reciever advice needed (1 Viewer)

[jessop]

Hello,
I'm currently running and Harman Kardon AVR 146 that i used in my old apartment that had a very small living room area. I'm now in my new house and have a big basement that this will be used in. I was thinking about upgrading to a 7.1 system. I cant say anything bad about the HK that i have but I'm not sure if will do the trick when this basement has been totally re done. Any advice on where to go from here or actual units that are proffered would be greatly appreciated. I currently have a Polk set of speakers that would be replaced down the road. Money only goes so far at once right.
Thank you in advance
RJ

 

[ShanonS]

First, welcome to the forum. I'd suggest you do a search, this comes up at least once to ten or more times a week. There are numerous recent threads you could read. It's hard to make specific suggestions without any kind of budget guidelines. I just recently purchased a new receiver. I ended up with an Onkyo, but had it narrowed to either that unit or a Denon. Personally, those are the only brands I looked at. There are other capable receivers, such as HK (which you are familiar with), Yamaha (I own a Yamaha amp that I really like), and Pioneer Elite. I found a lot of info on Audyssey automatic setup and processing when I was looking. After hearing the results, I wouldn't go with anything that didn't have it, and that narrowed it to the two brands I first mentioned, but that's just my opinion. If you don't know what I'm talking about as far as Audyssey, you can search for that also...

 

[Jeff Gatie]

RIght now, name your budget and we'll recommend a few models. My ranking system (Patent Pending):

Onkyo - Best bang for the buck, but not as high quality fit/finish/weight. Audyssey a plus.
Denon - High quality, respectable, feature laden but more pricy. Audyssey a plus.
H/K - High quality, not as many extra features, medium bang for buck.
Pioneer Elite - See Denon, except the use the inferior MCACC calibration.
Yamaha - Good bang for buck, good features, waaaaayyyyyyy to many DSP modes for my tastes. It's like their receivers exist to warp the sound in 1000 different ways.
Sony - Good components, bad receivers, unless you get the ES line. Underpowered, under featured, hard to calibrate. Granted this was from a few years ago, but it turned me off so bad I never cared for them again.

 

[jessop]

Thanks guys,
I have continued to look around and i'm liking the onkyo models more and more all the time. I have placed a budget of under $1000 for this purchase. i guess it would have made sense to say that in the first place, sorry about that. any advice would be great. i like the high front channel and the fact that i get a second zone with most of the onkyo models along with the power it provides. I'm just not sure if dropping an coupld of extra bucks to get a model with THX certification is worth it. what does everyone think?

 

[gene c]

I'm just not sure if dropping an coupld of extra bucks to get a model with THX certification is worth it. what does everyone think?

For just "certification" I don't think it's worth it. But they are starting to get into other areas like calibration.

For an Onkyo under $1000 I'd look at the 876.

 

[ShanonS]

The Onkyo 876 is what I have and there are a number of things that put it well above the 806. They can easily be found just below your budget. It was a close race between it and the Denon 3808, which can occasionally be found around that price.

I'm not sure about lower weight, that thing is a beast.

 

[jessop]

what about the 905? is that last years version of the 906? how does that compare to the 876?

 

[gene c]

The 905 has a Toridal transformer but doesn't have the isf video calibration and more importantly doesn't have Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Volume. There are other differences but I'd go with the 876. On paper it's a heck-of-a receiver. Owners seem to agree.

 

[werty7777]

Another vote on the 876 here. I love mine.

 

[jessop]

The 876 does sound great. i havent been able to find one for under the $1000 mark as of yet though. am i giving much up by getting an 806 instead?

 

[gene c]

Here's a factory refurbishibed unit from Ac4l.com for $849 (in silver). It comes with a one year factory warranty.

The 876 has a better amp section and much better video processing.

 

[werty7777]

Better yet here's a new 876 with free shipping from Amazon for less than a grand. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001AMSPDG/ref=dp_olp_new_map?ie=UTF8&qid=1249761452&sr=8-1&condition=new just add to cart and see the price.

 

[jessop]

Dam i tried to purchase the one from amazon but it wont ship to Canada??

 

[jessop]

I have been to a few stores over the past few days and most seem to prefer Yamaha. Any idea why or if you agree?

 

[gene c]

Yamaha, Pioneer (and Elite), Harman Kardon, Denon, Onkyo, Marantz, etc. They're all good receivers. If it has the inputs and features you're looking for then any of them will satisfy you. Audyssey automatic setup and room correction (found on most Denon's and Onkyo's) seems to be a real popular feature right now but there's no reason not to consider any other brand.

As for Yamaha, their entry level avr's are a little less powerful than most others but you probably wouldn't notice it in real world use. They are also a little more confusing to use at first. Keep the manual handy!

Each brand has their little quirks. Denon has lousy remotes, H/K's reliability has been questioned. Onkyo's run hot and have less than stellar customer service. Marantz is a bit more expensive than the others. Pioneer really cuts corners on their low end models but they still seem to perform well and Elites are not as elite as they used to be. Well, maybe the SC-09 is but at $5000 it better be. And this is all my opinion. Want two other different opinions?
Ask two other people.