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$800 - $1000 for receiver - advice needed (1 Viewer)

Rich Wenzel

Supporting Actor
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Aug 9, 2002
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in the under $1000, I would be looking at a NAD T762 and a H&K 7200...

The NAD T763 is supposed to be coming out soon, might be worth it to wait...

on the NAD, here is an authorized dealer for under $1k

http://saturdayaudio.com/


on the H&K, email me and I'll tell you how to get it for under $1k...

also, a good consideration is the marantz 7300OSE, supposed to be very musical...buts its also not on marantz's website, the new 7400 is though, which has an extra powered channel at the least...i actually hate marantzs website.

however, I would recommend the Rotel 1055 over all of them for the following reasons

1) no fans, NAD has fans (possibly the H&K, the newer ones do, not sure about the 7200)
2) Rotel only has 2 receivers, and they don't put out new replacements every year like the other brands, therefore they update and concentrate on maintaining their outstanding receivers. the 1055 has received many updates, which you can do at home if you choose to.
3) Best customer service from dealers
4) arguably the most musical
5) best build quality (better than the NAD and the H&K at least)

On the things better about the other recievers (major items only):
1) all provide 6+ channels of amplification, the Rotel only does 5 (nad and marantz 6, h&k 7)
2) all of the other amps are rated with more power, though not sure I believe marantz's ratings, i do believe the NAD's and the H&K's
3) H&K has significant proprietary DSPs, the NAD has some as well
4) all of the other recievers multi-channel in is 8 channels, the rotels is 7 channels (not sure that matters as the format is 6 channels, dont know of a sacd/dvd-a with more than 6 channels)
5) the rotel has the least amount of digital inputs
6) the 7300Ose has amplification for zone 2 speakers,
 

ChrisLazarko

Supporting Actor
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Aug 13, 2003
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867
I would recommend the HK AVR-7200 for around the $1000 range.

SoundCity has one for $995, and I don't think I could think of a better flagship reciever for the price. It includes everything you need, alot of power, and alot of features... not something you find in most recievers at this price. Check it out.
 

KyleGS

Second Unit
Joined
Feb 12, 2002
Messages
342
I have to also go with the H/K. It's unbeatable for the prices you can it for online. You may want to check with harmanaudio.com for great (fully warrantied) deals on that receiver. They change the receivers daily so keep an eye on that site if interested.
 

CurtisC

Second Unit
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Jan 7, 2003
Messages
369
Denon 3803@ about $800,Hk 7200 at about 1k,if music matters you better listen before you buy.Some 1k avr's do not do music very well,the Denon a nd HK do,imho.
 

DarrylM

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Jan 4, 2003
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1) no fans, NAD has fans
I would say whatever slight bit of fan purring you hear from an NAD fan is a very small price to pay for the kind of heat dissipation they provide. After all, there's a reason your PC has fans all over the place. ;) The ambient noise in your house is probably infinitely more audible. Besides, since the fan will generally only kick on during demanding passages, which are usually at high volumes anyway, you are unlikely to hear it.
 

Rich Wenzel

Supporting Actor
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Aug 9, 2002
Messages
556
my friends T761 (cant speak about the 762) has its fans on a lot and he doesnt run it all the time, I agree they are not loud, but you can hear them, slightly, during silent passages..

its also another worry in terms of build quality...

Rich
 

Jason.Soko

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May 30, 2003
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219
Having a fan in your components is just an easy thing to go wrong. Fans certainly have a lifespan and fall easy prey to dust. I personally would not buy a component with a fan, for the sheer fact that how come other manufacturers can do just fine without one?
 

DarrylM

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I personally would not buy a component with a fan, for the sheer fact that how come other manufacturers can do just fine without one
To say that other manufacturers do "just fine" without one suggests a level of performance in temperature control that I doubt we could really ascertain without real measurements of some sort. Manufacturers like Sony get buy with cheap tin heatsinks in their lower- to medium-end receivers. Sure, their units still play music even, if they run hot while doing so, but does that make them "fine?"

Convection cooling will get you by, especially if you have a lot of clearance around your equipment and efficient heatsinks in them, but a fan will still offer superior cooling.

If a manufacturer uses a fan in a receiver because they want to get by with smaller, cheaper heatsinks or something, yeah, I would take issue with that. But NADs have large power supplies and large cast aluminum heatsinks. I suspect that they use fans because they want to, not because they need to. Further, other respected manufacturers, like Onkyo and Denon, have used fans in many of their better receivers.

Lastly, the new fans in the XX3 series NADs are supposed to be even quieter, so even if you can "hear them slightly during silent passages" now, you should be even more hard-pressed to do so in the future.
 

Jason.Soko

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My moon equipment runs silent, no fans, completely enclosed with ZERO grilles. It does JUST FINE without them, as do many others. It is just smart engineering.
 

DarrylM

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My moon equipment runs silent, no fans, completely enclosed with ZERO grilles.
Actually, it looks like you just haven't looked at your equipment very well. It isn't completely enclosed, at least in the sense that we are discussing, since it looks like each side is a huge heatsink, which is why it has no grilles.

So, they haven't defied the laws of physics or anything.
 

Shiu

Second Unit
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Feb 18, 2003
Messages
447
My Sony DA4ES has huge heat sinks. I think NAD can use a larger enclosure if they want to eliminate that fan. Look inside the T762, you will see that its packed with components, not much space left.
 

DarrylM

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Jan 4, 2003
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My Sony DA4ES has huge heat sinks. I think NAD can use a larger enclosure if they want to eliminate that fan.
I don't know that the Sony's ES heatsinks are any bigger than the NAD's though. And their DE and DB lines had inferior heatsinks. And, again, I think they made a very deliberate choice to use the fan. My NAD 742 runs noticeably cooler than any Sony I've ever had (and I've owned models from the DE, DB, and ES lines).
 

Stephen Hopkins

HW Reviewer
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Jul 19, 2002
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Somehow this thread has veered away from suggestions toward a discussion of heat transfer and the laws of thermodynamics and their merits as applied to electronic engineering.

For the original poster, I think you may be putting too much budget toward the receiver. I have Swan's Diva 4.1 mains, 2.1 surrounds, and a C3 all being powered very well by a Pioneer Elite 43TX. I bi-amp the mains using the back surround channels (nice feature of the 43TX) and don't think my receiver is lacking in any form or fashion. My next upgrade will probably be 5.2 mains and then I'll be set for awhile. The 43TX is great for HT and holds it's own for music. The $500 price tag when it was discontinued was great as well.

Since you mentioned music as your #1 priority I would consider the HK and Denon. The 7200 from HK may be a mis-allocation of funds and the 525 would probably be more in-tune at around $500 online. A refurbished Denon 3803 from ecost would also be a great choice at $530. Hopefully you can find somewhere to compare the 2 and some other options and see what you like best, but throwing twice the speaker budget (assuming you just have the 2.1s as mains and nothing else) into electronics really isn't the best way to maximize audible benefit (most people suggest 2:1 speaker:electronics, not the opposite). If you go w/ a receiver in the $500 range you can take the other $500 and get another set of 2.1s or some R3s for the back which would most likely make a much more audible difference if you watch movies at all or listen to high-res multi-channel audio (DVD-A and SACD).

Hope this helps :)
 

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