Whats a Good quality Stereo reciever?? STORY INCLUDED!

[lepper boy]

Looking for something that will do surround sound. handel some good dvd quality stuff... and looking for a real descent price on it...



Here's my story....

was in the dmv today, getting address changed, when in walks this 5'8ish brunette, that is totally stacked!! wish I had a camera so I could show you all. wow.... even had on this little spaggetti strapped tank top.. and well, let's just say she wasn't pointing south.......

 

[Gunbuster]

Yamaha

 

[mithrandir2001]

Or Onkyo.

Buying used isn't such a bad idea either. I bought a Onkyo TX-DS474 on eBay for $140...granted, a basic receiver, but it would have cost $299 new.

 

[DaLeroy]

Stereo = two channels! you want an AV receiver I presume...

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

If you want one of the best you can buy, go here.

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

BTW, they're not cheap. And I think they make an integrated Amp.

 

[divinemartyr]

I highly recommend picking up a Denon AVR-1601 if you're looking for something very basic.

If you're interested in the stats, check out this page for Denon's complete line of Surround sound receivers. The 1601 and 1801 are both very nice entry-level receivers and should suit your needs VERY well for years to come.

dm

 

[lepper boy]

hamburgerpimp,

nice stuff on that page I especially like the Tube type remake.. it would match my old TR-4 ham radio....

 

[lepper boy]

anyone else with some input?

 

[goldboyd]

<< Looking for something that will do surround sound. handel some good dvd quality stuff... and looking for a real descent price on it... >>



By some dvd stuff, do you mean DD, DTS, DTS ES, THX EX, what features exactly are you looking for?

And by decent price, what exactly does that mean to you? $300, $500, $1000, $2000?

 

[goldboyd]

<< If you want one of the best you can buy, go here. >>



Ugh, while Macs sound great for music, IMHO they sound awful for HT.

 

[dvda]

I would say Onkyo over Denon over Yamaha in that order. I have an Onkyo TXDS575 and I've been very happy with it. Either go for a used 575 to save $ or get the new 595, the new model has Prologic II, 5 more watts per chanel and S-video switching. A friend of mine has a slighly more expensive Denon, (I forgot the model but the one comprable to the Onkyo 676) with the same front speakers and sub and my system is a bit louder, and little bit cleaner despite putting out 15 less wattts per channel.

Don't get me wrong the Denon is also a great receiver but the Onkyo is just a little bit better. Yamaha are also not bad but some of their lower end stuff has a reputation of having poor quality and their amps are not as good as either Denon or Onkyo, but they do have better DSPs with more modes and better effects.

You should be able to find the Onkyo 575 for around $300, when I boguht mine new almost two years ago I payed $369 and this was about a month after the unit came out. The 575X is the same unit but with s-video switching, and the 595 should be availabe for around $350-450

 

[lepper boy]

I like the 300 price range.... and do as much as it can........ for that price.

 

[glen]

Pioneer is the OEM for many of the other &quot;brand&quot; recievers.
You can get a 5 x 100 with most popular decoding abilities for $350.
And, really, unless you spend $5,000 or more for a separate decoder, like a lexicon and separate amps, there ain't much difference.

 

[AaronP]

Sony DB or ES series (NOT THE BESTBUY, CC DE SERIES)
Yamaha
Onkyo
Denon

there are some other brands that aren't as good, but have a great price tag, there's some really decent Kenwood receivers with DD and DTW for like 200 bucks.

 

[AaronP]

For 300 dollar price range, look for a Sony STR-DB840. Really nice, well built receiver. Clean and powerfull too. It has a WAY better amp than the DE best buy kinda crap they sell, DB is a better model line. And they can be had for around 300 bucks.

 

[Capn]

I have a sony es v333, I like it alot. All aluminum face plate and volume knob too, doesn't help the sound quality but it makes it classier than some receivers where it feels like cheap plastic.

 

[kami]

Just remember... 90% of the sound quality is from the SPEAKERS, not the electronics. So buy whatever you can afford. Just stay away from &quot;mainstream&quot; stuff such as the lower end JVC, Kenwood, Sony, etc. Yamaha, Denon and Onkyo are all good. Mid-grade Yamaha's and low to mid grade Onkyo's are probably the best IMO. Go to an actual sound shop, not a Best Buy or similar big box store.

 

[EvilYoda]

And also, whatever you go with, don't get fooled that the &quot;bigger the numbers, better the sound&quot;.....the cheaper receivers might say &quot;120 watts per channel!&quot;, and harman/kardon+onkyo+denon (stuff close to your range) might be lower.....you don't need it, necessarily. If you have a gigantic living room that you'll be putting it in, maybe, but with a smaller space, go for something with the decoding properties you need (for DVD, most likely DTS, 5.1 support and whatnot), and the quality you can honestly enjoy. big boomy sound != good

You might want to try refurb or last year products at harmanaudio.com

 

[BigSmooth]

I'll pretty much echo what everyone else has said. I have used Denon and my current receiver is a slightly older Yamaha and they have both been great. I've never used Onkyo but it sounds like other people recommend it as well.

Might I say that it's very handy to have a front input on your receiver for when you want to play a console video game or plug in a video camera, MP3 player or what have you. Neither my TV nor my receiver has front inputs and it's really annoying at times. Obviously, sound quality is most important but I just wanted to throw that in there.

 

[kami]

Yes, my reciever is only 70 watts per channel. If I put the volume at reference level ( 0 ) it hurts my ears....and there is no distortion. If I gotta keep it quiet I turn on dynamic range compression, which really sucks but sometimes you gotta make due.

 

[AaronP]

yeah, don't buy into that 120 watts per channel BS.

When places like BB and CC advertise &quot;120 watts per channel&quot; on their consumer grade receivers, they're talking about PEAK output.

When higher end places talk about watts per channel, and a receiver is say 70 watts, they are talkin about &quot;Average output&quot;

Many times, people buy into the &quot;well this one has 50 more watts per channel, so it is more powerful and sounds better&quot; crap, and the truth is, a good clean 70 watts on a good receiver will BLOW AWAY a $249 dollar Pioneer at Best Buy.

Of course, many people aren't that picky, and probably 90% of them would be happy as a clam with the Pioneer, and really, with Dolby Digital and DTS, nowadays, the sound difference isn't that huge.

Does a 2900 dollar Denon 5700 ten times better than a 290 dollar Pioneer, well thats all sunjective of course, but the answer is, no.

 

[Viperoni]

<< will BLOW AWAY a $249 dollar Pioneer at Best Buy. >>



You are obviously mistaken.

I have a pioneer vsx-d608...2 years old, does DD and DTS fine, has 4 optical inputs, coax out, yada yada yada.

But when looking inside, I see 3 transistor pack amps, and a HUGE transformer thats more than capable of providing the power.
The SQ is pretty as well, and it even slams my speakers so hard that you can feel it in the couch.

Pioneer's gotten a lot better over the years....but if I had to choose between my Pioneer and a low end Denon, I'd probably would have trouble deciding.

 

[yata]

Before you go to BB or CC, check out any audiophile stores if theres any in your town. If they carry NAD stuff, then do give then a listen. NAD is the most popular best-bang-of the buck in the hi-fi field. They have both integrated amp and stereo receiver which includes FM tuner. Also check out Harman Kardon's 3370 receivers.

 

[dvda]

HK is also pretty good. About the same sound quality as Yamaha with a better interface and worse DSP. Pioneer is pretty good for HT but sucks for music playback. Very cold with no imaging. My old roommate had a Pioneer Elite and my Onkyo sounded much much better.

I would stay away from Sony, even the ES and DB lines. They make a lot of bass but are not as clean. For clean detailed sound go with Onkyo or Denon these are the real high end brands. Yamaha and HK are also ok but anything else is consumer oriented cheapo stuff.

People are right with DD/DTS most receivers will be pretty comprable when used for HT but the big difference between them comes when you play back music. Especially CDs when using a digital input or Vinyl. A good receiver will be cleaner and have more imaging and details. This is where the difference between the brands really come out.