Best Surround sound reciever? (1 Viewer)

[JasonPM]

Marantz SR5400
Onkyo TXSR700
Denon 1804
Harmon Kardon AVR325
Yamaha RXV-1400

Which would you pick?

 

[KevinEls]

How about the Yamaha RX-Z1??????

 

[ChrisWiggles]

it depends on your priorities.

Seeing as I have a marantz 5300, my priorities, and dealer selection, I chose that one since I'm very big on music, and HT features didn't matter so much.

your mileage may differ. Nice unit though. My other contenders were Denon and HK, and perhaps pioneer elite.

 

[James USAF]

don't forget about the Pioneer Elite 53tx or 45tx (if you can find one)!!!

 

[Stelios]

The SONY TA-DA9000ES
Simply the Best!!!

 

[ChrisLazarko]

I like the HK AVR-325 personally. The Logic7 feature is the best feature I have ever seen on a reciever.

 

[James USAF]

sorry..out of those you listed....I would also go with the 325. My friend has one...and it sounds AWESOME (though I think my 45tx is better )

 

[John S]

Out of those listed, the H/K would be my choice.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

 

[Evan M.]

I would pick the Yamaha. Which one do YOU like the sound of though. That is what counts, not what we own and like.

 

[Stelios]

Hi ChrisWiggles.
Have you tested or listened to the SONY TA-DA9000ES and if so, what was your results. Let us have them here so we know. What didn't you like about this receiver?

Stelios

 

[TimGRA]

Make sure that you find the tone you are looking for. Different receivers are just like different amps. Looking for a warm sound? Pioneer. Looking for Natural....ETC;ETC.
What speakers are you currently running?

 

[JasonPM]

"I would pick the Yamaha. Which one do YOU like the sound of though. That is what counts, not what we own and like."

I can't find any of those in a local store, so I don't know which one sounds the best. But those seem to be the top recievers in thier price range. So i'll get whatever the majority decides.
Anything is a step up from this 7 year old Kenwood I have.

 

[TimGRA]

Jason-
Please listen before you buy. Where in Oregon do you live? IM in Portland, OR and could get you to quite a few places that carry these receivers. don't buy until you listen!

 

[ChrisWiggles]

It's got digital amps in it, and they sucked.

There was a long discussion about this some weeks/months back. It may have been here, or it might have been over at AVS, I can't recall exactly.

I'm sure digital amps can be done right, but it sure was a dissappointment on this unit... :frowning:

 

[Evan M.]

I agree with what Tim said. Do not buy without hearing. Honestly, we are going to tell you to get what we own already. This is because all of us (I assume) tested the receivers we own against many others and prefer ours. This is why all of the responces have been different. Sound is very subjective. I prefer detailed sound which is why I like Yamaha. Others like the warm sound of Denon and H/K. What speakers will you be using? This is the most important part in my opinion and will have the biggest impact on sound. Also, what features do you need/want? Maybe you want pre-outs for future upgrading but the one that gets the most votes might not have that. What I do when getting a receiver is jot down features I want in a receiver. Then go the company's websites and see which have most of them. I narrow my list down and then go audition them with either my speakers or speakers that are sonicaly similar to mine. You say you had your Kenwood for 7 years. That is a long time so you want to make sure this next one is the right one. Good luck.

 

[JasonPM]

I have some old Yamaha bookshelf speakers. A 350w 10" JBL sub and a Kenwood center and rear speakers(crap, but they work). I'm actually not even using rear speakers at the moment. Just don't have a lot of room in our townhouse and no good place to mount them. The reciever I have now is about 8 years old or so, so I don't upgrade recievers that often. Only owned two in my life.

I will upgrade the speakers at a later point. I'm thinking of those little Bose cubes, i've heard those and they sound amazing.
For now it's reciever and projector, and all the cables to go with. As well as the upcoming HDTV/Tivo from Direct TV.

To answer your question about location, i'm in Gresham, Oregon. I've been to Best Buy and Circuit City and haven't seen any of the recievers on my list. Not even most of the brands. Well BestBuy has Yamaha, but not the model I listed. And Circuit City has the Onkyo. And even if I listen to each of them, the recievers are paired up with different speakers which won't give you a great idea on what it will sound like with your speakers, will it?

Now that I think of it there is a store called Home Video Library on about 164th in Division. Haven't been there in years, but they may have a better selection. Ever been there?

 

[Evan M.]

Again, speakers will have the biggest impact on sound. I will let someone else address the Bose issue, I am not going to touch that one. Do a search for Bose and you will see what I mean. To keep it short, for the money Bose costs you can buy something MUCH better for much less. You are right in that you should audition with the speaker that you have or will have but often you can find speakers with similar quality to the ones you want. Heck, since you do not have either this will be a good chance to really listen to the sound you like and want. try as many receivers paired with as many speakers as you can. This way you can get a good idea of what each sounds like. I would also audition with music first followed by movies. You will hear much more difference with music than movies. Odds are if it sounds good to you for music it will with movies. I always bring in a few of my c.d.'s. Movies I do last just to make sure it sounds good. Sounds like you have a nice system in the works. If you have anymore questions let us know.

 

[Stelios]

ChrisWiggles, so I imagine you did not hear this amp then, you are assuming that it doesn't sound good. Can you please post the test or review of this unit. It would be very interesting for all of us to see.

Stelios

 

[ChrisWiggles]

No, I did hear it, with the new dynaudio contours.

And I was very dissappointed to say the least. I am a big dynaudio fan, and while I was very pleasantly distracted by the sony projector (SXRD), the sound was noticeably lackluster. So much so, that I went back to hear the contours on a different setup, because I was not willing to beleive that the dyns were that lacking.

They were not. They were stunning.

This was not a careful audition, but a brief listen, which is why i hesitate to comment on the sony amps, but it was SO immediately noticable, you didn't have to do a thorough audition to hear it.