What receiver would you buy for <$3000?

[majorloser]

$3,000 for a Receiver????????

Personally if I had $3K I was thinking about spending on just a receiver, I'd look at buying a 7 or 5 channel amp (depending on whether your room can handle a 7.1 or 6.1 system instead of 5.1). You can always add a 2-channel amp in the future to your 5-channel amp if you want 7.1. Once I bought the amp I'd buy a good receiver (like the Denon 3806 or 4806) to use as a pre/pro or just buy a pre/pro (like the Emotiva, Rotel or B&K) that allows future upgrades. Should be able to get a good deal on an older pre/pro. In my opinion HDMI switching is not a "must have" item today. External switches aren't that expensive.

I have been able to send my B&K pre/pro back to the factory for upgrades and I know that Denon also offers upgrades on some of their products. I'm sure others offer this as well. This is why you spend extra money on the more expensive gear. You can either upgrade or replace.

Anymore receiver are actually cheaper than most pre/pros of the same company and offer the same amount of features. Even if the amp section is never used in the receiver it's still a bargain.

Might want to take a look at Emotiva, Gemstone, Outlaw, Rotel or even a good used B&K. I was seriously looking at the Emotiva MPS-1
http://www.emotiva.com/mps1.html

or the Gemstone Blue Diamond
http://www.gemstoneaudio.com/amplifiers/

I really liked the modular card design of the Emotiva MPS-1

I ended up buying seven (7) Behringer A500's and running them bridged. This replaced my B&K Reference 7270 MkII 7-channel amp.

 

[cfrizz]

If your Denon 2802 has all the bells & whistles that you want it to have then keep it. Put that money into getting a good powerful 5-7 channel amplifier & use the Denon as a prepro. Later on down the line it will be easy enough to switch over to a dedicated prepro.

Some amp brands I like & have used are Rotel, Parasound & Sunfire. I always recommend getting at least 200wpc. That will be plenty to drive any speaker with ease. whether they be 8ohm or 4ohm.

It was the biggest improvement I ever made to my system.

Then focus on whatever speakers you want to get.

I will be watching your 2 threads with much interest to see what you ultimately end up with! Good Luck!

 

[Lady Phoenix]

Many thanks to all of you for the great info. I wanted to take a moment to summarize the new things you've given me to think about so far:

1) For under $3000 it is possible to to an amp/pre-pro combination for a HT that's worth writing home about.

2) Though there is no "obsolete proof" choice, an amp/pre-pro combination may provide more flexibility in upgrades.

3) Brands to definitely consider for receivers include Denon, Onkyo, and Arcam. One vote for Rotel (anyone else have comments about Rotel receivers?).

4) Brands to definitely consider for amps include Emotiva (pretty highly regarded by you guys!) and Rotel. Also worth considering, with only one comment/recommendation each: Gemstone, Outlaw, Parasound, and Sunfire.

And while I'm contemplating all of that, I also have a follow-up question... Regarding performance in particular, I'm getting the impression that an amp/pre-pro combination is generally more desirable than a receiver. Is this a correct interpretation?

Thanks again for the thoughts on this.

 

[Haoleb]

When I chose a reciever for our theater in this price range I ended up buying the B&K AVR507, For a couple reasons. First and foremost was power and sound quality. All of the speakers in our theater's 7.1 setup are 6ohm or less. I like the layout of the connections on the back, build quality, etc more than similarly priced recievers from the more mentioned companies.

Plus, I dont need, or feel the need to pay for a ton of crap features i wont use and dont need. I did not have a need for HDMI, 6,000eq settings, auto setups, etc. I kinda like that our reciever doesnt have 200 logo's plastered to the front of it

There are a few options that I dont have with this B&K that are cool on the similarly priced denons and the like but If I had to do it all over again I wouldnt feel that I should kick the B&K off the top of my list. It has been great so far.

 

[Haoleb]

And while I'm contemplating all of that, I also have a follow-up question... Regarding performance in particular, I'm getting the impression that an amp/pre-pro combination is generally more desirable than a receiver. Is this a correct interpretation?

Yes.

However, Dont assume that just because you are buying seperates that your getting better performance for the same money. Seperates means one more chassis to build, more powersupply components etc. So if you take a reciever for 3k and seperates for 3k, Its no guarantee that the seperates will outperform the reciever.

If price were no object, High end seperates would be the way to go.

Processors, TRUE Monoblocks for each channel. Ya feel me

 

[cfrizz]

You have summed it up perfectly. But Haoleb is also correct. While separates are generally considered more preferable to receivers, it is getting harder & harder to get a clear consise answer on if having a separate prepro is actully better.

All of the opinions are subjective & vary widely. We are having the same discussion on another board with some saying they are definately better. But someone else posted today that his brand new Outlaw 990 prepro isn't showing him as big of an improvement in sound quality as he expected coming from a H/K receiver!

It's this lack of clarity that has kept me from getting rid of my 6 yr old Denon. receiver. If a prepro can't offer me as big of an improvement as adding first a 200wpc 2 channel Parasound amp & finally getting a 5 channel 405wpc Sunfire amp, then I'm not sure it's worth spending the money for it.

 

[mazersteven]

And while I'm contemplating all of that, I also have a follow-up question... Regarding performance in particular, I'm getting the impression that an amp/pre-pro combination is generally more desirable than a receiver. Is this a correct interpretation?

Again I will state, it's all about the speakers. Speaker will dictate receiver, or separates. Features needed will also dictate receiver, or separates.

But to say separates are better, or a receiver is better is irrelevant without knowing what speakers are being driven. JMO

 

[AUtiger]

If you can wait, Emotiva says they hope to have an updated, HDMI, line out by Christmas.

 

[avaserfi]

Again I will state, it's all about the speakers. Speaker will dictate receiver, or separates. Features needed will also dictate receiver, or separates.

But to say separates are better, or a receiver is better is irrelevant without knowing what speakers are being driven. JMO

I don't think it could have been better said.

 

[cfrizz]

If they get a powerful enough amplifier, it won't matter what speakers they get cause the amp will power them with ease. All that will matter is that the prepro or receiver has all the features that they think they will ever use now & for the forseeable future.

 

[rws1950]

The new denons are quite nice sounding. You can get one used for a bargain.
As a matter of fact, I have a friend who went to seperates & wants to sell his denon (5903) or something like that. 7.1 channel. If you want i will hook you up with him and you guys can make your own deal. I went seperates also just before him.

 

[PENG]

For $3,000, I would go for the Arcam AVR350 plus a 2 or 3X200WPC amp, e.g. used Bryston 3BST, or equivalent NAD, Rotel, Parasound amps. The Arcam should have no problem driving most 4 ohm center and surround channel speakers. That way you spend your money to get the best sound quality/power possible for 2 channel music without sacrificing anything on the HT side. The surround channels in particular, do not need as much power as the front and center channels do, even for 5.1 SACD/DVDA material.

By the way, I do agree speakers make the most difference in sound quality, but it also makes sense to get enough amp power right from the beginning, then you can upgrade to whatever speakers you like down the road without worrying about upgrading your amps again.

 

[rws1950]

I second the 3B Bryston amp. Good 20 yr. warranty.

 

[UFObuster]

And while I'm contemplating all of that, I also have a follow-up question... Regarding performance in particular, I'm getting the impression that an amp/pre-pro combination is generally more desirable than a receiver. Is this a correct interpretation?

Thanks again for the thoughts on this.

Yes, definitely (with all of the caveats noted in the previous posts)!
I can say from my own recent experience that adding a Rotel 1080 amp to my Yamaha RX-V2600 receiver improved my front (main) channels dramatically. After using the Yammi as pre/pro for a while, I switched out entirely to a Rotel pre/pro (RSP-1068) and another amp which again showed another significant improvement in sound. To be fair, I was putting more $$ in but you can intuitively see improvement due to separate power supplies, better transformers, less complexity than the receiver "environment", etc.

Another important argument in favor of separates:
You can build or adjust a system to your own need: I'm a demanding music listener who loves good home-theater on the side. So my solution resulted in the "hefty" 1080 amp for high quality two-channel with excellent analog bypass thru the Rotel pre/pro. The same pre/pro then does the digital HT thing with another Rotel 5-channel amp (1075) added on for the surrounds, center, and backs. Having this 2-in-one set up would not be possible at this quality level in a receiver.

Ditto, PENG (above), I just read your post.

(BTW...a lot of what I learned getting to this set-up was guided by a lot of the same posters in this thread...h/t to the guys ).

Roger