Amazon selling Sony 920 for amazing price

[techmine]

Well its been 2 months for me researching on receivers. Still undecided about my choice between Onkyo 606, Yamaha 663, Pioneer 1018 and Sony 920. This evening I saw Amazon selling 920 for only 357 bucks. Only Onkyo is close to this price range. But since Onkyo has few minor issues like over heating, 1080i vs 1080p upscaling and bad interface, I am leaning more towards the Sony.
I have rest of the stuff ready to be hooked up to the receiver. Polk Audio 6750 5.1 speaker system, Sony BD 350 and my Vizio LCD. I am looking for a receiver for this combo. I am planning to use HDMI interface mainly.

So what you guys suggest. Wait for some more time and look for thanksgiving deal on Yamaha and Pioneer or go with Sony and end my agonizingly long wait for first ever Home Theater system.

Thanks, well ahead of all the responses.

 

[zumbo]

The Yamaha 663 can be found for that price. After you find it, contact authorized dealers for a price-match. Shouldn't be too hard.

 

[Chopin_Guy]

I would stay away from sony....Zumbo has a much better suggestion with the Yammy....you should be able to get some competitive pricing right now....just have to get in there and haggle them...

 

[gus6464]

I would stay away from sony....Zumbo has a much better suggestion with the Yammy....you should be able to get some competitive pricing right now....just have to get in there and haggle them...

Why stay away from Sony? The new Yamaha's measure poorly to their advertised specs. Yamaha is no longer what it used to be.

 

[zumbo]

Why stay away from Sony? The new Yamaha's measure poorly to their advertised specs. Yamaha is no longer what it used to be.

Right.

The Yamaha RX-Z7 I ordered doesn't compare to Yamaha receivers offered prior to it. I am certain it will be of much poorer quality than the four-year old Yamaha it will replace.

Sony 920 advertises 1% distortion. I would hate to see the actual bench results.

And the Sony just looks so good.

 

[gus6464]

Right.

The Yamaha RX-Z7 I ordered doesn't compare to Yamaha receivers offered prior to it. I am certain it will be of much poorer quality than the four-year old Yamaha it will replace.

Sony 920 advertises 1% distortion. I would hate to see the actual bench results.

And the Sony just looks so good.

It's funny how you compare a receiver that costs thousands of dollars to a receiver that is only $500 at most. This is the review of the 863 which has the same amp section as the 663.

http://www.hometheatermag.com/receivers/708yamrec/index2.html

So I guess less than 50% of advertised power spec is considered good to you.

All channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 41.6 watts
1% distortion at 47.9 watts

 

[zumbo]

It's funny how you compare a receiver that costs thousands of dollars to a receiver that is only $500 at most.

Your reply was general. You didn't specify a certain level. I was giving my exact experience.

The new Yamaha's measure poorly to their advertised specs. Yamaha is no longer what it used to be.

This is the review of the 863 which has the same amp section as the 663.

http://www.hometheatermag.com/receivers/708yamrec/index2.html

So I guess less than 50% of advertised power spec is considered good to you.

All channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 41.6 watts
1% distortion at 47.9 watts

Probably why that unit comes with pre-outs. Looks like a good pre-amp, loaded with features for the $. Loaded with more features for the $ than any other pre-out equiped receiver.

All budget full featured receivers skimp on power. ALL OF THEM.

If they don't skimp on power, they skimp on features. It's up to the end-user.

 

[rnatalli]

All budget full featured receivers skimp on power. ALL OF THEM.

If they don't skimp on power, they skimp on features. It's up to the end-user.

I'm not sure that's true. The Denon's typically hit their advertised specs and have loads of features. Take the 1909/789 for instance. Onkyo's also come close to their advertised specs and are loaded with features as well.

 

[zumbo]

I'm not sure that's true. The Denon's typically hit their advertised specs and have loads of features. Take the 1909/789 for instance. Onkyo's also come close to their advertised specs and are loaded with features as well.

Denon 1909 is almost $200 more than the 663.

Onkyo offers more than any other brand in the bang for the buck. I don't do Onkyo though. It's a personal thing.

 

[zumbo]

Audioholics review found the Yamaha 659 to beat it's published specs. Same retail price as the current 663.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/receivers/yamaha-rx-v659/rx-v659-measurements-analysis

 

[zumbo]

This is one of the reasons I just don't get into reviews. Most reviews are advertisements, not honest reviews.(IMO) I buy a receiver for it's quality, and features. I make sure it has pre-outs, and add an external amp. I will not even be using the internal power of my RX-Z7.

 

[davidtwotrees]

I bought a 663 and am using the preouts. It performs as advertised, with regards to features. For $350 I got exactly what I paid for- gives me all the options I need for blu ray and hdmi. I've liked the auto setup thus far, the menus are very intuitive, the om is easy to read and use, and my harmony remote works flawlessly with it.......
Is it cheesy in terms of build quality? Wellllll, yeah. The plastic front face is pretty flimsy, the volume control feels really cheap, and the binding posts are less than robust. Other than that it does what I purchased it for.
I would say that all the other htr in this price range will fall close to this bq.
I would expect the rxz7 to have a much higher level of bq. I can't comment on the Sony product of the ops orig. post. Not a big Sony fan, frankly. I have liked the Pio products I have owned, especially the elite brand. I think at this price point you are paying for feature rich products. There isn't money left over for a heavy duty build....imho.

 

[jostenmeat]

Well its been 2 months for me researching on receivers. Still undecided about my choice between Onkyo 606, Yamaha 663, Pioneer 1018 and Sony 920. This evening I saw Amazon selling 920 for only 357 bucks. Only Onkyo is close to this price range. But since Onkyo has few minor issues like over heating, 1080i vs 1080p upscaling and bad interface, I am leaning more towards the Sony.
I have rest of the stuff ready to be hooked up to the receiver. Polk Audio 6750 5.1 speaker system, Sony BD 350 and my Vizio LCD. I am looking for a receiver for this combo. I am planning to use HDMI interface mainly.

So what you guys suggest. Wait for some more time and look for thanksgiving deal on Yamaha and Pioneer or go with Sony and end my agonizingly long wait for first ever Home Theater system.

Thanks, well ahead of all the responses.

Hello techmine. I'm only familiar with the Onkyo and Yammy really. This is what I said just a week ago:
"IMO, the 606 is the superior unit in every regard, except that it does not have pre-outs to add an an amp.

More power, more hdmi inputs (4 vs 2), better bass mgmt, ability to matrix advanced bitstreams, Audyssey Dynamic EQ.

The best thing the 663 has going for it, and its a big one, is that its the cheapest new thing you can buy to use as an HT pre/pro.

Then again, some people just don't like Onkyo. For me, they've so far represented unbeatable value ever since they brought in the first HDMI receivers with onboard decoding.

Hope that helps more than it hurts."

Regarding Onkyo video, HDMI is untouched even at 24p. The only issue is running component connections, then converted to HDMI. I would only consider this is if I had a really, really poor display I think.

Another issue with the 663 that I didn't mention above is that it clips BTB/WTW for anyone who wants to use an HTPC connected to it. Not the Onkyo AFAIK.

 

[zumbo]

It sure is odd that Yamaha has all these feature loaded receivers that perform well as pre-pros, and yet they don't offer any m/c amps.

The RX-Z series even have a pre-amp mode that disables the internal amplification. This feature is not available on any RX-V.