Some advice needed on new receiver!

[Orcasite]

After years of watching a 20” CRT television and listening to music and TV through an old stereo receiver and some inexpensive Bose bookshelf speakers, I have begun to upgrade my system. I now have a 42” plasma monitor mounted on the wall, some new Axiom front towers – M60’s – and a new center channel Axiom VP-150, along with a new progressive Pioneer DVD player. Both the sound and the TV/movie images are much more pleasurable and I am now ready to upgrade my receiver.

There have so many new technologies and so many new choices that I have decided to ask members of this forum for some ideas.

I am thinking of spending something (MSRP) around $1000 for a home theatre receiver. Given that I may want to (and thus preserve the ability to) add a couple of surround sound speakers in the future – but aren’t planning to do so this year, I intend to get something a bit more featured than I need right now. I definitely want to get the Dolby Pro Logic II to run surround sound through my three front speakers, and want to be able to play the latest DVD and CD technologies that are supported by my DVD player, I have narrowed down my search to a couple of possibilities: the Yamaha RX-V2500 (or 1500) and the Denon AVR-3805. I notice that both Yamaha and Denon have other AV lines but I don’t know how to tell the difference between them and the above two.

Questions: Am I in the right ballpark, given my requirements? Am I buying features that are too high above my needs? Should I consider other units?

I would appreciate any ideas or opinions from those of you who have a wider base of experience than I. Thanks for your input

 

[markw]

Well, one to think about is that"surround sound" will be a problem.

That's probably the biggest drawback you may want to face early on. Until you decide to commit to "surround" speakers you won't get surround sound.

Now, some all in one (electronics + speakers) units emulate a sore of quasi surround sound experience but these are units that are specificaly designed for this with specially designed speakers and electronics designed with magical circuts inside designed specificalty for those speakers.

But, as far as a standard receiver and standard speakers, I can't think of any.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Orc,

Mark is correct. Without two surround speakers, a surround receiver is useless. You are in a "tween" budget. I've found you can get a great mid line receiver for $480 - $850. From there, I'd recommend the $1300 - $2000 budget. IMO, the best bang for the buck would be the Yamaha 1500 and 2500 series receivers (Yamaha is coming out with some new models this year - if you can, wait for them and hopefully the prices aren't sky high); the Marantz SR8400 on www.ubid.com. It's been auctioning out at under $500 and is a $1300 receiver that IMO is pretty much equivalent to my Denon 3805. It might pop within the next week or two as an auction as opposed to "buy it now." Compare it to the new Marantz SR8500 that is retailing for $1600! A few members jumped on that auction and hit a "home run." Finally, the Harman Kardon HK7300 is what I think the monster of deals is for power and video upconversion. You can jump on it now for under $1400 at www.jr.com. It puts out more power than any of the above receivers, and retails for $2400.

Rotel, B&K, and a few others are going to be priced in the $1000+ category also. You can find these receivers at higher end stores. They are known for exceptional sound, but sometimes lack features or power. I don't think any of them can touch the overall value of the HK, but let your ears decide, not my economics

In summary, $1000 is a tough budget. But if you're willing to spend a few dollars more, the HK is a steal. Otherwise, Denon, Yammy, and Marantz seem to be great options. In the near future, you will see new models with new technology. If you are patient, you may be glad you waited.

 

[Orcasite]

Need more research

Hey! Thanks much for the quick reply and the valuable information. You have both given me a lot to think about and obviously, more research to do!

I need to rethink the idea of surround sound speakers (need to review my room setup and see if there's room for two additional speakers) and I need to more fully understand the various digital processing technologies.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Xsound]

Orca,
curious as to which Pioneer DVD player you have, and whether you are considering any of the Pioneer elite receivers. The Elite receivers match very well to Axioms.

The Reason I ask is the Pioneer Elite VSX-56TXi can be had for just under 1 grand, and it has both USB and Firewire connections. With the firewire connection you can do a 1 cable connection to a firewire equipped DVD player (Pioneer has 2 models).

If you don't want the Firewire, you could step down to the Elite VSX-54TX for under $700. This is the unit I have, and it is awesome.

Or you could get the Pioneer (not Elite) VSX-1014 (or VSX1015) for $400 or under. Probably the best receiver for under $500. It is almost the same as the Elite VSX-52TX. Take the money saved and get the QS8s.

These are 3 very solid receivers, and they all will sound awesome with the Aioms. If you decide to wait on the surround speakers, but want surround sound now, you can go the yardsale/budget route. You can probably find an old pair of Realistic (radioshack) speakers at a yardsale, or flea market for around $50. They won't be the same quality as the rest of your speakers, but the quality difference won't be as noticeable on surrounds as on the front 3. You can limp along of this for a year with no problem, then get some QS8s.

Either way, you owe it to yourself to listen to the Elite Receivers.

 

[Orcasite]

Reply to XSound

Xsound:

I have a Pioneer DV-578A DVD. I got it last month for a little more than $100 as a temporary and intermediate solution for my upgraded AV system, as previously I only had an old and really cheap DVD for my 20" CRT TV at 480i. The 578A has a digital optical or coaxial audio output, but not, as I understand it, a firewire output.

I appreciate your thoughts on the Pioneer receivers and will add those to my research list. Having the new plasma and Axiom speakers has so improved my AV experiences that I intend to keep upgrading my system. It has become clear from reading on this forum and from the helpful responses to my post, that I have a lot to learn about high-quality audio. While the initital goal was simply to find what equipment to buy that gives me the best quality within my budget, I have now added a new goal to education myself about audio equipment and quality and to begin to listen more carefully and really train my ear.

Thanks much.

 

[awesomebase]

Same here

I've been going through pretty much the same thing myself and have done a lot of equipment upgrades as well. I was actually looking at the Pioneer Elite 56txi, Denon 3805, Yamaha 2500/1500, and the HK DPR2005. They are all very good receivers and what it came down to ultimately was bang-for-the-buck. I ended up saving about $400 and got the Yamaha 1500 instead of the HK. The Denon was very good for the money but, I've had first hand experience with their products, as well as my parents and my brother and each of the products (my MD recorder, my parents double-deck cassette, and my brother's receiver) have all broken down at some point in their lives. So, I didn't trust their longevity a whole lot though the quality of the sound of their receivers I heard in a showroom was as good as any other I was comparing to.
If I had the inclination, I probably would have gone with the Pioneer Elite, all things being equal, but the Yamaha was just the best bang for the buck! If the 1500/2500 were in the $1000 price range, it probably would have been a tougher call. I like Yamaha's quality and the sound of both the 1500 and 2500 is fantastic! I still like the balance of the HK the best of the group and they have attractive designs, but, ultimately it just wasn't worth the extra $450. This probably makes your decision that much more confusing, but, consider all aspects. Quite frankly, with your choices, I can't see you making a mistake. Those are all top quality receivers. It will merely be a matter of cost, preference, and feature-set. Sound for all are very close... you really have to get up to about $2K before you start getting into receivers and separates that will make a difference in sound quality.