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what is the thing to look for in audio receivers?

P

p0ntif

Platinum Member
I'm in the market for a new receiver and need to know what are desirable features and what aren't?
For instance, is 100W per channel good? If you have speakers that take 150W, should you get a receiver that doles out 100W per channel? If you get a 6.1 digital receiver, will that be backwards compatible with a 5.1 DVD player? Anything else that is necessary to consider? Also, any reccomendations for the below $300 range?

 
i wish my receiver had more video inputs...one for my TV out, DVD, CD-i, aux one, aux two, and another optical input. Right now, i only have 4 inputs...I NEED MORE!!!!!

-=bmacd=-
 
power rating is *very*subjective.
in teh $300 rance, i like the yamahas.
also, pick it up and see how heavy it is. heavy is good.
 
there's a pioneer 6.1 dolby digital receiver @ BB for $299. Check the hot deals thread...i picked one up for my dad.

-=bmacd=-
 
What to look for? Why, the missing piece from your Maglite, that's what!! It's gotta be in there, man...*breaks out toolbox*

Just kidding. You're off to a good start in this thread...you don't need my help. Oh, Component Video Switching, at least 100W RMS per channel @ 8 ohms, that's a good start.
 
Originally posted by: p0ntif
I'm in the market for a new receiver and need to know what are desirable features and what aren't?
For instance, is 100W per channel good? If you have speakers that take 150W, should you get a receiver that doles out 100W per channel? If you get a 6.1 digital receiver, will that be backwards compatible with a 5.1 DVD player? Anything else that is necessary to consider? Also, any reccomendations for the below $300 range?
Click to expand...

100W is plenty, its better to have an underpowered amp relative to your speakers than an overpowered amp. Also, for the best HT results, you want to make sure each channel gets equal power, so 600W total for a 6.1 setup (100W to each channel). As Bmacd said, make sure you have flexibility in your inputs and outputs. Take an inventory of what you currently have plugged in and what you plan on plugging in in the near future. Your 5.1 player should be fine, as you'll probably using a optical toslink or digital coax connection. If your receiver is doing the decoding, it'll transfer the 6.1 sound if the source supports it.

Make sure it has flexibility in its inputs and outputs, like S-video, Component video, Optical toslink and digital coax. 5.1 inputs are nice as well (esp. if you are hooking it up to your PC sound card). You may want to make sure it has a DTS onboard even if your DVD player has it. This will allow you to play DTS from a game console as well. Matching brands is nice too, as you can often consolidate your controllers this way.

Chiz
 
also, pick it up and see how heavy it is. heavy is good.
Click to expand...

Hehehe...glad to see I'm not the only one that does this. Pick up a sherwood or klh "100 watt" receiver, then pick up a Denon, Onkyo, or Yamaha "100 watt" receiver. You can tell a weeeee bit of difference in weights.
 
Originally posted by: vi_edit
also, pick it up and see how heavy it is. heavy is good.
Click to expand...

Hehehe...glad to see I'm not the only one that does this. Pick up a sherwood or klh "100 watt" receiver, then pick up a Denon, Onkyo, or Yamaha "100 watt" receiver. You can tell a weeeee bit of difference in weights.
Click to expand...
😀

Also, a quick note about the power ratings. if you are going to be comparing them, be sure to note how different ones are measured.
I used to have a NAD C340 integrated amplifier, rated at 50w by the manufacturer. Thats 50w RMS into one channel, 8 ohms. You could also rate it at 340w into two channels peak into 2 ohms.

 
Pioneer is the OEM for a lot of brands, so I recommend them.
They are as good as it gets unless you are going to buy a Lexicon and multiple amplifiers.
 

Most important of all is the placement of your speakers. And, you also have to take into account of what the room that your stereo is going to be in & what type of wall, ceiling & floor does the entertainment room have. You might want to jot down the room in question dimension & take it to your local audio specialty dealer for more information.

1. Simplicity ? As elegant as a NAD with beautiful functional dials & switches (no crappy sliders), and anything but the god-awful Nakamichi & Sony Christmas tree lighting.
2. Nice clean wow & flutter.
3. Input/Output ? lots of them, and a honking heat-sink instead of cooler fans.
4. Elegant universal remote control (I can?t stand fazer looking RC), not over ridden with useless functions & buttons.
 
Two of my previous receivers were Onkyo. Great performance/$.
Don't worry too much with power rating unless you have expensive
, inefficient speakers.


- Look for S-VHS switching feature.
- Make sure it has enough number of digital inputs (with compatible
connectors with your source)
- Programmable/learning remote.
- Check www.audioreview.com.
- Try one at home to see how it sounds with your speakers (many fine a/v store would let you do this).

 
i dotn really trust the power ratings from the mainstream, low-end , consumer stuff anyways. the figure could be just peak power instead of RMS (continuous), or theyre just plain off.

what'd i do is narrow it to products from good manufacturers (denon, onkyo, harmon kardon, etc), then look for something with the features you need with lots of inputs thats still in your budget.

most receivers nowaday can do DTS, DD5.1, and DD6.1, so just look for something with lots of inputs and youll be fine 🙂
 
Originally posted by: chizow100W is plenty, its better to have an underpowered amp relative to your speakers than an overpowered amp.
Click to expand...
Wrong. An underpowered amp will clip just trying to move the magnets on a big speaker. Clipping = bad, mmkay?

For the average Joe, 100W is fine, but to compare apples to apples, check what the THD% is at the reported power level. A crap amp at 100W will have a much higher THD than a good one.

 
100W is plenty, its better to have an underpowered amp relative to your speakers than an overpowered amp
Click to expand...

Actually, that's not a good thing.... an underpowered amp will clip your speakers more easily if it's pushed to a volume higher than it can output cleanly. Also, most major brands of receivers are rated for a higher wattage than they actually output (ie, a 100W receiver may only do 100W with 1 or 2 channels active). Of the major brands, Harmon Kardon is one of the few I know of that conservatively rates its receivers.

For $300, probably the best candidate is the Pioneer 811S. If you can stretch your budget a bit the Harman Kardon AVR125 is also good.

Dave
 
You should look at the specs and look for THD, Signal to Noise, Dynamic range, and how much power it outputs.

THD - amount of distortion at the output of the amplifier in relation to the input signal. The lower the better. Good amps have THD around 0.02%. Better amps have it below that. Lower the better.

Signal to Noise - pretty self explanatory. Higher S/N means a quieter amp. Higher the better.

Dynamic Range - ability of the amp to play the loudest sounds in regards to the softest sounds. Higher the better.

and finally, output wattage - like flood said, this is all subjective and dependent on how the test conditions were setup when they came up with the numbers. Some manufacturers like to rate conservatively, others try to push up the numbers as much as possible.

When a receiver is spec'd at 100Wrms x channel for 6 channels, its better to assume that it can run UP TO 100Wrms per channel. Look on the back of the receiver and see what the current draw of the reciever is and do the math.

There are other properties that define if an amplifier is good or not, but those are the more important ones.
 
Originally posted by: Mwilding
Originally posted by: chizow100W is plenty, its better to have an underpowered amp relative to your speakers than an overpowered amp.
Click to expand...
Wrong. An underpowered amp will clip just trying to move the magnets on a big speaker. Clipping = bad, mmkay?

For the average Joe, 100W is fine, but to compare apples to apples, check what the THD% is at the reported power level. A crap amp at 100W will have a much higher THD than a good one.
Click to expand...

Wrong.
This probably the most widely held audio myth, ie., that low power amps will clip and blow speakers.
 
its better to have an underpowered amp relative to your speakers than an overpowered amp
Click to expand...
Wrong. If your amp has extra power, it holds the reserve for those big blasts - think 1812 Overture. But if it's underpowered, every time you've got some loud stuff coming down the line, the amp will clip and your speakers will feel it up the rectum.
 
Originally posted by: Mwilding
Originally posted by: chizow100W is plenty, its better to have an underpowered amp relative to your speakers than an overpowered amp.
Click to expand...
Wrong. An underpowered amp will clip just trying to move the magnets on a big speaker. Clipping = bad, mmkay?

For the average Joe, 100W is fine, but to compare apples to apples, check what the THD% is at the reported power level. A crap amp at 100W will have a much higher THD than a good one.
Click to expand...
Damn you!
 
Don't believe watt ratings. A few months ago while shopping for receivers I put a Sony 985, 100watt p/c and Harmon Kardon avr-325 50 watt p/c side by side with the same speakers. It was no comparison, the HK kicked the Sony's ass. The Sony distorted LONG before the HK as I increased the volume, and the HK just sounded so much better.
 
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