RX-V2500 Build Quality and other brands

[bcycle]

I'm replacing a dead in the water 15 yo Nakamichi receiver which used to sound great. (75 watts). I'm looking at surround for movies but don't want to comprimise basic stereo sound for music too much. I want good sound but also good build quality. I'm flip flopping between the Yamahas, the NAD's, Integra etc. in the $700 to 1100 range:

A couple questions:

Is that a plastic faceplate on the RX-V2500? How's the overall build quality?

Anyone have experience with Integra receivers? NAD? Which brand do you think would sound best (at say, the same price range) in basic stereo mode.

Thanks,

Greg

 

[Spiffyfast]

Hate to throw another one into the mix, but this looks like it will be a very nice receiver for the price, its not out yet, so no reliablilty issues can be talked about yet, but from what I've seen Outlaw makes some good quality products.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/1070.html

 

[RLA]

Hello
Allot of the information you seek can be found in this thread
Happy Reading

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11509

 

[Mr. Lamb Fries]

Hate to throw another one into the mix, but this looks like it will be a very nice receiver for the price, its not out yet, so no reliablilty issues can be talked about yet, but from what I've seen Outlaw makes some good quality products.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/1070.html

What a sweet looking line! Wonder how they sound...

 

[gene]

What a sweet looking line! Wonder how they sound...

The Outlaw is essentially a clone of the more expensive Sherwood Newcastle but with added DVI connectors. It looks like a decent processor, but potential buyers may wish to check out this thread at AVS to determine if the Sherwood/Outlaw has the latest firmware to resolve these issues noted by other users:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=482643&highlight=sherwood+newcastle+bass+issue

 

[Spiffyfast]

How are there users already, as far as I've seen it isnt even released yet?

 

[gene]

How are there users already, as far as I've seen it isnt even released yet?

The receiver is based off of the processor which are all built by East Tech I believe.

 

[MacManNM]

Marantz

If you don't need a lot of bells and whistles, I would strongly recommend the Marantz 8400 receiver. It has excellent build quality, lots of useable power and is priced reasonably low (~750 shipped). I bought one for my father-in-law, after testing it I had a hard time taking it to his house. 2 ch mode is very transparent, and it was able to drive my McIntosh speakers (which are a very difficult load) very well. I have not heard anything bad about the unit. If you are looking for something that includes more features, the Yammie 2500 or the Denon 3805 would fit the bill. With the Yammie or the Denon, you will need an external amp if you plan to drive 4 ohm or less speakers IMO.

 

[newfmp3]

lets not forget the 4600 which apparantly can handle 4 ohms pretty well.


I have a NAD T773 on a full set of Axiom's, see sig. I can tell you that it handles the power quite well, never gets warm and the NAD at least to the touch feels very well built. Also has the best remote I've seen for a receiver. Thing is, will it have the sound you are looking for? For me I had to EQ it to get the sound I wanted, hence why I ordered a 4600 to try.The NAD to me was a bit of a warm sounding amp. Not a lof of super clear higs, and not alot of really strong bass which I find strange given the current this thing can drive.

 

[jimmit]

I'm replacing a dead in the water 15 yo Nakamichi receiver which used to sound great. (75 watts). I'm looking at surround for movies but don't want to comprimise basic stereo sound for music too much. I want good sound but also good build quality. I'm flip flopping between the Yamahas, the NAD's, Integra etc. in the $700 to 1100 range:

A couple questions:

Is that a plastic faceplate on the RX-V2500? How's the overall build quality?

Anyone have experience with Integra receivers? NAD? Which brand do you think would sound best (at say, the same price range) in basic stereo mode.

Thanks,

Greg

As to your first question, the faceplate on the RX-V2500 is aluminum.

Second question: I don't have experience with Integra or NAD receivers; I can only tell you what I've read and heard: Integra receivers, while not as popular as Denon, Yamaha, Harman Kardon, Pioneer, Marantz or NAD, seem to have a good reputation among those who own them. NAD, over the years, has built a reputation for having "musical" receivers and amps. Their receivers are noted to have less "bells and whistles" normally associated with home theater units. From what I've read, most NAD owners are very happy with their units, though there have been some reported quality control problems -- mostly associated with "hissing" during quiet passages. Yamaha has a reputation for having excellent build quality and few quality control problems. Where their reputation has suffered within the audio community is in the area of perceived sound. Many think Yamaha receivers are, or at least have a history of being, overly "bright." My intention is not to start a debate but personally, I don't believe it. Today's electronic audio components have frequency reponses so flat that one would have to have super hearing to discern audible differences between virtually any two receivers or amps -- as long as their gains are equally set and they're not driven to clipping.

You're right to investigate build quality but I think focusing on sound quality is a waste of time; you're going to get varying opinions anyway. I really think you should choose based on build quality, features, connectivity and ease of use.

 

[WilliO]

You may want to check out the JVC RX-DP15B. It is a 7 channels, THX Ultra 2 receiver with parametric equalizer each channel, 3 separate power supplies (analog, digital, and video), RF remote, and weights almost 60 pounds.

It can be obtained for under a grand. To me, it is better than the Yamaha 2500 that I currently own.