Looking for advice for old system (1 Viewer)

[thej762000]

Hey folks, just another old home theater buff looking for some advice on new gear. I got a new Vizio HDTV for Christmas, and as a bonus got all of my folks old HT gear. My question centers around the receiver, ye olde Denon AVR-5600. This was originally purchased around 1998 for use with AC-3 Laserdisc, and still performs well with DD DVD. However, as you probably know, there's no DTS 5.1, and no way to take advantage of Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD-MA. Now I'd like to keep the same level of power that I have with the Denon (140w per channel) and THX certification, but not a new Denon's price tag (ouch!). I've been looking at the Onkyo TX-NR3008 as a replacement.. any reason not to get this? Should I look at the TX-NR1008 or TX-NR5008 instead?

 

[Jason Charlton]

Frankly, choosing a receiver based on wattage and/or THX certification is not a good approach.


It takes double the wattage to produce a 3dB difference in volume. The difference between 140wpc and 100wpc is really next to nothing. The biggest factor in how "loud" your system goes is the sensitivity of your speakers. If you have speakers with sensitivity in the 90dB range, then you can get ear-splitting volume levels at well under 100 watts of "power".


THX certification also means a lot less today than it did 10 years ago. There are MANY receivers out there that meet or exceed all of the THX "standards" and simply opt not to pay THX the licensing fee to get the logo on the front panel.


Receivers should be chosen based on the number and type of connections they have (and how that matches with your needs) and any features that you want that generally are only available in the realm of the receiver (Internet radio tuning capability, iPod dock, etc.).


Finally, most of your budget should be put into the speakers, not the receiver. Speakers have a much bigger impact on how your system sounds. If you're willing to spend $2k on a receiver that's fine, as long as you're willing to spend at least twice that on speakers.


In comparing the 3008 to the 1008 I don't see any overriding reason to go with the 3008 (I don't see much reason to go for the 1008 over the 708, either, but that's just me).


If your budget allows, then go for it - just promise us you won't hook up a $500 set of speakers to your $2k receiver.

 

[thej762000]

Here's the speakers I have, I'll let you tell me whether it's up to snuff:


Polk RT1000P (Pair)

Polk CS400

Atlantic Technology 354SR (Pair)

 

[Jason Charlton]

Those speakers have a 90dB sensitivity, so they don't really need a lot of power to get loud.


But you don't have a subwoofer. Even though those Polks include a powered woofer, they simply can't perform as well as a dedicated subwoofer (technically, a 6.5" driver doesn't qualify as a subwoofer - and it's low-end frequency response is only 36Hz).


I think you should consider investing in a good subwoofer as well. Perhaps one of the awesome options from SVS. You can still hook up both the mains and a subwoofer to a single pre-out on the receiver using a simple Y-cable, or if you get a receiver with dual sub pre-outs it will save you the $3.75 that the Y-cable will run.


Again - it all comes down to budget. If you're happy with the speakers you have and won't be upgrading, then you don't have to worry about running your budget too thin. I still prefer the 708, but then again, my philosophy is to keep the receiver simple. Only you can decide if the extra bells and whistles are worth the price premium.

 

[thej762000]

I totally agree about the subwoofer.. at best those Polk woofers are good with music not fx, and they tend to rattle the cabinet when pressed too hard. Never heard of SVS before, thanks for the tip.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I agree with Jason, SVS makes some really nice subs for the money!

http://www.svsound.com/


Velodyne Subwoofers


http://www.velodyne.com/


The two Onkyo models you mentioned are good choices and would do a good job and have alot of features. I was considering an Onkyo back when the TX-805 was out, that was replaced with the 807 I believe and the amp section was not as robust. Compaired to my Yamaha the new TX-1008 is ether compairable or slightly better than what I have, which is a 11+ year old Yamaha RX-V995. One of the things I felt was an issue was Onkyo's customer service and that there recievers run very hot. If you go with an Onkyo reciever make sure it has plenty of ventalation and do not close it in when it is being used. I am sure there are plenty of people here that have had no problems but others that have had plenty of issues. While I wouldn't buy Onkyo's lower line the models you are looking at should do a great job and you can allways add external amplification and should be able to use internal unused channels for other zones. If you like the Onkyo's and you can swing it I would go with the 5008 and get the best that Onkyo offers along with toradal transformer for audio and seperate transformer for the video section. Personally I would go with the Onkyo over standard Pioneer models and Sony models. And to be honest I feel the Sony ES recievers are kinda anorexic as far as the amplifier section goes. I have Sony gear and one of my prize possessions is a Sony ES DVP-S9000 ES DVD/SACD player. And while I want to replace my Yamaha RX-V995 I wouldn't use a Sony ES and especially not a regular Sony in my home theater.


Onkyo TX-NR1008 $1,399

http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-NR1008&class=Receiver&p=i


Onkyo TX-NR5008 $2,699

http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-NR5008&class=Receiver&p=i


Denon AVR-4810CI $2,999

http://usa.denon.com/us/Product/Pages/Product-Detail.aspx?CatId=3d9614d1-8000-4106-ab91-8192242cab83&SubId=40b5820d-83c2-4e93-9909-60aae60e0bdd&ProductId=14c37b13-44c8-4d7b-9b5d-5316e646e7b7


Denon AVR-3311CI $1,199

http://usa.denon.com/us/Product/Pages/Product-Detail.aspx?Catid=3d9614d1-8000-4106-ab91-8192242cab83&SubId=40b5820d-83c2-4e93-9909-60aae60e0bdd&ProductId=b44a517c-7e15-493c-8373-dbd2a1f57f63


Pioneer Elite SC-37 $2,200

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/AV-Receivers/Elite+Receivers/SC-37


Have you looked at Marantz? Or Rotel? The Denon's are really not that out of line with the Onkyo's and the big thing with Denon is how they intergrate technology and there reliability IMHO. Denon, Onkyo and Marantz all use the Audyssey room correction which is better IMHO than what Sony or Yamaha uses. I like the Pioneer room correction and they also I believe they use Wolfson DAC's in there upper line of Elite recievers. Eventlually I will replace my Yamaha RX-V995 with a new reciever and so far it will be a Denon but I do not rule out a Pioneer Elite or Onkyo or maybe even a Rotel.


It depends on how much of a critical listener you are and what level of quality you want in the build of the reciever you are buying. Your Polks should do a good job and with a sub and a good reciever you should make a nice change in your home theater. I would seriously suggest that you go to as many retailers with demo rooms and listen to as many different brands and use your top cd's using similar speakers to the ones you own to evaluate what reciever you want to buy. Make sure to plan for possible future purchases so you will have enough inputs so that you do not need to buy another reciever before you need to. I hope this helps?

 

[thej762000]

It does help, thanks for the advice. I've got a line on replacing my speakers with the original Atlantic Technology system 350 THX (which matches my existing 354 SR's) via ebay... I'm going to see if I can score on that before I do anything else.

 

[thej762000]

Just an update: I ended up getting the Atlantic Technology system 350 via ebay:


(2) 351LR

(1) 353C

(2) 354SR (plus the 2 I already had for a total of 4)

(2) 352PBM


I'm really happy I got these to replace the Polks.. I don't know if its because the fronts have dedicated midrange drivers but I'm already hearing more detail than I did with the Polks. 2 12" subs don't hurt either.


As far as recievers go: advice from previous posts (along with depth issues from a new cabinet) made me go with the Onkyo TX NR-708. The price was right ($579 from Amazon), and I figure it'll give me time to go for a top end reciever in a year or two if I need to.


BTW, I had gone to a local Magnolia store to demo and I was really disappointed. I listened to a Pioneer SC-35 and a Denon AVR-4311CI hooked up to B&W's and it just sounded dead as all get out. Would this be because of the room, settings on the recievers, or is that just how B&W's sound?

 

[Dave Moritz]

It could be the room, it could be the settings on the reciever or it could be that the sales staff at Magnolia just flat out scewed up the settings so bad that it ended up soundling bad. I would not blame the sound on ether brand as I know that both sound very good when properly set up!