Need receiver selection help

[Nick425]

Sounds like a debatable topic and scenario based. I see how both could be true

 

[Teetertotter?]

@LVSparky I would recommend a DENON AVR. My current one is a 2015 model, bought early 2016. My previous Denon was 5 years old and decided to buy a replacement Denon with more features, coupled with more current technologies. Mainly the processor. The previous, now, 10 year old DENON is still working for a friend of my son's, using in his garage, as of 2 years ago.

My second choice would be a Yamaha, which I had owned and lasted. I have no experience having used other mfg AVR's. Good Luck!

 

[Trebdp83]

Considering LVSparky may want to get into gaming at some point, perhaps LV could see what the Yamaha RX- A6A and RX-A8A have to offer here shortly. Yamaha is tight lipped about those two models but say that big things are coming. I think anything purchased now would be a stop gap if gaming in 4K/120 HDR later is a priority. Sony would be wise to put out a slimmer and updated PS5 as soon as possible so folks can actually put it somewhere other than on display. I don't see the console, AVR, TV @4K/120 HDR combo working properly until 2022. Nothin' wrong with a beautiful 4K/60 image for gaming on any console.

What about more speaker channels? If AVR budget is $2,400, why not an X6700H over the X4700H? If that budget includes any speaker upgrades, then the X4700H or even the X3700H makes more sense. Heck, even if LV wanted to stay with 7.1 and went with the Yamaha RX-V6A, which is much improved over two firmware updates, mazer and others are not wrong when they say that better sound starts with better speakers over the AVR. With music streaming services so popular now, it may come down to the platform you prefer from an AVR. Maybe you like Yamaha's MusicCast app which has replaced the Yamaha Control app for newer models. Maybe you like Denon's HEOS app or Onkyo's Control App. Perhaps you like lots and lots of DSP modes and lean toward Yamaha over Denon or Onkyo. Maybe you like THX modes and lean toward Onkyo over Denon or Yamaha. Maybe you want Audyssey and lean toward Denon. Then there is the GUI. If you tinker much, you want one you like to look at and use and that may factor in as well.

If no speaker additions are in the works and it stays 7.1, maybe a receiver with Dolby and DTS Height Virtualizers sounds interesting to LV. Dolby Atmos Height Virtulaization is not available on any Yamaha, yet. DTS Virtual:X is a no go altogether and Yamaha has not responded to my questions about it ever coming around. Denon and Onkyo offer both of them. None of them have plans to support MQA via Tidal HIFI streams at this time if Tidal is something LV might enjoy. Whatever AVR is chosen in the end, LV will no doubt enjoy any new AVR with so many of the new updates compared to the older feature set of the Pioneer. Good luck on the search.

 

[Nick425]

The new Yamaha RX-A2A Aventage looks pretty good and has Dolby Atmos. All new things like 8k pass through seem to be available on a later firmware update (will it work?)

 

[Trebdp83]

The A2A is well built but is identical in feature spec as the TSR-700/RX-V6A. I do not believe it is worth paying twice as much for a TSR-700 to get the A2A. At least one guy from Yamaha agreed with me and I believe they were going to remove the comparison chart of the three on their website because many might come to the same conclusion. I would like to see what the A6A and A8A bring to the table.

 

[Gmoney]

Power supply a lil bigger and the 22% more in Caps, on the A2A,

 

[Gmoney]

Same here on the A6A, more than likely pre-amp out for all channels hopefully better OSD.

 

[Kingnoob]

Here is a short video by Gene (audioholics). I wont even attempt to explain why they can sound different. I've tried in the past and usually my explanations come up short and start some combative discussions. So i now direct them to this video and let Gene explain it.

Do Expensive AV Receivers Sound Better than Cheap Ones? - YouTube

Wish I could afford flagship amps like that review guy haha . How do you get paid to review this crap haha

I gotta spend like every penny I got to get a half decent amp now , just doesn’t feel worth it for my downstairs tv room . My mom will not allow a subwoofer now she ruined that room. I-don’t have $1200 for a quality amp wonder if I should get a Cheap soundbar TIL I get more money lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PENG]

Listen to what he says at the 8:00 minute mark

Thank you for the time marker that should encourage more to hear the important part, the caveats..

That is "it depends...." I have yet to see anyone making a general statement such as all amps sound the same, but I remember seeing posts that sort of alluded to every amp has its own sound, sound signature etc.

Both camps seem to be biased to some extent, but the "....sound different.." camp appears to have a higher tendency of misrepresenting (or trying to) the other camp that never, or rarely say all amps sound the same, not without caveat anyway.

 

[PENG]

I am thinking maybe a Denon AVR-X400H, sad thing is I can't find where I can go listen to receivers to compare.

You seem to believe AVRs at the mid to higher mid range such as your SC-55 and the STR-5700ES Sony, when if we compare their specs and past bench measurements of similar models (their siblings), we should not expect them to differ that much in terms of "sound quality" when no DSP and REQ are used. So perhaps the "flat sound" you heard from the the 5700ES was due to the settings, DSP and their REQ system.

Anyway, for your budget (you mentioned $2,400 iirc), and you don't seem to care about the very latest features, it would seem the the RX-A3080 or the RX-2080 may be your best bet but you may not be able to find any. The Denon AVR-X8500H seems to be still available if you search hard enough. If not, I would suggest you try the AVR-X4700H from places like Amazon.com so that if you don't like it you can return it.