Looking for a new receiver, or suggestions on a different setup.

[CoffeegeekMatt]

I am in the market to upgrade my 20 year old Denon receiver. I have had no problems with this receiver and fear the move into the unknown. I currently run the Denon to my B&W 683 S2's through the amp preout into a Rotel RB-985 and have the speakers Bi-amped. The sub I run is nearly as old as the receiver (Velodyne with a 10" driver and 12" passive). I still have my old B&W 602's which are in great condition. What I would like to do is keep the current front speaker set up for music but add an additional sub (considering the SVS 2000 SB, possibly 2 if the Velodyne doesn't match up). I would also like the option to implement my old 602's as side surrounds in the future. My issue is that all the 7.2 AVR's I have looked into (Denon, Pioneer, Marantz, Yamaha) list the preout as "zone 3" or equivalent. Will this work for my concept? Or do I need to start looking into separates?

 

[Leemix]

You will need to go up to the denon 3400 and up for pre out, zone2/3 is not able to use as you need.


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[CoffeegeekMatt]

Thanks! The 3400 fits well into the budget. My somewhat local high-end AV store has discontinued carrying Denon because of "ongoing quality issues"! Any other suggestions in the $550-650 range that fit my needs?

 

[PENG]

Thanks! The 3400 fits well into the budget. My somewhat local high-end AV store has discontinued carrying Denon because of "ongoing quality issues"! Any other suggestions in the $550-650 range that fit my needs?

Just buy it online for $599.99. I don't doubt there are reported quality issues as there are for other brands, but if you do a search and ask their owners about them, you will find that there are many positive reviews. It has been reported on this forum many times that Yamaha has a better reliability record so you can go that route but they don't offer as much discounts for their last year models.

I suspect the real reason you local AV dealer discontinued carrying them is that they can't compete with online stores who sell by the tons and obvious get volume discounts.

 

[Drunkpenguin]

Im loving my Denon, no quality control issues here. They are owned by Marantz if that means anything to you. It did to me.

I might also add that bi-amping is considered a waste of amps these days by just about everybody Ive seen post on the subject. Maybe removing that from the lineup could open some options for you IDK. Mixing subs is usually frowned upon as well unless they are both of equal specs.

 

[lovinthehd]

Quite a few satisfied Denon customers around here. If you want a full set of pre-outs as Leemix said, 3xxx series and up. Depends on your budget to an extent, what is it?

They're not owned by Marantz, altho back in 2002 Denon and Marantz merged to form D&M Holdings which has had a few owners, since 2017 it is Sound United (also owns the Definitive Technology, Polk, Boston Acoustics and Classe).

 

[CoffeegeekMatt]

Not a bad assumption on my AV dealer! Seems that if I am not spending 10K it's not worth their time. And they still carry Marantz. I have read many more poor user reviews about Marantz than Denon. Thanks again, based upon the back side of the 3400 I now know what I am looking for. Just have to check the Yamaha out.

 

[Leemix]

If your speakers like bi-amping its a good idea to stick with it, especially since you have the external poweramps already. I used to bi-amp my previous speakers and they really needed it.


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[Drunkpenguin]

Oh my lord. I give up with this.

 

[CoffeegeekMatt]

Quite a few satisfied Denon customers around here. If you want a full set of pre-outs as Leemix said, 3xxx series and up. Depends on your budget to an extent, what is it?

They're not owned by Marantz, altho back in 2002 Denon and Marantz merged to form D&M Holdings which has had a few owners, since 2017 it is Sound United (also owns the Definitive Technology, Polk, Boston Acoustics and Classe).

Looking to stay under $800.

 

[lovinthehd]

Might even consider the 4400 if you can find an appropriate sale.

 

[CoffeegeekMatt]

Im loving my Denon, no quality control issues here. They are owned by Marantz if that means anything to you. It did to me.

I might also add that bi-amping is considered a waste of amps these days by just about everybody Ive seen post on the subject. Maybe removing that from the lineup could open some options for you IDK. Mixing subs is usually frowned upon as well unless they are both of equal specs.

The amp is a 5 channel... thought it would suffice to drive all channels. Not so! If I try to drive those speakers with only two channels I blow the fuses on the amp. Yeah I know I need a different amp.

 

[lovinthehd]

Not a bad assumption on my AV dealer! Seems that if I am not spending 10K it's not worth their time. And they still carry Marantz. I have read many more poor user reviews about Marantz than Denon. Thanks again, based upon the back side of the 3400 I now know what I am looking for. Just have to check the Yamaha out.

Marantz seems to simply be marketed to a higher price point, perhaps a slightly better profit margin....they share a lot of components these days with Denon models, tho

 

[CoffeegeekMatt]

The amp is a 5 channel... thought it would suffice to drive all channels. Not so! If I try to drive those speakers with only two channels I blow the fuses on the amp. Yeah I know I need a different amp.

Great thing about SVS, I can try it out for 45 days and still get the dual sub discount if I want the second one.

 

[Leemix]

The amp is a 5 channel... thought it would suffice to drive all channels. Not so! If I try to drive those speakers with only two channels I blow the fuses on the amp. Yeah I know I need a different amp.

The denon 3xxx/4xxx will probably do a better job by itself then that rotel, i just checked the rotel out.


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[lovinthehd]

The amp is a 5 channel... thought it would suffice to drive all channels. Not so! If I try to drive those speakers with only two channels I blow the fuses on the amp. Yeah I know I need a different amp.

Doesn't sound like a very good amp for your speakers then....

 

[CoffeegeekMatt]

If I understand correctly, you think I can run the 3xxx/4xxx without the external power and achieve better sound results? Not being sarcastic. Obviously I don't know what I'm doing.

 

[Drunkpenguin]

I think you are a great candidate for this.

https://www.amazon.com/Bose-SoundTouch-Music-System-Espresso/dp/B011IH6M50/ref=sr_1_2?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1543531131&sr=8-2&keywords=bose+radio

 

[CoffeegeekMatt]

Doesn't sound like a very good amp for your speakers then....

thanks for the help. suggestions would be nice.

 

[Leemix]

If I understand correctly, you think I can run the 3xxx/4xxx without the external power and achieve better sound results? Not being sarcastic. Obviously I don't know what I'm doing.

Thats a possibility yes. The specs on the rotel are pretty similar and blown fuses are not good. You can easily try both ways if you get one of them and see what you prefer.


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