Low Powered A/V RX'er with good processing

[ARRAY]

Hmm, 101 Pages of reading in this particular forum. That's quite a bit! I think I'll just ask the question on my mind or perhaps some benevolent reader could direct this fellow to an appropriate thread.

I'm interested in a low powered 5.1 A/V receiver with very few bells & whistles yet with excellent signal processing on board, very good pre-amp characteristics and useful connectivity.

In other words, a receiver which can be used mainly as a pre-amp / processor in conjunction with outboard amplification.

I'm more of a loudspeaker man and don't have much experience / contact with todays multi-channel receivers to know which would fit the bill in this instance.

Help anyone? Much obliged!

 

[smurphy522]

Personal experience and from reading may reviews the following offer clean processing: H/K, Yamaha, Denon and Marantz. Just pick one with pre amp in/out and you'll be set. Other than that look to the likes of Emotiva or Outlaw (both web sites) for their pre-amp only units. I think they will both be offering something new quite soon; with HDMI connections.

 

[Seth=L]

Marantz SR-5002, Yamaha RX-V663 if you need HDMI 1.3 and all the processing offered with it.

Marantz SR-4001, Yamaha RX-V661 if you use a Blu-ray player that decodes the HD audio formats internally and converts them to uncompressed multichannel PCM for output over HDMI (this method is typically preferred as it is simpler to do, costs less, and sounds every bit as good as having a receiver decode HD audio bitstreams).

The Emotiva UMC-1 is another option if you can save up and wait for it to arrive in late Summer or Fall of this year. The UMC-1 will have much better connectivity and higher end video processing than the receivers mentioned above.

 

[tomd51]

Having owned mid-level receivers from Denon, Onkyo, Harman Kardon, Pioneer and Yamaha, the best pre/pro performance I experienced was from Yamaha. While similarly priced receivers with pre-out capability should perform in a similar fashion, some do perform better than others in certain regards.

If you are able to provide a budget or range you'd like to stay within, I'm sure we could provide you with some more than worthy options... -TD

 

[ARRAY]

Hello Gents, thanks for the input. I'd be looking to buy a used product in the $250-$300 range when the time comes. I've heard of Outlaw and their stereo only receivers etc, but Emotiva is a brand which is new to me. I'll have to take a looksee into that.
I think also I'll have to research some recent product reviews on low powered receivers and see what they say. Yamaha seems to be a goodie, and has been in the past. It's good to know they're keeping consistent.

 

[jamie2112]

Both Denon and Yamaha have great pre outs.....

 

[edmcanuck]

If you want pre-outs, I think you'll have to spend more than $250.

 

[tomd51]

Not necessarily if you go used. I've seen Denons, Yamahas and Onkyos go under $300 w/pre-outs.

These obviously won't be the latest and greatest, but some good receivers that are a few generations removed (still w/Dolby Pro Logic II/IIx) can be found around... -TD