.

 

[Duffinator]

Thanks for the feedback folks

I am a little wary of HK as I had a HK AVR 25 (late 90's) that died twice on me as did my HK CD player - do you know of any reliability issues with HK or did I just lemons? I'd like my equipment to last more than a few years.

Thanks

I think the reliability of HK may be a notch below Yamaha and Denon but that wouldn't stop me. I currently have a HK PA 2000 amp powering zones in my home and it's the only NEW HK product I've purchased. Previously I've owned an AVR 70 and AVR 85. Both units are in the hands of people I know (and am still friends with ) and there has never been a problem with them, and they were both refurbs. I also have two friends with 7200's that were purchased new and neither has had a problem so far.

My theory on refurbs in addition to what I've already said is that they have been repaired (they could also just be returns or have a cosmetic blem) to new specifications. During this process they have had a human tech check them over throughly for any problems. If there were constant failures with refurbs the manufacturers reputations would be tarnished further. But you can still get a defective refurb. The real question is are you more likely to get a defective unit thats new or refurbished??? I think the odds are pretty even.

 

[ellisd]

I use the Integra Research RDC/RDA 7 to power mine, they are power hogs but this seems to fit the bill.