Which is warmer- Denon or Onkyo? (1 Viewer)

[Steve WC]

Looking to tame a somewhat bright system being powered by a Yamaha.

Looking at Denon 1802/03

0r Onkyo TX-SR500/600

Steve

 

[DanaA]

I think Onkyo is the brighter sounding receiver and consequently you should consider the Denon.

 

[BobJ]

I think Onkyo is the brighter sounding receiver and consequently you should consider the Denon.

Hmmm, I found the exact opposite, with the Denon being brighter. I've also read a couple of reviews saying the Denon was brighter and the Onkyo was more neutral.
I would suggest testing both brands in your system.

 

[Juan_R]

I think the Onkyo is brighter. The Denon is always paired up with Klipsch because of there warm sound.

 

[Nick V]

If you're looking for warmness I would throw Marantz into the mix. They are supposedly coming out with a new line of receivers early in the fall, and I would also recommend that you demo their current models 5200 and 6200.

 

[Philip_T]

Steve WC,
I started out with an Onkyo 575x with some Cerwin Vega VS series with 10' woofers and thought the overall sound was very nice and fairly warm. Then I got upgraditis and bought some new klipsch RF3II for the front and an RC3II for the center as my Cerwins were about 10 years old and I fell in love with the Klipsch sound after hearing them at a friends house. Well, once I got them home and plugged them into my Onkyo, I wasn't as impressed as I had hoped to be. Overall sound was very bright to the point of drowning out most background tracks and making me instantly regret my Klipsch purchase. I know that Klipsch speakers are a brighter than normal speaker, but I had heard them sing over at my buddies house and at the store I had purchased them from. After doing some research (mostly on HTF), I discovered that quite a few people recomended pairing Denons with Klipsh to help warm these bright bad boys down, so, since I was already in the upgraditis mood, I went out and got a Denon 2802 and instantly noticed a difference. This receiver mellowed out the horns and gave me much better separation.
In my case, I found the Denon to be a much "warmer" receiver paired with Klipsch. However, I was pretty impressed the Onkyo with the Cerwins.
Final Analysis.....I prefer the Denon over Onkyo for "warmness". But what does all this really mean???
Only "your" ears will be the judge of that. I suggest you get out there and demo some for yourself, then you'll know what sounds best for you.
BTW, what speakers are you running now?

 

[Steve WC]

Philip_t,

I have Axiom M40 with VP100 center. Was planning on full Axiom HT with QS4's for future purchase.

The brightness is not the "ear bleeding" type, its just that I am having trouble getting used to it. I feel that since I have a low end receiver now (5440), when I upgrade I might be able to remedy this problem.

Steve

 

[Steve R]

steve,

Maybe this will help. I just replaced a yamaha receiver that was paired with canton karat 930's (bright) speakers. I chose a denon 3802. Let me tell you that these speakers never sounded so good. They are now producing a warmer sound, which I noticed immediately. By the way, if you don't already know, a denon 3802 can be had for 699. shipped at 6th ave electronics . You must call to get this price.


Steve

 

[Martice]

Hi Steve. More times then not, the brightness can be attributed to room reflections or even source players not up to the task of playing through a neutral and reveiling system. How's your walls and room? Do you have a lot of bare walls?

You want to be careful on this issue because sometimes the difference between perceived brightness and warm(ness) can be the difference between one unit revealing deficiencies somewhere else in your system(a very good unit) and the other one not, due to it's less revealing nature(may not be a very good unit in terms of detail retrieval).

So it's POSSIBLE that what you may perceive as being "warm" is actually a form of signal muting which lends to the perception of better sound. CD is really a brutal format and it seems that the more you get closer to the actual nature of a CD's sound the worst it sounds.

Let your ears be your guide but if you happen to get the Denon and you still have that annoying bright sound remember this post and address other possible culprits that could be contributing to the "brightness" you're talking about. Actually I would address the room issues before I spent more money on gear.

Good Luck

 

[Chip E]

All associated gear being considered, i've owned a few good receivers including Integra (Onkyo) and Denon. I find Denon to be nuetral to slightly warm with Integra (Onkyo) being somewhat bright.

 

[JoeyT]

I would strongly second the recommendation to audition the Marantz offerings. They are on par with any Denon/Onkyo piece and most people do tend to find them slightly warmer and sweeter throughout the top end.

Just be sure to audition them and decide for yourself.

 

[Martice]

I find Denon to be nuetral to slightly warm

If it's warm then it's not neutral. If it's neutral it's obviously revealing something else in the signal chain that's creating the brightness that the poster is complaining about. If it's not neutral then it's muting the signal or affecting the signal in an unpleasing way to the poster but in your room and ears sound wonderfully warm. Of course it could be the posters room as I said before.
Regardless if the unit is warm or not has nothing to do with how you enjoy your music/movies and if it sounds good.

 

[JoeyT]

I agree that room treatments are critical but not entirely practical for all people. (my listening room is treated but my family room is not and never will be)

Just remember, many folks place there receivers in a family room or the like. Room treatments then include that overstuffed sofa and whatever else the lady of the house likes. Not bass busters and hanging acoustic panels about the room. Sometimes a simple change in the position of the speaker (more or less toe for example) can also accomplish the same thing. I have even observed how the early reflections from a coffe table can destroy a stereo image at a friends house, but his wife would not hear anything about taking the coffee table out of the room. Know what I mean. In this case, equipment may be an acceptable choice.

Perhaps we could find out about the room the equipment is in and the rooms primary function (basement or living room where WAF is important or not, and etc...)

Cheers!

 

[Martice]

I agree Joey. Although I think that if one is hell bent on getting the best out of their systems performance, you can be creative and use room friendly items that absorb and diffuse frequencies almost as good as pro rated room treatment products.
Like I said above I agree with your last post Joey.
Cheers

 

[Chip E]

Martice,

While i don't disagree with your comments about room treatments, i stand by my comments. BTW, my last receiver was a B&K 307... it was warm. My walls all plain sheetrock as i suspect most people have.

 

[Steve WC]

My HT is in my living room. Fully furnished ( Couch, chairs tables etc) with wall to wall carpet.

Walls are basic painted sheet rock/paneling with picture window on on wall (small curtains) and paintings etc on the other walls.

Have already tried speaker placement, toeing vs not toeing etc. I am somewhat constrained as to were things can be put.

I have a microsoft word document that has a room diagram, but could not copy here.

Speakers are bare wired with Home Depot 12ga wire ($.30 per foot).

I was considering Marantz but read that some of the SR series were burning up.

Steve

 

[Martice]

BTW, my last receiver was a B&K 307...

That's funny, I thought that at first about my B&K Ref4420 2-channel power amp. After owning it for about 4 years and switching multiple cables, preamps( including a warm sounding tube preamp) and speakers, I'm not sure if it's actually warm anymore and it really depends on the core equipment I used with it.

At least those were my findings. Why did you get rid of the B&K?

 

[joe rizzuto]

i have always found yamaha to BE a warm sounding receiver. i agree that it might be your room.

 

[Chip E]

"Why did you get rid of the B&K?"
I just felt like moving to a receiver with more processing features and the 5803 has plenty!
The B&K was an excellent performer, even though i got 2 lemons before getting a good apple. I upgraded for free after a year owning the 307... not too shabby. Actually, i just got back from Tweeter, Delaware. My buddy who works there as assist. manager informed me they'll soon start carrying Krell seperates. I may upgrade to sperates in a couple months if i get a real good deal. We'll see. I'm probably going to move in with my girlfriend, too her house where she has a family room twice the size i'm using now for my rig. She wanted to see Tweeter's showroom again. She likes the colors on the wall (dark purple). They have a really nice showroom. We may try too do something like it.

 

[Martice]

My buddy who works there as assist. manager informed me they'll soon start carrying Krell seperates. I may upgrade to sperates in a couple months if i get a real good deal. We'll see. I'm probably going to move in with my girlfriend, too her house where she has a family room twice the size i'm using now for my rig.

Well Chip oh buddy of mine. If you get the hookup I have one question to ask you.....
Guess who's coming to dinner?!? Knowing me I'd probably stay for breakfast the next day as well but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.