So being the type to have to see it to believe it I finally got a new receiver with HDMI and the new lossless formats and basically got the cheapest receiver I could find with the features I need which is very few as I listen to music in 2ch stereo and movies in the standard DD or DTS. So anyway I went from a Harman Kardon AVR 525 which has a pretty nice amp and weighs 44lbs to a Denon 1513 which is 17lbs, went with Denon because it appears to be the only budget receiver that doesn't fold like a cheap suit with all channels driven. But anyway in stereo I really don't notice any difference except maybe that the Denon is slightly cleaner sounding but my HK was 10 years old too. Actually I should say it does seem like maybe the HK played the low frequencies with a little more authority than the Denon but if it's true it's a small difference. I just know with 80hz crossovers on the HK it felt like too much bass in the fronts and center and with the Denon an 80hz crossover sounds fine to me.
Those 2 sentences may seem slightly contradicting but if there are any differences they are definitely subtle and considering this thing is a $200 receiver I'm happy with it. Now do I expect this thing to still be going strong in 10 years like the HK, hell no but that's ok. Oh and going back to spring clips kinda hurts my snobbish audiophile ego but I can live with it
Those 2 sentences may seem slightly contradicting but if there are any differences they are definitely subtle and considering this thing is a $200 receiver I'm happy with it. Now do I expect this thing to still be going strong in 10 years like the HK, hell no but that's ok. Oh and going back to spring clips kinda hurts my snobbish audiophile ego but I can live with it