Looking for a "music first" receiver

Not sure why one receiver would be better at music than another. There are fans of all receiver brands. Some people suggest Marantz sounds better than some others, but can you trust such statements?

Shouldn't any high quality receiver do the trick, as long as it has enough power to drive your speakers properly?

At that point, its just a matter of whether one prefers the specific quirks of each individual receiver and whether or not they mesh well with your speakers.

Cambridge Audio is worth checking out in your budget range

I read a lot of the same about Harmon/Kardon. I have no idea if any of this stuff is true. If you want to believe others opinions then Marantz and H/K seem to be perennial favorites for music.

Anthem has gotten some good reviews from magazines. The newest Home Theater Magazine has the MRX700 reviewed. The review isn't up on their website yet. You can also go to their website to look at other models they have reviewed.

Explain why you don't like the Denon and what you're looking for specifically. If you don't like Denon then I doubt if you will like the Marantz since it is of similar lineage.

The vast majority of users here insist that any difference in AVR sound is inaudible and users of non-mass market AVRs are in a very small minority so you are unlikely to hear all sides of opinion. Discussion of musicality is deprecated here - search old threads and you'll see. These kinds of threads usually either are ignored or get into a war of words.

I still use a 10 year old NAD non-HDMI AVR. It's fine but I'll upgrade to a HDMI AVR some time and would try something different for a change. I've seen some saying here they don't like the Anthem sound and others love Anthem because of its room correction.

Have you glanced at the new Yamaha Aventage models (RX-A700/800/1000/2000/3000)? Or perhaps the RX-V's they're intended to replace (V1065/2065 or V1900/3900)?

If you liked NAD before you will probably like Arcam. I have NAD and Arcam players and amps (Arcam is stereo pre-amp), the Arcam units are all bought used except one. Arcam is a step up from NAD and buying used units is good value and if you sell it on because you don't like it you have little to lose.

If you're going the non-HDMI AVR route keep in mind the Oppo 83 isn't the best in the analogue department.

I second Cambridge Audio...though I have a Marantz that I use for 90% music and love it.

I have a Cambridge Audio 540R series AV receiver and I would agree its a pretty accomplished player with music and they have quality ampliification - a legit, tested minimum of 80 watts into all channels simulateously, with extremely low THD. Once you start comparing with mainstream models, you'll find that its the quality of the amplification that is the key benefit with the Cambridge AVRs.

That said, the flip side of the coin is that Cambridge AVRs d lack some of the features or more mainstream models, eg DLNA, internet radio, web-based control, Iphone/ipod app control etc.

The model you'll be wanting is the 650R, which produces well over 100W into all 7 channels simulataneously. However this model has had some problems which seem related to quality control (i.e. not all customers reported problems, but some people definitely had defective products on their hands) and been recalled at some point. Dunno if those problems have been cleared up or not. So if you are buying in the US, with relatively short warranty period, I'd check that carefully. Cambridge doesnt have a broad history of such problems so its more an issue of this model specifically.

I actually just made the upgrade last month from a Denon 3300 that was likely on its last legs to an NAD T747. So far, I couldn't be happier with the choice. Kind of feels like moving from a used Honda to a brand new Jaguar. I also have Oppo BDP-83 and both music and 5.1 HT sound fantastic. I will say, in my months of research before the purchase, I read about tons of people having HDMI video issues with video game systems and cable boxes through a variety of AV receivers. If you have no plans to use HDMI right now, it might not be an issue (in which case, you might also be better off looking at older analog stuff, like a nice vintage tube amp). At this point, I've had no issues with my Oppo. Anyway, thumbs up for NAD, just my 2 cents.

I don't think any "music first" buyer would be unhappy with any Arcam, NAD or Cambridge Audio choice.