I need help on my final receiver choice. I have 4 to choose from.

[adam83]

I'll start off by describing my situation. I have a new 600 square foot room in the upstairs of my house. no doors, just one big open room. I had about $600 to spend on a stereo system. I wanted big floor speakers, the most power and sound I could afford, and a good receiver to power them.

Considering my budget, the type of music I listen to (punk, hip hop, classic rock, some techno, some rap, and pop) and the size and shape of the room, and the reveiws and research I looked up online, I found a good deal on some speakers that fit my needs.

I bought a pair of Cerwin Vega DX-9 speakers. This is their specs:

Brand: Cerwin Vega
Model: DX-9
Function: Main / Stereo
Construction: 3-Way
Woofer Size (Inch): 15
Peak Power Handling (Watts): 400
Mounting: Floorstanding
Midrange Size (Inch): 7.5
Tweeter Size (Inch): 3

As of now, they are the only speakers in my setup. Probably will be for awhile. Now, I need a good receiver, at least 100w per channel. My very top budget is $300. I have done all the research that i can, considering my amatuer knowledge level of stereo equipment. This is what i have come up with. I kept my search to 3 brand names, HK, Onkyo and Denon. This is what is available to me locally and on ebay at the price I can afford. I need advice on which to pick. WHich is the best for what I have? I will probably be adding more speakers down the road, but for now it's just the DX-9's. Which receiver will make them hit the hardest and is the best quality?

Denon DRA-697CI HD $250

denon avr 4802 $300

denon 3600 $174

Onkyo TX-SR702 $180

 

[Seth=L]

The Denon AVR-4802 is the most powerful receiver in your list, although unnecessarily so. The CV speakers are very efficient, a solid 50 watts would have them going at crushing volume if there's some headroom in whatever's powering them. Assuming it comes with remote (which is a funky LCD touchscreen remote) and is clean $300 is a fair price.


The Denon DRA-697CI seems to be priced right, however it's not nearly as powerful as the Denon AVR-4802. Perhaps the most obvious ommision is surround capabilities of any kind with the DRA-697CI. I would only choose the Denon DRA-697CI over the AVR-4802 if the DRA-697CI was in prestine condition with original remote and the AVR-4802 was in poor shape and/or missing remote.

The Denon AVR-3600 in great condition with original remote could fetch that price with the right buyer. Don't get me wrong, it was a great receiver in it's day and it still is. It lacks some modern features, and it's not as powerful as the AVR-4802. I'd only choose this one to save some money and if it were in excellent condition with remote. You might also be swayed to choose this one if you have any level of interest in Laserdisc, most folks don't. The AVR-3600 has a RF input for Dolby Digital support from a Laserdisc, very few modern receivers feature this type of input since Laserdisc is a long since dead technology.

Onkyo TX-SR702. A decent receiver at a decent price, again assuming in great condition with remote and original microphone for auto calibration. It's the newest of the receivers you've listed and has the most modern features, however I'd choose this one last unless surround sound was a must and it had to be cheap and the AVR-3600 happened to be crummy for some reason. The Denon AVR-3600 is a more robust and well built receiver with more power than the Onkyo.

Given your situation as I know it, assuming all factors are perfect, would be the AVR-4802. If I was pinched for cash and wanted to save some dollars I'd go after the AVR-3600.

My personal choice is biased because I have a laserdisc collection and no RF capable receiver or preamp, so the AVR-3600 would be my personal pick for that reason combined with the fact it is one of Denon's higher quality units.

 

[adam83]

wow, thank you so much for the informed, detailed answer. Everything I wanted to know was in there. I believe I'll go with the 4802. Where I was confused was is a 7.1 channel surround receiver would power the 2 front speakers differently than a 2 channel stereo amplifier. And, I have no experiance with receivers so all I could really do was compare the watts per channel ratings on the specs of each receiver. I also want the best receiver i can get so down the road, if I upgrade my speakers or add more, I will still have a great receiver and wont need to upgrade it. Did the 4802 come with anything else besides the remote?

I will be listening to most, if not all, of my music through my computer. I will start a new post when I get to that point, to find out what i need to best hook up and how to hook up my computer to my receiver. If this makes a difference on your suggeastion, please let me know.

Curios, I originally had 2 more on my list. A harman kardon 7200, it looked nice but was just out of my price range. How does the avr-4802 compare? Also, I found a Onkyo M-282 for $100. I thought this was an integrated amp, but I took it off my list because someone told me it was just an amp and I'd still need a pre amp to make it work. Sounded like too much of a hassle, and that it might get expensive, plus I didn't want to have to start researching pre amps. Is this true?

 

[Seth=L]

As far as what came with the AVR-4802 other than the remote, it would have come with a second zone remote as well as a manual. I'm not sure what else might have come with it.

In terms of how the surround sound receiver powers the speakers compared to a 2 channel, I think you'll find the AVR-4802 has a dramatic inrease in dynamic headroom (peak power). Because the AVR-4802 uses a large centralized transformer and capacitors it can deliver massive amounts of energy to which ever channels require it at the time. This means in 2 channel the receiver can exceed it's multichannel wattage ratings with ease, perhaps in excess of 200 watts per channel in that model.

As far as connection to the computer. If the computer has an SPDIF optical or coaxial output you could use that, if it doesn't I'd just use a 1/8" stereo to stereo RCA cable adaptor to connect it to the receiver.

The Harman Kardon AVR-7200 is a massive receiver, and I love the way they look. While I don't feel it's built as well as the AVR-4802 it could be slightly more powerful, then again I'm not sure. I think the Denon is going to have more power than you'll know what to do with.

The Onkyo M-282 is anemic compared to virtually any of the receivers on your list. It's not bad for the price, but it's also not going to add anything to your experience to get it should you end up with something like the AVR-4802.

 

[adam83]

What to look for?

I am going tonight to check out and buy the 4802. This is my first receiver purchase. I would appreciate some buying tips.

What do I need to check? What should I be looking for? What are typical problems that a seller can easily hide from an inexperianced buyer like me?

He has some speakers to hook up the receiver to, so It will be ready to inspect when I get there.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Seth=L]

Attempt to test all speaker outputs by engaging surround mode. Make sure the remote works. Ask him to connect a DVD player to it so you can see the digital input work. Assuming the DVD player has a coaxial digital output I would advise using that connection with basically any RCA cable in order to determine that it works. Mess with as many buttons and knobs on the receiver as possible to make sure they are working correctly.

 

[adam83]

Everything worked. He couldn't find the remote though, hopefully he can find it and he said he'd mail it to me. I drove an hour to get there, and the unit was pretty clean, everything worked and it didn't smell like they smoked in the house, so i bought it. Now I need to know what size and kind of speaker wire to buy/order. the speakers will be about 35 feet away from the receiver. I bought decent speakers and a good receiver, so I want to buy excellent wires. What do you recommend?

 

[gmichael]

Either this http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2789&seq=1&format=2

Or this

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm


Depending on your budget.

 

[adam83]

Ok, 1st question. the blue jean cable selection is obviously a much higher cost than the stuff on monoprice. But, is it worth the significant cost increase? Will the cheaper cable, which by the way has consistent excellent reviews, work just as well in my application as the more expensive stuff? if so I'll probably just stick with that.

2nd question. If the the belden speaker wires are by far much better, than which should I buy, 10g or 12g? Again, will going with one or the other make a real difference in my application?


blue jeans cable:
Raw Speaker Cable:

BJC Ten White (5T00UP) (White jacket, 10 AWG)
(max. cable length that will fit flat-rate box: 200 feet) 0.99/ft

Belden 5T00UP (Gray jacket, 10 AWG)
(max. cable length that will fit flat-rate box: 200 feet) 0.96/ft

BJC Twelve White (5000UE) (White jacket, 12 AWG)
(max. cable length that will fit flat-rate box: 400 feet) 0.62/ft

Belden 5000UE (Gray jacket, 12 AWG)
(max. cable length that will fit flat-rate box: 400 feet) 0.52/ft





monoprice cable:
12AWG Enhanced Loud Oxygen-Free Copper Speaker Wire Cable - 100ft

• Original Value* : $70.38

Quantity Our Price
1 $23.74
2 - 9 $23.12
10 - 19 $22.49
20 - 49 $21.87
50+ $21.25

 

[Seth=L]

Just buy the Monoprice stuff. The Bluejeans cables are nice, but they won't offer a sonic advantage over the cheaper monoprice cables.

As far as I'm concerned, BlueJeans cables are a budget "audiophile" cable. I don't mean that in the regard that they claim their cables make your speakers sound better, but they have an overall appearance to them that will feel at home with higher end components. I feel it's purely aesthetics, much like Kimber Kable. I've used "high end" cables and cheap no name stuff and there's not difference that I can tell.

 

[adam83]

Great. Just ordered it the monoprice. Now I need to check out my computer for what type of connections it has when I get home

 

[gmichael]

I know I'm too late, but I agree with Seth. The Monoprice cables are fine for your needs. They work great for me. I would only step up if the extra cost didn't mean anything to my budget.