[Sean_Oz]

I am going to buy myself a reciever as a christmas present, you gotta treat yourself sometimes! Here is the problem, I have gotten so much good info on recievers that I can't decide what I want! I have been looking at the Denon 1804 as well as the Onkyo 601. I also have seen good deals on the Denon 2802. What are your experiences with these recievers as well as your opinions? Any info on these recievers will be great.

If it helps any, these are the speakers I have:

JBL S-Center
JBL S-38 bookshelfs - Mains
JBL N-24 - Surrounds
Crappy Aiwa sub - Came with my current crappy reciever

Thanks!

Sean

[ChrisLazarko]

The Denon would be my take over the Onkyo... If you can though take a look at the Harman/Kardon recievers..

It seems like your looking for a mid-entry level reciever... go to www.soundcity.com and take a look at the Harman/Kardon AVR-125 reciever. They are phasing out there x25 line and the prices are ridiculous on how low they are now.

The AVR-125 at soundcity is used but it comes with the full manufacturers warranty and HK in every case I have seen they have fixed a product with a defect even when no longer IN WARRANTY! Take a look and enjoy.

[Sean_Oz]

I have considered H/K models but I am confused by thier watts per channel rating. 45 watts per channel does not seem very powerfull. I am sure that it is a very clean 45 watts but with this purchase, I am trying to pick a reciever that would be loud enough for a somewhat larger room. If anyone would like to share thier experiences and reasoning as to which model is better with H/K models as well as the Onkyo and Denon models I had previously mentioned, I would be grateful. I am definitely up to other suggestions reciever-wise, thanks!

Sean

[JamesKirk]

I currently have both an onkyo receiver and a HK receiver. My onkyo is a few years old, and doesn't have a built in Dolby digital decoder (just dolby digital ready) and pro logic, but I prefer it any day over my HK AVR120. Onkyo gives you more power, better sound, and a better overall package (I think), for less money than a comprable HK. I am a big Onkyo fan, and I would deffinently reccomend it over Denon and HK. Onkyo rulez

BTW, setting up a friend's HT system, and I don't even have to think about it, I'm getting him an Onkyo.

[Sean_Oz]

Thanks for the replies guys! Does anyone else have any other things to say? All input is welcome, thanks!

Sean

[John Brill]

Hi Sean_OZ,

I'm practically in the same boat as you. Bottom line, you need to decide what it is you want in a reciever. In my case, I want "Zone 2/B" speakers outs to play music in a second room which eliminates the H/K receivers. On the other hand, I did listen to the H/K receivers and they do tend to underate (or more honestly rate) their receivers and their 45W rating is probably comparable to others 75-85W ratings so don't let that scare you away.

I'm now down to the following choices which meet my input/output needs (DVD, X-Box, PS-2, Sat TV, 3M Front Projector) and power needs for a 15' x 20' room (3meters x 7meters):

1) Yamaha RX-V540 or RX-V640
2) Onkyo 501 or 601
3) Denon 1604 or 1804

Now comes the hard part, whatever the reviews regarding sound quality, everyone's ears are different. You have to go out and listen to them and make up your own mind as quality wise, they are all good products.

In then end, I'm 85% settled on the Yamaha RX-V540 as I can do without "On screen menu" and front optical and S-Video outputs and save a little $$$ to put towards better speakers. My second choice is the Onkyo 501 reciever. However, I may still chose to go a little over budget and get the Yammy RX-V640 or Onkyo 601 reciever :b

Sure I'd love to get the Yamaha RX-V1400 THX certified, all the bells and whistles HT Reciever but I also recognize that I just don't need it

Happy hunting and good luck

JB

[ChrisLazarko]

I would want to avoid the lower-end Yamaha's due to how they rate there recievers and they don't really rate them honestly. The RX-V640 would probably run about 35W true power.

My three choices would be the Denon, Onkyo, and HK... HK being my top pick.

www.SoundCity.com has the AVR-125 for about $200 refurbished and comes with the full factory warranty. HK also honors there products very well in and out of warranty. One reason alot of people love them... One guy got to use his old reciever that broke as upgrade credit. Not a bad deal at all.

[John Brill]

You know, the Yamaha wpc "contreversy" concerned me as well in the begining yet Yamaha was still being recommended in various forums so I decided to listen to one.

What I found is that on the same speakers (PSB Alpha Intro Sat/Sub 6.1 package), all receivers being considered all produced similarly pleasing results. So, on the JBL's in question, I doubt you could tell the difference between 30 wpc's and 100 wpc's at normal listening volumes even during dramatic moments in a movie. The speakers would distort before the receivers would run out of "juice".

The latest Sound and Vision comparison test between the Yamaha RX-V440 (note, 440 is not a typo) vs the Onkyo 501 concluded that these two recievers were equally matched even though the Yamaha was tested at 34 wpc and the Onkyo 501 tested at 77 wpc for 1 whole second and then stepped down to 47 wpc. Both recievers produced the same "loundness" and the Yamaha produced less distortion! One can only surmise that the Yamaha RX-V540 and RX-V640 would produce better wpc ratings in the range of 35-45 wpc? Comparable to the H/K in question which is what my ears confirmed when listening to half a dozen different receivers.

So, with that said, does 10 wpc make a difference? Nah, not on Sat/Sub system. Should you want to upgrade your speakers to larger, more power hungry ones, I'd suggest that all these recievers would perform as well and fail at the same point.

Conclusion: Yamaha, Onkyo, H/K, Denon, all make a good product and if the H/K had "zone2/B" speakers outputs, it would probably still be on my shortlist.

JB

[Jeff Braddock]

Well, I don't have any experience with the new models that are on your list, but I do have experience with the Denon 1803. I really like the receiver. I have a Paradigm setup and it sounds excellent. The receiver is very solid, though it does have it's faults (in my opinion). They are (in no particular order): 1) the remote sorta stinks, 2) it does not have pre-outs, 3) it doesn't allow one to set individual speaker distances. Only mains/sub, center, surrounds.

None of these are deal-breakers to me. No. 3 is mainly a gripe because of my room situation I would have liked some more flexibility.

Those small gripes considered, I would still get the 1803 if I had it to do over again.