Looking for a low(er) end receiver, specifically...

[scvkurt03]

hey guys and gals,
i'm new around here, and just wanted to see if i could get someone's help. you all seem pretty knowledgeable about the home theater side of this stuff, but my question concerns fidelity while listening to music. i listen to everything, but i think the true test, for me, of a receiver is if it can play cleanly, warmly, and very detailed in the most sensitive classical music passages.
i recently bought the Onkyo TX-SR302 for $200 at my local Fry's and am pretty happy with it, but i'm beginning to wonder about one of my other options, which was the Yamaha HTR-5730, at about the same price. i want to know which would be the most musical, yet still powerful for my movies, hip hop, drum and bass, jazz and whatnot.
thanks a lot!
kurt

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I've found Onkyo to be a little warmer than Yamaha which is better for serious audio listening, ie jazz, classical, etc... Both are fine for HT. You made a fine choice. If you are only running two channels and want to tailer the sound a bit more, try an Audio Source EQ. Some guys will swear against it, but hook one between your cd player and reciever and you'll never go back. It's very similar to the internal eq in your setup, with more flexiblity.

www.etronics.com/product.asp?icatid=4109&stk_code=audeq100&svbname=293

 

[Leprkon]

If you are only running two channels and want to tailer the sound a bit more, try an Audio Source EQ.

as the guy from Ohio says, if you are only running two channels.

you might note that a graphic equalizer should not be used for a home theater system. it works great for CD's, but your Dolby Digital and DTS decoders are looking for a specific signal. the equalizer skews the signal and can make the chip in your receiver burn up trying to correct for the skew.

 

[MDS]

you might note that a graphic equalizer should not be used for a home theater system. it works great for CD's, but your Dolby Digital and DTS decoders are looking for a specific signal. the equalizer skews the signal and can make the chip in your receiver burn up trying to correct for the skew.

If an EQ or any other type of processing changes the signal appreciably it simply won't be recognized as a valid DD/DTS signal and the decoder will fail to decode it properly. You will hear silence if it was totally unrecognizable or noise if it does recognize the signal but on decoding it doesn't yield a musical signal. Nothing will burn up except your ears from the noise.

 

[Leprkon]

Nothing will burn up except your ears from the noise.

ya'll just send your repair bills to this man right here...

 

[MDS]

Yeah, Leprkon you've posted many times that decoder chips will 'burn-up' if you alter the signal with an EQ. It's just not true.

The chips just decode a binary bitstream. If it can't recognize the bitstream, it just won't decode it. If you are using WinAmp and try to play a FLAC encoded wave file and it doesn't have a FLAC decoder will it cause the CPU in the computer to burn up because WinAmp is interpreting it as PCM? Of course not.

 

[Leprkon]

Then you'll be posting your address and checking account number for everyone to try it out since there's NO risk... or are you still "waiting" confirmation on getting one of those as well ??

 

[Leprkon]

oh, by the way.. it's not just me.. see this quote:

Note: One can argue that using an equalizer is a better option as you have more control over what frequencies are being boosted or attenuated. This is true; however, adding an EQ into the preamp section of your Receiver may throw off the calibration of your Dolby Prologic/Digital controller and may also overload the DSP chip causing damage or unwanted clipping.

from an expert ?? I'd like to think so I got it from the bottom of this article written by some guy named Gene:

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/loudspeakers/system_brightness.php

I guess maybe these Audioholics guys MIGHT know what they are talking about.. even if I don't...

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

oh, by the way.. it's not just me.. see this quote:

Note: One can argue that using an equalizer is a better option as you have more control over what frequencies are being boosted or attenuated. This is true; however, adding an EQ into the preamp section of your Receiver may throw off the calibration of your Dolby Prologic/Digital controller and may also overload the DSP chip causing damage or unwanted clipping.

from an expert ?? I'd like to think so I got it from the bottom of this article written by some guy named Gene:

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/loudspeakers/system_brightness.php

I guess maybe these Audioholics guys MIGHT know what they are talking about.. even if I don't...

If you're going to run an eq, only run it through your cd player to your cd "in" in the receiver. Don't mess with hooking other things up to it. These eq's are outdated, meant for older receivers with tape monitor "ins." I may be one of a very few, but I had an EQ 10 Audio Source hooked up to my former STR DE 925 Sony 110x5 watt digital-AC3-DTS receiver from 1991 through 2005. No problems at all. I won't run it through my new Denon 3805 though, because the internal parametric eq is fine. The Sony didn't seem to have the sound the Denon has, thus the need to tailor the output a bit more. PLus, you should be hooking your dvd player up through coax, and not rca's.

 

[MDS]

I've never said it was a good idea to use an equalizer in front of DD/DTS signals; however it isn't bad for the reasons you've stated ('burn-up' the decoder chip).

Chips don't burn up because you send them invalid input, no matter what any article says (and the article didn't quite say that now did it? - You just interpreted it that way).

 

[Leprkon]

Chips don't burn up because you send them invalid input, no matter what any article says (and the article didn't quite say that now did it? - You just interpreted it that way).

who said "invalid" ?? ... I said "skewed"... you just interpreted it that way and there's a big difference.....

still no guts or articles to back up your claims ??? I guess it doesn't matter to YOU if someone else's equipment is a smoking ruin....

 

[MDS]

I don't care if people use an equalizer. I didn't say it was a good idea because it is not. What I AM saying (again) is that the decoder chip won't blow up if you do use an EQ.

I don't think I or anyone else can find an article saying that because it isn't true. Don't believe everything you read...

 

[Leprkon]

Don't believe everything you read...

umm yeah. for once we agree...