Best receiver AND dvd player combo for around $1200...help (1 Viewer)

[JeremyX]

I have read through all these threads until my head smacked against my monitor...some great thoughts out there. I think I am hoping just for some sort of bottomline statement...but opinions are running strong. I'll post what I have and what I am looking for. Thanks in advance for answering yet another one of these questions.

Speakers:
B&W 602.5 S3 (x2 fronts)
B&W 601 S3 (x2 surrounds)
B&W LCR60 S3 (center)
B&W ASW 300 (sub)

All of these speakers are rated 100w/8 ohms

My needs or usage expectations:

An even split on HT/Audio listening.

I don't really care about dvd-a or sacd...I really want higher quality audio, but I am waiting for the dust to settle before I invest

5.1 DTS/DD is fine( i don't require 6.1 or 7.1; I love these technologies but I don't have the space nor do I forsee having it in the short-term future)

MP3/CD-R/CD-RW playback is required

Component input/output is required on receiver ( for HDTV/SAT)

Faroudja DCDi preferred (not deal breaker, but a nice to have)

I am looking for just beautiful sound and video..that's all heh heh.

My main candidates are the Denon 1600 DVD player & the Marantz 7300. Should I stick with these or is there a better dynamic duo out there?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jay_E]

My recommendation is to not spend more than $200 on a DVD player and get the best receiver you can get. I would much rather have a $200 DVD player (like the Panasonic RP82) and a $1000 receiver than a $500 DVD player and a $700 receiver. Here is a long thread comparing $1000 receivers. I have B&W speakers (601s and CC6) with a SVS subwoofer and am using a Onkyo 898 and JVC 723 DVD player and am very happy with it. If you could find an Onkyo TX-NR900 (898 replacement) in the $1000 range, I would highly recommend it. Good luck.
Jay

 

[JeremyX]

Point taken.

I hear good things about Onkyo, but never really about the great sound, so much as all the great features...I don't need all the plug-ins to be honest. I just want a great sounding receiver to take advantage of my speakers and dvd's and cd's. The 900 looks great, but is it the best sounding for my price range?

 

[Jay_E]

The 900 looks great, but is it the best sounding for my price range?

There is no one "best sounding" receiver. There are many different opinions on which brand is "best". I can't say Onkyo is the "best sounding", but I can say that it sounds great with HT and music (especially with DVD-A). I can also say it has a very nice feature set that is easy to setup and use and has discrete IR commands for all necessary functions. After using it for about a year I have yet to find any usability quirks that you would normally find in a complex pice of equipment.

My only negative comment regarding Onkyo is that last year's models all had a DSP chip that caused audio dropouts with some (very small amount) dolby digital content. They were slow in admitting the problem and providing a fix. They did finally announce a fix and my receiver was repaired with no ill effects.

Jay

 

[JeremyX]

Well I jsut check prices and features on the 900..it exceeds my budget...the lowest I can find it for is around $1250. It does idneed have some great features...

...any other suggestions? The Marantz 7300 still seems like a great receiver...big improvements over the 7200.

 

[Jay_E]

You might want to look at the Onkyo TX-SR800. It is a THX certified receiver with most of the features of the 900 (except the NetTune stuff) and just a little less amplification. It can be had for less than $900. Hifi.com has it for $899 w/ free shipping and a 45 day money back guarantee (including shipping). They also carry Marantz but don't list the 7300. Good luck.
Jay

 

[JeremyX]

Oh wow! Responses!!! Jay E
It's really driving me crazy...right now these are the candidates I have read good things on and will try to test; any thoughts are appreciated...and yes I have searched and read on all of these units.
Receivers:
Pioneer Elite 45 tx (read about some power issues)
Onkyo SR800 (heard nothing negative here)
Sony 4ES (i have read it's over priced and remote is hell)
Marantz 7300 (this seems to have zero negative feedback)
I don't think any of these players offer bass management...which would be nice...I think the Pioneer was rumored to, but nothing definite..weird
DVD:
Denon 1600 (no gold plated plugs; no coaxial out)
Pioneer Elite 45a (nice that it's universal, but it had chroma bug..how bad? not sure)
The Panasonic 82 is a fantastic buy and a great player...but I can't get into the reasons why I won't get it...you don't want to know, trust me. :b
Yeesh, I'm about to go jump out my window...but I'm only on the first floor

 

[Rich Wenzel]

I would look at the new NAD that came out if audio quality is of most importance, i think that is about 800 or so...there was a review in S&V i think, said its wpc was higher than listed.

I would choose marantz over denon or onkyo, but that is just my opinion.

Rich