My receiver choices/prices. Please comment.

[dorokusai]

That's one heckuva nice present from your wife

Mark

 

[Panjsheri]

I stopped at all my local dealers to see what receivers they have available. I know the prices look whacked, but they are Canadian prices and that's what's available to me. Here's what I have to choose from.

Pioneer Elite SC07 - $2200 (list price, no discount)
Denon AVR-3808 - $1350 (good discount)
Denon AVR-4308 - $1900 (good discount)
Yamaha 3800 - $1500 (darn you Greg)
Marantz 8002 - "under $2000"
Onkyo TX-NR905 - $2200 (906 coming soon, same price I think)
Integra DTC-9.8 - $1850 (I have a 5 channel amp for this choice already)

I would like to get your comments on the various models, their advantages and disadvantages vs. the relative price point at which I can buy them. It's a lot for me to make sense of on my own, so I appreciate any comments that will help me find the sweet spot in this market.

I have the 905 and I have been blown away since I watched my first movie and am still astounded *** the new Blu Ray movies are coming out with better sound every time The 905 does everything you can want from it from power, audio, video scaling (Reon Chip) I don't see any drawbacks. Yes it may be heavy but that is because its solid and has great build quality and it might get hot but for what its doing any receiver would. You can either by some fans for the heat or buy or place it in a place with ventilation, thats what I did I got a stand specifically for that and have not regretted a thing since.

 

[Davemcc]

Thanks Dave. Good gear for good people.

I don't remember what amp are you using with it?

I've got the Rotel RMB-1075. It seems to do the job well enough so far.

I have the 905 and I have been blown away since I watched my first movie and am still astounded *** the new Blu Ray movies are coming out with better sound every time The 905 does everything you can want from it from power, audio, video scaling (Reon Chip) I don't see any drawbacks. Yes it may be heavy but that is because its solid and has great build quality and it might get hot but for what its doing any receiver would. You can either by some fans for the heat or buy or place it in a place with ventilation, thats what I did I got a stand specifically for that and have not regretted a thing since.

I made a deal on the Integra, but I appreciate the comments nonetheless. The 905 is pretty much the same as the Integra without the amp section, so your comments reinforce my confidence in the decision.

 

[EJ1]

I've got the Rotel RMB-1075. It seems to do the job well enough so far.

Nice amp choice, sir. My RB-1070 just keeps chuggin' along.

 

[Davemcc]

Nice amp choice, sir. My RB-1070 just keeps chuggin' along.

Yep, I hope to keep this amp for many years. My room is pretty small so 120w is plenty and it drives my 4 ohm Dynaudios just fine. If I had a real monster amp, I'd probably deafen myself. But if I know myself as I do, I'll probably see some amp somewhere that has balanced inputs to match the Integra and fixate until I get it.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

To tell you the truth Dave, I almost went the same route as you but in the end, I couldnt really afford the speaker upgrade.

The Integra plus my amp would have put my budget out of balance so I would have to buy more expensive speakers. I mean, we preach about spending "x" amount on your speakers and "x" amount less on the electronics and I have to practice what I preach. (lol)

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The Integra dealer called to confirm availability of the 9.8 and spoke to my wife. She pretty much made the decision for me. I laid a deposit on the Integra and it should arrive by Friday. Technically, it's my "birthday present" even though there's only one thing I ever want for my birthday.

Congrats on the Integra DTC-9.8!

Here is a little chart I cooked up:

View attachment 6299

Specs on the 9.8 are totally awesome!!!

 

[Panjsheri]

I've got the Rotel RMB-1075. It seems to do the job well enough so far.



I made a deal on the Integra, but I appreciate the comments nonetheless. The 905 is pretty much the same as the Integra without the amp section, so your comments reinforce my confidence in the decision.

Hey man great choice, Integra/ Onkyo, Tomatoe/ Tomato...lolzzz I'm sure you will be happy with it for the next 10 years at least that is what I expect from my receiver

 

[mazersteven]

Either I get the Integra or I run a receiver capable of driving my 4 ohm Dynaudios pretty hard.

This comment pretty much summed it up for me. IMO I would purchase a pre/pro.

As I read on I see I'm late for the party. Congrats

 

[Davemcc]

This comment pretty much summed it up for me. IMO I would purchase a pre/pro.

As I read on I see I'm late for the party. Congrats

The party is wherever you're at.

I got lucky with this one. I was planning a 45 minute drive to what I thought was the nearest dealer, but I found a local dealer that I did not know was an Integra dealer. He offered a nice discount that made the pre/pro a viable choice. (List is $2400 up here) He didn't have one in stock so I haven't seen one yet but the more comments I see here, the better I feel about the decision.

 

[Davemcc]

I couldnt really afford the speaker upgrade.

To be honest, my room is so small in ill-suited to the purpose a speaker upgrade would be pointless, but I just like cool gear. I'm still not too far off the percentages. I'm at about a 43/57 pre+amp/speaker ratio. I'm OK with that.