New 7.1 Stereo AVR's (1 Viewer)

[MikeKS]

I am in the process of building a new home and will be putting in a home theater. I was wondering if anyone out there could guide me? Do I need the new 7.1 or will 6.1 be just as good? What are the differences?

Also What AVR would you suggest.

TIA

 

[Steve Adams]

7.1 has two set of surround, 6.1 has a rear set of surrounds and a center channel. I would look at the sherwood for a reciver right now...the price to performance ratio of them are unbeatable. more so with the newcastle systems. but all sherwoods sound awsome!

 

[MikeKS]

Thanks Steve, I will do that. I Hadn't even considered the Sherwood systems so thanks for the tip.

From what I had seen so far I thought Harmon Kardon's new AVR7200 looked great?? Any opinions on that system? Does anyone have one already?

TIA

 

[Steve Adams]

My personal experince with H/K was really bad. I used to sell them and most came back fried. they run very hot, which is bad for electronics. causes them to drop channels, go up in smoke, etc. My opinion would be avoid H/K like the plauge. on the up side, they are great sounding and lot's of features but having the thought that it could fry at anytime....not worth it IMO!

 

[MikeKS]

Wow, glad to know that! I had no idea they were suspect on quality. I think most would fee they are good quality based upon name/reputation.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Mike, you may want to do some further reading on this forum before making a decision based on one person's experience. You'll find a wide range of views on most equipment, including HK receivers.

M.

 

[MikeKS]

Probably so, I will do a search on the brand.

Thanks

 

[Holger]

mikeks,

there are only a fistful of receivers right now which can handle 7.1 processing (dolby pro logic IIx). of course there are dozens if not hundreds of products which *claim* to be 7.1 receivers, but aren't at all, rather then 6.1 receivers (with 7 build in amps). the secret to 7.1 doesn't lie in the number of amps or speakers, it lies in the decoding schematics. in other words: the number of speakers and/or amps alone, doesn't tell you anything about the decoding process.

while i personally always found those 6.1 formats (dolby ex/dts es) a gimmick at best (actually more a bad joke), its my experience that 7.1 decoding makes all the difference in the world. my advise to people is, that they either should go with straight 5.1 or - if more channels are desired - with *true* 7.1
the 6.1 thing is a waste of money and some sort of sound degrading in my opinion.


regards, holger

 

[MikeKS]

Ok, Holger, you have my attention. Which receivers have it and at what price level do they start. Right now I am looking seriously at the Denon 3803 or 3805.

TIA

 

[Steve Adams]

the Newcastles have real 7.1.

 

[Stefan Ruet]

Steve: yes, both receivers (3805, R-965) have PLIIx but the Sherwoods don't have a room EQ, which might be the dealbreaker. Although, the remote of the Sherwood is definately better and the design to (for me).

Stefan.

 

[Stefan Ruet]

Holger:
Hi Holger,
die Welt ist klein, aber Hobbies verbinden .

real 7.1 rules ,

Stefan alias JTR.

 

[Holger]

hi stefan,

*rofl* da hast du verdammt recht...*ggg*


@ mikeks,

i think the denon 3805 is a very nice unit and should be right now hard to beat by it's competitors, regarding the feature list it contains. in my opinion the parametic/graphic room eq (8 bands for each individual channel if i am correct), the video conversion and the capability of 7.1 surround give the 3805 a top seat in front row of the markets today available av-receivers. sure the denon 3803 is also a fine unit, but it lacks dolby pro logic IIx decoding as well as room eq. so its clearly obsolete in comparison.

i would suggest you give the 3805 a long and very good listen - if possible in your own house - and see if it works out fine for YOUR taste. i'm not very familiar with sherwood products, so there isn't much i can tell you about those devices.



regards, holger

 

[MuneebM]

The Yamaha RX-V2400 also features true 7.1, you should check that one out along with the Denon 3805.

 

[AndrewErickson]

Buy a Harman Kardon. They are great receivers.

 

[Steve Adams]

andrew,

for 3 months...then they die. do not buy harman. Just read another post today where a guy's H/K went up in smoke. Now he has to use a cheap spare reciver because he spent all his money on the H/K. get something else.

 

[Steve Matulich]

Dude, you are like every other person on this website (excepting a handful).
We jump on here, ask questions about what we shoud get & hope there is a common theme.
What ends up happening is that 20 people give you 8 different answers & you end up no more clear on a solution than before.

I currently have an entry level AVR - the Denon 1603.
It powers my speakers which would sound much better with a more powerful AVR but I am now on to lookout for something with a bit more oompf!
I'm currently researching receivers & the main brands to stick with appear to be Denon, Yamaha, NAD, Onkyo & Marantz.
NAD have fewer 'bells'n'whistles' than the others but you'll probably never use them anyway & yu'll save a few bucks

Do lots of research via the internet & read reviews.

Also, ask speaker manufacturers what the appropriate AVRs are to power their speakers - after all, they want their speakers to sound great.

In the end if you go with a brand only sold by quality hifi stores & not from you 'elcheapo' stereo shops you'll end up with a great AVR.

One other thing - getting an AVR which is about to be superseeded by a newer model can save you lots of money.
An example would be the Denon 3803 - I'll bet you they're being chucked out at up to 25% off because the 3805 is now on the market.

Do your research & you'll be fine mate!

 

[MikeKS]

I have been researching for days now and have narrowed my selection down to the Denon AVR 3805 with 120w from each of it's 7 amps. Should drive my Paradigm PDR 12 sub and cc-350 center fine. I plan to add two cc170 fronts along with four ams250 inwalls for the side and back surrounds. Since this is in a new house construction it should be a easy install.

What do you think? Any comments would be welcome.

TIA

 

[Steve Adams]

good choice mike. very nice receiver. I have many friends with denons and they all love them. they are built like a brick shithouse too. overall, i think you will be very very pleased!

 

[Jerome Grate]

My preference is HK, but the Denon is a very good choice.