Which A/V receiver should I buy?

[Gomce]

What is the difference between 250$ Panasonic A/V receiver and dolby digital decoder, and some highend 1500+$ model?

I want to make 5 point sorround and I have several offers,
a panasonic model that goes for 250$ and a Toshiba/Yamaha models that cost around 500$.

What should I beware of, search, be careful of?

Thanks

p.s. I am not American, I am in a poorish europian country so mind that

 

[kami]

I would stay away from Panasonic for a/v receivers. Same with Toshiba.

Yamaha makes very good receivers....you don't need to spend $1500, but I would spend around $500 at least. The receiver is the central hub of your entire setup...you want something nice! Other good brands that I'd trust are Onkyo and Denon.

 

[Antoneo]

Yep, I agree with Kami. Stay away from the Toshiba and Panasonics. I have a Denon 3802 and its very nice (~800). The differences between a 250 dollar receiver and a ~1500 dollar one are plenty. Build construction is vastly different. I had a Yamaha VX-600 for a while and it was a featherweight compared to the Denon (not saying more weight is better but you get the idea). The amount and quality of power supplied to the speakers are also better in expensive amps. Also in some cases the support (or meet) for certain specifications also increase the price somewhat such as THX (some say its marketing ploy others swear by it... if you can afford it well thats good) and Dolby PL II, DTS ES, etc. Also the number of inputs is generally more on expensive receivers. Check out the Onkyo 600, Denon 1802 (or the Denon 1803 which should be out soon), Marantz 6200, possibly some harmon kardon models. These go at around the $500 price point. BTW, yamaha's tend to sound a little bright. Denon and Onkyo are a bit warmer. good luck!

 

[kami]

BTW, yamaha's tend to sound a little bright. Denon and Onkyo are a bit warmer. good luck!

Yeah go an audition them all, since it's all subjective. Get what sounds best to you. I like my Yammy because in loud movies it has more punch and I like the brighter sound cause it sounds like more fidelity to me. It fatigues some people though, and they should get "warmer" receivers.

 

[Pariah]

I don't know what brands you have available where you are, so I won't recommend any, but it is recommended you spend as much as you can on the receiver as it is the central hub of your system and dictates basically everything you are able to do with your setup. The differences between entry level and highend are pretty significant. As MistaEng stated build quality will differ greatly, highend receivers can weigh upwards of 60-70+ lbs which doesn't necessarily directly correlate to better quality but again as MistaEng said you get the point. Highend has better DAC's for better quality audio usually 192KHz 24bit, and more amplified channels for Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES (6.1), 7.1 and even 9.1 channel output. You also get more power per channel which should never be criteria you use to buy a receiver, as the difference between 140W and 100W is nill in the volume department. Highend has more connectors on the back so you can connect more components to your receiver. In addition to having more it has a better variety, multiple digital coax and optical for example, component video switching, LD AC-3 demodulater input (RF), 5.1 analog in, digital-in on the front panel, and so on and so forth. You will get a more versatile universal remote, often a touchscreen with the top of the line, and sometimes a second one if the receiver supports multiroom output. Higherend models often have on screen displays which allow you to setup your receiver on a TV screen as well as having far more options for you to control over your system. Often you will get more DSP modes and simulated surround sound modes which usually go unused and aren't really a selling point except to the newcomer. There are other differences, but those are the major universal ones. Different manufacturers will put their own little features on their topend models to differentiate them from the pack.

If you have certain features you are looking for, look for those first, then spend what you can over that. And as always, audition the equipment you want to buy before you buy it. There is no reason to spend huge money on something if one that costs half as much sounds just as good to you and has all the features you require.

 

[RanDum72]

You can get an Onkyo SR500 for $299. Yamaha also has receivers in that price point. Another brand that is better than Panasonic is Kenwood. Amp section is decent and their higher end models are monsters. Pioneer is OK but only their 'Elite' (their higher end ones) desgnated receivers have decent amp sections. Another affordable brand that's OK is JVC.

You also have to match your receiver to your speakers. A yamaha receiver paired off with bright sounding speakers such as Energy, NHT, and Paradigm would fatigue you in the long run. I have Denon and Yamaha receivers, the Yamaha drives Polk speakers ( warm sounding) while the Denon drives Energy speakers ( bright sounding).

 

[Gomce]

Yes but newbies usually first bye and then cry
I want to pick something nice, can you lists some Marantz/Onkyo/Denon/Yamaha < 500$ range that are nice for 5.1,
and speakers that also can utilise them that are also ~ 500$ (for left/right, subwoofer and sattelite)

Where I live the prices are similar to those in UK + 20-25%

 

[mithrandir2001]

Originally posted by: Gomce
p.s. I am not American, I am in a poorish europian country so mind that

Well the $1500 high-end models are out of the question. I don't see what is so wrong with a $250 Panasonic class A/V receiver if you have a budget to consider. Yea, the Onkyo/Yahama models are nicer but are you comfortable paying double the price? I personally would go for a $500 receiver, but I have a bit of discretionary income.

I thought almost all receivers, aside from the real cheapy models, had Dolby Digital decoding built-in. I have an Onkyo receiver I bought used on eBay for $140 that has built-in Dolby Digital decoding.

 

[777php]

I recommend the Pioneer VSX811s. I have it and it is a very good receiver.

It can be had for under $400 and it provides 6.1 surround with 100w per channel.

 

[amnesiac]

I have a Sherwood receiver that I got on Sale from Fry's. I did research beforehand and the reviews I saw were favorable.

All the features I could want (DD, DTS, optical/coax digital audio, s-video), fantastic sound quality, and US-Made.

Granted, the usability of the remote is atrocious (imagine old-school Sony style) but I just programmed it into my Sony universal remote and now I'm happy.

Oh, and it cost less than $250. So I'm happy.

 

[Antoneo]

Here are some links that will probably yield better if not more information:
Audio Review
AVS
HTF
Home Theater Spot

 

[EvilYoda]

I also suggest reading up at those sites, and just auditioning as much as you can at your local HT dealer. I personally am looking at the Denon 1802, H/K 320, Onkyo 600, with a budget of about $400 (the Denon being the cheapest)

 

[Viper GTS]

What I want

Viper GTS