Newbie needing advice from the pros

[salvat]

Hi, I am, like the title says, a total newbie at choosing home cinema equipment. I have a limited budget on this and therefore I have a limited choice of equipment. For now I just need to decide which A/V receiver I'll get. After doing some search on the web for the receivers along the price range I'm bound to, I found the following :
- ONKYO TX-SR502
- YAMAHA RX-V650 RDS
- DENON AVR-1905
- YAMAHA RX-V750 RDS (the most expensive in the group)
At the moment I'm inclined for the 650 for the specs vs. price but I haven't made up my mind yet. Since I couldn't hear them at the moment I would appreciate to ear the opinions of the owners of these equipments have to say about their receivers. I understand that a good set of speakers will make a world of difference no matter which amp I choose so feel free to give tips on that also. Right now the JBL E series looks pretty fine to me.

I welcome your opinions.

 

[warnerwh]

Speakers are a personal thing and if you can take them home and listen to them with the ability to return them if you don't like them that would be good. Your rooms acoustics will affect the sound alot and even though a speaker you try in your room may be a very good speaker doesn't mean you'll like it. I tend to like the Polk's from the mass market chains. There's many good speakers to be had from mail order off the internet. Do some research and your efforts will be rewarded.

 

[Leprkon]

Take a look at the Athenas. Some Best Buys still carry them. They are really a lot better value than the JBL.

 

[salvat]

Athenas?

Sorry I'm not familiar with these speakers, I've been searching the Net, but many manufacturers aren't available in Portugal, only some of the more known brands, like JBL, KEF, Celestia, etc. If I go to a specialized shop I'll probably find other brands, but if I buy them on the Net they will come a lot cheaper (I think).

Anyway, for now the main concern for me is to clear my doubts regarding the list of amps that I mention in my first post. I would like to find the best amp for classic/jazz/pop music listening as well as for home cinema viewing.

Thanks in advance

 

[krzywica]

I've got a yammy and you may find that the DSP and various surround programs sound great with minimal tweaking. All of these amps will sound great and have similar features, see which one you like the best in person as far as ease of use and looks go.

I have Athena's all round and I love em, best value you will find IMHO.

 

[markw]

Select your speakers first.

Remember, the speakers determine the overall sound of the system, not the receiver.

The speakers you select will determine your amplifier needs. In a nutshell, efficient speakers can get by with less power and piggy speakers will require more power. Some speakers are easier to drive than others.

Once you choose your speakers, the receiver decision will pretty much fall into place. By worrying about the receiver first, you may well limit your speaker choices drasticaly.

Aaand, if music has any importance at ALL in this system. select your speakers using music, not movies. If a speaker can do music right, it will have no problem at all with movies. The opposite rarely holds true.

 

[krzywica]

Yes I would agree. The JBL E's are pretty efficient (91 db for the E 80). If your amp is below 100 watts per channel try and stay above 90 DB when you are doing your shoping.

 

[salvat]

...

markw, I agree with you that depending on the speakers I choose, the choice for the a/v will become easier, but my main objective here is to find a good a/v (value vs. money vs. performance) as well as pointers to the speakers for the a/v I choose using the same criteria. I say this because I don't have the money right now for all the equipment. So I'm getting it as I can afford it. Bottom line, I would like to buy the a/v receiver and a good pair of speakers first like the JBL Northridge E80. I have time and patience and won't have the full gear probably until the end of next year, however, i would like to get some decent equipment with solid building, quality components and that I feel satisfied with. Could you give some classifications (1-5) to the receivers I pointed out?

for example:
Receiver:
ONKYO TX-SR502:
Quality: 3 (comments...)
Price: 2
Configuration: 2
etc.. feel free to add subcategories as you will

Speaker:
JBL E80
etc...
KEF....
Athena...

 

[westie7]

I have the folowing setup and I love it. I currently live in an apartment but I will be buying a house soon so I didn't want to spend alot of money only to do it again next year. I wanted something that would hold me over and this is more than doing the job.

Yamaha V650
Athena Audition B2 Front
C1 Center
B1 Rear
Athena P-400 sub

Bestbuy has the B1s on sale this week for 119.00 a pair.

 

[mazersteven]

DENON AVR-1905 This is a nice receiver for the money. Team it with some good speakers and your off and running. Look at SVS Subwoofers www.svsubwoofers.com if your on a budget. I've never listened to there subs myself, but alot of people seem to like them. Good Luck

 

[Jimd43]

Hi Salvat,

I have the Yamaha rx v-750 and am quite happy with it. If I am not mistaken, the 750 has just a little more power and a few more connection options than the 650. Not sure about the others. So, if you are thinking of expanding in the future, that may be a consideration.

I am also driving the JBL E series speakers with it. E-100s for the mains, Ec35 center and E-50 surrounds. I am happy with the sound so far. The only aspect of the system I would change at the moment would be to swap out the E250P JBL sub for something better.

I am not sure if the Rx v-650 remote has it or not but another feature I like about the Yammy 750 is the remote has a lighted window in it that lets you know (in the dark) just what you are doing. Also it has a learning feature that makes it easy to program your other remotes into it.

Thats my HO...

 

[salvat]

Yamaha750

Hi Jimd43,
thanks for the post, the set yo have implemented is more or less what I wanted to set up for myself. I am choosing the Yamaha for the overall quality/capabilities. The speakers I'll buy will probably be the E80 at first because of the price. Let me know when you find a new sub for your system.

What do you think of the KEF Q4?

Thanks
Salvat

 

[Jimd43]

Hi Salvat,

Will let you know when I get a new sub. Looking at HSU, SVS and the JBL studio Sub at the moment. I think you will be happy w/ the Yamaha. Especially for the type of music you like.

To answer your question. I have not heard the KEF Q4's but listened to the KEF Q3 hooked up to a Pioneer Elite at a friend's house. They sounded very nice (at lower volume) and the imaging was VERY impressive. However, when he turned off his sub, (HSU VTF -3) they showed no authority at all in the mid bass and lower frequencies. They also seemed (to me) to lose their clarity when he cranked them. (That could also have been a function of his room.)

Would be interested to know what set you finally come up with.

 

[salvat]

I had a lot of doubts regarding the av I would buy, also where I live in Portugal there are no specialized audiophile stores (it's a small town near Lisbon). So last weekend I went to the FNAC store in Lisbon to try to listen to the receivers I was looking for (ONKYO 502, DENON 1905, YAMAHA 750) and after some listening and reading of all the reviews I could find about these systems I decided for the RX-V750 from Yamaha, I believe it has the best overall price/performance ratio.
I'm not very clear on which set of speakers I'll buy for now. I'm inclined for the JBL E80 (about 290€/spkr). I love the design of the KEF Q4 and Q5 but they are more expensive than the JBL and from what you said, the performance is not that great, so they are out of my list (for now...). Do you have any ideas for a pair of 3way floor speakers?
Best regards
Salvat

 

[Jimd43]

Please don't rule out speakers due to my one pair of ears... Like I said, I did not hear the KEF Q4's or 5's. Their upper end reference speakers are suppose to be outstanding. (expensive though) I could recommend a number of speakers I like but have no idea what is available in your area.

I subscribe to the philosophy (especially in the price range we are speaking of) that your listening environment is every bit if not more important than your gear and speakers. Audition as many as you can (a pain in the rear I know) buy speakers that are pleasing to you, then read about what you can do to your room to make your set up sound its best.

As a side note. My brother has a system similar to mine but with an HSU sub.. a Yamaha 5760 receiver with JBL E-90 mains, EC35 center and E-50 surrounds. I must tell you for the money he spent, the sound is AWSOME. Amazingly clean to my ears even at uncomfortably high volume levels and the fronts image very well in 2ch. I think the Yamaha 5760 is really close to the RX V750 in specs.