Receivers that require Amps - newbie question (1 Viewer)

HI there its me again with a newbie question. I have been looking at the Onkyo TX-NR509 since its on sale. and it has some nice features that interest me and one that doesnt Networking Ability - Cool Audessey - Cool iPhone App as a remote control - Cool Plug in iPhone directly to front of unit - Cool Amp for multi-room Zone 2 needed - Not cool What kind of inexpensive amps are compatibile to run only for 2 outdoor speakers (speakers not purchased yet). I wont use them a lot. I dont know the cost, but should I take that money and instead of buying an amp, buy a better receiver that has the amp built-in ? thank u

What kind of inexpensive amps are compatibile to run only for 2 outdoor speakers (speakers not purchased yet).

Click to expand...

Any stereo amp will run your two outdoor speakers. Audiosource is one brand that makes inexpensive amplifiers. Alternately, you might look into a 7.1 AVR. Often they can have two of the amp channels used for the second zone. Regards, Wayne A. Pflughaupt

The 508 you were also looking at is a 7.1 receiver with a powered Zone 2. Looks like they may have added a feature or two to the 509 but in order to keep the same MSRP it went from 7.1 to 5.1.

it stinks when manufacturers take away features. the perfect receiver for me would be a hybrid of the 509 + powered zone 2 in a entry level receiver. if i spend $100 for an Audiosource amp, I might as well put that into a receiver that will give me the features i need. the 7.1 would be nice but based on my research the 5.1 is mostly used. I like to stick with Onkyo or Denon so i guess my budget went to 350 and refurb would be fine.

Try the 609 refurb for $339 + shipping also from ac4l. It has dedicated (spring type) speaker connectors for the Zone 2. It also has the excellent Marvel Qdeo video processor should you decide to have the receiver do any video up-conversion etc. I had it in a Pioneer Elite VSX-32 for a short while and the picture was crystal clear. I was going to suggest the Denon 1612 but like the Onkyo 509 it reverted to 5.1. The 1610 was also 5.1, the 1611 moved to 7.1. The Denon 16xx series has a better version of Audyssey than the Onkyo 5xx and 6xx. MultEQ vs. 2EQ. Can you identify exactly what features you feel the 509 has over the 508 that are important to you? You really can save a lot by getting last years models. In my local Fry's add they have an Onkyo receiver for $299 that was originally $599. Didn't say the model number but if it's the 609 and you have a Fry's near you it might be worth a look. It's probably last years 608 though. I think they both had an MSRP of $599 .

I didnt realize about the differences in Audyssey. This has opened the door to looking at Denons more. The better version of Audyssey is an important feature since i will need all the help i can get to set it up. I had a look at the Denon 16xx series and it might be just what i am looking for. The Denon 1611 advertises as multi-room zones and is networked . I would give up the iPod feature of the 1612, thats OK, since the Denon 1611 has Network A/V. I can stream music from my PC (or at least thats what I hope) and the 1611 is $299 at Amazon within budget The only thing that the 1612 offers over 1611 according to the Denon comparisons website : HDMI Video Switching function Low Impendance Drive Capability High Current/Discrete Amplifiers All these terms are way over my head . and all the compromises makes this hard. The one thing I can not sacrifiice is Hi-Def TV Picture Quality or TV Sound. If the 1612 is better for HI-def TV or sound, than I am willing to give up the multi-room of the 1611.

All receivers are HDMI switchers. It's the lowest form of hdmi usability. If you look at the specification tab on the 1611 product page it also shows the Low Impendance/High Current things. Unfortunately these manufactures website often have in-accurate, in-complete or conflicting information depending on where you look for it.. The best way to find out what a particular receiver can do is to down-load the manual and read through it. It is time consuming but it really the only way. Crutchfield.com is also a good place to research items and their info is usually pretty accurate. The "Hands On Research" tab offers a lot of info as does their notes from the Product Research Team. You have to put "Denon avr-1611" in the search box in order for it to find the 1611. http://www.crutchfield.com/p_033AV1612/Denon-AVR-1612.html?search=denon_avr_1612&skipvs=T It looks to me (from admittedly glancing at all this stuff ) like the 1612 loses the 7.1 for a 5.1, loses analog to hdmi video conversion and adds iPod support. It also might add a few things that are less important like Input Delete Function and the manual on cdr. But my guess is except for the iPod thing the 1611 would work just as well as the 1612 for most poeple. EDIT: It looks like the 1611 is iPod compatible with the optional iPod dock.