Down to 2 Amps

[Hollywood1]

Okay, I've narrowed it down to either Denon AVR-1908 or Onkyo TX-SR605. Both appear to be close on specs, but I don't know all the technical stuff about these two and am not familiar with eith of the companies gear. I've been running a Yamaha for 12 years. Which one is the stronger unit? Denon is priced at $599 & Onkyo at $470 which is significantly cheaper! I plan on replacing my Yamaha RX-V850 ( 85 watt/ .015%THD), It has center channel issues, and using it to power my zone 2 house speakers which I have in 5 rooms of my house. The new amp will be used in my living room in a 5.1 setup, or possible 7.1, with Boston speakers and a powered Boston sub. Any pros of cons?, or any other reccommendations?

 

[Seth=L]

The Onkyo and Denon are comparable in power, the Onkyo has more processing features and Onkyo has a good track record for ease of use and setup.

 

[Hollywood1]

Anybody else have any experience with either of these two units?

 

[wire]

Anybody else have any experience with either of these two units?

Is it possible , you taking these units home and giving them a test drive and see what you like better ? Before purchasing one of the units .

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Why not stick with a Yammy since you have had good luck with it. The RX661 should provide everything you need.

My last Yamaha lasted 14 years before I gave it away and the last 3 years was in the garage with the hot Texas weather!

 

[Pipelayer]

I would normally choose the Denon but the Onkyo does seem like more bang for the buck in this instance. The reason I chose Denon is because I favored the sound quality, it's like gold to my ears.. so clear.. so crisp. It also depends on what you want or need, for instance if you need good upconversion on your amp then Onkyo is not a good choice, it only does it to 720p, however, if this is not important to you the Onkyo is the best choice for your price range.

 

[Seth=L]

I would normally choose the Denon but the Onkyo does seem like more bang for the buck in this instance. The reason I chose Denon is because I favored the sound quality, it's like gold to my ears.. so clear.. so crisp. It also depends on what you want or need, for instance if you need good upconversion on your amp then Onkyo is not a good choice, it only does it to 720p, however, if this is not important to you the Onkyo is the best choice for your price range.

None of the receivers mentioned in this thread have scaling features.

 

[Hollywood1]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought of the Yamaha RX-661 but it doesn't upconvert. The Onkyo and the Denon do?

 

[Seth=L]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought of the Yamaha RX-661 but it doesn't upconvert. The Onkyo and the Denon do?

The Onkyo and the Denon do transcoding, otherwise known as upconverting. They take all inputs and convert them to one HDMI output, but only at their respective native resolutions. The Onkyo has a Faroudja DCDi deinterlacer for progressive scan (480p) no scaling beyond that.

The Denon has no deinterlacer.

I would advise you to forget about upscaling on receivers, as their performance in this price bracket are lackluster, such as the H/K AVR-247. Even higher end receivers like the Onkyo TX-NR905's scalers are not up to snuff with the Toshiba HD-XA2.

Getting an Oppo, Blu-ray, or HD DVD player will yield better results for your money, and most brand name HDTVs have decent scalers as well.

 

[Hollywood1]

What chipset and what output format does the Denon put out?

 

[Seth=L]

What chipset and what output format does the Denon put out?

Sorry, I edited the above post about 5 times.

The Denon has none.

 

[Hollywood1]

Seth, this is what I found on Cnet:

The AVR-1908, on the other hand, offers true HDMI switching with audio, along with onscreen display, which both step-down models lack. The AVR-1708 and the AVR-1908 both feature Audyssey auto setup, along with upconversion to the component video output--the AVR-1508 is lacking both of these features.

Would that be the same as the Onko video output?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I would just pass it through the AVR and let the display handle the fancy stuff...

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought of the Yamaha RX-661 but it doesn't upconvert. The Onkyo and the Denon do?

 

[Seth=L]

Seth, this is what I found on Cnet:

The AVR-1908, on the other hand, offers true HDMI switching with audio, along with onscreen display, which both step-down models lack. The AVR-1708 and the AVR-1908 both feature Audyssey auto setup, along with upconversion to the component video output--the AVR-1508 is lacking both of these features.

Would that be the same as the Onko video output?

The upconversion refers to transcoding of Composite and S-video signals to component video. No scaling is done, no deinterlacing.

The Onkyo can Deinterlace to 480p (not really relevant as an Oppo, HD DVD, Blu-ray, or you TV can handle it better most likely) and can process Bitstream audio from HD DVD and Blu-ray players that support the HDMI 1.3 spec., the Denon can only process LPCM and SPDIF audio formats over HDMI The Onkyo does those as well as the HD audio bitstreams, which could be important in the future of HD DVD and Blu-ray players as they will not likely feature on-board HD audio decoders.

It also looks like the Denon may not transcode all video inputs to HDMI like the Onkyo does. I think the Onkyo is a clear victor here.

 

[Hollywood1]

Thanks for the help. Now I'm pondering the TXSR-605 vs the TXSR-705. The only difference is about $180 more money = more power & THX2 cert. It never ends. This stuff is like doing drugs!

 

[croseiv]

I was going to suggest the 705 for more power plus it has pre-outs in case you want to add an external amp.

 

[croseiv]

This stuff is like doing drugs!

Yes! Electronics are highly addictive.

 

[Seth=L]

Thanks for the help. Now I'm pondering the TXSR-605 vs the TXSR-705. The only difference is about $180 more money = more power & THX2 cert. It never ends. This stuff is like doing drugs!

Just remember, the TX-SR705 has no more video processing features than the TX-SR605. But I don't think you will be needing scalers in a receiver anyway.

Most Boston Acoustic speakers are pretty efficient, you may not need the extra power of the TX-SR705 anyway.

 

[Hollywood1]

I hate this hobby. Now I'm stuck between the TX-
SR705 or a few more dollars for the 805! I just want to make sure I have enough power for my room 30 x 20 and I don't have to buy another amp for a while! My Yamaha lasted 14 years and now it will be demoted to 2nd room duties.

 

[mazersteven]

I hate this hobby. Now I'm stuck between the TX-
SR705 or a few more dollars for the 805!

Your not stuck. Your going to get the 805. Because if you don't you'll always "Wonder" if you should have.