3802 or rx-v1200 (1 Viewer)

[Evan M.]

hi everyone, this is my first post on h.t.f. but i have been going to this site often. very informative stuff!!! now i need some help. we puchased a yamaha rx-v620 a few months ago. it sounds great for ht but doesnt cut it for music. our upgrade period ends in a month and i was thinking about upgrading to the rx-v1200. we have always had yamaha. i heard good things about the denon so figured we would try out the 2802. the yamaha sounded much better in our opinion. more dynamic. we did lsten to it with the speakers we have now and the ones we will be getting. then we saw that for only 100 buck more we could have the 3802. all i seem to read about is this receiver. it sounded very good. better than the 2802 but we still leaned to the yamaha a little bit. we like a bright sound i guess. but in looking at the denon we saw that it has 7 channels and thirty more watts. that seems pretty big to me. i am now leaning to the denon while my wife likes the yamaha. i was hoping that someone out there with direct experience with these two receivers could respond and let me know what you think. and how they compare in your mind. is the 30 watts that significant, it seems like a lot to me. it is between these two receivers. thanks for your help!!

 

[prashanth_sharma]

dude,

they are not even in the same league.. there is a difference of about ~ $300 between the two.

a more fair comparison would be with the 2802. wven there the denon is supposedly better.

prashanth

 

[Evan M.]

thank you for the quick reply, i understand that the rx-v1200 and 2802 are technically in the same league but like i said in my prior post i thought that (with my ears) the yamaha had a much more full sound. the place i am looking at is having a special on the 3802 which to me sounds more in the league of the rx-v1200 for only 100$ more. what i am wondering is why is this a "better" unit. i know it has more power and one more channel, but is there anything else such as better build quality, a better processor etc.. these are thing that i am not to familiar with and was hoping i can learn more from all of you. can you tell me why it is a better unit? thanks again for your reply

 

[Bob_A]

What you want to do is find a receiver which matches well with your speakers. Yamaha seems to be a great match, so why not? There is someone at AR named Woodman who has serviced audio equipment for over 50 years, and he claims that yamaha is pretty much at the top in terms of reliability.

Good luck!

 

[Charles J P]

I have the Yamaha RX-V1200 and compared it to the Denon 3801. I thought the 1200 sounded much better. Fuller, wider sound stage for stereo. Better, more enveloping for HT. My dealer said that's because the Yammies provide better channel separation then most. They usually have a lot of processing power because Yamaha designs their own DSP chips. 30 watts difference is insignificant. I usually listen at -40 on the yamahas dial with my speakers calibrated right at +-1 db from 0. With the Marantz SR-6200 that it repplaced, I was anywhere between -20 and -5 on the dial. The Yamaha has way more power, even though its rated lower. I have all paradigm monitor series speakers.

 

[Evan M.]

thank you everyone for the replies. i think that i am going to stick to yamaha. i have never had a problem with any yamaha i have ever owned so why change things now? now i am wondering if i should shell out the extra cash and get the rx-v 2200 or stick with the rx-v1200. i kmow the 2200 has a little more power and maybe another input ot two. i also like the idea that the remote does macros. does anyone here have a 2200? if so how do you like it. do you think it is worth the 300$ over the 1200. this is the last upgrade i will have for a looooong time so it needs to be good now and years down the road. thanks again everyone

 

[Charles J P]

Or, you could get the 1200 and put the differance towards a pronto like I did

 

[DougO]

I have a 2200 but would have gotten a 1200 except I wanted the 2200's Rec Out feature. Though the 2200's remote is OK, I would get the 1200, if you don't need the Rec Out feature, and buy yourself a real nice remote Home TheaterMaster MX-500 (it is very nice especially in the dark).

 

[Brandon_S]

A little off topic, but what is the main difference between the Yamaha HTR-5490 and the RX series? The reason I ask is that I can purchase the HTR for a major discount since I work at Best Buy. Thanks.

Brandon Smith

 

[DwightK]

Brandon, the RX series has line outs where as the other series does not. I am not sure of any other differences however.

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Brandon, I don't think there is actually any difference between the HTR and the RX-V series. I'm pretty sure the RX series is for actual home theater stores and the HTR series is for mass-merchandise stores such as Best Buy. I have the RX-V620 and it is absolutely identical to the HTR-5460.

 

[Brandon_S]

Dwight and Jeff,

Thanks for the responses. It is good to know that I will be getting basically the same quality receiver with the HTR series minus the pre-outs. I should be getting my 5490 within the next two weeks...can't wait! Thanks!

Brandon Smith

 

[MatthewJ S]

also, removable power cord and 12v trigger on the rx

 

[David John]

the main difference is pre-amp outputs on the RX series.

I have the Rx-V1200 and i know it "supposedly" sounds a little better than the htr-5490. Is this true? I doubt it, but this is a subjective thing anyway.

so add pre-amp outs to the list of the few differences.

 

[jeff lam]

Yamaha states the HTR series is exactly the same as the RX-V series except the HTR has gold lettering on the front while the RX-V has white. As far as I know, everything else is the same!!!

 

[Marty Lockstead]

Hello Evan.

I've only read through some of the replies to your thread but may I suggest looking at the RX-V2200 model from Yamaha assuming it isn't too much more expensive for you?

I beleive it's rated at 100 watts per channel and may have other attributes that may interest you.

Good Luck!

 

[MatthewJ S]

Don't know about the pre-outs but again I say..

removable power cord and 12volt trigger (upgrage the power cord and be able to turn on your monster power center)