Denon Receivers

[UltraShadow]

Hi All,
First time posting as I ran across this site last night.
I am looking for a receiver to go with my 50" plasma and home theatre speakers (I haven't purchased the speakers yet). I am looking at several different receivers one of which is Denon. From all the research I have done, Denon seems like a solid choice for a A/V receiver. Most Denon receivers are not THX Certified. A salesman I spoke with last weekend told me that Denon does not certify their receivers because they feel their equipment meets/exceeds the standards and do not spend the money to be certified. I recently ran across Denon's two high end models which are THX Certified. Was the salesman blowing me a bunch of bull on the other receivers?
Also, I am looking at a receiver in the $900-$1300 range. I have looked at Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha, and Pioneer. Curious what you all think since it appears you are all (well most so it sounds) experienced in this area.
Thanks for your comments and look forward to chatting with everyone.

 

[j_garcia]

The 3805 is on clearance at most places right now to make way for the 3806.

Your speakers are something you should probably settle on first, before choosing a receiver, so you know what kind of power you are going to need to handle them rather than the other way around.

 

[Snap]

J Garcia is right. Get settled on what speakers you are wanting first. Some Towers, Book Shelf, Sat in walls what ever. Speakers have different sensitivity ratings. So in short...some speakers require more power to make them sound good. (Simple explaination) Also no need for the 130 watts of power if you are going to throw up some Sat speakers that 95 watts would power perfectly. Some people might disagree, but there is always other places to put the savings. Like a MX-850 remote, better interconnects etc.

So once you find out what your needs are with speakers, and what you are looking at. Then you can talk about a receiver. I will say with that kind of budget, go Denon or Yammy. Those would be my choice. Pioneer for if you wanted to save money on the receiver and spend it on better speakers.

My thoughts on the issue.

 

[Takeereasy]

Aside from agreeing with the other two posts about deciding on speakers first I'm going to add this. The salesman was not blowing smoke up your butt. The odds are very good that that some of Denons lower models either meet or exceed THX select standards. That THX badge costs money, and to many people it is just not worth it. Some argue THX is just a marketing ploy, but most will acknowledge it does at least provide some kind of minimum standard that AV devices must adhere to. $900 to $1300 will get you a heck of a decent receiver. You should also be concerned with the connectivity options on the receiver. Since you have a plasma I'm assuming it has either a HDMI or DVI output, if you want to route this through the receiver you are narrowing down receivers based soley on their ability to stay solely within the digital realm with this type of signal. The Yamaha 2600 would be a top contender for you IMO, and it should be street priced right at about your budget. It is also quite capable of driving a low impedence load as illustrated in the excellent review it received on this site. Good luck with all your purchases, keep us posted.

 

[UltraShadow]

I appreciate all of your posts. I am going to look at speakers this weekend. I am leaning towards the Mythos setup with a supercube sub as one of my possibilities. I've seen several members on this board that either have it, or have heard it and seemed to be impressed.
I'm glad for receivers you mentioned either Denon or Yamaha. I was leaning towards the Denon 3806, Yamaha RX-V2600, or the Yamaha HTR-5990. I'm curious between the three, which you think would be the best. I've read many reviews on all and just when I think I've decided, I read something that persuades towards one of the others.

Thoughts??

 

[Snap]

I say the 2600 for receiver. I am not a fan of Def Techs but I will give them credit for 2 lines of speakers. Pro C. 60's and the Mythos. They make a great sounding small speaker. (Some will say that all their stuff rocks, but I am not a fan of the Def Tech towers. They hurt my ears after a while.) But the Mythos is a cool, sleek, good sounding speaker that will serve you well. Make sure to bring some CD's that YOU like when you go and listen to them. Also bring at least 2 of your favorite DVD's so that you can hear what YOUR favorite movies sound like on the Mythos!

Keep us all posted!

Blessed,

Jim

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Take a very close look at the Denon AVR3806 and Yamaha RX-V2600. Those IMO are the best out right now in your price range.

I'm disappointed in the new Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXVi. It in no way compares to last years VSX-56TXi. The VSX-56TXi would be an outstanding purchase right now, along with a Denon 3805 IF you aren't looking for HDMI/updated tech.