FWIW I have Onkyo 595 and a Denon 1602 and I can not detect an audible difference between the two. If you can not get the 595 I think the 1802/1602 are both fine alternatives.
Nick
Scott, I have the VTF2 and I listen to about 80% music and I am very pleased with the HSU. It is mated with Paradigm Studio 20s which I run as small and it blends in beautifully. I don't know about sheilding but my VTF2 is about 12 inches from the TV with no problems. I have not heard the...
Reza, I believe your Panasonic DVD player factory default setting is with DTS disabled. You need to go to the DVD players audio set up menu and change DTS to "bitstream". You get to the set up menu by pressing the "action" key on on the DVD players remote.
Nick
Roy, there is no difference in sound between the 1802 vs 2802. The difference is features. If the 1802 has all the features you need then their is no reason to buy the 2802 other than the "toy factor". A factor alot of us are not immune from BTW. But there will be no audible difference...
Thomas, I use a Radio Shack headphone extension cord with my Senns 580s, works fine. Can't remember exactly what I paid but somewhere in the $10 to $15 range.
Nick
Jim, I have the Onkyo 595 driving three Paradigm Studio 20s across the front and Mini Monitors in the back, and am very satisfied. Seems solid, plays loud and clear, nice remote and user friendly. I am not familiar with the Kenwood so I can not comment on it, but I have no hesitation...
Alex, I have the 595 and am very happy with it. Very user friendly and good remote. There is actually a pletora of good receivers in the $500ish range. The 595, Outlaw 1050, Denon 1802 and the HK maybe as well, though I am not that familiar with it. I would say buy on features and price...
Roy, get the receiver that has the features you want/need. The advice you got about one receiver being good for music and one not is nonesense. The sound you hear in your listening room is almost completely controled by speaker choice, room acoustics and speaker placement. The receiver has...
I concur with what Pete said. As a mattter of fact Klipsch R&D has publicly admited that the only reason Klipsch speakers are bi-wireable is preasure from the Klipsch dealers and the Klipsch marketing department. They see no acutual sonic benefit to it. It does allow them to sell more...
It depends entirely on what speakers you will be using. You choose your speakers first, then the appropriate receiver/amp to power them, not the other way around. As long as they have enough power to drive the speakers you select, the receiver/amp really has very little to with the sound you...
Don't know about Toshiba, but some Panasonic DVD players (the RV31 for one) come with DTS set to "off". You might verify that DTS is set to Bitstream in the Toshiba's set up menu.
Nick
Cindy, if you are going to get a sub (the Rava is excellent by all acounts)I recommend do not buy towers. You get much better sound by taking the money you were going to spend on towers and buying bookshelf speakers. Say you have $500 budgeted for main speakers. In almost all cases a $500...
Making a bunch of extrapolations between models aren't we Breck. Unfortunately they are just guess work so they are really pretty meaningless. And of the tests of any mid level receivers that I have seen, the power has been exaggerated by all of them. And since you are so fond of receiver...
Rob, you sacrafice a lot of sound quality for cordless cans. I also live in an apt and bought Senns HD580 headphones for late night listening. I also got a 15' headphone extension cord from Radio Shack so I can move around a bit. LOVE the 580s. Senns makes the best cordless if you really want...
Wally, please ignore Breck's comments, while I am sure they are well intentioned, they are nonsense. None of the receives being discussed here in the $400 to $500 price range have any REAL WORLD SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT POWER OUTPUT. For example, one cannot hear the difference between 60 watts...
Jeff, unlike older receivers, most all current receivers have volume controls that are not linier they are logrithmic (sp?). This means when you want to increase the volume it takes alot more turning of the knob on the new receiver to effect a change at lower volume levels. When you are used...
Wally, the 494 is a great little receiver. That being said, you can get the Onkyo 595 for $375ish from J&R Music World (you may have to haggle a bit). I would suggest going for the 595 if you can go the extra money for this reason, it's a killer receiver for the money and you may just find...
From what I have seen of the authorized Onkyo dealers J&R Music World usually has the best prices. WWW.J&R.COM You need to call them and negotiate the deal since last time I looked they did not post the prices on their web page.
Nick
Brent, I did an A/B between the 1602 and 1802 and could not find any audible difference between them so I went with the 1602 since I did not need the extra features of the 1802. In regards to the 10 watts power difference, in the real world the difference between 70 watts and 80 watts is...
FWIW I own a Onkyo 595 and a Denon 1602 (I almost got the 1802 but it did no do anything that the 1602 did not do that I wanted) and if I were to get a another receiver in the same price range today it would be another 595. Obviously if you need pre outs then you do not get the 595. The 595...
Chuck, good info on Denon bass management. I have a 1802 on the way, did you ever find out if the 18xx series handles the bass management the same way as the 3xxx series Denons?
Nick
Stopped by the local B&M this morning looking for a small footprint, 8 inch, tight musical sub to compliment Paradigm Atoms in a small room. Use will be 90/10 music/HT. They showed me a PSB Alpha SubZero. While it has only 50 watts it sounded pretty decent to me in a fairly large demo room...
Paradigm Atoms are great little speakers. List for $185. I use them as surrounds for my Studio 20 mains and like them enough to get a second pair of Atoms use as the only speakers in a small bedroom system. Let your ears be your guide though and audition as many speakers as you can.
Nick