What seperates on a $1000 budget?

[mulester7]

.....Deathwish, oops, the Emotiva Ultra-Lite LMC-1 has an AM-FM tuner section with 40 presets....

 

[mulester7]

I added a crown 402 power amp (260 watts per channel @ 8 ohms) to my fronts. The difference was so small, that I returned the power amp.

.....Johsti, what anyone here buys for their system is their business, but the Crown XLS series would not have been my choice for full-range speakers....even these Crown K2's I have will only see duty on the low-end of my system, and I've grown to believe that's where Crown shines, on unpowered subs and seperated woofers....I wish someone with Emotiva seperates would post......

 

[Deathwish238]

This forum is great...it really makes me dispise the avsforum even more. If this were a thread on the avsforum the friendly rivalry between Nick and Mulester would have already turned into a flame war and this thread would have several useles posts in it.

I think I could modify my thoughts to the original poster and suggest he buy the Yamaha 2600 (or similar Denon,Onkyo etc with pre outs) like Gene has and then add an amp down the road if it turns out he really wants or needs one.

My only problem with getting a near $1000 receiver is that getting a pre-amp/amp combo is nearly the same price. Although the Yamaha does have HDMI Upconversion which is nice.

Also...how do I tell if the receiver has pre-outs?

.....Deathwish, oops, the Emotiva Ultra-Lite LMC-1 has an AM-FM tuner section with 40 presets....

Well I don't honestly care if it has a tuner or not. I don't remember the last time I listened to the radio outside of my car. Thanks for the heads up though...a tuner never hurts.

 

[mulester7]

This forum is great...it really makes me dispise the avsforum even more. If this were a thread on the avsforum the friendly rivalry between Nick and Mulester would have already turned into a flame war and this thread would have several useles posts in it.

My only problem with getting a near $1000 receiver is that getting a pre-amp/amp combo is nearly the same price. Although the Yamaha does have HDMI Upconversion which is nice.

Also...how do I tell if the receiver has pre-outs?

Well I don't honestly care if it has a tuner or not. I don't remember the last time I listened to the radio outside of my car. Thanks for the heads up though...a tuner never hurts.

.....Deathwish, this site seems to have an attitude of checking the egos at the door, I like that, and Nick has my full respect in his just telling it as he sees it.....

.....I don't know how anyone else feels, but my DVD player upconverts nicely, and I don't subscribe to the ridiculous rates for anything more than basic cable/HOBO, which looks fine/very good through my monitor screen....I'm not sure I would want basic cable upconverted anyway as per any flaws being accentuated....anyhow, the rest of my entire system "is going" to be dedicated to the best audio possible, period....

.....do a search on info.com, (14 search engines including Google), and you should find on one of the links a back shot of any receiver to see any signal outputs, and the basic specs of any receiver found should list them.....

.....your call on the need for a tuner....with mine, I only listen to an occassional sports event that's not televised, and sometimes AM talk late at night.....best of luck in your searching.......

 

[Josuah]

This holds true for two channel units for home use only. HT receivers (and boom boxes, car audio, etc...) are still the wild, wild west, just like stereo was in days before the 1974 FTC ruling of which you're thinking.

If the specs have a little FTC next to them, then they should conform with the FTC regulation, which was updated I think around 1990.

 

[mike c]

Also...how do I tell if the receiver has pre-outs?

personally, I always download the owner's manual of any unit I am considering and checking the pictures of the back of the unit

 

[Deathwish238]

ahh I see. I looked up the RX-V2600 and it obviously has preouts because the back panel has section with pre-outs on it. That's simple enough.

 

[corysmith01]

I always download the owner's manual of any unit I am considering and checking the pictures of the back of the unit

Deathwish, that's a great suggestion. That's something I do often. It's a great way to familiarize yourself with the unit you're considering.

If you're on the fence about this whole thing, you could maybe start with lower priced receiver, then pick up an amp later if you feel it necessary/want to try it out. Meaning, if you spend ~$500 for a receiver, that will buy you a decent unit, particularly if you aren't opposed to a last years model or something like that. Often, folks here will post deals that pop up on ubid. That's how I got my receiver, a $1300 Marantz SR8400 for $600. For instance they have Denon 2805's over there right now for about $550. They're b-stock, but if you're not opposed, that's a way to satisfy yourself for now with a good, quality unit, that has pre-outs, then leave you some coin left over to put into a 2/3 channel amp should you decide you're just not getting the oomph you want out of a receiver.
http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId=702116898&refLoc=searchone

Crutchfield has a few pics here if you want to check the unit out up close, including the back of it:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-EY2guL4fuOr/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=033av2805b&id=morephotos&a=&s=0&cc=01&g=10420#morephotos

I'm not pitching this as a definitive way to go, just an option that you may not have thought of...don't think that you have to go out and spend $1K on a receiver to get a nice unit. You could probably spend $500-$600 and satisfy the majority of your needs.

Of course, there's always that Emotive combo.

Good luck, and continued happy hunting. This is the fun part.

 

[Deathwish238]

yeah I've been looking into which receivers do and don't have pre-outs. So far I know the following receivers(and obviously the model above it) do:

$550 - Onkyo TX-SR703
$316 - Yamaha HTR-5860
$375 - Denon AVR-1906
$348 - Harmon Kardon AVR-240

I'll update it as I look up more. I was hoping the Panasonic SA-XR55 had pre outs but it doesn't

 

[markw]

Along with pre-outs...

yeah I've been looking into which receivers do and don't have pre-outs. So far I know the following receivers(and obviously the model above it) do:

$550 - Onkyo TX-SR703
$316 - Yamaha HTR-5860
$375 - Denon AVR-1906
$348 - Harmon Kardon AVR-240

I'll update it as I look up more. I was hoping the Panasonic SA-XR55 had pre outs but it doesn't

... make sure it has all the inputs and upconversion facilities you may need. In most cases, as you go up a manufacturers lineup you get more features, not necessarily more power.

I still feel that if you're going the receiver route, you might want to go a little over entry level.

 

[mike c]

might not be exactly related but ...

http://www.ultimateavmag.com/howto/405shopping/

 

[tomd51]

yeah I've been looking into which receivers do and don't have pre-outs. So far I know the following receivers(and obviously the model above it) do:

$550 - Onkyo TX-SR703
$316 - Yamaha HTR-5860
$375 - Denon AVR-1906
$348 - Harmon Kardon AVR-240

I'll update it as I look up more. I was hoping the Panasonic SA-XR55 had pre outs but it doesn't

If you're considering using a receiver as a pre/pro, I would suggest the following and newer version models:

Denon AVR-2805 and higher
Onkyo TX-SR702 and higher
Yamaha RX-V2400 and higher
Harman Kardon AVR340 and higher

Anything lower than these tend to be a bit weaker on the processor side. These are a year or two old, but have most of the features the new receivers are offering other than HDMI, Satellite Radio and iPod features. You can save some substantial coin buying older model, refurbished or used and still get a quality piece of equipment that can be used as a stand-alone receiver or as a pre/pro for future use w/an external amp if you decide to go in that direction. -TD

 

[Deathwish238]

Thanks for that list...that will be helpful. Since I'ld rather spend money on a better sub rather than a pre-amp/amp combo I'm leaning towards getting a receiver. What's the best place to look for the older model receivers other than ubid.com?

 

[Deathwish238]

Interesting...the RX-V2400 has too many composite and s-video inputs to count but only 2 component inputs. Maybe because it has Component Upconversion?

The TX-SR702 has Component Upconversion as well but it has 5 component inputs...much more reasonable.

Any significant difference between the two other than another 20W per channel with the RX-V2400?

 

[tomd51]

If you are considering the RX-V2400, you might want to consider the 2500. Unless its drastically cheaper, the 2500 may have more options to your liking. There's a good comparision chart here AH has already done.

I don't think the amp section is going to be drastically different. In my experience w/a few Onkyo and Yamaha amps, the Onkyo seemed to have a better on-board amps, but the Yamaha has so much more functionality.

In fact, I broke down and picked up one of the RX-V2500s off uBid and will be setting it up sometime next week. The way I see it, if I don't like it compared to my 3803, I can either keep it for my secondary setup or should be able to get most if not all of what I paid for it back and keep an eye out for a good used/refurbed 3805.

My name is Tom.... and I'm an Audioholic.... -TD

 

[eirepaul]

The Denon 3805 is a great receiver - there is a reason it was the best selling Denon receiver ever. The updated version (3806) has included HDMI switching and XM Radio capability, plus an improved version of the auto room EQ feature, which I never used anyway - too much equalization for my taste. So, if you don't need the updated features, the 3805 can be had for around $750 or less if you look around. I use my 3805 as the processor and to power the surround rear channels. It will still be viable receiver for some time to come.

 

[Deathwish238]

lol a silver RX-V2500 can be had for $550 while the black RX-V2500 can be had for $880. $330 difference for the color...

What is the YPAO I keep reading about?

 

[Deathwish238]

The Denon 3805 is a great receiver - there is a reason it was the best selling Denon receiver ever. The updated version (3806) has included HDMI switching and XM Radio capability, plus an improved version of the auto room EQ feature, which I never used anyway - too much equalization for my taste. So, if you don't need the updated features, the 3805 can be had for around $750 or less if you look around. I use my 3805 as the processor and to power the surround rear channels. It will still be viable receiver for some time to come.

The 3805 runs around $1k atm.

 

[tomd51]

lol a silver RX-V2500 can be had for $550 while the black RX-V2500 can be had for $880. $330 difference for the color...

What is the YPAO I keep reading about?

That is a little goofy, but that happens w/a lot of manufacturer's receivers. It might be a little tough finding a 1500/2500 under $600 new. If you can, try used or refurbished. The YPAO is the Yamaha Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer. For more info on it, see here.

 

[Deathwish238]

So basically YPAO is an equalizer? How well does it work? Is it something worth getting? Meaning should I favor the Yamahas more that have it?