Which receiver? (1 Viewer)

[agendrano]

I am planning an HT for my brother-in-law and we have narrowed down the receiver choice to:

Denon 1803
Marantz 6300
HK AVR 3550

At the moment he will be using it with Wharfedale 8.3 fronts, 8.1 surround and Diamond 8 center. These speakers will be replaced later, and he wants to get the Acoustic Research S50 for fronts.

Since we cannot audition those receivers, anybody had experience with these receivers driving Wharfedales? (I have a Marantz 5300 driving Acoustic Research S50 and the combination is great).

Thanks!

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Any of those three. Hard choice. I'd be biased towards marantz and HK ever so slightly myself. I own a 5300, and love it, as you do. You might as well just stick with marantz, or do a coin flip, because no matter what you'll most likely be happy.

 

[Kiet]

hi agendrano

I have just recently been shopping for receivers too. My shopping list was the same as yours. with H/K 4550 ( 325), Onkyo (701) , Marantz (7300), Denon (3803), and yamaha (2300) in mind.
I had a listen to most of them and out of all the brands above I personally liked the H/K 4550 sounds. It is crisp and clean even on very high volume. While the Marantz, Onkyo and Denon seems to distort a little at high volume.
The Yamaha receiver is very good for Home Theater, but I did not like the music performance on it, it sounds too bright and boomy for music.
Most of the receiver I mentioned above was basically the same price. With the Denon 3803 being a little bit more expensive.
So I ended up buying the H/K 5550 for an extra US$100.
I am very happy with the performance so far for both music and movie. I did not have any problem with the unit and it has very good setting options which will enhance the sound quality.
However, if you can, just go for an audition and see which one you like. Hope that helps.