mrturtle said:
When trying to choose between the Denon AVR5803 vs. Onkyo TXDS989Ver2.
How do I choose?
Is their a better choice out there?
How to choose is really a matter of personal value preference based on even just a little but basic knowledge.
Personally, with most mass market products in the flagship price points, I probably can't go wrong with any brand. Aesthetics or looks often enter the picture. Do you want an all black set-up? Or would silver or gold do? Do you like a clean facade where all the little adjustment buttons are hidden by a sliding panel? DO you like your display readout in white, blue, orange or red?
Bells and whistles are also quite a criteria on their own. Can you do with only 10 DSP settings on 100? All flagships support all the known sound formats known to man at this time, with software upgradablity features to last another couple of years. Do you want 7.1 or 10.1 channels? If you can afford a 10.1 flagship, you better afford 10.1 speakers as well. And not just any speaker. To a large extent, speakers (and your room accoustics) determine the sound that get's to your ears. If you can't afford truly excellent speakers, I would suggest you don't spread yourself thinly on more channels. A 5.1 set-up using excellent speakers stand a better chance of sounding more pleasant than a 7.1 set-up using average speakers.
Amplifer sections are fairly the same. You just have to wade through all the power rating hypes out there. Differences of 10watts to 30watts will hardly make any sonic difference when you're talking above 100watts per channel. And I must say ALL flagship receivers have sufficient power to make any HT listening powerful and enjoyable. Can't say the same for Hi-Resolution multichannel music though.
Do you also like to play in stereo mode only? HT receivers are notorious for wanting in this department. But many flagship receivers that have some form of AUDIO-DIRECT of DIGITAL BYPASS switch AND a VIDEO OFF switch stand a good chance of routing stereo analog signals better. Such circuits turn off the digital processes and video switching circuits that are said to introduce unwanted noise that can raise the noise floor for analog signals. I think this feature is standard in all flagship receivers.
Do you like finely adjustable delays and bass management cutover points and levels for each channel? I think some flagships do a more thorough job here than others. I am not sure if 0.5db increments are audible but some flagships have this minute increments while others offer only 1db increments.
Do you like to have some form of room accoustic compensation? Some flagshps have this dubiously useful feature that uses a mic and a feedback system to equalize and re-shape the sounds coming from your speakers to compensate for losses or peaks that get to your listening position.
Will you be using the same DVD players from the same brand? Some, maybe all, flagship receivers offer better interfaces with their respective DVD players so you can optimize their sonics. Apart from reducing the number of remote controls you use, they have proprietary links like I-link, D-link, HDMI, firewire, ek, ek, that can carry all the audio and video digital signals into just one cable between player and receiver - further simplifying the connections but maximizing the benefits.
Would you like to link your receiver to your home PC so that it can play all your stored MP3 and wav files as well? Some flagships have this feature too.
Then there are other considerations as well. Like if you already have your favourite speakers at home, then you should just ensure that whatever new receiver you bring, it can safely drive those speakers. Just make sure that the speaker's nominal impedance rating is well within or above the minimum recommended speaker impedance of your receiver. With regards the power rating, as long as you won't bring the receiver to full volume during your normal listening schedule, any commercial speaker will do. It's ideal to have a 100watt RMS speaker be driven by a 100watt RMS receiver. But disparities of up to 50% from either side have been known to work pretty well.
And last but not the least, do you like to heat your sandwich or snacks a few hours into the listening session? You don't have to spend another 1000watts on a microvave oven to do that. Many flagship receivers generate so much heat about an hour into continuous listening at a volume in the 11 o'clock position that even a calloused hand can't survive touching the top of the reciever for even 3 seconds. Not that's it's an abnormality, but it surely beats having a microwave in your listneing room. In case you are bothered by this, make sure to leave some loose change and buy a fan or some ventillating device and train it over your reciever.
Just my thoughts.
