The Onkyo 8555 however is an entry level 200 dollar stereo receiver. The outlaw is higher end than that. For roughly the cost of the outlaw, there are in fact other options which can certainly have the same kind of headroom.
The first part is correct. I asked about the second already, and you gave me two different marantz models, one of which happens to be at a similiar price point as the Outlaw. I am sure you have others to offer.
I never discussed the used market. I was referring to brand new units of "old surround receiver models" which I find there to be an abundance of.
Sorry, I misread "few years old"; I thought of used and not superceded, because I rarely see few year old items sold as NIB. I think the Yammy 661 had both a decent amp section as well as HDMI capability, but I never see them around, the few recent times I've tried.
Well for starters it's an Onkyo 8555 this thread is about, and returning back to my first post I said "entry level stereo receivers". If you've gotten out of entry level, then you're discussing something the majority of people don't want to invest in. Just as you can tell a person looking for a $300 stereo receiver with bass management to get a $600 outlaw, I could just as easily tell you to get a $2000 HDP Express pre amp with a pair of $1000 Emotiva XPA-1 monoblocks. There's a different market for the products in question. it's easy to say that the outlaw is a great stereo receiver, but to a person interested in an 8555 it's simply way out of budget.
Again, sorry; I had the impression that a $500 receiver was considered entry level. I didn't know that $300 receivers with capable amplifier sections actually existed.
Um, the second marantz is new too, and the first is a B-stock which is also under warranty.
Noted.
You tell me why not. I can get an under warranty SR5003 b-stock for $299.99 vs $600 for the outlaw. Does the outlaw maybe have 15% more headroom? Yeah, it probably does. Is it a significant difference justifying double the price? no, unless you're one of us who would like to think so and will spend the money anyways.
No, you tell me. Screw warranty, reliability/longevity, or the possibility of superior parts. They are all imagined and a waste of money. It's always better to spend on a variety of features that you will never use, at the sacrifice of an excellent warranty, nearly flawless reputation, and tremendous ease of resale.
But like I said before, I wasn't even considering $300 previously, and had a higher price point AVR in mind. I now definitely capitulate that the Marantz is the better value, no question, assuming it's the equal or near equal or whatever. Would I waste my money on the Outlaw to power my speakers? Probably. Hey, I've made dumber decisions in my life.
I'm not talking about bargain basement surround receivers. I'm talking about brand new older models of formerly great surround receivers. Currently the SR5005 retails for like $800 which is not bargain basement. In a few years I'll be able to pick up a brand new one for around $500 I bet.
See, I didn't even know you could find those. I used to list older HDMI receivers that were only 1.0/1.1 or whatever so that they could still access mch pcm. At a certain point in time, I had an extremely difficult time in locating such items for consumers.
Honestly? That tad bit more headroom is virtually irrelevant. As a general rule, if you're not doubling up on power, you're not gaining much. So yes, I'd rather get the SR5003 over the outlaw. It would take a true separates amp with 200wpc into 8 ohms / ~300wpc in 4 ohms to really get any significant improvement in headroom over the marantz' amplifiers.
See, and please correct any misunderstanding, but I read about the doubling/3db often. I've even read someone say that this is the bare threshold to even discern a difference. For whatever reason, I think 3db/doubling is a
HUGE difference. In my system, unless I don't understand how things work, 3db is easily the difference between ears ringing for days, or not. Therefore, I always supposed that even a 1.5db increase in headroom would be still quite significant to me, if I ever did need it. For noobies who just need this for background music, I am sure the Marantz is more than enough. Perhaps even for KEW it is more than enough.
$400 is nothing to sneeze at.
Regarding HDMI inputs - AFAIK the outlaw has no digital inputs. That means I'm at the mercy of my source for good analog sound quality. Totally not true with HDMI or Optical inputs.
I can acknowledge this concept for sure (even if the Outlaw has a USB input). I've only thus far used analog connections on my stereo. While you can acknowledge that I may not need digital inputs, I think I understand that you think I would be throwing my money away on an unwise decision.
and the power supplies in surround receivers are usually robust enough to allow for more 2ch dynamic headroom too.
I know there must be, and that's why I asked about them. I know I learned from PENG that the next thing to look into would be the individual amplifier channel limitations. Sometimes it's the power supply that is the limiting factor, and sometimes it's the individual amp channel.
