best $600 receiver for games & movies? (1 Viewer)

[Willy_P]

I've got a budget of about $600 and want to get the best sounding receiver I can. I use it mostly for movies and video games. What do you all recommend? I've been looking mostly at the HK AVR 525 (some sites are selling it for just over $600), but is there something better?

Also, I currently have an Kenwood KR-V7070 w/5.1 surround. If I'm only willing to spend about $600 to upgrade it will I hear enough improvement to make it worth while or should I wait until I have a little more cash?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Sean L]

Denon AVR 2802....$469 + shipping...brand new in box, I just bought one 3 weeks ago.
www.elegantaudiovideo.com

 

[ChristopherBer]

The Denon AVR-2802 or HK AVR 525 are good choices. However I would choose the Denon AVR-2802 but that's just my opinion.

 

[Aaron Cohen]

How is the Sony STR-DA2ES? I see it in the Crutchfield catalog for 699.99

Are there ones that are better and cheaper by other companies? Or is this a good buy? Any help would be appreciated as I have never owned a reciever before! Thanks!

 

[Wayne Ernst]

How is the Sony STR-DA2ES? I see it in the Crutchfield catalog for 699.99

Are there ones that are better and cheaper by other companies? Or is this a good buy? Any help would be appreciated as I have never owned a reciever before! Thanks!

Aaron,

Many people have been able to get the Sony STR-DA4ES delivered for less than the price Crutchfield wants for the 2ES. I don't want this thread to get into a "I own product X, and it's the best" so I'll leave it at that.

Actually, J&R sells the 4ES for $699 and they are currently offering free ground shipping. However, J&R also price matches other vendors, so you should be able to get it for a better price.

 

[Steven Simon]

Oh, Go with the HK 525 without question... I just sold my Denon 3801, and went with the HK...... Sounds incredible, and tons of features including Logic7 for your 2 channel material....

 

[JimC_A]

Yamaha RX-V1300

 

[Jeff Massey]

Any one has any experience withthe yamaha 1300. It looks like a great unit, but its hard to get feedback for the forum?

 

[Aaron Cohen]

Thanks for the help Wayne. I will look into getting the 4ES for 699 or less, I was on the fence about paying 1000 for it but 699 is much more appealing!

 

[Aaron Cohen]

Sorry if this sounds stupid but: what is J&R? I'm assuming it is an online site?

 

[Aaron Cohen]

I found the J&R site. It looks like I need to call to find out the price... I looked at either sites and found one called shopsunshine.com that had the reciever for about 700. Do you have any suggestions as to what sites might have it for cheaper than that? Thanks!

 

[Wayne Ernst]

I looked at either sites and found one called shopsunshine.com that had the reciever for about 700.

Three vendors will provide you with great prices on this receiver. All three are authorized to sell Sony ES gear.
1) Oade Brothers
2) J&R J&R's Web Site
3) Sammans Sammans.Com
Sammans will respond back to you with a price quote. Their prices should be between $619 - $629 (shipped) for this receiver. However, Sammans will not take back items if you decide you don't like them. They will only replace defective merchandise by exchanging them out. J&R on the other hand, will give you 30 days to return the item with no restocking fees. You would only lose the shipping charges. Plus, J&R will match other vendors. I would get a quite from Sammans and then have J&R match it. In my experience, J&R has shipped everything that I've ordered from them on the same day the order was placed.

 

[Scott_Lip]

I have a new, unused Sony 4 ES I can sell you for $650 plus shippng if you are interested. It was purchased from an authorized retailer and has the full warranty.

 

[Aaron Cohen]

Thanks for the offer Scott but it looks like I may be able to get it cheaper than that from J&R. I will let you know if that falls through though, but as of now no thanks.

Thanks for the information Wayne!

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Since the original point of this thread was to discuss $600 receivers for games and movies, please allow me to add some input.

Movies: I think the dialog with the STR-DA4ES is quite clear when watching DVD movies. In fact, I would say it was a bit better than my trusty Denon AVR-1802 & AVR-883 receivers - by a slight amount. This receiver has plenty of power for movies. I'm driving 5 satellite speakers (6.5" woofers, 1" tweeters @ 91 dB efficiency) along with a Dayton 15" DVC subwoofer connected to a 200 watt amp. I have a 21' x 15' x 8' family room. I was watching K-19 with the receiver set to -51.0 on the dial and my family upstairs was screaming at me to turn it down. What would they have said if I had turned it up to -31.0?? I'm sure I would have lost some drywall screws.

Gaming (bad stuff w/Sony STR-DA4ES): When using a PS2 connected to the front audio/video ports (Video input #3), there are vertical lines that get displayed on the screen. These lines are quite irritating and the same problem has been reported by another individual in another thread on this forum. However, connecting the PS2 to one of the rear video inputs - video #2, for example, the vertical lines are not present. So far, this only appears to be an issue when using the PS2 console. Other devices connected through video #3 do not display this issue.

Gaming (good stuff w/Sony STR-DA4ES): Using Pro Logic II (music setting) simply rocks. This morning, we played Grand Theft Auto III. We had the volume set to -45.0 on the dial and my family room was shaking. On GTA III when th helicopters would fly over, my sub was pumping like crazy. I should have pulled out the SPL meter for a reading because I know it was damn loud. Heck, I don't even have my movies or music set this high and I'm very pleased with the output levels.

That's about it. Even though there appears to be a slight conflict with the Video #3 port and PS2 consoles, the STR-DA4ES is still a very fine receiver for games, music and movies. I have played with the equalizer for the various channels a little bit, but still prefer to keep the settings flat because for my setup, that's where the sound seems the best.

Please let me know if any of you have any additional questions.

 

[Ryan DC]

Willy_P and others,

I am the person Wayne is talking about when he mentions the video 3 input problem. So far it is only the Ps2 that displays this problem when connecting it with the composite cables. It can be solved by buying a Madcatz universal cable adapter ($10) which has an s-video plug on it and plugging that in the s-video 3 input. But I still find this unacceptable because you pay this kinda money on a product and expect it to work flawlessly. Also most people probably don't want to buy an extra cable or just don't care for an s-video connection just to get around this. So far me and Wayne seem to be the only ones on this board with this video 3 input problem with the Da-4ES. Other than that I would highly recommend this receiver! Maybe it's a small percentage of these receivers that have this problem?

Anyone else with a 4ES and a Ps2 please test yours out and see whether or not it has this problem and reply back! Thanks

 

[Aaron Cohen]

I believe that I will be getting my DA4es soon and I will test my PS2 on it as soon as possible!

 

[likestowatch]

Denon AVR 2802....$469 + shipping...brand new in box, I just bought one 3 weeks ago.
www.elegantaudiovideo.com

Has anyone else bought from Elegantaudiovideo.com? Their prices seem fairly low. The Onkyo TX-SR800 is $795.00. Are they a legit dealer?

 

[likestowatch]

bump

 

[Ryan DC]

Sorry, I thought todd was talking about getting the da4ES. please ignore my post!