sweet sounding receivers ?

sam_sark · 07-08-2003, 01:22 AM

can anyone recommend some 'sweet sounding' receivers..heard denon 1803,yamaha rx-v503 ....did not notice much difference in the short time i listened to them...i have heard though that denon is much more light sounding than the loud yamaha receivers...is that something someone has experienced when comparing the two....how about marantz...marantz receivers are not too loud i have heard....

Myo K · 07-08-2003, 02:13 AM

denon is an excellent av receiver for music, it has a knack for bringing out the subtle details of music. though i would recommend 2803 and up, the 1803 is lacking in the power department and features.

marantz from my experience seems very warm and a bit biased towards the low frequencies.

Yogi · 07-08-2003, 09:57 AM

The sweetest sounding musical receivers are from Marantz, HK, Denon, NAD and Rotel. Yamaha, Pio, Sony, Onkyo, Technics etc can be slightly edgy to my ears.

JamieS · 07-08-2003, 10:18 AM

It depends on price range also.

A Pioneer "elite" receiver 45tx or better is probably going to sound much "sweter" than a Denon 1603.

The smoothest receiver I have heard myself is the Rotel RSX 1065. It is the big brother to my RSX 1055. With 100 w per of ROTEL power the thing is just efortless and doesn't add anything to the sound that shouldn't be there. That said an RSX 1065 is nearly the price of good separates. In fact I could probably match or beat the sound when I save up the $ to add an AMP to my 1055 and still cost less.

If I had to pick another reciever (not a megabuck top of the line) that I though was really "sweet" sounding I'd pick the NAD T752. very smooth, much more power than you think.

PhilMays · 07-08-2003, 11:05 AM

I just replaced my Onkyo TXDX 797 with an Yamaha RX-V3300. The sound difference is simply amazing (I am an old Onkyo fan). Perhaps the Yamaha has more control features, but it really "cleaned up" the content going through my speakers.

I compaired this unit to a Denon 4802 and for the price difference I could not justify the Denon.

One thing I like about the Denon better is the 7.1 feature over the 6.1 feature of the Yamaha. The unit you are looking at may even be 5.1 with the Yamy.

All-in-all Get what you like as both are really good products.

BTW, I agree with Myo K. If your can swing it, the 2803 would be better than the 1803 in Denon.

**HTF Ads**

Jack Briggs · 07-08-2003, 04:59 PM

...did not notice much difference...

And you won't.

The speaker and the amount of power being delivered to it will determine the "sound." Otherwise, go for the unit that has the feature set and price that are right for you.

Doug Brewster · 07-09-2003, 03:17 AM

Define "Sweet".

To me, that term has become vague and subjective. Most listeners use this term about music and believe "warm" to be sweet and if that's what you mean, Harmon Kardon is probably sweetest. Others that are more accurate but still warm include NAD, Rotel, and Marantz. Of all these, HK is more affordable, but Marantz is very close in price.

However, if "sweet" means ability to do home theater, then you can't do much better (for the money) than Denon. The more "musical receivers" don't do as well with this.

...All of this is in my experienced, unscientific, deservedly humble opinion,

If "sweet" means flavor, I've never had my tongue on any electronic equipment, but have several times drooled over certain pieces.

Doug

Brett DiMichele · 07-09-2003, 06:01 AM

Isn't it amazing how our brains interpret what we hear?

For example to me....

Warm: Marantz, HK

Neutral: Onkyo, Integra

Bright: Yamaha, Pioneer

And my definitions of the above..

Bright is in your face, edgy but not so much as to cause
sibilance. Just really energetic on the High Frequencies.

Warm is calm, not drawing too much attention to it's self.
If I were to use women a anlogy a warm woman would be one
who doesn't need the fancy dress or makeup to look good and
she treates you right.

Neutral is somewhere inbetween both of the above. This is
the woman i'd marry if I used the above analogy.

Everyone hears things differently. If we all heard the same
there would be one speaker made. If we all loved the same
woman we'd be in trouble! (Or, would she?

)

Doug Brewster · 07-09-2003, 06:39 AM

Brett,

I believe we hear things in much the same way and I would agree with your ratings in receivers, but warmth in women (and audio) is my preference.

Doug

Angelo.M · 07-09-2003, 09:27 AM

Quote:

...heard denon 1803,yamaha rx-v503 ....did not notice much difference in the short time i listened to them...

The differences among AVRs of similar power and specification are vastly oversold. It's very easy to lump them into categories like 'warm', 'bright', 'neutral', but the categories and the descriptors are artificial and, in my opinion, meaningless.