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I need a new AVR!

post #1 of 2
3/21/10 at 8:12am
Thread Starter 
 Okay, I went into my closest Magnolia Hi-Fi Showroom(Bellevue WA) cause I need a new sub woofer(sold my JBL el-cheapo to pay off a bill). Decided on a Martin Logan Dynamo 500(i have a 250 -/+ sqf living room) but while I was there I was looking at the new HD AVR's and decided it was time to look into upgrading my Yamaha HTR-5650. Magnolia Hi-Fi(i'm assuming. . .i know what that does) only sells top of the line stuff, so I was taken back when I didn't see any Yamaha or Harmon Kardon. So I got home and started looking around at different "trusted sources"(cnet, hometheatermag, ect) and different forums and I'm more confused than I was when I started looking. I have had my Yamaha HTR-5650 for about 5 years and I have not had any problems with it and it sounds great. But when I heard the sound and saw the features of the Denon and Marantz I was amazed! So what do ya'll recommend? I'm open to anything as long as it is dependable and sounds good! Oh ya and I'm trying to keep my budget for the receiver under $1000. . .I shouldn't even be looking to spend that kind of money since I'm currently out of work(i'm a licensed electrician) and I'm out job hunting. . .he he!
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post #2 of 2
3/21/10 at 9:21am
Different stores sell different brands of receivers. Circuit City (when they were around) used to sell Harman Kardon and Best Buy sold Denon. When CC switched to Denon BB started to carry H/K. My local BB, with a Magnolia inside it, carries H/K, Yamaha and Pioneer with Denon Pioneer Elite and upper-end Yamaha's in the Magnolia section.

Everyone has their favorite brands, mine are Pioneer Elite and older Harman Kardon, and those they suggest to avoid, in my case-Sony ("consumer level quality"), Marantz, (used to be my favorite until I found out the 7002/8002 bypass Audyssey when the signal is input thru HDMI??).
When they fix this Marantz will be back on my woo-whoo! list.

But Pioneer Elites have their issues as well. They only "pass-thru" hdmi video signals applying no conversion. If 480i comes in then 480i goes out. And they only have a single cross-over setting for all speaker groups. No "Quadruple Cross-over". And older H/K's are, well, old.

Yamaha's are very solid receivers but YAPO is a step behind Audyssey.

H/K's used to have QC issues a while back but I haven't heard much about it recently. And their EZSetEQ is very good. In fact, the best sound I've ever had from these room correction eq's was from an H/K 435.

Denons perform very well but I found when setting up a 1610 that the manual was confusing and the remote about the worst out there. But those two things can be replaced or thrown in the recycle bin.

Onkyo has about the best combination of performance, features and price out there. They get a little warm and don't have the pinash of Denon, H/K or Pioneer Elite.

In reality, the biggest difference in receiver brands is price and the video processor. Frajudja was the best out there at one time but Anchor Bay and HQV-Reon have pretty much surpassed them.

And if your speakers are 4 ohm make sure the receiver is compatible.

For you, I'd consider the Pioneer Elite vsx23, H/K 2600/3600, Denon 2810/990, and the Onkyo 1007/RC180. Depending on what speakers you have and how loud you play them a $5-600 receiver might be all you need like a Denon 790/1910/ H/K 1600, Elite 21 or Onkyo 707.

But get a job first!!
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