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$500 reciever..I'm choosing between Y-663 & O-606

post #1 of 14
10/2/08 at 6:50am
Thread Starter 
I know this question has been asked over & over..but I'm not a very sophisticated audiophile/videophile so I want something that is going to sound good and do what I want without alot of setup on my part.

Would you answer a couple of simple(?) questions? Here is my thinking:

1. Setup...I need all the help I can get. Is this whole "audyessy" thing designed for newbies who have no idea how to configure their reciever & speakers? I would basically run cables & turn the thing on so if this is like a wizard to help idiots like me get the sound correct..would this push me to the 606 v the 663? IOW, is the 663 harder to setup unless you're a true audio geek? Unless I know or can pay someone to make the 663 sound 'good' would I be better off with the 606 based on this alone?

2. HD - I have a 1080p 47" LCD. I would prefer all HDMI input to my tv be 1080p if possible. How does that work exactly? Do both the 663 & 606 upscale everything you shove through the reciever to 1080p? I have a DISH 722 DVR (hdmi-out) and Xbox360/HDDVD (hdmi-out) and would like to see everything upscaled if possible. I know about the 1080i v. 1080p de-interlacing argument. Is there something better about the 606 or 663 in this regard? In short..I want the best picture possible out of the unit.

3. Speakers..I haven't bought yet. I'm seriously torn between these budget groups:

a. the Behringer b2030p monitors (buying 5 of these)
b. the bic HT-75 (fronts), HT-65 (center) & HT-63 (rears)..+ addition of HT100 sub down the road
c. Yambeka 7.1 group ($349)

If I buy one of those 3 groups would my choice of reciever change?

Finally, my HDTV doesn't support HDMI 1.3 and my room (12x12 roughly) and it would likely be 85% HD usage and 15% music/mp3 usage.


Thanks for your advice..like I said I'm no audiophile but I do at least follow advice (like ripping all my CDs using eac to VBR) so that the POTENTIAL quality is there.

PS I doubt I'll replace the speakers for another 10 years (or the amp) so I want something that seems like a decent unit as of TODAY, not something already fading in its standards-support.


Thanks!
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post #2 of 14
10/2/08 at 10:05am
Onkyo (and Denon) have Audessey set up and EQ. Yamaha has YPAO which also auto configures your speakers. Having had both, I much prefer the Audessey as it resulted in a cleaner sound for movies. YPAO (in my RX-V650) tended to set the sub crossover too high, and is only configured from the "sweet spot" while the 606 configures from 3 (sweet, left and right) positions.
Upconversion vs upscaling: Upconversion takes analog inputs and upconverts to HDMI digital. Upscaling takes 480, 720 and bumps it to 1080. Sounds nice, but doesn't work that well. It is best to use THROUGH mode and let the TV upscale for a better picture.
As long as the speakers you get are 8 ohm, both receivers should be fine.
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post #3 of 14
10/2/08 at 12:12pm
Go for the Onkyo 606, currenty better price then the Yamamha 663.
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post #4 of 14
10/2/08 at 12:22pm
The Onkyo also gives you 4 HDMI inputs versus the Yamaha's 2. With your current HDMI sources, you'd already be maxed-out with the Yamaha! With the Onkyo, you have room to add an additional 2 HDMI sources in the future.
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post #5 of 14
10/2/08 at 3:12pm
Thread Starter 
Well shoot. I was really leaning towards the Yamaha and now you guys are pushing me back to the Onkyo.

FWIW, both are right at the $350 price point so I just want the better unit. THe price is not an issue.
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post #6 of 14
10/2/08 at 4:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyvram View Post

Well shoot. I was really leaning towards the Yamaha and now you guys are pushing me back to the Onkyo.

FWIW, both are right at the $350 price point so I just want the better unit. THe price is not an issue.

I believe the Onkyo 606 upscales to 1080i, not 1080p as you stated was one of your prerequisites. I'm not sure, however if you'd be able to see the difference on a 47 inch TV. I'm also not sure though if any receiver would upscale a 1080i source to 1080p. I could be wrong though. I just thought that anything that input through hdmi would be video pass-through and only analog sources would be upscaled.
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post #7 of 14
10/2/08 at 4:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyvram View Post

Well shoot. I was really leaning towards the Yamaha and now you guys are pushing me back to the Onkyo.

FWIW, both are right at the $350 price point so I just want the better unit. THe price is not an issue.

Both are good receivers. To say one is better than the other would be pointless. I prefer the 606 for sound quality. Audysseys DEQ made a huge difference for me as I don't listen at mind blowing volumes most of the time and you get more features such as 4 HDMI inputs but there are satisfied and dis satisfied owners of both. If you aren't able to check them both out personally and they are basically the same price, let the features decide.
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post #8 of 14
10/3/08 at 8:01am
Thread Starter 
Amazon (via 6ave.com) has the 606 for $326 with free shipping. That is my low price leader at the moment (crazy 30% off ebay/live search thing notwithstanding).

I saw the Audyssey FAQ and downloaded that 'how to' doc on page 99 or something like that.

Having my speakers set up properly so they sound good is my main priority so I'm wondering what Yamaha has that is similar to Audyssey. Is audyssey worth it? Geez, a 234 page thread cant be wrong right? ;-)
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post #9 of 14
10/3/08 at 10:37am
Quote:


I just want the better unit.

RX-V663 = Least amount of issues
606 more Heat
606 + PS3 possible Hum/buzz issues
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post #10 of 14
10/3/08 at 10:52am
663: Has pre-outs, which is huge in my personal book. This alone might have me choose this one. OTOH, its probably pointless for you.

606: more flexible bass mgmt, I believe* can matrix new codecs as bitstreamed, does not clip BTB/WTW for HTPC users, better amp AFAIK.

re 2030s, I read that they are ultra linear. However, some modify them to seal some leaks/gaps, and that the extension is poor enough that they must be paired with subs according to some, with flexible outboard bass mgmt, at least in a music setup.

YMMV
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post #11 of 14
10/3/08 at 11:02am
For my part, the Audessey "how to" stuff is (with all due respect) way off the mark for most people. Our HT room has unfavorable geometry, very assymetric and with a couple of the speakers situated quite incorrectly. The speakers themselves are mid-priced Polks for front, rear and center with a low-end Velodyne sub and dirt-cheap old Radio Shack rear surround speakers. I stuck the wires in the back of the TX-SR606, plugged in the setupmic and let it do its thing and then sat down and watched some DVD's. It sounded fantastic.

The 2EQ and DynamicEQ combination sounds better than it ought to be possible to sound in that room. Just off the charts better than I've ever been able to do with an SPL meter and works great at Reference-minus-20dB to boot. I don't know if we were just lucky but no hum/buzz issues at all. The '606 does get warmish, about the same as our Panasonic plasma but it sits on a fairly exposed shelf under the TV so I don't know what might happen in an enclosed space.

And yes, it does matrix the two rear surrounds when listening to 5.1-encoded content. It did that by default without me changing anything right out of the box. Unless you end up with a hum/buzz thing it's a troublefree route to great HT sound for well under 400 bucks. What's not to love?
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post #12 of 14
10/3/08 at 3:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brent Hutto View Post

For my part, the Audessey "how to" stuff is (with all due respect) way off the mark for most people. Our HT room has unfavorable geometry, very assymetric and with a couple of the speakers situated quite incorrectly. The speakers themselves are mid-priced Polks for front, rear and center with a low-end Velodyne sub and dirt-cheap old Radio Shack rear surround speakers. I stuck the wires in the back of the TX-SR606, plugged in the setupmic and let it do its thing and then sat down and watched some DVD's. It sounded fantastic

I'm not sure I follow..are you saying that 'how to' document is over the top? The one that is like 47 steps long?? ;-) And that the normal Audyssey 'wizard' will handle setting your room up without all that?

Just trying to clarify.
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post #13 of 14
10/3/08 at 6:42pm
Yes, that's what I mean nyvram. I didn't mean "way off the mark" and should have said "way beyond what's necessary". The few paragraphs in my Onkyo manual was plenty of guidance, although I suppose it's always possible that the stock setup fails to work in some cases. But our setup probably isn't the easiest for Audessey to optimize and it worked first time off just fine.
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post #14 of 14
10/5/08 at 6:23am
Thread Starter 
What about that Marantz SR4001? I am seeing it in the same price range as well..but its not HDMI 1.3 correct? Is it worth a look? What makes it special..just because of the quality of the name Marantz?
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