Onkyo vs Denon

[Highbar]

I'm kind of surprised that noone has said, Just pick the one with the features you need and that you can get a good deal on? I'm a Denon fan, Love mine. But there's nothing wrong with Onkyo either. Find the one that you can get the best deal on and has all the features that you want and enjoy.

 

[AndrewLyles]

I'm kind of surprised that noone has said, Just pick the one with the features you need and that you can get a good deal on? I'm a Denon fan, Love mine. But there's nothing wrong with Onkyo either. Find the one that you can get the best deal on and has all the features that you want and enjoy.

That's what I did, for the most part. I made a list of the receivers I thought would do the job and then price shopped. For me it also came down to what would drive my 4 ohm speakers easily. I ultimately went with Onkyo for two reason, 1.) the model I got (906) had better power power transformers than the Denon so it should be able to handle a 4 Ohm load better and, 2.) I wanted the THX certification so I could get THX loudness plus as a feature. So I like bells and whistles from time to time, is that so wrong?

 

[CraigV]

HK254 over Onkyo 705?

Overall sound quality would be better, but to get more juice going to the speakers, one should consider the 354.

 

[Chopin_Guy]

The Denon and Onkyo both trump the HK in terms of features, amp section, and bass management....Audioholics gave the 2308ci a favorable review, and as I already mentioned it powers my 4ohm studio monitors in my office very well and the bass managment is a real plus. The onkyo has even better Audyssey XT and THX Select 2 certification if you really buy into that (it ultimately means very little to nothing)....

 

[GomGom]

Overall sound quality would be better, but to get more juice going to the speakers, one should consider the 354.

How about the sound quality on Denon and Onkyo? Are they inferior to HK?

 

[Chopin_Guy]

Sounds quality is dertermined by many things in a system....the room, speakers, calibration, eq....and the list goes on. This is one of the big misconceptions about what a/v gear is supposed to do. It is the job of the pre-amp/amp/AVR to process and amplify any given signal TRANSPARENTLY....sound quality is a non-issue here...

It is the job of speakers to reproduce sound...of which, at this point, room acoustics, calibration, and proper eq comes into play. But IMO talking about sound quality of AVRs (in this price bracket and almost any price bracket for that matter) is inane. Get the one that has the features and power you need....

 

[bandphan]

Dont get caught up in the fanboy fever. While HK makes a good product, they are usally NOT sold thru CI circles. Get the avr with the features you need. The room correction on the onk and denon is well received, and are good choices. Pioneer's room correction works well also, but with less bass mangement. If you get a unit with pre outs, you can always add a power amp later. The diffenece in power btwn all that have been mentinoned is minamal and stepping up to a 250wpc amp would get more play.

 

[GomGom]

Thanks for all of your suggestions guys... I really appreciate it. I think I will limit my research to Denon and Onkyo only given my limited budget.

Btw, is it okay to buy refurbish AVR? They only come with 1 year warranty. How long is the warranty on brand new AVR (Denon and Onkyo)?

I went to a store yesterday but they don't have any speakers to test out. After chatting for a while, he suggested me to get bookshelf B&W 685 instead floorstanding KEF iQ7. What do you think of this?

 

[CraigV]

I guess I was mistaken by thinking an “audioholic” could hear the difference between receivers, amps…etc. That’s why I came here.

 

[bandphan]

I guess I was mistaken by thinking an “audioholic” could hear the difference between receivers, amps…etc. That’s why I came here.

I think you will find just the opposite here. With no eq applied all should be the same when level matched and in working order. My Mac sounds the same as my yama or pioneer at the same listening levels. If an avr colors sound there is a problem. Dont get me wrong the Mac has more dynamic range but no better sound.

 

[Chopin_Guy]

I guess I was mistaken by thinking an “audioholic” could hear the difference between receivers, amps…etc. That’s why I came here.

I am a doctoral piano student and a musician that uses (and by 'uses' I mean rehearsals, practicing, conducting...) his ears somewhere between 10-14 hours a day....so I tend to think my ears are more honed than most...

You should apply your ears in the places that matter and it is nothing more than marketing that have made so many people buy into things that ultimately don't have (or shouldn't have) any bearing on sound quality...

 

[audiomadman]

I'm still shopping around for a decent receiver for my KEF iQ7 and found out that Denon AVR-2308 on eBay is almost the same price as Onkyo 606 at vanns.com. Which one is superior to another?

How does the Denon stand against Onkyo 705?

With almost the same amount of money, how about a 5 years old used Rotel RSX-1065 AV Receiver? Do you recommend me buying a used top notch AVR or just buy a brand new one such as Denon and Onkyo 606?

I would go for the Denon. Nothing against Onkyo but I think the quality is better from the Denon here.

 

[PENG]

I guess I was mistaken by thinking an “audioholic” could hear the difference between receivers, amps…etc. That’s why I came here.

I did find AVRs and amps from years ago sound more different from one another than they are today. Even now I believe it is still the case for entry level gear. Once you get pass the HK1XX, Denon 1XXX, Yamah RX-VXXX, Onkyo 6XX, Marantz 6XXX level you are going to have hard time telling the difference unless your room and speakers demand more power than those AVRs can handle at ease. That is why it is always good to go with AVRs that offer preouts, for future growth.

If you are sensitive to minute difference in sound, that's good for you but for most people, as long as they have enough power for their system/room they should go with the features they need, reliability track records, and the look they like etc. If they need more power than they could add an external power amp and be done with it.

For gifted people like you who has the ability to hear the minute differences, the particular "difference" that you like may not be preferred by others. I prefer my system to sound like what I hear in live concerts. You can call it "bright", "warm", "dark" or whatever but as long as it sounds like "live", I am happy but that's just me.

 

[jostenmeat]

I guess I was mistaken by thinking an “audioholic” could hear the difference between receivers, amps…etc. That’s why I came here.

I don't really have an opinion on this matter, but it is said, sometimes, that the analog section of certain components might sound cleaner than another. Now, if one is using HDMI for all of their sources, I've never read of anyone claiming differences. Just relaying what I read at times.

In such case (not very common), people can add a 2ch prepro with HT bypass for "cleaner" stereo reproduction. Onkyo/Integra does not always have the best reputation for those with big budget systems, speaking in terms of analog connections only. Then there are many others who are quite satisfied with the analog performance of this brand. YMMV.

 

[CraigV]

I am a doctoral piano student and a musician that uses (and by 'uses' I mean rehearsals, practicing, conducting...) his ears somewhere between 10-14 hours a day....so I tend to think my ears are more honed than most...

You should apply your ears in the places that matter and it is nothing more than marketing that have made so many people buy into things that ultimately don't have (or shouldn't have) any bearing on sound quality...

So, are you suggesting that companies like Adcom, Krell, B&K, Rotel…etc. have no business being in business because they charge a premium for their products which offer no added benefit to the consumer?

For that matter, why Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Sony, Pioneer…why not just pick the one that looks best, they’re all going to sound the same, right?

What made you choose the gear you did, if I may ask?

 

[CraigV]

I did find AVRs and amps from years ago sound more different from one another than they are today. Even now I believe it is still the case for entry level gear. Once you get pass the HK1XX, Denon 1XXX, Yamah RX-VXXX, Onkyo 6XX, Marantz 6XXX level you are going to have hard time telling the difference unless your room and speakers demand more power than those AVRs can handle at ease. That is why it is always good to go with AVRs that offer preouts, for future growth.

If you are sensitive to minute difference in sound, that's good for you but for most people, as long as they have enough power for their system/room they should go with the features they need, reliability track records, and the look they like etc. If they need more power than they could add an external power amp and be done with it.

For gifted people like you who has the ability to hear the minute differences, the particular "difference" that you like may not be preferred by others. I prefer my system to sound like what I hear in live concerts. You can call it "bright", "warm", "dark" or whatever but as long as it sounds like "live", I am happy but that's just me.

So as not to “re-post”, please read posts # 11 & 17 for a further explanation

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53337&page=2

I don't really have an opinion on this matter, but it is said, sometimes, that the analog section of certain components might sound cleaner than another. Now, if one is using HDMI for all of their sources, I've never read of anyone claiming differences. Just relaying what I read at times.

In such case (not very common), people can add a 2ch prepro with HT bypass for "cleaner" stereo reproduction. Onkyo/Integra does not always have the best reputation for those with big budget systems, speaking in terms of analog connections only. Then there are many others who are quite satisfied with the analog performance of this brand. YMMV.

Digital is digital is digital - it’s how the digital signal gets converted back to analog that makes a difference.

 

[lsiberian]

So, are you suggesting that companies like Adcom, Krell, B&K, Rotel…etc. have no business being in business because they charge a premium for their products which offer no added benefit to the consumer?

For that matter, why Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Sony, Pioneer…why not just pick the one that looks best, they’re all going to sound the same, right?

What made you choose the gear you did, if I may ask?

Sure. Looks are a very good measure of a product. Also features per price and reliability are other good marks.

I think there are speakers that can use the amps mentioned, but they aren't always necessary. Their price is based on the reliability and electronics quality more than there actual benefit to sound initially. Plus there is the whole perception of your brain to deal with. A Rotel will usually be perceived as better by an audiophile. But I wonder if you were in a double blind test if you could tell a difference.

Given the right room and audio I could brainwash to believe a variety of things.

Speakers are still far more important.

 

[lsiberian]

So as not to “re-post”, please read posts # 11 & 17 for a further explanation

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53337&page=2




Digital is digital is digital - it’s how the digital signal gets converted back to analog that makes a difference.

I'm fairly certain that most use the same processors to convert the signal back to analog. I could be wrong on this, but I don't think there are a bunch of audio processors out there to choose from on this point. And decompressing I would consider to be pretty standard.

 

[CraigV]

Sure. Looks are a very good measure of a product. Also features per price and reliability are other good marks.

I think there are speakers that can use the amps mentioned, but they aren't always necessary. Their price is based on the reliability and electronics quality more than there actual benefit to sound initially. Plus there is the whole perception of your brain to deal with. A Rotel will usually be perceived as better by an audiophile. But I wonder if you were in a double blind test if you could tell a difference.
Given the right room and audio I could brainwash to believe a variety of things.

Speakers are still far more important.

That’s the point I’m trying to make – yes, I could, and I’m surprised at the lack of others on these boards purporting the same. But it doesn’t seem to matter anyway, I doubt anyone is going to invite me to such an event, and even if I showed it is possible, there will always be those who doubt the results because they can’t tell the differences…see?

I do agree that speakers make the most noticeable difference.

 

[bandphan]

So, are you suggesting that companies like Adcom, Krell, B&K, Rotel…etc. have no business being in business because they charge a premium for their products which offer no added benefit to the consumer?

For that matter, why Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Sony, Pioneer…why not just pick the one that looks best, they’re all going to sound the same, right?

What made you choose the gear you did, if I may ask?

All the brands have a place. My stereo amp weighs 100 pounds and is 2ch only, excellent build quality, massive caps, huge autoformer can deliver 600 Watts into 4ohms, stable down to 1, thats why i have it, not for sound. It delivers the power asked for every time without issue. And its getting close to 30 years old, have a dat pushing 25, reel to reel thats 40 years thats why i buy the gear i do.