Which reciever to buy under $300 CDN?

[mobius80]

My choices come from a few stores here in BC Canada. Im looking to spend under $300 Before Tax. I have 2 front speakers, 1 center, 2 rear speakers, and a 10" sub. I will be connecting a DVD player and XBOX, and my TV to the amp.

I am looking for power/quality rather than features. From the 2 websites below, I was looking at the following:

Yamaha HTRS-5730 $249.99
Yamaha HTRS-5830 $299.99
Sony STR-DE597 $299.99
Pioneer VSX-D515-S $299.99
Pioneer VSX-D814-S $299.97 (clearance)
Sony STRDE598 $299.99
JVC RX-6042S $199.99

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/subclass.asp?logon=&langid=EN&catid=10551
and
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/subclass.asp?logon=&langid=EN&catid=20313

- are there any other stores i should look at for other name brands? i live in Vancouver, BC Canada

 

[Leprkon]

I can't believe Best Buy is asking those prices for the Yamaha units. The 5730 and 5740 are "last year's" models and should be going for close-out. You would be talking $ 180 and $ 210 for those models in the states.

I would think you could get a Yamaha 5750 for $ 300 Canadian if you look hard enough.

I would pass on the Sony's. They generally don't do DTS well.

 

[SilverMK3]

That's a great price on the Pioneer VSX-D814, I got mine at a discount for $360 before taxes in January. It was listed at $439 at the time.

The only advantage I see to possibly getting the VSX-D515 over the D814 is that it does WMA-Pro decoding. If you ever get a DVD player that is capable of decoding WMV9 high-definition video, you can pass the audio directly to the receiver for decoding. As far as I know, however, there are only two players capable of doing this.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

What brand of speakers do you have? That is real important since your choice of receivers are all pretty much entry level.

I am not a fan of any of these, although with the right speaker spl rating, one could work. I preach to people to stay clear from receivers rated at 1kHz instead of full bandwidth of 20-20,000Hz, and distortion levels over .06 total harmonic distortion. Ignore the wattage rating, especially in these entry level receivers. All these mfg's are doing is trying to get to that "holy grail" of 100 watts, ignoring standardized testing at the proper THD and bandwidth levels. You also want a receiver rated with 7.1 channels. 5.1 and 6.1 is outdated technology. Can you get into a Harman Kardon one year old receiver in your price range? Even the AVR130 beats the best choice you have there, the Pioneer D814. I really like the new Pioneer 1015, but it may be too far from your budget right now. Are you limitd to BB and FS? What about online purchases?

 

[Cygnus]

You also want a receiver rated with 7.1 channels. 5.1 and 6.1 is outdated technology.

7.1 for some people really doesn't matter though, because it isn't within their price range and/or isnt practical for the room they are setting up. However, if your room is practical for a 7.1 setup then go for it!

 

[Takeereasy]

You live in Vancouver, that's like the high tech capital of Canada. There are probably at least 20 audio dealers in your city. Do a search on yellowpages.ca for home theater or stereo. You should get a neat list. Go to the Canadian websites for Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer, and whoever else you are interested in and look for a local dealer that way. Call some of the dealers and see if they have anything on closeout. Those Yammies should be down in price by now like it was stated before. I know that there is a Canadian online supplier that is a paid advertiser to this site. Maybe one of the moderators could link you to it, I'm sure you'd get a better deal than you would at BB or FS.

Good luck , at your pricepoint you should do more browsing than spending, you'll have to look hard for a deal, but they are out there.

 

[Leprkon]

You also want a receiver rated with 7.1 channels. 5.1 and 6.1 is outdated technology.

I would also beg to differ.

6.1 will be outdated when disks that encoded with 7.1 are released. Sadly enough, such a release will probably also obsolete the 7.1 hardware they are currently selling.

5.1 is still very usable in rooms that are too small for side speakers.

Budget and application are more important than having the latest and greatest.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Missing the point

The transformer in the 7.1 units are larger, and supply more power than an equally rated 6.1 unit. When played in 2.1 stereo, you'll have more headroom with a 7.1. Remember, there are not 5, 6, or 7 individual power amps. Only 1. There is only 1 transformer. The only mid to high level receivers that don't have 7.1 right now are the Rotels. The new entry level receivers feature the 6.1 and 5.1 specs. As I posted in another thread, if these receivers are rated at more than .06 thd and anything but 8 ohms and 20-20,000Hz, the mfg. is pulling the wool over your faces. That's your typical 6.1 receiver - rated at 1kHz and .1 thd. Your 100 watt receiver is now a 50 watt receiver.

 

[parkerbender]

buckeye, i think you'd be right if you wern't talking about a price point where you could still find spring clips on some models. 7.1 is great, but for about $250 american you're not going to find a QUALITY 7.1 reciever, where you might be able to find a 5 or 6.1 reciever that weighs over twenty pounds. at least where i live, (lincoln nebraska, av capitol of the world, i know ) you can't find a 7.1 reciever that's over two inches tall for 250 bucks. personally, i really like the htr series as far as sound on a budget is concerned, but i have almost no experience with pioneer. also, even though rating wattage at 1000hz is a cheap way to get bigger numbers, subtract about 15-20 percent and itll be a decent approximation of a 20-20k rating, at least on yamaha products. and, on the website, a lot fo yamaha' sproducts DO have their 20-20k ratings in the online manual, they just advertize their 1000hz rating. just my $0.02
-parker

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

buckeye, i think you'd be right if you wern't talking about a price point where you could still find spring clips on some models. 7.1 is great, but for about $250 american you're not going to find a QUALITY 7.1 reciever, where you might be able to find a 5 or 6.1 reciever that weighs over twenty pounds. at least where i live, (lincoln nebraska, av capitol of the world, i know ) you can't find a 7.1 reciever that's over two inches tall for 250 bucks. personally, i really like the htr series as far as sound on a budget is concerned, but i have almost no experience with pioneer. also, even though rating wattage at 1000hz is a cheap way to get bigger numbers, subtract about 15-20 percent and itll be a decent approximation of a 20-20k rating, at least on yamaha products. and, on the website, a lot fo yamaha' sproducts DO have their 20-20k ratings in the online manual, they just advertize their 1000hz rating. just my $0.02
-parker

I totally agree with you. I sometimes forget $250 is a lot of money to those starting out in HT. A lot of us do. Pushing 36, I know how time flies by, and to save that extra $150 to get the better, more powerful receiver that you are going to have for years seems the logical step to me. A lot of young guys can't wait to save that extra $150, and must have it now. My first two 2 channel receivers ran me $199 for a JVC back in 1986 and $149 in 1988 for a Yamaha (after I blew the crap out of the JVC at an insane house party, no thanks to Led Zepplin). I could not imagine spending $450 on a receiver back then. That goes to show you as we get older, we do forget. None the wiser. Great post Parker.

 

[kay]

also, even though rating wattage at 1000hz is a cheap way to get bigger numbers, subtract about 15-20 percent and itll be a decent approximation of a 20-20k rating, at least on yamaha products. and, on the website, a lot fo yamaha' sproducts DO have their 20-20k ratings in the online manual, they just advertize their 1000hz rating.

Yes, entry-level Yamaha's all have a pumped-up number advertised on the front page, but if you look at the end of the brochure they always have 20-20,000hz with very low THD rating as well. Others, like Pioneer, only ever put 1000hz/1% THD numbers in their ratings for their entry-level receivers.

Some great food for thought in this thread, guys! Made me rethink my whole approach to home theater.

 

[Cygnus]

....$149 in 1988 for a Yamaha (after I blew the crap out of the JVC at an insane house party, no thanks to Led Zepplin).

Haha awesome, can't go wrong with Zep!

 

[mobius80]

my front speakers are off my "mini stereo" from a JVC 3disc changer. I know that sucks, but they are very loud and do the job perfectly for me right now. My center and rear speakers are old Acoustic Profilers... from 1993.

I have 1993 JVC reciever with Dolby Prologic.... i just want something better for movies...


I do not want 6.1 or 7.1 as i have no room nor any money for the extra speakers.

My main use is movies and xbox gaming