Help Picking A New Receiver

[Dead Wax Dave]

Looking for suggestions for a receiver.

Something that will have the torque to push a set of Klipsch RF7’s and a set of Klipsch RP 8000’s and semi- budget friendly. $1000-1500 range.

I’ll probably get some flak for this setup. I’ve been using a 4 channel quadraphonic or phantom surround. Speakers on 4 sides with a chair in the center.

I’d like something similar to this old 4 channel surround setup

 

[lovinthehd]

Torque? What's that mean? Using a surround mode with just four speakers (i.e. no center) isn't that unusual, but your speaker placement does sound odd....got a pic or illustration? What sound mode were you using in your Sony?

 

[Jazzy2020]

Torque? What's that mean?

A receiver with 4 grippy tires, a motor, and oomph, I bet!

May be a lil over budget ($1600-1700 range), but Denon X4500, or X4700?
Or if you don't ever plan to go past 5.1 channels, maybe a simpler 5.1 receiver with preouts and buy an amp for LR channels to start, and leave rears to be driven (by the torque) of the receiver you choose.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

Looking for suggestions for a receiver.
Something that will have the torque to push a set of Klipsch RF7’s and a set of Klipsch RP 8000’s and semi- budget friendly. $1000-1500 range.

I would suggest the refurbished Denon 4500. I bought one early this year and it looks brand new and works great. Comes with 3 year warranty, 125 watts per channel, Audyssey and preamp outs. It took my system to a new level on a small budget.

Accessories4less: High End Audio at Low End Prices!

www.accessories4less.com

 

[lovinthehd]

A receiver with 4 grippy tires, a motor, and oomph, I bet!

May be a lil over budget ($1600-1700 range), but Denon X4500, or X4700?
Or if you don't ever plan to go past 5.1 channels, maybe a simpler 5.1 receiver with preouts and buy an amp for LR channels to start, and leave rears to be driven (by the torque) of the receiver you choose.

Was thinking more a diesel version

I like the Denon 4500 suggestions....unless you want/need the feature set of the 4700.

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

Torque? What's that mean? Using a surround mode with just four speakers (i.e. no center) isn't that unusual, but your speaker placement does sound odd....got a pic or illustration? What sound mode were you using in your Sony?

Torque (watts)

Yes my setup is like 5.1 without a center. My Sony receiver has “phantom” mode surround. It’s 4 way surround without a center. No center give It a very 360 directional sound, lots of spacious left/right.

No pics of the whole room. But the speakers are close to each corner of the room with a recliner in the center. Think of the triangle setup for 2 channel, but instead, an X. With your head being the center of the x.

One might say I’m destroying the stage presence. But hearing it is another story.

 

[lovinthehd]

Torque (watts)

Yes my setup is like 5.1 without a center. My Sony receiver has “phantom” mode surround. It’s 4 way surround without a center. No center give It a very 360 directional sound, lots of spacious left/right.

No pics of the whole room. But the speakers are close to each corner of the room with a recliner in the center. Think of the triangle setup for 2 channel, but instead, an X. With your head being the center of the x.

One might say I’m destroying the stage presence. But hearing it is another story.

Lower impedance capability is probably closer to the idea of torque. Doubt your speakers need anything particularly unusual either way but the higher end avrs tend to do well enough in both departments. I was picturing four each mid-wall from your description . Most avrs will be able to handle surround without a center channel, tho I did take a look at your manual and it does have some particular modes without center. As long as it's not multich-stereo mode

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

I really appreciate all your input, HD.

Shopping for a new receiver is a bit overwhelming. I’d like a good quality receiver but I don’t need 74.2 surround and so many of the other features. No video. My room is purely for music. CD, Turntable, and Amazon HD. Are there other receivers that have a 4 way surround feature you might recommend?

These 4 Klipsch speakers are beasts. I listen at moderate to low volume most of the time. My old Sony powers them nicely at low volume. Plenty of low end bass at low levels.

I got burned with buying a new Yamaha that claimed 200watts. It was severely lacking in the bass department. Btw, my reason for trading up for my Sony I’ve praised so much, it’s probably around 30 years old and the left channel is fading and making crackling sounds.

 

[lovinthehd]

Multich audio only receivers aren't really a thing that I know of and avrs are much easier to use with video displays, too.....have you considered just buying a used receiver off craigslist etc? Many people do sell off perfectly good stuff while they upgrade to the latest/greatest and you could save quite a bit of coin.

What Yamaha are you referring to? I'm not aware of any receiver offering 200wpc currently (at least not at 8ohms 20hz-20khz at a low thd rating). Not sure why it would lack in bass either...and yes I'm aware of your Sony thread as I posted in it

 

[PENG]

Torque (watts)

To avoid confusion, please use "current" (electric) for analogy to "torque" (mechanical). If you meant "watt", then the analogy/equivalent on the mechanical side is Horse power (HP), or Joules/second (J/s).

The big question is the seating distance. Any AVR can drive those Klipsch easily, that is, have enough current for them if you sit close enough to them.

It is best to use an online spl calculator to find get a good estimate of how much power (watts) and/or current (A, i.e. amperes) you need and go from there. Keep in mind those Klipsch speakers typically have very high sensitivity specs, such as 98 dB/2.83 V/m or higher but based on available actual measurements, but when you use a spl calculator, don't enter the specified number but drop it by a few dB, say 6 dB just to be on the conservative side. Available actual measurements of the likes of those Klipsch speakers seemed to indicate the specified numbers were typically exaggerated by a few dB for some reasons, perhaps due to aggressive marketing/sales strategy?.. This is important because for every 3 dB sensitivity difference the power requirement would differ by 2 times.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

I really appreciate all your input, HD.

Shopping for a new receiver is a bit overwhelming. I’d like a good quality receiver but I don’t need 74.2 surround and so many of the other features. No video. My room is purely for music. CD, Turntable, and Amazon HD. Are there other receivers that have a 4 way surround feature you might recommend?

Even if you don't need an AVR, it's the best choice for a quality sound system at a reasonable price. You might think you can save by getting something without video but it's really hard to find the same quality and value in a non-AVR. Most of the non-AVR receivers under $1,000 are under powered with over stated RMS ratings. In addition, it's nice to have the monitor available for programing the receiver and making on-the-fly adjustments. Plus, until you have tried room equalization with Audyssey you won't know what you have been missing.

I purchased several "audio only" receivers in the past and none of them compare to the sound quality and feature set offered by my Denon 4500. Even if I never play BluRay or Netflix on my music system, the sound quality is much better with the 4500 and I have more sound stage options, EQ and multichannel high quality amplification. Add to that Airplay II, computer web interface, iPad/iPhone Apps, support for all streaming music platforms and the Denon EQ app that allows me to setup custom EQ settings.

I haven't seen anything near this feature set on a low cost "audio only" receiver. I use the Denon 95% of the time just for music listening. But, if I want to experience an amazing sound track like "Aquaman" in my audio room the 4500 is ready to take me on that fun joy ride too.

Amazon.com: Aquaman (4K Ultra HD) [Blu-ray]: Peter Safran, Deborah Snyder, Rob Cowan, Zack Snyder, Jon Berg, Geoff Johns, Walter Hamada, James Wan, Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ludi Lin, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Will Beall, Geoff Johns, James Wan: Movies & TV

Amazon.com: Aquaman (4K Ultra HD) [Blu-ray]: Peter Safran, Deborah Snyder, Rob Cowan, Zack Snyder, Jon Berg, Geoff Johns, Walter Hamada, James Wan, Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ludi Lin, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman, David...

www.amazon.com

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

To avoid confusion, please use "current" (electric) for analogy to "torque" (mechanical). If you meant "watt", then the analogy/equivalent on the mechanical side is Horse power (HP), or Joules/second (J/s).

The big question is the seating distance. Any AVR can drive those Klipsch easily, that is, have enough current for them if you sit close enough to them.

It is best to use an online spl calculator to find get a good estimate of how much power (watts) and/or current (A, i.e. amperes) you need and go from there. Keep in mind those Klipsch speakers typically have very high sensitivity specs, such as 98 dB/2.83 V/m or higher but based on available actual measurements, but when you use a spl calculator, don't enter the specified number but drop it by a few dB, say 6 dB just to be on the conservative side. Available actual measurements of the likes of those Klipsch speakers seemed to indicate the specified numbers were typically exaggerated by a few dB for some reasons, perhaps due to aggressive marketing/sales strategy?.. This is important because for every 3 dB sensitivity difference the power requirement would differ by 2 times.

Was just trying to be humorous with the torque analogy.

Thank you for your time and input.

 

[Dead Wax Dave]

Thanks for the help everyone.

The Denon avr seems to be a popular suggestion. I’ll look into the 4500.