Denon 1803 or Onkyo SR600, help needed.. (1 Viewer)

[darren_b]

1. As the title says, i've narrowed it down to these 2. I like the Denon, but want to know does the 27 Mhz Component make a differect in picture quality as apposed to the 60 Mhz on the Onkyo, as i want to conect my xbox and dvd player to them?

2. Ive read hundreds of threads about Onkyo power. Is the 5 x 35 real watts enough for my speakers. I have the Jamo X series speakers (rated 6 Ohms, long term power 200W, short term power 280W)..Basically which would suit my speakers, they are dense speakers i think, as my pioneer 409 amp, doesnt run them too well.

Thnaks in advane to any imput, as i cant test these 2 functions at any stores ie. with an xbox and my speakers. And in Aus stores dont do the try b4 u buy)

Thank in advance guys

 

[darren_b]

GEE NO RESPONSES YET, I MAY HAVE TO GO TO ANOTER HT WEBSITE IF I DONT GET ANY FEEDBACK SOON, OR MAYBE EVERYONE IS STILL PLAYING WITH TTHERE XMAS PRESENTS!!!!!!

 

[Robert James Clark]

I just received my Onkyo SR600 from the factory (great buy) and haven't opened it yet, but I can tell you that you should only be concerned with component bandwidth above 30 MHZ if you will be running HDTV through it.
DVD/XBOX will work fine with the Denon bandwidth...

 

[Greg Yeatts]

I have the Onkyo TX SR600. I am very happy with it. I too have read the complaints on power. I have a set of speakers rated at 87db at 1 watt meter. It will drive these speakers to reference level and then some. It will drive these speakers LOUD. I have no complaints with power. I have only seen posts from one person who has questioned the power.

However, if the concerns about power will always be in the back of your mind (that happens to me too), look elsewhere.

 

[ChristopherBer]

If you like music I would think the Denon is a better choice and if you like movies take the Onkyo.

 

[Jack Briggs]

The Denon's a fine little receiver (I have one in my bedroom setup, driving the Acoustic Research HC6 speaker suite). As for video connections, I always connect the source component (DVD player) directly to the display.

As for power, the 1803 is rated to deliver an honest 80 watts RMS per channel across 20 Hz to 20 kHz at .07% THD with all channels driven. That's more than enough power for your needs.

 

[Jeffrey D Smith]

I just faced this debate myself. After auditioning both I settled on the Denon 883. (It's identical to the 1803 except has a reduced warranty to one year.)

My primary interest was games and movies. To me it just sounded more accurate and was able to get louder without distortion.

The onyko was no pushover though. It is also a nice unit. I'd likly be happy with either but do enjoy the Denon.

I picked it up from nxgenstore.com for a little over $330 shipped.

 

[Walt Park]

I have a onkyo 600 in my HT. (polk LSi9's/c/fx 4ohm 88 db sensitivity). I have also hooked up jamo E800's to it (also 4 ohm 88 db sensitivity). The room I'm in is 12X12 with a slanted ceiling 8' on one side, and 10 on the other. I have no probs with getting it loud enough, but I don't listen deafeningly loud. On the Onkyo, a hiss starts to creep in at around 85 on the dial. I usually listen at about 65-70 on the dial so I dont worry about it. The Jamo X series are 6 ohm 90 db sensitivity, so they might be a little quieter. If you're room is very large it might not be enough before getting into the hissing region. Then again, if you're actually listening that loud, you might not hear the hiss.

One of my buddies is looking at the exact same situation, and tried a/b'ing the 1803 and the 600 into the same speakers with the same source and claimed that the onkyo played louder at max levels. I havent tried it, so this is all second hand, and I'm not sure if that was in 2 or 5 channel stereo, so take that with a grain of salt.

I went with the 600 over the 1803 because the video path was wider and because it has a learning remote. The Denon's remote can only do presets from codes which might be fine for you, but the option to actually make it learn is nice if you have any odd pieces connected.

Hope this was more helpful than not.

 

[darren_b]

Thanks for the input, but its half and half.. My h/t room is about 4 meters Long by 3.5 meters wide and open living, so reveiver will need a bit of punch in it. I'll be using it for movies 90%.

Is 27 mhz enough for standars component with no degration?

Thanks guys

NB WALT PARK- ur saying i fi require it loud i will hear distortion?

 

[Walt Park]

Darren, I'm saying that I start to hear stuff that is not in the source past 85 on the display. I'm not sure what that is since the Onkyo's volume control is not linear. This is not something unique to the onkyo. I think anything in this price range will start to throw noise in near the top end. Will you hear it? I dunno. I guess it depends on what you're listening too. If it's kinda busy, you might not notice it. If it's a quiet thing and you have it turned all the way up, probably. Like if you're watching a movie, and have it cranked up, and there's dramatic silence, you could very well hear the background noise if it's turned all the way up. Personally I dont think you'll have it turned all the way up, but I could be wrong.

Select a source where nothing is plugged in and turn up the dial. You'll start to hear something at the top of it's range when you shouldnt since there's no source. Some people have argued that it's because the cable is picking up something, but if you dont have a cable, the only thing that could pick up something is the rca jack itself. Personally I dont know where it comes from. It could be wierd RF inside the box from something, or maybe noise from the tuner or lots of other electrically noisy components in the rack. Some recievers mute the speaker out when there is no signal so you wont hear it, but if there was something playing you would still hear noise creep in at the top end. AFAIK, it just happens, and I think it's just something you live with. It sounds like the noise you hear in the background on bad or older recordings. I heard it at the store, but I also knew I would not be listening at max volume so I didnt worry about it. It's a nit pick really, but if you want to put as little as possible in a big space or you're maybe going to use a passive sub it might matter to you.

Once again, I never really hear it, because I never listen to it that loud. At full volume it's uncomfortably loud in my 12X12X9 foot room (2 walls have large openings overlooking the living room). I can't answer for you since honestly I don't know. I am happy with the 600 for my situation, but I dont use the HT for music and I dont really ask as much from my HT as I do for my music listening. I'm setting up another setup for that. It will be the Blue Circle CS integrated amp with GR Research Criterion mains, and titanic sub. I still need to find a better cd source though. I'm leaning toward the Njoe Tjoeb, but that will have to wait until next month's paycheck. :|

 

[Jeffrey D Smith]

"Is 27 mhz enough for standars component with no degration? "

If you own a HDTV you will want to go with the onyko I believe. If not, the 27MHz of the denon is more then fine and handles components intput great. There are lots of threads on here about video bandwidth. I'm not an expert, you may want to back up my claim.

 

[DavidGT]

Hey Walt,
I see you're one of the lucky devils to own those Polks Lsi9. Are they the bomb like some of the reviews I read. Even Crutchfield themselves said that these are the best Polks they sell in the last 9 yrs or so. Give us more on how they sound and is it worth the big price tag. I was leaning towards the Kef Q1's until I heard about the Lsi series. Thanks

 

[Robert James Clark]

I have connected my new Onkyo TX600 to my Dish HDTV box and my projector and I can see no degradation to the picture so I can say with confidence that 60Mhz certainly seems to be enough (for my equipment, at least).

 

[Walt Park]

Hi David. The LSi's are pretty decent. I wouldnt say they are the best bookshelf's I've heard, but they are pretty decent. I got a good deal on them so for the price. I think they were the best things I heard at $520 for the pair of 9's when polk changed the cabinet design. I like the mids alot and the bass extension for a small speaker. The vifa XT tweeter is nice too.

At full retail, I'd pick something else, maybe a pair of Vienna Acoustic Haydns. I listened to a pair of those and a pair of the Sonus bookshelf's and I liked the vienna's better. The Sonus was nice, but I'm not sure I could listen to them as long. They were more forward and maybe a little too involving for my taste.

But once again, I only paid $520 for the pair of LSi 9's, and at that price they were better than anything else I heard. At retail, the $999 (tweeter) hayden and the sonus were both better I think.