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Which 9.x receiver or pre/pro? Buyers confusion!

post #1 of 12
2/14/13 at 1:56pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I am currently looking for a new receiver og pre/pro with 9.x capabilities. I have a 7 channel amp, so either I am looking at a 5.x/7.x Surround receiver with pre outs for allowing 9.x or a Pre/pro with 9.x capabilities and needing to buy a 2 channel amp.

Which receiver or Pre/pro would you suggest?
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post #2 of 12
2/14/13 at 2:56pm
Since there is virtually ZERO source material available for 9 channels, I am amazed that anyone wants 9 channels.

What do two extra channels of synthesized glop provide beyond 7.1? More speakers in the room take away coherence and challenge the acoustics of the room in my experience. PROPER placement of even 7 is a challenge.

Anyway, the Cambridge 551R receiver has excellent sound quality and 7.1 preouts. That will allow you to use all 7 channels of your amplifier, or you could use your amp for the front 3 and the Cambridge's amps for the other 4 or whatever combination you want to do.

The Marantz AV8801 processor offers 11.2, if you want it.
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post #3 of 12
2/14/13 at 11:16pm
Thread Starter 
I am not looking at 7.1, since I already have 9.1 speakers installed.
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post #4 of 12
2/15/13 at 12:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by commsysman View Post

Since there is virtually ZERO source material available for 9 channels, I am amazed that anyone wants 9 channels.
What do two extra channels of synthesized glop provide beyond 7.1? More speakers in the room take away coherence and challenge the acoustics of the room in my experience. PROPER placement of even 7 is a challenge.
Anyway, the Cambridge 551R receiver has excellent sound quality and 7.1 preouts. That will allow you to use all 7 channels of your amplifier, or you could use your amp for the front 3 and the Cambridge's amps for the other 4 or whatever combination you want to do.
The Marantz AV8801 processor offers 11.2, if you want it.

More speakers in a room create a more solid and convincing sound field. A "perfect" sound field recreation would need an almost infinite number of speakers / sound sources.
Thus 9 speakers is closer to this ideal than 7, especially if those additional speakers create more 3D clues about the direction, where the sound is supposed to come from

An Onkyo TX-NR3009 / 5009 and the processor PR-SC5509 will provide 9.2, a TX-NR3010 / 5010 will go to 11.2.
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post #5 of 12
2/15/13 at 12:14am
Thread Starter 
From what I can read the Onkyo tx-nr818 can also do 9.1 as it has 9.1 pre outs but only is 7.1 amp. my budget doesnt allow me to go up to 3010/3009 or beyond.

Does Yamaha, marantz, denon a 7.1 receiver with 9.1 pre outs in the same price range as Onkyo 818.
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post #6 of 12
2/15/13 at 12:25am
What about a 4311?

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR4311CI/DENON-AVR-4311CI-9.2-Channel-Network-Home-Theater-Receiver/1.html
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post #7 of 12
2/15/13 at 12:57am
Thread Starter 
The denon 4311 is a superb machine but the price is 50% more and it does not add that much more compared to the onkyo.
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post #8 of 12
2/15/13 at 3:04am
But Onkyo's have been unreliable, in my experience and that of many others.
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post #9 of 12
2/15/13 at 4:37am
The (unanswered) question remains, if experiences from the past are still valid today or for future model generations.
Being cautious I tweaked mine for that HDMI board problem of some earlier models not knowing if this still holds true for the generation 5009/3009 plus.
SQ and IQ wise they are and had been excellent as always.


PR-SC5509

TX-NR3009
Edited by gurkey - 2/15/13 at 5:27am
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post #10 of 12
2/15/13 at 4:58am
Yes that is the unanswered question. Personally I'm not going to risk it even though my 5508 had excellent sound and video quality.
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post #11 of 12
2/15/13 at 5:47am
I did some temperature measurements on mine beforehand and realized, that the temperatures have dropped about 10° C already on average compared to the older units.
Additionally the layout of the HDMI board has been changed quite dramatically, lowering the chance of any heat induced problems even further.
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post #12 of 12
2/15/13 at 5:54am
Thread Starter 
I wont be using the amp part of the onkyo 818 as I have a 7 channel amp and plan on getting a 2 channel for the mains.
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