Takeereasy said:
You should be very careful of the voltage. We in NA use 120v while in Europe it is I believe 240. There are current converters and whatnot, but I'd never feel 100% safe unless the unit was converted to work on 120 or 110v. Also it is 5 years old. For $950 look at either Nad or a yamaha 2500. I doubt you could get a denon 3805 for that price but the new models are coming out. The price is too high for the Onkyo. Actually not bad on the price for the HK up here in Canada. That Yamaha amp is probably a mammoth, a beast, a tank, and whatnot, but it is out of date. I'd wager dollars to donuts that unless you have very innefficient speakers you'd never notice the power difference between the Import and a 2500, or most likelt even a 1500. Ilooked up the manual for that dsp-ax1. It claims 110w @ .015% THD. Pretty decent number. The 2500 claims 130w at .04% THD also very respectable. I'd say go new technology. That price you're being quoted on the 1500 is great up here north of the border, but if you can swing a 2500 for under a grand I'd say go for it.
1. The amp has a selectable 120 or 220 voltage switch on the back, as well as a switchable 4 ohm or 8 ohm.
2. NAD, imo lacks in Home Theatre, as their speciality has always been music, and never really HT. The Yamaha 2500 is a great unit, but it lacks in power compared to the integrated Yamaha DSP-AX1. I have heard both on my current set-up at home and found the amplificatoin of the DSP to be better.
Now as for it being old, it is 5 years old, but it has 5.1, 6.1, DD ES, DTS EX just to name a few. It lacks the microphone for proper calibration, but im sure an spl meter would do the exact same thing. Infact, it has seperate EQ futures for the centre and rears so tonal matching can be done with the mains, again something a lot of newer recievers lack.
The thing is, i'll never go past 5.1 channels. Plus, what else has really changed in terms of technology over the years? More inputs like HDMI, Component, etc. Yes, but again, i'll never be running it through my reciever anytime soon anyways.
Basically, i'll be using it heavily for HT and here and there for Music. With all that in mind, i don't see why the DSP-AX1 would be a bad choice for my needs at this point in time. The other thing is, let's say i decide to upgrade in the future. I could always get a top-notch pre-amp, and hook it up to the DSPAX1, as it has 10 channels and use the Yamaha amplifier.
The unit is solidly built, and sounds excellent. It has the punch many recievers lack due to weaker (not bad) amplification. It also has an excellent DAC imo for DD, and DTS. Music isn't as good on it, but i rarely use it for music anyways.
Maybe im missing something here, if so, please do tell me....
