First-Time Receiver Buyers Guide

[IAmCanadian]

<font color='#000000'>I have to throw my hat into this area, as I have had a similar dilemma to those who are first starting out to buy their receiver or upgrade. &nbsp;There is a wealth of information in this forum that can greatly help in your decision making process, unfortunately, it can be a little scattered, so I am going to sum up some of it to help you and other first-timers in what can be a fun process. &nbsp;I encourage all others to add their knowledge and experinces to this string in order to help others. &nbsp;Please don't flame in here, as your computer may explode suddenly

. &nbsp;Before I begin, I must apologize for the length of this post, but I feel that it’s worth it.
First things first, I cannot stress how important it is for you to go out and LISTEN to EACH of the models you are interested in. &nbsp;Each one has a characteristic sound that sets each unit apart from the other. &nbsp;It is sooooo important that you have a listen to them for yourself. &nbsp;I was amazed at just how different the sounds are on each receiver when I went and tried them out. &nbsp;Take your own source material and listen to the same scenes on each receiver. &nbsp;I used the opening battle scene in Gladiator (DTS&amp;DD) and some scene's from LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring. &nbsp;Give yourself some time to listening to the scenes, don't feel hurried and cut yourself short, but don't pick too many scenes, as you may find yourself less able to accurately compare. &nbsp;Take a CD or two with one or two tracks on each that you like. &nbsp;I brought along a Frank Sinatra compilation that had some female accompanied tracks. &nbsp;I also think Jazz/classical can help test receivers, but if you don’t like a genre, you won’t listen to it at home, so be sure to bring something YOU like. &nbsp;Listen to the tracks in three or four of the modes available on each receiver. &nbsp;Compare them, but take your time, listen to the whole song. &nbsp;
Also, it’s important that you should have one of your DVD scenes designated as your 'Loud as I can stand it' selection which you use to compare the Watts Per Channel of each receiver. &nbsp;True some manufacturers underestimate, while others overestimate (the majority), but what it boils down to is that YOU want a receiver that can go as loud as YOU want it with the least distortion. &nbsp;So listen to your ‘Loud’ scene on all the receivers you are looking at and be sure you set the volume control and prevent the dealer from sitting beside the receiver, allowing him to adjust the volume without your knowledge throughout. &nbsp;Note that this whole thing will not be a quick an easy procedure, but you can do it in one or two weekends. &nbsp;Remember, you are not obligated to buy any receiver that you listen to, so take your time and do it right. &nbsp;And keep in mind that you’re not dismantling a bomb, so relax, enjoy the big screens they usually supply.
Now that brings me to a question you may be thinking, &quot;What then, is this site good for?&quot; &nbsp;Well, this site is good for a lot of things, and here are some examples. &nbsp;Say if you have narrowed down your choices to two or three different receivers. &nbsp;You like all of their sound pretty much equally (which is really hard to do once you get into four or more different brands) and need help deciding. &nbsp;You could give the forum your situation and ask, say, what one receiver has that the others don't, allowing you to differentiate them more for your final choice.
You can search and ask about the service/repair/problem histories of each receiver, allowing you to take that into consideration. Additionally, specific/universal features can be discussed and explained in this forum, and you may get a clearer/whole picture regarding the receivers you like for the situation you need (the much quoted Home Theater/Music ratio ie. 60/40).
You can also get VERY valuable information in here about the tricks of the trade that salesmen often use to get you to buy their brand, or spend more money, and therefore be on MUCH better footing when shopping. &nbsp;In fact, I must insist that any first timer use this forum to look up all these tricks and gimicks that salesman use to upsell, or make you buy expensive accessories. &nbsp;For instance, after listening to a receiver, don't feel guilty if you tell a salesman that you have others to listen to before you make your final selection. &nbsp;If he’s honest he will encourage you to do so know there are sonic differences between receivers and personal tastes that differ from his own. &nbsp;Or, he may do the opposite, and get defensive, putting down other lines and even insulting your intelligence/listening judgment, and that's just poor sportsmanship that you don’t need.
Matching speakers to a receiver is a much more complicated procedure, and for the sake of not making this post three times longer than it is now, I will sidestep the issue with this caveat. &nbsp;Look at the speakers that the receiver is being tested on, ask about them, get their price, and then keep that knowledge with you as you compare receivers so that you can kinda keep some semblance of order. &nbsp;Home testing with your own speakers would be ideal, but not always available.
The point being made here is that YOU are the one who must ultimately like the sound that comes out of your receiver. &nbsp;Take, for instance, the Onkyo 701. &nbsp;It has a VERY DIFFERENT sound than a Yamaha v2400, and a test audition will probably sort out which you like better relatively quickly. &nbsp;When people post their choice of brand and model it is often, it is often with the caveat (hidden or explicit) that this is their PREFERENCE, the type of sound reproduction THEY like. We are not going to be in your living room any time soon, nor should we. &nbsp;I personally was turned off by Yamaha's sound, BUT that is MY preference. &nbsp;I am by no means saying that Yamaha is an inferior product because I do not like its sound, and those posting in here rarely make that mistake either. &nbsp;Note that posting problems with a receiver is another story, and are valid considerations.
So to start shopping for your new receiver, listen to all the brands you can find at a similar price point. &nbsp;To find out what these models are, check out the brands mentioned on this site and others, go to their webpages, and hit the dealers with the knowledge obtained above. After listening to them all, pick out the receiver you like the sound of the most. &nbsp;If there is more than one, post your dilemma in this forum and let us help make the choice more distinct for you, and possibly make the decision easier through clarity. &nbsp;I wish you all the best of luck on your adventure; I honestly had a good time with mine. &nbsp;Because of the posts from this site, I was armed with a lot of useful information, and was able to more easily spot shifty salesmen and their snake oils. &nbsp;Remember, don't be pushed into buying ANYTIHNG until you have heard EVERYTHING, and even then, come here and post/search for any problem histories regarding the unit before you buy. &nbsp;Again, good luck to you, and we wish you all the best.</font>

 

[austinbirdman]

<font color='#000000'>In response to this comment, which is more less the thesis of the above post:

&quot;I was amazed at just how different the sounds are on each receiver when I went and tried them out.&quot;

This is generally good advice but there's one MAJOR caveat -- receiver listening tests don't become especially useful, for comparative purposes, unless you listen to the same receivers in the same rooms. Listening to receivers in a showroom (not a Best Buy auditorium) will reveal basic flaws, and if you can hear several in the same room on the same speakers, you can make some good judgments. But going from showroom to showroom to test receivers is not neccessarily helpful and, in addition to leading you into many potentially irritating salespeople, it can even be highly misleading.

While receivers have sonic differences, in general, these are  harder to detect, by far, than differences in a) room acoustics and b) speaker acoustics. So long as you're comparing receivers (or pre-amps/amps) in the same general price point, yes, there are variations, but it's hard to detect them unless you listen to the receivers side by side in the same PRECISE listening environment with the same speakers. In sum, if you travel from store to store listening to receivers, mainly you'll be hearing the characteristics of each different listening room, and each store's speakers, not of the divergent receivers.

And ultimately the most important listening environment is your own, which you'll want to tame and arrange before you make too many snap judgments about your equipment. (A receiver that supossedly sounds &quot;bright,&quot; &quot;warm,&quot; or &quot;sibilant&quot; is often, and many feel most likely, revealing a room's characteristics, not the machine's.) So as a complement to the travelling receiver audition, it's best to plan on auditioning your final choice of receiver at home, on good and well positioned speakers, with an understanding that you can, and will, return it if you aren't satisfied with its sound there.

Birdman</font>

 

[austinbirdman]

<font color='#000000'>PS - This note on the Ascend forum from an audiologist adds some more perspective to the many variables that can affect listening tests. Interesting:

Audiologist on audio comparisons

Birdman</font>

 

[IAmCanadian]

<font color='#000000'>I know I kinda side stepped the whole room/speaker question, and that was because it is a very complex one. &nbsp;I hoped that others would add to this string and more fully lay out things I ommited, was incorrect on, and the such. &nbsp;You have, but no one else has, sniff sniff.
I agree completely that, ultimately, listening to the recievers at home with your own speakers would be the best situation. Unfortunately I did not have that option, and I imagine some others may encounter the same problem. &nbsp;Hearing the receiver with speakers you want to buy would be good too, but you are again left with the room complication. There is no easy answer to that, especially if you happen to live in a city far removed from others, and lack a dealer who carries multiple brands, let alone a home-trial policy. The best you can do is match like sounding speakers at the different dealers. If you have laid back speakers at home, try to find a pair to test on that are laid back. I actually brought my speakers with me as I tested (two fronts, two rears, and centre). I know that still leaves the room characteristics as a wildcard, but sometimes thats as close as you can hope for under these conditions. &nbsp;I think another way would be to make sure the dealer has a good return policy, and if it does, purchase the receiver, listen to it at home, and then return it to the dealer for a full refund. &nbsp;Wash, rinse, repeat. &nbsp;I know lugging my speakers around with me sounds like a lot of work, but I though it was less work than that alternative.
PS: Thanks for adding to the thread, I hope others do so too and make it a helpful string.</font>