midrange home theatre reciever comparison - help me pick one.

[chevelle396]

ok looking at best buy home theatre recievers - don't scoff you lurking audiophiles, I don't have the cash for one of your fancy units.

looked today and narrowed my choice down to the sony and the yamaha recievers. I think the pioneers they have sound terrible.

yamaha HTR-5560 : 6.1 dolby/dts 480watt $499
sony STR-DE885: 5.1 (virtual matrix 6.1... whatever that is) dolby/dts 500watt $399 (one open at $339 - might be able to get em lower)
sony STR-DE985 6.1 dolby/dts 600watt $499

I'm leaning toward the 400 dollar sony, it sounds almost as good as the yamaha, puts out more power per channel, and has sub preamps.

plus they're giving out free klh 5-disc changers with recievers over 300 bucks (excluding open item, but we'll see if they call me on that) until 8/10. that would fetch at least 50 on ebay i'd say.

edit: I've decided on the Denon 1802 from 6ave.com. Thanks everyone who replied.

 

[John]

Denon should be a choice.

 

[StattlichPassat]

Originally posted by: chevelle396
hit enter when i should have hit tab, let me fill out the message... hold on...

Heh, ok. I'll jump to conclusions anyway: Denon is really nice, but you'll get about the same quality out of a Yamaha, Marantz, Onkyo, or harmon/kardon receiver. I love my Sony, but hate the white noise at high volumes (which I believe is contributable to the receiver). Circuit City is your friend, especially if you can find an open box item, haggle 'em down, and save your butt a good 25% or more! :Q

 

[chevelle396]

i am almost completely in the dark when it comes to home theatre brands, but i've heard good things about denon. if you can find a decent denon with features like the sony for less than 500, you've got my attention.

and yes I hate white noise as well. duly noted on the sony.

 

[HiveMaster]

6ave.com will sell you a Denon 1802 or 2802 for the same kind of money that you are talking about now, shipped. They are an authorized Denon dealer, and the quality is so much higher than that BB crap that it is not even worth talking about.

Call 6ave.com and find out what kind of haggling you can do.

Also, why would you want to give money to a pos operation like BEAST BUY???

 

[silverpig]

I have a sony amp (I don't know the model right now though) and I'm pretty sure it's the same one you're looking at. 500W, 5.1 dolby digital/DTS.

I paid $389 cdn for it on a Canada Day sale (regular almost $600 cdn).


It's a great amp, sounds good, and the price was right. It may not be the best amp ever, but you definitely won't feel bad about buying it.

 

[chevelle396]

yea i know, best buy lost its charm completely when I found out I could buy everything there on the internet for 1/2 the price. the convenience is what brings me back. i'm definitely willing to buy a reciever online though, I just wish I could listen to em... heh.

 

[kami]

Out of those, Yamaha no question...from what I've read and heard, steer clear from Sony (for receivers anyway)

 

[HiveMaster]

If you have a high end audio place around, you could give a listen to the Denon...I quarantee, however, that the Denon is gonna sound better simply because the crappy speakers at BB are even worse than the crappy recvrs. Besides, all you need to do is look at the specs and you will KNOW that the sonys just do not match up. Just check out the features from the Denon America web site and you will see what I mean.

My $500 AVR 2802 has preouts for 7.1!!!!
I can play a DVD through my 6 speakers in the living room, and play a cd in the bedroom at the same time. There are seperate amps for EVERY channel in the Denon, vs. one or two for the sonys. I used to own a Sony, and the Denon blows it away.

 

[chevelle396]

where is the 2802 $500? 6ave.com is quoting $698.

 

[StattlichPassat]

Sounds like you're leaning the right way (especially with ditching that KLH changer on eBay- good man!), but that same money will buy one of the marques at Circuit City that I mentioned in the third post! :Q If you're heartset on those three though, I think you'd be satisfied with any of them. I'd probably look at the Yammie a little more in depth- they're a better receiver than Sony's. You don't need the added power you'll get with a Sony, I've heard- an 80w x 5 Denon reciever or the like will still blow the doors off it, so don't let wattage be an issue for you, but make sure its got around 80w per channel. If the Yamaha doesn't have the features you're looking for though, keep looking and just buy the one that does. Get what sounds good to you! Don't be afraid to crank the Sony up there in the store- check for that annoying 'white noise' problem that I have at high volumes (on any source) with my STR-DE675.

 

[chevelle396]

oh i've never been afraid to crank it at bb, they cringe when they see me coming. there's a "Great Indoors" about a mile and a half from my house, so I'll check that out and listen to some denons and other stuff. now if anyone can find that 2802 for 500, i'll be a poor man real quick.

 

[soccerbud34]

Outlaw 1050 $499, perhaps one of the best sub $1000 receiver you can buy.

outlaw audio

edit ** reviews from audioreview **
edit2 ** for the lazy, it has 4.61 stars out of 5 from 112 reviews **

 

[chevelle396]

listened to a denon 2802 today. sounds good, but to me, not $799 good. I understand there are many cool features on it, but I'm only going to be using this to power one 5.1 HT speaker set. I will mainly listen to cds, watch movies, and play mp3's on it.

at this point i'm still leaning on the sony STR-DE885.

 

[777php]

Pioneer VSX-D811S?

 

[Raincity]

The internet price for the Denon 2802 is 480$ If you must buy from the above list get the 5560. Low end Sony recievers suck big time. Also dont get fooled by the power ratings, its very misleading. Both Pioneer and Marantz have better recievers in the 500$ retail price range that are a cut above the Yame 5560

Rain

 

[EvilYoda]

I would strongly suggest you listen to other receivers in your area, you must have something within a reasonable distance that sells Denon/Harman Kardon/Onkyo/Marantz......with the range that you're quoting, you can easily find a receiver from each of those companies, and just take a listen there and then go online and find the best price. I also suggest reading the other receiver posts that pop around here, along with HTF and avsforums. A quick list of what's in your range:

Denon 1802/2802 (2802 might just be out of reach, unles you're willing to move a little higher)
Onkyo SR-600
H/K 320 (about $450)

And you'll find these all with the proper warranties, which you can take to any authorized retailer nearby and drop off if need be.

 

[ingenuiti]

Definitely stay away from Sony! You can get a much better product for that price range.
We just replaced our Sony receiver with a Yamaha flagship model and the difference in build quality and sound is quite noticeable even at the same wattage ouput.

Just stick with either a Yamaha or Denon unit and you won't regret it.

 

[MiniThug]

Try calling 6ave and asking if they can do better on the price. The price for the Denon 3802 on the site is $999 I believe and I bought from them over the phone for $699. I believe others have gotten the 2802 from them for around $499. You might call and try asking what price they will offer.

 

[HiveMaster]

I second the "call 6ave.com" post...go to Pricegrabber.com, find the best price, and use that price when you call 6ave. They will match the price and they are a Denon Authorized dealer...very important if the thing breaks.

listened to a denon 2802 today. sounds good, but to me, not $799 good. I understand there are many cool features on it, but I'm only going to be using this to power one 5.1 HT speaker set. I will mainly listen to cds, watch movies, and play mp3's on it.

at this point i'm still leaning on the sony STR-DE885.

I would not have bought the 2802 for 799 either...which is why I got it from 6ave

The thing about the Denon is, 10 years from now you could still be using it...as your speaker systems get better and your feature desires mature, you will find that the Denon does what you want, without having to chuck it for a "better" rcvr--like you will with the STR-DE855.

 

[chevelle396]

audioreview has some places offering the 2802 for 500. so we're talking about around 530-540 shipped (as long as it isnt in texas) for the 2802 versus about 330 for that sony... well the denon is starting to look mighty tempting.

what cd player would you guys recommend? also, do ps2's put out 5.1 sound? I plan on buying a standalone dvd player but not until later. that may change, however, if a ps2 can't do 5.1.

 

[T2T III]

If you must buy from the above list get the 5560.

After briefly owning the Yamaha HTR-5560 (I was trying to purchase a 2nd receiver), I was quite happy to reconnect my Denon AVR-1802 and put it to use once again. I just love the Denon sound, plus the Yamaha didn't quite put out the same level of power as the Denon. I found my Denon AVR-1802 used, but in excellent condition. I purchased it for $300 - which included the shipping to get it to my house. Gotta love a bargain!

 

[soccerbud34]

Chevelle, like other people in this thread suggested, i would stay away from Sony receivers. Although personally, i have never used them. But i have heard of many bad expereiences with them.

But definitely give Outlaw 1050 a go, even though Denon 2802 is a mighty fine choice also.
But people don't claim outlaw 1050 to be the one of the best sub 1000 receiver for no reason
The only feature that i think it is lacking is the lack of Pro Logic II..

And you can order Outlaw 1050. If you don't like the receiver, they do have a 30 day money back guarantee. No restocking fee that kind of hassle.

anyways good luck on your search!

 

[chevelle396]

alright, I'm trying to decide between the two denons - the 1802 and the 2802 - is an extra channel and 10 extra watts per channel worth the $150 extra?

 

[Mister T]

go denon....

if you want to go cheap, go with the 811S from pioneer.