[plaudt]

Searching for a nice sounding A/V Receiver with a budget of $750 - $1000.


I keep seeing the Onkyo and Dennon brands in various forums as the A/V Receiver I should go with in that price range.


I'm really looking for the best sounding receiver in that price range and with the Yamaha Advantage RX-A1000 having THD at 0.04% I can't imagine why it gets no mentions in any of these forums.


Should I not be swayed by such a low THD %? Doe it' not have as good of a sound as some of these Onkyo's and Dennon's that have 0.08 % THD in that same price range of $750 - $1000.


What else makes for a good sounding A/V receiver other than THD?

 

[rogo]

Manufacturer quoted THD figures are pretty useless and meaningless. Your ears on the other hand (as well as the collective opinions of others) are likely to help you hone in on a good choice.

 

[Techlord]

The Denon and Yamaha brands will give you excellent sound quality, Denon is known for their superb sound quality and powerful amplifiers! Do not fall for the THD figures, it's a marketing strategy, do not pay much attention to all of the specs. Make sure it has the features you want, you might try some of the Denon threads as you can gain valuable information from owner's!

 

[StuJac]

I'd look at Marantz before any of the above mentioned brands.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

Here's why THD is not helpful. It's not an absolute. It varies with power output. It's higher at very low power, hits a low point somewhere between 0 watts and clipping, and then starts to increase becoming very high during heavy clipping. Depending on how much power manufacturers want to put on the spec sheet, they can play around with how much THD they are measuring. That's not to say it's totally useless....04% is telling you they are not pushing it too hard to get rated output - look at some cheap amps/receivers who had to measure at higher THD's like .1% or worse...you can mentally downgrade their power spec...not that power specs are that useful either...see the Amplifier FAQ


As for best sounding, there's a few theories...

* They will all sound the same with all processing off, and when not being overdriven (but clearly different room correction systems will sound different)

* It's subjective, so you can't fully trust people's opinions as yours may differ

* There's significant audible difference that a majority of people would agree with (good luck proving this is true

Also note that power could make a difference. More power may avoid distortion, but once you get into your price range, I don't know that there's huge differences, because you need double the power to make a difference, IMO.


I have had good luck with Yamaha receivers.

 

[pronghorn/az]

Integra DTR 40.3 is in your price range. Very clean sounding and a beautiful face plate as well.

http://integrahometheater.com/model....m=DTR-40.3&p=i


Jeff

 

[jayray]

Anthem MRX 300 would also be a good choice. Good amp section and Anthem Room Correction.

John

 

[Audiodork]

Hello,

The Pioneer SC-35 from Costco (1600 MSRP) is available for $749 right now and is an awesome deal. As the 35 seems to have the identical Amplifier Stage as the SC-37, this really makes this a ridiculously good deal.

Cheers,

AD

 

[Archaea]

maybe not the best deal under the sun... but a proper "good" deal on an excellent receiver.

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3181802


Personally I'd buy an Onkyo TX-SR875 for $400 used on ebay and call it a day. There isn't much better than the SRXX05 or NRXX07 series receiver from Onkyo and now that they are a couple years old you can get them for next to nothing on ebay.


Specifically I'm referring to the SR805 or SR875, or NR1007 (my current receiver) They don't have HDMI 1.4, but they do have a VERY substantial amp and high end Audyssey capability as well as THX Ultra II ratings.

 

[schan1269]

Best receiver for $750-$1000 is an extremely loaded question...


We need more info...


What speakers?

How big is the room?

Do you have a Wii/VCR?

Do you have/plan to get a BD player?

Use Pandora/Slacker?

Need networking?

Plan a 2nd/3rd zone?

Plan a NAS?

Have a Popcorn Hour/Roku/Vudu?

Want Iphone/Ipad/Droid/Blackberry apps?

3D?

Turntable?

SACD/DVD-A?


We don't know which receiver fits your wants...till we know your wants.

 

[jayray]



Quote:
Originally Posted by schan1269 /forum/post/0


Best receiver for $750-$1000 is an extremely loaded question...


We need more info...


What speakers?

How big is the room?

Do you have a Wii/VCR?

Do you have/plan to get a BD player?

Use Pandora/Slacker?

Need networking?

Plan a 2nd/3rd zone?

Plan a NAS?

Have a Popcorn Hour/Roku/Vudu?

Want Iphone/Ipad/Droid/Blackberry apps?

3D?

Turntable?

SACD/DVD-A?


We don't know which receiver fits your wants...till we know your wants.

I think the original question was What is the best sounding receiver? Maybe bells and whistles aren't as important.

John

 

[schan1269]

Well, "best sounding" receiver takes a back seat anymore.


If you want "best sounding", stick with amps and pre-amps. Most "sound problems" happen during moments of "Hang on...I can't suck enough juice off the wall for what you are asking me to do here..."


But if "maximum juice" is what is required here...the Onkyo NR809/1009(if he can find a refurb..or doesn't mind buying a used 1009/8) win the battle of "I suck more juice off the wall than you do..." under $1000.


Of course, notwithstanding "clearance" models...ie

NAD T747

HK 7550HD

Elite SC(whichever one it is...)

 

[jayray]



Quote:
Originally Posted by schan1269 /forum/post/0


Well, "best sounding" receiver takes a back seat anymore.


If you want "best sounding", stick with amps and pre-amps. Most "sound problems" happen during moments of "Hang on...I can't suck enough juice off the wall for what you are asking me to do here..."

My Anthem MRX hasn't hiccuped yet and if good sound can only be had by spending thousands of dollars it would be a sad day for all of us common folk

With an excellent room correction system, even the MRX 300 is a good candidate for best sound in that price range.

John

 

[bakerzdosen]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Archaea /forum/post/20817381


maybe not the best deal under the sun... but a proper "good" deal on an excellent receiver.

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3181802

Except for the fact that that deal ended last week when they sold out...


This weekend the a2000 is going for $900...


That would certainly fit the bill here.

 

[igupta]



Quote:
Originally Posted by bakerzdosen /forum/post/20817761


Except for the fact that that deal ended last week when they sold out...


This weekend the a2000 is going for $900...


That would certainly fit the bill here.

Don't you think Pioneer SC-35 from Costco for $749 right now is a better deal

 

[MrEastSide]



Quote:
Originally Posted by igupta /forum/post/20817840


Don't you think Pioneer SC-35 from Costco for $749 right now is a better deal

Yes. I had an A2000 and I just bought an SC-35 from Costco as well. My vote easily goes to the SC-35. While that Yamaha is a fantastic receiver, I think the SC-35 outshines it. Not to mention the $150 dollar cheaper price on the SC-35.

 

[amblinfan]

Anthem MRX-300 if you're willing to drop some of the bells and whistles of the Onkyo 809 or Yamaha 1010.

 

[jayray]



Quote:
Originally Posted by amblinfan /forum/post/0


Anthem MRX-300 if you're willing to drop some of the bells and whistles of the Onkyo 809 or Yamaha 1010.

Sound is what he's after and the Anthem can easily handle it's own and you get, arguably, the best room correction, which is not bells and whistles, just great sound.

John

 

[WiWavelength]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jayray /forum/post/20817643


With an excellent room correction system, even the MRX 300 is a good candidate for best sound in that price range.

The "best sound" includes effectively no sound below -80 dBFS because of the MRX series low level linearity bug/flaw.


AJ

 

[bakerzdosen]



Quote:
Originally Posted by igupta /forum/post/20817840


Don't you think Pioneer SC-35 from Costco for $749 right now is a better deal

Personally, I don't know. I only heard about the SC-35 this morning reading this thread. And in these kinds of threads it tough to separate what I'm looking for from what the OP is asking as I'm looking for something similar but not identical...


Comments like this one have me a little worried, but as I said, I'd never considered the sc-35 prior to this morning. The next page I found was this one which freaked me out even more. Most things I've read since then have been positive, but those BB.com reviews kinda freaked me out initially.


For purely audio (I didn't start this thread, so I don't want to TC too much) the SC-35 might be a better choice. I just don't know as I haven't auditioned either. However, for my needs, I'm still leaning towards the rx-a1000 or a1010 or possibly the a2000 due to video processing. However, some of that is based upon prior product experiences (meaning, I've had good success with Yamaha products.)


The SC-35 is certainly on my radar, but not at the top of my list currently. However, to truly answer the question above, yeah, the sc-35 is probably the better deal. But I'd still choose an rx-a1000 at $600 shipped (if it was available at that price instead of $650) as the $150 extra for an sc-35 might just be wasted on me and my needs.


But I'm not clicking the "buy" button just yet.