What Hi-Fi?'s Oct 2002 article: "The very best of the budget AV receivers" (1 Viewer)

[Angelo.M]

Leafed through this issue on the newsstand yesterday, and was interested in the receiver shoot-out they did. They gave highest marks to a Yamaha (model # escapes me, can anyone ID it?).

The Pioneer 811 got 5 stars, more for its bang-for-buck theater performance than anything else (they gushed over its theater performance). The Denon 1802 was kicked to the curb a bit, for being behind in the features-for-the-money race.
Marantz (5200, if I recall correctly) also came away worse for wear, as did a mid-level Sony (no surprise). No H/K in the shoot-out. There was also a Kenwood in there which was relatively well-regarded.

Very interesting; I hope someone can elaborate more, and I apologize for any inacurracies as I just leafed through the article briefly.

-AM

 

[Kevin Parker]

can you provide the link to the article? if it is online.

 

[Angelo.M]

Kevin:

It's not on-line yet. If you go to their web page, and look at the current issue, you'll see that it's listed but not available on-line. Sorry.

-AM

 

[RichardMA]

Contrast the "What HiFi" reviews above with these from
the Sept issue of "Home Cinema Choice" magazine:
El Cheapo receivers;
-Pioneer VSX C100 Sound 3.5 stars, build, 4 stars,
features, 3 stars.
-Kenwood KRF-V6060D Sound 3 stars, build 3 stars, features
4 stars.
-Yamaha AX630 (same as RX-V) sound 4.5 stars, build 5 stars,
features 5 stars.
-Harmon Kardon AVR2550 Sound 4.5 stars, build 4.5 stars,
features 3 stars.
-Marantz SR5200 Sound 5 stars, build 5 stars, features
5 stars.
They liked the Marantz the best FOR EVERYTHING!
They also liked it for CD playback.
They do mention that the Marantz's bass was "prodigious."
They did not like the Yamaha's CD playback.

 

[Nick V]

It just goes to show you that just like us consumers, the reviewers also have different tastes in sound reproduction. It is for that very reason that you can never entirely "trust" a reviewer's opinion, because it is just that; an "opinion."

 

[Zacha R]

And different priorities. A lot of the time, What Hi Fi will have one model win over another that's almost equal for better 2-channel performance. Home Cinema Choice will sometimes choose the better of two models for a slight edge in surround decoding.
What Hi Fi has 2-channel sound as more of a priority, Home Cinema Choice the surround decoding. They're both good magazines.

I think opinion may play a large part, but, if so, it's an educated opinion. Like an educated guess.

 

[RichardMA]

They should make up a list of categories with which to
judge equipment. Instead of subjectivity, they should
stick to things that can be proven or duplicated.
Such as this:
1. Highs were rendered more clearly with x versus y
receiver. A qualification for this could be whether or
not all dialog in a movie scene was clearly heard on one versus the other receiver. This would be better than, "The Yamaha presented slighty harsh high notes." That is pure subjectivity.
2. Bass was noticeably stronger with the x versus the
y receiver. This could be proven simply by measuring
the bass notes with the proper equipment. THEN the reviewer could say "This made the bass slightly overbearing"
or whatever. They were being subjective, but they had some
physical measurements to back up the statement.

Of course, even with measurments, the exact duplication
of the tester's environment is impossible, but it's a
better way of doing it than simply expressing "opinions"
on equipment.

 

[Zacha R]

But reviews ARE opinons. That's the nature of reviewing. It's important to know that the product does what its specifications say, but as to whether it sounds good.. you can't test that with a fourier analysis.

 

[Josh Lowe]

I had an 1802 and while it was satisfactory, there were a lot of things about it that I did not care for.

 

[Cire]

I think the Yamaha which got the highest honors was the 630.
Edit: I guess I was sleepy! The question was answered in detail already. Sorry about that. Anyway, was it a good choice?

 

[Angelo.M]

Josh:

What didn't you like about the 1802? Are you using something else now?

--AM

 

[Yogi]

I never put too much faith in what Hi-Fi's reviews.