James C

Would like some opinions

I used to be very up-to-date on home audio. However, that was about 10 years ago.

I have been looking at buying/building a new system. I have heard pretty good things about the following receivers:
yamaha RX-V1400, H/K AVR 330, and the Onkyo TX-NR701. I would appreciate any opinions on these receivers. I would like to keep my budget under $1000 for a receiver. I am more into watching movies/tv, than music, if that helps.

Also, I have no idea when it comes to quality speaker systems. So any help would be appreciated, especially, which systems would sound great with the receivers mentioned above. I would like to keep the speaker budget also under $1000.

Any help would be helpful.

Thanks

James C

John S

There may be no better deal going than the $640 delivered Denon 3802 reciever from 6ave......

You need to put the rest of your budget into a sub and speakers. The meaner the sub the better. Try your best to get either a dual 12" driver sub, or a single 15" sub.

There some bargain single 12" powered subs out there, think about two of those perhaps. I still really like the AR 12" Powered sub I see for $120 from various sources, I think two of those would definetly thump.

Feel handy?? Many people are making their own powered subs and saving a ton of money doing it these days. Just a thought, I am not that ambitious myself really.

For the speakers, I would see how much a mean sub(s) is going to run me, then use the rest of the money for speakers, and depending on how much that is, it will decide what will be in your price range.

Chu Gai

That is a good deal on the Denon but...
I think you're going about this all wrong James. You should strongly consider choosing your speakers first. And yes, while sound quality (a subjective thing) is important, you need to define
1) what sort of room they'll be in..size
2) looking for bookshelfs or floorstanders
3) what kind of finish you looking for? painted, wood look vinyl, veneer, etc.

At that point, a posting that maybe read something like "I've got a 2,200 cubic foot room and I'm looking for medium sized bookshelfs in a rosewood or walnut finish and my price point, including the sub is 1300 firm. I plan on putting the mains on a wall that's 14 feet long...one side is a wall with some pictures and bookcases, the other is windows." You get the point I think.

At that point you'll get a smattering of choices. Some of them available locally, some available internet only. Now I'm a big fan of listening to speakers and whenever possible, listening to them in my home. That I know is not so easy and the many of the stores out there (BB, CC, etc.) don't have very friendly listening rooms. A ton of speakers, set up in insane configurations, demonstrated by incompetent salespeople. However you've got to start somewhere. While internet speakers typically have money back guarantees, eating s/h is no fun. Hence if for some reason, certain brands intrigue you (Rockets, Ascends, etc.) then if you post something like "I live in Desperation, Nevada...anyone near me that would be willing to let me come over and listen to Rockets, let me know...I'll bring pizza and beer" The last is very important Also many of the internet speakers have their own forums and you might want to consider joining those to listen.

Speakers are a funny thing. All sorts of approaches being taken. Dipoles, omni's...speakers with a very small sweet spot and little dispersion, others with a wide dispersion. Often the approach taken depends in part on the type of room.

Just to get you going, you might want to head out and listen to some JBL's, Klipsh, DefTech, Polks, etc. Leave your damned credit card home. You've been away for 10 years, and there's no reason not to wait a little longer.

You might find it of interest to do a little reading while you're hunting around. The HTF primer is a good place to start, and I think you can get a copy of Howard Ferstler's book "The Home Theater Companion" at your local library. This is a great time to do some listening and have some fun. Yeah, the salespeople don't like it when you tell them you're just looking but so what?

Once you think you've got your speakers nailed, then it's time to do some receiver hunting. By that time, from reading this forum and others and hopefully that Ferstler book, you'll have a pretty good idea of what you want in a receiver. Then you can develop a table and prioritize your needs and don't forget availability of service as one of them.

So, no, I don't have any particular opinions on those receivers but I think after 10 years, you need to spend a little time figuring out things. After all, I sure don't want to see you back here saying something like "This damned Sony makes my speakers sound harsh when I crank up the volume....Oh, I need more power? Why didn't someone tell me? How much for an external amp? Oh, my Sony doesn't have pre-outs? Why didn't someone tell me?"

Let's see how close we, or rather you, can get to hitting that nail squarely on the head.

Shane Martin

James,
Chu has some good advice. Look at what speakers you want first then head towards the receiver route. If you went the Denon 3803 route(which is a quality piece) then you could take the $300 ish dollars and put it towards speakers. If you must have a 5.1 system then the Rocket ELT system from av123 is nice(though their subwoofer is kinda dissapointing they say), then I'd upgrade their subwoofer either to the Rocket UFW10 or look at the SVS or HSU line. The 3803 receiver will drive most all speakers in the range you are considering.