I would give up ALL the features ! please just give me a 5ch amp with a volume control. Home theater is an experience but music is truly a hobby.
Now if someone prefers watching movies to listening to music I say more power to them. But what I've learned is no matter how great a manufacturer or anyone says a receiver is,the most important thing overall is the sound (although ease of use comes in a close second,and sometimes first). And unfortunately a 2ch audiophile amp that costs $400 ALMOST always sounds much better than an equally priced 5-7ch home theater receiver. there are exceptions and frankly I wish manufacturers would simply produce more 2ch RECEIVERS which is what I think most people actually want. I'm using an nad 2ch amp right now but I also like onkyo's 2ch receivers and especially yamaha's 2 ch receivers. SO-my point is if you like music more than movies i would suggest going with a 2ch receiver which WILL sound better than the same priced 5ch receiver.
And if the manufacturers will ever realize that most people prefer music to movies they would IMO make more money and have more customers.Also needed are products to bridge the gap between complicated,hard to operate components and simple to operate and better sounding components. manufacturers are starting to focus more on 2ch and also make things easier to use (i.e yamaha's scene buttons on their receivers) but it's still not enough for the average person and the audio lovers.
I'm sure the manufacturers would counter my arguments and say that people want home theater receivers but the problem with that argument is multifold. if you sell audio equipment like a commodity based on features as though they were pancakes or something (more is better) then you are really not selling the receiver you are selling the features. Call me crazy but I think in the long run it might be better to sell audio equipment based on SOUND-that might actually create loyal and more importantly happy customers (although I suppose some people don't know what they're missing). I still hold though that it is a poor long term strategy to focus people away from the SOUND of your audio components and toward features which change frequently and can easily be copied by your competitors. And no offense but even taking the "bargain shopping" public into account why are manufacturers charging $200-$300 or more for a 2ch receiver that is only 10-30% better or more powerful than their same name brand 5-7ch receivers that cost the same $200-$300 or more (I still think it can be worth an extra $100-$200 for a 10-30% difference in sound because it's the sound I'm after,but sometimes I want a "bargain" too). It seems to be the same strategy as the music industry-get as much money from the customer as possible. The only problem with that is that it's not the best business strategy-if you want more people buying your products and happy,loyal customers you have to 1) get them interested in your products by exposing them to it 2) give them what they want AND what they need-if a product fits into their life easier than another product they are more likely to BUY IT. 3) sell the person the product you are selling-if you are selling an audio receiver sell the sound,if you are selling a tv sell the picture etc. it seems electronic manufacturers have moved away from this and in their eyes they have benefitted by confusing the consumer and selling based on specs as opposed to performance but I think in the end this is currently and will backfire--because you can fool some of the people some of the time but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.
It's much easier to get someone to buy your car if you build a good one and give them a ride in it as opposed to building an average one and selling it to them based what kind of leather seats it has and how many dials it has. Just my opinion. But what do I know right-I'm just a music lover,audio lover,audioholic,audio fanatic,and lover of all things audio. Maybe in the future the manufacturers will go back to being audio lovers that produce a well made product and charge a reasonable price instead of first consulting their marketing departments and lawyers when designing a new piece of audio equipment.
I say all this not because I am mad or because I do not understand the market as it is today.I say this because I like sound and music and I find it sad to see all the wasted time and effort, and all the acheivements of the past that are lost or discarded in favor of other things.
In case you haven't noticed, convenience and portability have taken over the top spots in peoples' lists of what's important. iPod, iTunes, MP3 players, iPhone/iPod Touch and gaming are well ahead of the real quality-demanding segment of the industry. People buy BD players because their DVD player won't handle the format and they don't want a PS3. People buy DVD players because it's hard to find a good, inexpensive CD player. People look for the lowest price on EVERYTHING and that conflicts with quality. Like it, or not, people buy things because they think it would be cool to have one and for people to know that they have one. That's why some people are driven to be "The first one on their block" to own something. Another "like it, or not" is the fact that manufacturers need to sell things and because of this, they can't afford to make things that don't fail over time. Durability will sink a company, so they make a point of having a certain number of items that fail. How Ford has stayed around for so long in beyond me. Also, customization of product lines is prohibitively expensive. If they were to offer options, people would ask for others, so to a certain extent, trying to guess what people want is a losing proposition and that's why marketing departments poll product owners and retail customers. They ask what people want and if enough agree on the features and products, they may be made.
"And unfortunately a 2ch audiophile amp that costs $400"
I have never seen a 2 ch audiophile amp that costs $400. Ever, and if people preferred music to movies, would they be buying so many AV receivers? I can't think of a manufacturer that doesn't make both but the 2 ch models are less popular, so they make fewer of them. Granted, people who sell them don't push them, but people would need to ask for what they want in order to get it.
FYI- generally it's only the niche market manufacturers who are audio lovers and fanatics. The rest are run by people who know how to make money on things people buy, or have lost the interest in what they once cared about. Large scale manufacturers can't afford to make "the best" because the selling price is too high. They need to make what people will buy, at a price that allows them to make a profit. If Denon's $15K preamp-processor/power amp combo isn't great, I can't see much point in making a single one. If they use it as a technological trickle-down scheme, priced that high because of the limited production and because they want to use the technology/form factor in the future, I have to give them some credit.
Personally, I'd like to see the audio in one piece, video in another and preamp outs on almost everything, so upgrades can be made later. That would be a hard sell for the manufacturers, though, especially of they offer options in each category (audio, video and power amp). This way, the audio and video sections could be about 1-1.5RU (rack units) high and the number of jacks on the rear panel would determine the actual dimensions. 2RU pieces are all over the marketplace and I don't think most people would have a problem with this concept if they were marketed correctly. The power amp would be as big as it needs to be.
