Time to buy a new receiver...but I have no clue. (1 Viewer)

[Jason GT]

Jonny - looks like you've got it figured out in terms of budget and features, etc. Comments:

Yamaha RX-V740 and maybe RX-V1300 - I have no idea how much these cost, since Yamaha doesn't publish their prices to the web for Canadian customers

Try A&B Sound (www.absound.ca). There are A&Bs in Calgary.


Harmon Kardon - How is it the H/K stuff has such very low watts per channel? Does it really compete the same with such a tiny amount of power?

Harmans are very conservative in power rating. They sound good; don't worry too much about HK's power rating. Incidentally, in ordinary listening, you're using less than 10 watts of power, maybe even just one.

Marantz - I won't buy these guys, since they only have ONE authorized dealer in Canada, and it's in Ontario. How unfortunate.

Again, check A&B Sound. I'm 99% sure that they're authorized (indeed, A&B Carries both Denon and Marantz, and they're from the same distributor).

One thing you haven't mentioned is your speakers. What will this receiver be driving? These guys will have a greater effect on sound quality than the receiver (well, they should, anyways).

 

[Matthew BW]

I just bought an Integra 5.4 And I love it so far. I got it for 545.00 U.S. So if you dan find it in Canada it should be right in your price range. Iwas comparing it to the Denon 2803 which was more expensive and the Integra just sounded better.

 

[Vincent_S]

I wouldn't stay away just because a store carries Bose. That's what most of the public recognizes as quality so they sell it to pay their rent.

 

[Jonny K]

As for my speakers, I have a cheap mix-and-match setup right now. The center channel is a Nuance, the rears Teac outdoor speakers, and the mains are taken from a stereo my dad had (I think these are the best speakers of the bunch). Oh, and I have a DIY Tempest sub (awesome). Overall, you can see it's a pretty crappy setup.

I know that this new receiver will sound like crap on my cheap speakers, but I still want to get a good one. Eventually I'll buy good speakers, but right now the receiver is needing an upgrade. The problem is that I'm still living at home, and my dad makes the rules. He has no care for home theater, and he hates it when I spend any money on it. If I were to buy a new outfit of speakers he would have a fit. Not to mention that I wouldn't be able to afford anything decent at the moment.

The reason I'm upgrading the receiver is because my current one has been acting up in regards to bass management. I sent it in for repairs and they did nothing to fix it. Bass is important to me, and the last thing I want to do is send my speakers (sub) corrupt signals.

Regarding A&B Sound...don't I want to buy this receiver from a dedicated Home Theater shop? A&B is another of those big retailers.


Jonny K.

 

[DavidY]

Unless you are spending thousands of dollars on a receiver, then stores like A&B Sound are fine. They carry well known brands like Marantz and others. Some A&B stores like downtown Vancouver carry some audiophile type stuff.

Anyways, I've heard from others that the A/V shopping in Calgary isn't that great.

Dave

 

[Richard Travale]

Jonny, here are the NAD dealers in Calgary:

Apex Audio Visual Services 6415-10 St. S.E. Calgary , AB T2H 2K7 403-255-4123
Loyalty Sound 1107 8th Street SW Calgary , AB T2R 1L4 403-244-8838
Audea Systems Inc. 5809 Macleod Trial SW Unit102B Calgary , AB T2H 0J9 403-290-0440
Smart Home Systems 4116 Macleod Trail South Calgary , AB T2G 2R7 403-243-8823

A&B Sound carries both Denon and Marantz as well as a few other brands. They are a small "big" shop. There are only 11 of them and all are in western Canada. I don't see why you should not give them a try.

 

[Jonny K]

Ok, I already have a list of HT shops in the city that I need to visit (including the NAD dealers), and I plan on going tomorrow to listen (nobody is open on Sunday).

I just drove around and checked out a bunch of big chain places today. The Yamaha RX-V1300 is now 1,000 CAN. (I guess the price just dropped). By comparisson, the RX-V740 is $850, so I'm definatly interested in the V1300. One note, do I need to worry about this receiver exagerating performance information? When I look at this chart I see Yamaha seems to do that a lot:

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Holl...1/ratevsac.htm

I talked to a guy at A&B Sound. He told me an interesting story. First of all, Harmon Kardon is crap according to him. He also says that the Denon AVR-1803 receiver that he has in stock is probably superior to the just released AVR-1804, even though he's never heard of the AVR-1804. Um...right.

I'm definatly going to visit HT places, cuz these salesmen don't inspire confidence in me.


Jonny K.

 

[Richard Travale]

He also says that the Denon AVR-1803 receiver that he has in stock is probably superior to the just released AVR-1804, even though he's never heard of the AVR-1804. Um...right.

Heh,, sounds like he wants to unload his 1803 stock without giving a discount

 

[MathBrisk]

Keep us posted on your impressions Johnny Again, (not working for them... altough that'd be kind of great) from what you are saying, NAD seems like the best choice for you. Now it all comes to what you have prefered in your tests. Good luck

 

[Jonny K]

Yeah, I'm definatly checking out NAD. One thing though, apparently the NAD models have a noisy fan in them. That could be an issue. We'll see...


Jonny K.

 

[Jonny K]

Ok, here's the update. Tomorrow (actually, today - it's 1 am) I'm going to pick apart the last few contenders. Here's what I have:

Yamaha RX-V1300 - $1,000
- 100 W X 6
- 192 kHz/24-bit

Denon AVR-1804 - $910
- 90 W X 6
- 96 kHz DAC

Marantz SR6300 - $1,000
- No component IO
- Good S/N Ratio: 105 dB
- 192 kHz/24-bit
- 100 W X 6
- Crossover settings?

Now I have yet to see the Denon in stores, so I don't know if I can buy this one yet. The real competition is now between the Yamaha and the Marantz (yes, I'm re-considering them). They both have the same power rating, the same high quality DACs, and even the same weight (33 lbs). The Yamaha has an advantage in that it's got component video connections on it, while the Marantz doesn't. Here's the breakdown based on research I've done:

Marantz Cons:
- Crappy remote?
- Crappy manual?
- I can't buy from an authorized dealer
- No component video
- Bloated wattage ratings?

Yamaha Cons:
- Bloated wattage ratings?
- Only one speaker crossover setting - 90 Hz


At this point I'm really thinking Yamaha...and I haven't even listened yet! So what happened to all the other competitors? Well, I want 6 channel sound. The NADs didn't have that (except for the very high end model). It's a shame, because I was really wanting to consider those guys. Maybe I'll still listen.

So then, between the last two, any suggestions?

Thanks,


Jonny K.

 

[MathBrisk]

About the noisy fan, this issue has been fixed over a year ago. In fact all the problems are now gone. Just make sure the software version is 1.18 or higher and your ok. To check this, hold video and (.. another one for a few seconds ). If 6 channels is fundamental to you, then this is a problem. Too bad, I'd you still give NAD a chance and listen

 

[Jonny K]

Ok, here's the final update. I bought the Yamaha RX-V1300 at A&B Sound for about 950 Canadian (1,000 with tax). Turns out NAD was way too expensive for me ($1300 for the 752). In fact, most of the HT shops I visited had nothing for me, since they all specialized in more expensive products.

Anyway, I just finished setting up the RX-V1300 and I'm extremely happy with it. My old receiver was obviously troubled, because this new one sounds a million times better and the bass is significantly stronger and cleaner. I've routed all my video and audio signals all through this receiver, so I can use it as my central command center. One big annoyance is that my TV doesn't have a video out, only video in. Therefore, the TV accepts the monitor output from the receiver, but I need it set to "input 1". Then when I control the TV via the receiver I end up changing the channel off "input 1" and I lose my monitor out display. Get it?

But in the end, I'm happy. Thanks for all the help guys. Now I'm going to go buy a bunch of DTS titles. The first will be the Jurrasic Park movies, and "The Haunting".


Jonny K.

 

[Lee M T]

Congradulations on the purchase Johnny! You got a good one. I'm all jealous now. I have the lowly RX-V640. I'm just as happy as you are I think and I too noticed a dramatic improvment over my old unit once I hooked it up.

Happy Listening,
Lee