[Lord_Zath]

So I have been out of the receiver loop for a good 7 years. We just upgraded our Epson 1080UB to an Epson 5030UB, and we'd like to take advantage of 3D capabilities. I'm coming from a Denon AVR-988 and would love some suggestions.

The receiver is powering a 7.2 surround setup. I have a set of Onkyo speakers - front and center are medium size, and the sides and rear are small. Plus an Onkyo subwoofer and an old Sony powered subwoofer.

The room is quite large. Accoustics aren't the greatest. It is a two-story family room, measuring 20' by 20'. My front, center, and side speakers are all at ear height when sitting. My rears are mounted above and behind.

I am currently connecting to my Denon:
Xbox 360 (optical), component to PVR
PS3 (HDMI)
DVR DTV Pal (optical and component)
Laptop (HDMI)
PS2 (component, though rarely used)
N64 (from time to time via front A/V inputs)

As you can see, not a whole lot of switching going on. I'm hoping to upgrade my DVR to a ChannelMaster that utilizes HDMI in the future. A next-gen console is on the horizon when my PS3 dies or I get bored of last-gen games. I don't do much with networking audio/video files from my computer, but I suppose that is a possibility. USB would be nice as well.

Anyways, what's good? What should I stay away from? Budget is around $500, but will go up to $1,000 if the features/price is right. I'll likely purchase the receiver from Amazon unless there's a model that is exclusive to Best Buy or something.

Time is on my side, as the current receiver is working fine. So I am OK with waiting if the next big thing is around the corner!

Thanks for all your help. Love this place

 

[toddman36]

Denon 3100X, Yamaha A840, Marantz SR5009 are Great choices in your budget! Denons Previous flagship reciever the 4520 can be found for around 900 on a few sites as well!

 

[Lord_Zath]

Thanks for the response! After discussing with the Bank (wife), I have to focus on closer to $500, but we can go higher if the features/abilities justify the cost. I've been reading reviews and surfing Amazon/other sites for a while, and I do have a couple questions!

1. Which HDMI should I be focusing on? For 3D, that's 1.4, right? I am seeing HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 - worth investing in now for future-proofing? I'm not sure I see myself going to 4k any time soon, especially since I'll be using a projector and 4k projectors are prohibitively expensive right now.

2. Which Dolby/DTS should I look for? Is Atmos worth the buzz? DTS-X?

Thanks again - as you can see, I've been out of the loop for some time!

 

[toddman36]

1.4 for 3D, only Onkyo has 1 2.0 hdmi input with 2.2 hdcp. But, with theyre Unreliability issues (High Temps, and dead hdmi boards)Id stay away!

Then Id go with a Yamaha V577 or Denon 1100W. Both are right at your 500 mark and have many good features! Many brands wont have avr's out with hdmi 2.0 with 2.2 hdcp till early fall at least! Which is fine as theres really no 4K material out now anyways...

Both the Denon and Yamaha I listed have WiFi built in which is nice for streaming Pandora or Music from you P.C.! Both also have Apps to controll the reciever, and Apple Airplay! The Denon has built in Bluetooth if thats important as well!

 

[toddman36]

Id personally Pass on Atmos, as its still Early and not much content to watch that has it on BluRay dvds! Theres like 8-9 titles with Atmos as of now! Most All AVR's have the latest D.D. and DTS sound formats except DTS:X which is supposedly supposed to be announce late March or April! To get a decent Atmos Setup of 5.1.4 (5 being your Standard surround, and .1 or .2 being your subs, and the .4 being your overhead or height speakers!) youll need 9 channels of amplifacation, which will put you Above your 500.00 Budget!

Personally Id go with a 500.00 AVR till hdmi 2.0 with 2.2 hdcp is out fully! Along with 4K BluRay, and then think about upgrading to a Atmos AVR! Of course this is all my Opinion, so choose for yourself. Im only saying what Id do, that may not be how you Roll... lol

 

[wpauge]

1.4 for 3D, only Onkyo has 1 2.0 hdmi input with 2.2 hdcp. But, with theyre Unreliability issues (High Temps, and dead hdmi boards)Id stay away!

Then Id go with a Yamaha V577 or Denon 1100W. Both are right at your 500 mark and have many good features! Many brands wont have avr's out with hdmi 2.0 with 2.2 hdcp till early fall at least! Which is fine as theres really no 4K material out now anyways...

Both the Denon and Yamaha I listed have WiFi built in which is nice for streaming Pandora or Music from you P.C.! Both also have Apps to controll the reciever, and Apple Airplay! The Denon has built in Bluetooth if thats important as well!

Once you figure out which receiver you need and want go to www.accessories4less.com and check their prices and availability, you save bundles of money dealing with this company. Their prices, customer service, and shipping is second to none. I have been purchasing from them for 7 years and never a problem, shipping is crazy quick and well packaged. All their products are factory reconditioned with a factory warranty and never a question with any warranty question. They now have an on-line tech to answer any questions you may have. Good luck in your search.
Bill.

 

[Withapict]

I am in the process of upgrading a denon Avr-987 as I just got a sony projector and a pair of most everything Reaction Audio offers. I need something with 3d blu ray compatibility. 60% H.t. and 40% audio. My girls play wii but that really is not needing much of the focus. I play with them but not a gamer.

 

[toddman36]

Once you figure out which receiver you need and want go to www.accessories4less.com and check their prices and availability, you save bundles of money dealing with this company. Their prices, customer service, and shipping is second to none. I have been purchasing from them for 7 years and never a problem, shipping is crazy quick and well packaged. All their products are factory reconditioned with a factory warranty and never a question with any warranty question. They now have an on-line tech to answer any questions you may have. Good luck in your search.
Bill.

Id go New less chances of a Bad avr on arrival, then sitting waiting for a replacement! Just my .02! Ive read alot of O.P. getting dead avr's 1st time around, but do as you like, its your $$$!

 

[toddman36]

I am in the process of upgrading a denon Avr-987 as I just got a sony projector and a pair of most everything Reaction Audio offers. I need something with 3d blu ray compatibility. 60% H.t. and 40% audio. My girls play wii but that really is not needing much of the focus. I play with them but not a gamer.

Do you have a Budget? And any special features your looking for, all this makes looking for a new AVR easier!

All New avrs are 3d compatible 1.4 hdmi or above, and play movies and music! Some better than others, just depends on your Budget...

 

[CherylJosie]

Definitely avoid Onkyo like the plague unless you intend to replace the capacitors on the HDMI yourself. I have already done this and even though it is easy for someone with soldering skills and some knowledge the plain fact is the chassis of all my Onkyo receivers is way way hot, not a good sign for reliability in any aspect.

Second on the accessories4less. That is where I bought mine. Good store.

Also consider room correction. With your room and speakers, you may need it.

Audyssey MultEQ or equivalent is the minimum I would go for, because it EQs the subwoofer and that is important for avoiding that 'one note wonder' sound especially in a square room. MultEQ-XT or MultEQ-XT-32 are even better, but on your budget you might not get anything more than 2EQ that is basically worthless.

Your current receiver has only 9 band graphic EQ and even though that helps it cannot EQ the 'parametric' way that automated EQ can. Modern receivers might provide even less bands since they tend to rely on some form of automated room EQ.

Not familiar with other room correction algorithms in budget receivers but I know there are several proprietary schemes so you might want to do some research first. Most higher end brands include room EQ now, except Onkyo dropped Audyssey in all their new Atmos-capable receivers and implemented some weird scheme called AccuEQ, to EQ the rear speakers to measure the same response as the fronts. All credible reports are it is worthless in its current form and the concept is questionable IMO.

Alternative is to buy separate subwoofer EQ. Many on AVS Forum take that path because they like the built-in crossover EQ of their pro quality speakers but want to smooth out the room modes on the sub. I am using MultEQ-XT-32 and it does a great job for me.

 

[wpauge]

Id go New less chances of a Bad avr on arrival, then sitting waiting for a replacement! Just my .02! Ive read alot of O.P. getting dead avr's 1st time around, but do as you like, its your $$$!

I've been dealing with accessories4less for over 7 years and never a problem (4 receivers and counting). I have NEVER read of ANYONE receiving a dead receiver from them. Even if that happened I think saving hundreds of $$ makes up for a 2 or 3 day shipping wait. Worth checking them out.
Bill.

 

[adrummingdude]

IMO when shopping receivers, you should never buy the latest greatest one on the market. It's a lot like buying the fastest computer available in that you'll pay several times more for bleeding edge performance which will be obsolete a lot quicker than you think.


Rather you should spend money on speakers and amps, because feature sets in front end processors change REALLY quickly these days. Buy a used receiver in great condition. Pretty much all of them these days within your budget feature some form of EQ or room correction, and while different, which system/design is superior will always be debated around here.


I understand that your budget doesn't buy you the latest or greatest, but my point in broad strokes is that you'll probably not be any less future proof even if you did buy the $2000+ beast.

 

[Lord_Zath]

Thanks for all the replies! Part of the reason for the $500 mark is to pick up the "older" tech as opposed to latest and greatest.

Comments about audessy EQ are welcome - good to know. I have used it on my 988 but found that i had to do a lot of correcting with what it sensed, especially in distances. So I am used to not depending on it.

Speaker upgrades are coming at some point - thinking about Polk Audio setup but not sure just yet.

Good to know about HDMI 2.0 and Atmos/other options. I'm definitely not going to go all-out and add speakers. While I have the flexibility of doing so in my room, I don't know that I want to wire it all up, drill into the walls (again) and deal w/the wife .

Keep ideas coming please! I did not know about the Onkyo issues - though I surmised something was up from all the threads in this forum...

 

[jdsmoothie]

I've been dealing with accessories4less for over 7 years and never a problem (4 receivers and counting). I have NEVER read of ANYONE receiving a dead receiver from them. Even if that happened I think saving hundreds of $$ makes up for a 2 or 3 day shipping wait. Worth checking them out.
Bill.

You'll see it more often when reviewing more threads as I do (in fact was really bad a few years ago, although seems to have improved), although roughly same percentage as receiving DOA "new" as well. A refurbished unit has not necessarily been placed on the "bench" nor has the issue necessarily been fixed if not discovered so may simply be passed on to the next owner. No reflection on AC4L as they simply pass on what the mfr's send them.

 

[jdsmoothie]

Thanks for all the replies! Part of the reason for the $500 mark is to pick up the "older" tech as opposed to latest and greatest.

Comments about audessy EQ are welcome - good to know. I have used it on my 988 but found that i had to do a lot of correcting with what it sensed, especially in distances. So I am used to not depending on it.

Speaker upgrades are coming at some point - thinking about Polk Audio setup but not sure just yet.

Good to know about HDMI 2.0 and Atmos/other options. I'm definitely not going to go all-out and add speakers. While I have the flexibility of doing so in my room, I don't know that I want to wire it all up, drill into the walls (again) and deal w/the wife .

Keep ideas coming please! I did not know about the Onkyo issues - though I surmised something was up from all the threads in this forum...

Unless using a defective mic or not placing the mic on a camera tripod or more ideally a mic boom stand, Audyssey should be "spot on" for speaker distances with the sub "distance" being greater as it takes in to account the delay required due to the sub filters.

 

[RJRudy]

A tad confused whether to go with separates or just buy the yamaha aventage rx-a1040... Looking to spend around 1k...however can go more if the quality of sound improved..

 

[jdsmoothie]

A tad confused whether to go with separates or just buy the yamaha aventage rx-a1040... Looking to spend around 1k...however can go more if the quality of sound improved..

No reason for separates unless you have extremely difficult 4-ohm speakers to drive. If you don't need the extra features on the A1040, we've got an open box A840 with full 3 year warranty. Call if interested. Otherwise, Denon has both the X3100W and X4100W on sale for the next 2 weeks.

 

[Lord_Zath]

Unless using a defective mic or not placing the mic on a camera tripod or more ideally a mic boom stand, Audyssey should be "spot on" for speaker distances with the sub "distance" being greater as it takes in to account the delay required due to the sub filters.

Thanks I do agree it should be spot on but it wasn't. I did have a tripod set on my ideal seat choice. I had the mic pointing straight up - am I supposed to turn it so it is pointed at each speaker when it fires??? Part of the problem is that one side speaker is rather close to sitting while the other is farther away. I'm wondering if it's too close to measure. Also, my couch may have blocked/reflected some of the sound waves. I'm wondering if the acoustics of the room cause some problems, too - sound reverberates off my walls very easily - to the point where I was considering investigating sound-deadening paint (if that's even a thing).

 

[jdsmoothie]

Thanks I do agree it should be spot on but it wasn't. I did have a tripod set on my ideal seat choice. I had the mic pointing straight up - am I supposed to turn it so it is pointed at each speaker when it fires??? Part of the problem is that one side speaker is rather close to sitting while the other is farther away. I'm wondering if it's too close to measure. Also, my couch may have blocked/reflected some of the sound waves. I'm wondering if the acoustics of the room cause some problems, too - sound reverberates off my walls very easily - to the point where I was considering investigating sound-deadening paint (if that's even a thing).

The mic should always be pointing straight up and all speakers should have a clear line of sight to the mic with no obstructions.

 

[RJRudy]

Thanks for the info what number should I be calling... Sounds like you might have a great deal.. Out of the 3 what would be the best choice...