Setup reciever help needed (1 Viewer)

[Gavin.F]

Hi everyone. Im fairly new to the HT scene, so any help is appriciated.

Firstly, I live in the UK. Ive been looking around at local speakers and have basically decided I want the Monitor Audio Bronze package, with the B4 floorstanders up front, and the BFX speakers at the rear. Ive also settled on either the Harman/Kardon DVD25 or DVD506 as the DVD player. However, Im still deciding about the receiver.

Its a reasonably small room, but I like it loud. The system will be used for DVDs, music, gaming and general TV, so I need a good all round system. If required, Id like it more focused for films. Id like at least about 4 digital imputs and a reasonable number of watts on all channels.

The systems Ive considered so far are the Denon AVR2803, Onyko TX-SR601 and some of the Harman/Kardon receivers. Opinions on these models and how they'd couple with the Monitor Audio set would be most appriciated. Any other suggestions are also welcome.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Gavin.F]

Anyone?

 

[Ted Lee]

hi gavin -

i know this is a cop-out answer, but all three brands should work well for you. denon is on my short-list for my next receiver, i currently own an onkyo and would have no issues with a hk.

if forced to talk about each brand, i would probably saying the following:

denon and hk have stronger amps. hk is especially known for their powerful amp stages. don't think of this in terms of "oh good, then i can really crank it." instead, think of it in terms of having better sound at lower volume. a strong amp means it won't have to work as hard to recreate high dynamic range.

the onkyo is probably a better value. they typically give you good performance and features for a reasonable cost. there have been some reviews that state their power-rating isn't exactly accurate, but under normal listening situations you can't tell anyway.

do you know the efficiency rating of the speakers you want? a more efficient speaker won't require as strong an amp.

hope that helps some...if not just ask away.

 

[Gavin.F]

Im not really sure what you mean by efficiency rating but these are the specs from the monitor audio site:

Frequency Response: 36Hz-22KHz
Sensitivity: (1W@1m) 91dB
Nominal Impedance: (Ohms) 6
Power Handling RMS: (W) 150
Drive Unit Complement: 1 x 6.5" MMP® MK2 Bass
1 x 6.5" MMP® MK2 Bass mid-range
1 x 25mm Gold Dome
C-CAM® tweeter
Cabinet Design: Front & rear ported, bass reflex

 

[Ted Lee]

oops..yeah, i meant sensitivity. i guess the terms are somewhat interchangeable.

anyway, 91db is pretty good. that means your speaker doesn't have to "work as hard" as a speaker with...say...an 89db rating. in turn, that means your amp doesn't have to be quite as powerful.

however...

i noticed this is a 6-ohm speaker. (now i always get this part mixed up, so if i goof, i apologize in advance.) since your speaker is only 6-ohms, (instead of the "normal" 8-ohms) - that means the speaker is "pulling" more juice (less resistance???) from the amp. so, you'll want to make sure your amp is up to snuff.

hope that helps. bottom line - go with either the hk or denon.