New A/V Receiver...Yamaha vs Denon vs Marantz

[gregk0320]

Okay...purchasing Samsung PN648500 HDTV and looking at upgrading AV Receiver at same time. Currently have a Denon AVR 2807. Looking at either the Denon AVR-X4000, N=Marantz RX-A1030, or Yamaha RX-A1030. Have a 5.1 speaker setup in main room (Klipsch BRF63 Frt Spkrs, RC62 Center, and R565)S Rear, with Paradigm Seismic 12" sub.

Looking at purchasing a Oppo BDP-103 3D Blu-Ray Player.

Thoughts/recommendations as to best AC receiver for supporting primarily home theater and music (rock, country, and some pop)?

Thanks

Greg

 

[coli]

Yamaha's software tech is really questionable. I found that with the KL-650-THX, I have to disable PEQ and enhancer to get good sound (versus muddy), of course, with a SP-BS22, I can't tell the difference...

 

[fmw]

Look at the features and capabilies of the various models, decide what you need, want and will use, pick the unit that has those and no more. I can't think of another objective way to choose a receiver.

 

[Adam]

Hi, Greg. Which Marantz are you looking at? You gave the Yamaha model number for both the Marantz and Yamaha.

coli was getting at the fact that Yamaha uses a different auto calibration algorithm compared to the other two. Yamaha uses YPAO, their own system, and both the Denon and Marantz (if you're looking at a modern one) use Audyssey. I've never used YPAO. I think that Audyssey does a good job for listening positions that are clustered and close in proximity, but it can only store one configuration and is therefore not great for those with more than one distinct listening position (like me). I prefer Pioneer's MCACC system, mostly because it can store up to six configurations if you get a unit with the Advanced MCACC system. In terms of audio quality, I think that Audyssey MultEQ and MCACC are very similar (I haven't used the Audyssey version in the X4000).

The Denon AVR-X4000 got a favorable review here on Audioholics, and the Yamaha RX-A series also seems popular with some folks here. You seem to be looking in the $1000+ range, and that will get you a number of features and connections that the lower-priced models won't have. That said, you might find that a lower-priced model has everything that you want. Receivers have become pretty feature-rich in the $500-$600 range. Are there things in particular that you are wanting?

 

[Pyrrho]

You are looking at three good brands, so most likely you will be happy with any of them. I personally would go with Yamaha, but you really should look at the feature set of each and pick the one whose features you are most happy with.

YPAO works fine, as you can discover from reading revięws of various Yamaha receivers. And I have been happy with the results in my system as well.

Here you can look at revięws and previęws of receivers from these companies as well as some others:

All Articles -AV Receiver Reviews | Audioholics

But, again, going with comparable models from each of those three companies you are considering will likely make you happy no matter which one you choose. All three are respected brands.


Also, as Adam says above, you may be fine with a less expensive model from one of those three companies, depending on what features you require. Your speakers affect your sound far more than your receiver choice. I personally used to use a receiver that retails for about $600 with speakers that retailed for over $6000. It sounded great. But I wanted more (and newer) features, so I replaced it with one that retails for about $1700. It sounds the same as before, unless I engage a feature that affects the sound.

 

[3db]

I can vouch for YPAO myself. I have an older RX-V1800 with the single point calibration. I can easily get away with it as my seating position is just one long sofa. The newer YPAO are far more sophisticated and will yield better results. Even with this single point, I can store up to 6 different settings.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Oh, yeah, Denon X4000 w/ Audyssey XT32 all the way!