Need Help Choosing New Receiver (1 Viewer)

Hi guys! I would love to hear your opinions before I spend my money hehe. My current receiver is starting to go and this will be my first receiver capable of decoding blu ray audio tracks. I plan on purchasing the Energy Classic 5.1 surround speakers and want to make sure I will get the most out of them. I read online that a lot of people like the Sony STR-DN840 or 1040 and the Pioneer VSX823K. Is there anything in particular I should be checking for when I read the specs? I really dont care about network capabilities since all my components already have these bells and whistles. I just want the speakers to sound the best...

I would pick and avr with more oomph, or pick larger speakers that are more efficient.

Sorry, i forgot to mention this is for a small bedroom and I'm looking for small speakers like the Energy's....

"Larger and more efficient" can be the BIC DV 52.

As Sam already mentioned, smaller speakers generally (O.K. Almost always) take a little more power to drive them to the same volumes then larger speaker do. But if it's for a bedroom system used at moderate volumes you should be O.K. with an entry-level receiver.

Sony's have a lot of features and value but aren't always as highly regarded as most other brands. They sell wonderfull tv's and bluray players though. And their ES series of receivers seem to be much better. Nothing really wrong with them, just that most members usually recommend something else.

Otherwise, Pioneer, Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, H/K, Onkyo, etc all pretty much the same at this price range but we all have our own preferences. Denon, Marantz and Onkyo use Audyssey room eq/auto setup feature (Onkyo not anymore?), Pioneer uses it's own MCACC and Yamaha it's YPAO.

In the lower end of the price scale, where you buy might be more important then what you buy. Many of us recommend a factory refurbished model from ac4l.com. They sell Denon, Marantz and Yamaha. They all come with a factory warranty and extended warranties are reasonable and recommended. 2 years for $25, 3 years for $35 and 5 years for $50.

Give them a look.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/category/avreceiver/home-audio/home-theater-receivers/1.html

gene c said:

As Sam already mentioned, smaller speakers generally (O.K. Almost always) take a little more power to drive them to the same volumes then larger speaker do. But if it's for a bedroom system used at moderate volumes you should be O.K. with an entry-level receiver. Sony's have a lot of features and value but aren't always as highly regarded as most other brands. They sell wonderfull tv's and bluray players though. And their ES series of receivers seem to be much better. Nothing really wrong with them, just that most members usually recommend something else. Otherwise, Pioneer, Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, H/K, Onkyo, etc all pretty much the same at this price range but we all have our own preferences. Denon, Marantz and Onkyo use Audyssey room eq/auto setup feature (Onkyo not anymore?), Pioneer uses it's own MCACC and Yamaha it's YPAO. In the lower end of the price scale, where you buy might be more important then what you buy. Many of us recommend a factory refurbished model from ac4l.com. They sell Denon, Marantz and Yamaha. They all come with a factory warranty and extended warranties are reasonable and recommended. 2 years for $25, 3 years for $35 and 5 years for $50. Give them a look. http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/category/avreceiver/home-audio/home-theater-receivers/1.html

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Ok I wasn't sure if there was anything specific to make sure that an entry level receiver had to offer. Someone told me to make sure that whichever one I chose had discrete channels. Is this something that they all have? Also you mentioned about the auto set up features. Is one brand more favored than the other?

Receivers are all about what options you need. From what you said, you don't have any unique requirements, so any one will suit you fine.
Discrete channels is good for when you are cranking it in all-channel stereo, but for your purpose not a critical feature.
Also, I don't think Sony is a good value, they are still trying to market themselves as upscale, and price accordingly. Onkyo usually has the most bells&whisles for the money, but has received some criticism in the last year or two for quality control.
The tendency for most people is to buy up to "future proof". That's a bad idea for receivers as their life expectancy in terms of technology obsolensce is about 3-5 years. So buy exactly what you need, and upgrade later when you want to. (Speakers on the other hand last 20-30 years, so spend any extra cash you have on the speakers.)

Yamaha are all discrete(starting last year with the 375).Denon went all discrete as well within the last year or two.Onkyo doesn't mention it...on anything. But anything Darlington (not at your price range) is basically guaranteed to be.I pay zero attention to Sony.The HK 1700 no longer has lousy reviews. Apparently all the issues are fixed?Essentially an amp is either discrete...or IC chip based. IC chip means everything shares the same power. Meaning...even input signal path is shared, and split up in the chip(chance of crosstalk). IC chips can also introduce their own noise.

Ok so let's say I'm getting these speakers...http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001202C44/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d3_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_r=07JDR2E4EHFSAD5VWTB6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200482&pf_rd_i=507846Would a receiver like this be sufficient ....http://www.bestbuy.com/site/denon-700w-5-2-ch-4k-ultra-hd-and-3d-pass-through-a-v-home-theater-receiver/3800036.p;jsessionid=0DD6B59B2080FFF56178CC62266F9E49.bbolsp-app01-102?id=1219093902408&skuId=3800036&st=categoryid$abcat0202003&cp=1&lp=4

That's a fine choice. The only concern I have is that it doesn't have any component inputs; but that pretty much only comes into play if you have an older gaming system.

If you are trying to save money, for a bedroon I might go with this:
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-E200-Receiver-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B00B7X2OW6/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1406207978&sr=1-5&keywords=denon+receivers

You primarily lose auto-calibration, but you save 40+%. Auto-calibration is definitely useful, but you *can* do it manually, and for a small bedroom maybe not the most important feature. (Denon says the cheaper model is more powerful; but I don't believe them.)

Al.Anderson said:

That's a fine choice. The only concern I have is that it doesn't have any component inputs; but that pretty much only comes into play if you have an older gaming system. If you are trying to save money, for a bedroon I might go with this:http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-E200-Receiver-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B00B7X2OW6/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1406207978&sr=1-5&keywords=denon+receivers You primarily lose auto-calibration, but you save 40+%. Auto-calibration is definitely useful, but you *can* do it manually, and for a small bedroom maybe not the most important feature. (Denon says the cheaper model is more powerful; but I don't believe them.)

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Hehe....actually, the auto calibration was the one thing that caught my interest. I'm a newbie when it comes to these receivers. Are there any bells and whistles that would effect the sound quality on these speakers? Or is one calibration tool better than another? I keep reading about that audyssey tool. How about this one..looks like the step up from the one u posted...http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-E300-Channel-Networking-Receiver/dp/B00B7X2OV2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1406211790&sr=1-1&keywords=5.1-Channel

Does A4L have any more 1513BA? (Using phone or i would check)

I called Denon this morning and got the rest of my questions answered. Thanks for all your help guys!

Hey, we like to know what happens after the credits roll! What did you get?

Denon/BA package doesn't have room correction which is why I didn't specifically recommend it.

But as Al said, which way did you go?