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Find me a receiver or pre/pro now darnit!

post #1 of 5
11/5/08 at 7:35pm
Thread Starter 
Short and sweet:

1. Budget cannot go over $4000
2. Will power 5 mid to high end speakers such as Sonus Faber, lower-end Revel, or some paradigm studio's. . 130 watts+ for receiver, 120 watts+ if amp is recommended.
3. Will use a maximum of 3 HDMI inputs for now
4. HD audio codec support
5. Audyssey support would be great. If I cannot bitstream blu-ray and still have audyssey enabled then I will compromise and have the receiver do the decoding and sent via HDMI.
6. 1080p upconversion would be a bonus, but the cable box and blu-ray would probably be passed through anyway.
7. Does not overheat! Good warranty + reliable
8. Pre/pro + amp is preferred but that probably cannot meet the $4000 budget.
9. Don't need scaling capabilities because I have no immediate plans for a projector.


There are some things I have heard from high-end dealers so far:
A. Pioneer Elite SC series receivers are junk compared to Lexicon receivers and Anthem Statements. But there is an obvious a price to pay. Lexicons do not support HD Audio codecs.
B. Integra's have some bad overheating problems. Lifespan could be only around 2 years.
C. Audyssey is crippled in most receivers. The separate processing unit is required for full functionality.




I really appreciate any help I can get. I know many of these questions have been addressed but I am getting sick of searching for a good match for my criteria.

Thanks
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post #2 of 5
11/6/08 at 6:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweatynipples View Post

Short and sweet:

1. Budget cannot go over $4000
2. Will power 5 mid to high end speakers such as Sonus Faber, lower-end Revel, or some paradigm studio's. . 130 watts+ for receiver, 120 watts+ if amp is recommended.
3. Will use a maximum of 3 HDMI inputs for now
4. HD audio codec support
5. Audyssey support would be great. If I cannot bitstream blu-ray and still have audyssey enabled then I will compromise and have the receiver do the decoding and sent via HDMI.
6. 1080p upconversion would be a bonus, but the cable box and blu-ray would probably be passed through anyway.
7. Does not overheat! Good warranty + reliable
8. Pre/pro + amp is preferred but that probably cannot meet the $4000 budget.
9. Don't need scaling capabilities because I have no immediate plans for a projector.


There are some things I have heard from high-end dealers so far:
A. Pioneer Elite SC series receivers are junk compared to Lexicon receivers and Anthem Statements. But there is an obvious a price to pay. Lexicons do not support HD Audio codecs.
B. Integra's have some bad overheating problems. Lifespan could be only around 2 years.
C. Audyssey is crippled in most receivers. The separate processing unit is required for full functionality.




I really appreciate any help I can get. I know many of these questions have been addressed but I am getting sick of searching for a good match for my criteria.

Thanks


Hmmmmm.....well.....I don't know if I'd consider any of the Pioneer SC series junk. Matter of fact, there are quite a few owners here (including one professional, award winning film sound mixer who's had experience with the SC 09/07 who would disagree). But, to each their own.

You might want to take a look at www.emotiva.com. I've had experience with their gear and it's great. Probably save yourself a couple of bucks in the process, too. Their amps are great. And, they've got a new pre-pro (UMC-1) that's supposed to be killer.

Those would fit your bill just fine.

Street price of a Denon 5308 would sneak in under $4,000.

My current AVR is a Marantz SR 8002. It's got a Toroidal power supply and would drive your speakers just fine. It's a very good sounding unit for about $2K. IT does all the HD codecs, but I prefer to run it in LPCM and let my source do the decoding (PS3). Audysey did "OK", but I tweaked it to get the sound to my liking.
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post #3 of 5
11/6/08 at 6:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweatynipples View Post

5. Audyssey support would be great. If I cannot bitstream blu-ray and still have audyssey enabled then I will compromise and have the receiver do the decoding and sent via HDMI.

Or do you mean it the other way around? Have the player do the decoding so that the pre/pro or AVR can do the Audyssey.

Quote:


B. Integra's have some bad overheating problems. Lifespan could be only around 2 years.

?? No problems if you provide adequate ventilation.

Quote:


C. Audyssey is crippled in most receivers. The separate processing unit is required for full functionality.

Poor generalization. Gotta read the details.
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post #4 of 5
11/6/08 at 2:15pm
Outlaw Audio is soon to release their new processor based on the Sherwood Newcastle R972 receiver (read the thread on the SN R972). that should have all the features you want and will sell for about $1,300. There are plenty of good multichannel power amps out there to choose from that will stay well within your budget. My recommendation is the amazingly good Sherwood Newcastle A-965, which can be had for about $1k at street prices.
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post #5 of 5
11/6/08 at 6:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by graphicguy View Post

Hmmmmm.....well.....I don't know if I'd consider any of the Pioneer SC series junk. Matter of fact, there are quite a few owners here (including one professional, award winning film sound mixer who's had experience with the SC 09/07 who would disagree). But, to each their own.

I agree with sweatynipples in the context of his post.
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