Which reciever should i get for my home theater?

[Rubycon]

What is this Athena brand?

Is this the modern day BSR of speakers?

Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
i have a personal grudge against the kiplisch tatrix horn.. while yes its goood.. the horn really does seem to distort some of teh voice related midrange.. its not a bad speaker system but i think i prefer a proper midrange speaker than using a tatrix horn.. what do you say?

It's tractrix which is an equitangential curve. Huygens studied this back in 1692 and named it. If you were to rotate a tractrix around its asymptote you would wind up with a pseudosphere!

Parametrically, it's expressed as x = 1/cosh(t), y = t - tanh(t)

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: MS Dawn
What is this Athena brand?

Is this the modern day BSR of speakers?

Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
i have a personal grudge against the kiplisch tatrix horn.. while yes its goood.. the horn really does seem to distort some of teh voice related midrange.. its not a bad speaker system but i think i prefer a proper midrange speaker than using a tatrix horn.. what do you say?

It's tractrix which is an equitangential curve. Huygens studied this back in 1692 and named it. If you were to rotate a tractrix around its asymptote you would wind up with a pseudosphere!

Parametrically, it's expressed as x = 1/cosh(t), y = t - tanh(t)

http://www.athenaspeakers.com/micra6SystemSpeakers.htm

 

[aphex]

^

 

[torpid]

I do not like any of those brands except denon, so I voted denon.

 

[Savij]

Go to the store, pick each one of them up individually. Take the heaviest one home with you. Feed it and clothe it. True Love.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Klipsch are very efficient speakers...perhaps a tad too efficient. They use horns instead of tweeters so you get very crisp clean highs but some people find them to be too "bright."

I like my RF-3s though. I power them with a Harmon Kardon AVR-500 and they will handle full volume with very little distortion. I can't handle that though so I almost never crank them that high. :laugh:

I have no experience with the Athenas.

Just saying Klipsch is very vague.

My Heritage setup not bright at all, very accurate and even without a sub I can shake the walls at half volume with my HTR-5960. Once I buy a house I will move this receiver into the bedroom and go separates again.

 

[aphex]

checked out a few on my lunch break, to be honest, the Yamaha seemed like the best of the bunch...

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: aphex
checked out a few on my lunch break, to be honest, the Yamaha seemed like the best of the bunch...

Not to question your decision, but what did you base this off of?

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: aphex
checked out a few on my lunch break, to be honest, the Yamaha seemed like the best of the bunch...

Not to question your decision, but what did you base this off of?

Had the chance to demo the Denon and Yamaha (and another Sony i was looking at in the price range) at sound advice...

The sound felt a bit different with the Yamaha, a bit more pleasing to my taste.... I can't describe it really... I know its subjective, but I also didn't care much for the "feel" of the Denon, the Yamaha seemed a bit more user friendly and asthetically pleasing to look it...

As for the Pionner, i saw it at BestBuy as well, but it wasn't hooked up. They guy at BB said he liked it, but preferred the sound of the Denon over it.

 

[aphex]

^

 

[JinLien]

Onkyo & Pioneer is hard to beat at the bottom end. NAD is my preference for top quality at lower price (manufacture/assemble in Canada).

 

[Pacfanweb]

Off that list, I'd go with Yamaha. Denon is a close second. Some folks don't prefer what Denon does with the sound.
The other two don't compare.

And you can rest assured that not a single one will put out what they're rated to all channels at once.

 

[EvilYoda]

Go with what sounded good to you, it's your system. To be honest, back in my hifi days (all 2 years ago), I tended to suggest Yamaha's up to about the $500 price point as I felt their trickle-down was more substancial. Now, I love and have owned Denons in the past (and I know they've spread out a bit in the low end, offering more models), but the Yamaha's not a bad pick. Not my type of sound overall, but a solid company nonetheless.

 

[McGyver]

denon for the win!!!!

 

[MustangSVT]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: TheShiz
shop around, i have some athena speakers and they have been good. also have a yamaha receiver (HTR-5790)and it has also been good, look at some pioneers also, they make a good receiver. i found a good deal on some returns at best buy when they had some 30% off coupon and they were giving away a free 12" klipsch sub if you purchased $700 in audio equipment.

on the cheap end, pioneer is hard to beat..

yep. my pioneer has served me quite well my vote on pio

 

[dr150]

You can probably find a "What Hi-Fi" article or rating in their mags. Go to your local bookstore (their old reviews are rated in the back of the mag. Very comprehensive!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: aphex
checked out a few on my lunch break, to be honest, the Yamaha seemed like the best of the bunch...

Not to question your decision, but what did you base this off of?

Had the chance to demo the Denon and Yamaha (and another Sony i was looking at in the price range) at sound advice...

The sound felt a bit different with the Yamaha, a bit more pleasing to my taste.... I can't describe it really... I know its subjective, but I also didn't care much for the "feel" of the Denon, the Yamaha seemed a bit more user friendly and asthetically pleasing to look it...

As for the Pionner, i saw it at BestBuy as well, but it wasn't hooked up. They guy at BB said he liked it, but preferred the sound of the Denon over it.

Sounds good then :thumbsup:

Were you using the Athena system to test what they sounded like? (This would have been as close to ideal without being able to take all the equipment back to your house and using your own room to test)

 

[aphex]

if i am only getting a 5.1 speaker system, do i really need a 6.1 or 7.1 reciever? There is a Yamaha 5930 for only $179 that looks nice (just wish it came in black)

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: aphex
if i am only getting a 5.1 speaker system, do i really need a 6.1 or 7.1 reciever? There is a Yamaha 5930 for only $179 that looks nice (just wish it came in black)

You don't need one that can do it, but the better receivers just tend to have that feature since they are more expensive models.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: aphex
if i am only getting a 5.1 speaker system, do i really need a 6.1 or 7.1 reciever? There is a Yamaha 5930 for only $179 that looks nice (just wish it came in black)

You don't need one that can do it, but the better receivers just tend to have that feature since they are more expensive models.

Ahh, well i definately like the speaker line posts on the more expensive models, i HATE those dang clippy ones.

 

[EngenZerO]

why get the denon... it doesnt have that many optical in... go for the onkyo...

edit... trust me... when you add a dvd player, xbox 360, ps3 (which will all need optical in... this becomes very important if you want 5.1 sound). denon is great, but its doesn't cut it compared to this onkyo... now if you start throwing in more money into a receiver my opinion will switch to denon and h/k... ultimitally, denon ftw (i mean high end 1.5-3K range).

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: EngenZerO
why get the denon... it doesnt have that many optical in... go for the onkyo...

edit... trust me... when you add a dvd player, xbox 360, ps3 (which will all need optical in... this becomes very important if you want 5.1 sound). denon is great, but its doesn't cut it compared to this onkyo... now if you start throwing in more money into a receiver my opinion will switch to denon and h/k... ultimitally, denon ftw (i mean high end 1.5-3K range).

Optical is irrelevant. As long as it has digital inputs, it's the same thing.

 

[EngenZerO]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: EngenZerO
why get the denon... it doesnt have that many optical in... go for the onkyo...

edit... trust me... when you add a dvd player, xbox 360, ps3 (which will all need optical in... this becomes very important if you want 5.1 sound). denon is great, but its doesn't cut it compared to this onkyo... now if you start throwing in more money into a receiver my opinion will switch to denon and h/k... ultimitally, denon ftw (i mean high end 1.5-3K range).

Optical is irrelevant. As long as it has digital inputs, it's the same thing.

uhm, xbo360 is optical, ps3 will probably be optical... most dvd players do digital coax... then if he adds a hd or digital cable box, most of the time its opitcal... right there you need four digital connections which the onkyo has...

i personally think this is very important if he plans on making sure he has 5.1 sound for the maximum veiwing pleasure... connections do matter... its key when building a hometheater that will last... if not you will just be kicking yourself later for not having it and will need to upgrade...

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: EngenZerO
Optical is irrelevant. As long as it has digital inputs, it's the same thing.

uhm, xbo360 is optical, ps3 will probably be optical... most dvd players do digital coax... then if he adds a hd or digital cable box, most of the time its opitcal... right there you need four digital connections which the onkyo has...

i personally think this is very important if he plans on making sure he has 5.1 sound for the maximum veiwing pleasure... connections do matter... its key when building a hometheater that will last... if not you will just be kicking yourself later for not having it and will need to upgrade...

[/quote]
You miss the point. Optical and digital coax are carry the exact same signal. No cable or satellite box I've ever seen has optical-only...usually they have either coax-only, or both.
The Onkyo has ONE more digital input than the Denon. So it has 3 optical and 1 digital coax, and the Denon has 1 optical and 2 digital coax.
It doesn't matter. They all carry the same signal. You don't need optical to get 5.1.

And Xbox 360 has both outputs..digital coax and optical. PS3 probably will, too.
I've never seen any component that had optical-only. There are plenty that are digital coax-only.
3 is plenty for most folks. Cable/Satellite box, DVD player, Game Console.
And you don't even need the DVD player if you have an Xbox or PS.

If he likes how the Onkyo sounds over the Denon, then he should get it. But I certainly wouldn't recommend it because of one more digital input.

Edit: I reread your post: So someone will need FOUR digital inputs on a 200 dollar receiver....because he's going to have a PS3 (600.00), XBox 360 (500.00), DVD player (irrelevant if you have the first two items) and a Cable/Satellite box?
Unlikely.

 

[EngenZerO]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: EngenZerO
Optical is irrelevant. As long as it has digital inputs, it's the same thing.

uhm, xbo360 is optical, ps3 will probably be optical... most dvd players do digital coax... then if he adds a hd or digital cable box, most of the time its opitcal... right there you need four digital connections which the onkyo has...

i personally think this is very important if he plans on making sure he has 5.1 sound for the maximum veiwing pleasure... connections do matter... its key when building a hometheater that will last... if not you will just be kicking yourself later for not having it and will need to upgrade...

You miss the point. Optical and digital coax are carry the exact same signal. No cable or satellite box I've ever seen has optical-only...usually they have either coax-only, or both.
The Onkyo has ONE more digital input than the Denon. So it has 3 optical and 1 digital coax, and the Denon has 1 optical and 2 digital coax.
It doesn't matter. They all carry the same signal. You don't need optical to get 5.1.

And Xbox 360 has both outputs..digital coax and optical. PS3 probably will, too.
I've never seen any component that had optical-only. There are plenty that are digital coax-only.
3 is plenty for most folks. Cable/Satellite box, DVD player, Game Console.
And you don't even need the DVD player if you have an Xbox or PS.

If he likes how the Onkyo sounds over the Denon, then he should get it. But I certainly wouldn't recommend it because of one more digital input.

Edit: I reread your post: So someone will need FOUR digital inputs on a 200 dollar receiver....because he's going to have a PS3 (600.00), XBox 360 (500.00), DVD player (irrelevant if you have the first two items) and a Cable/Satellite box?
Unlikely.[/quote]


i know optical/digital coax carry the same signal... regular coax is great if you want dolby prologic II or dts:neo etc...

if you want true 5.1 your gonna need the most optical/digital coaxs possible...

further... xbox 360 has optical same goes with my ps2, and i am guessing the ps3 as well (i know i own one, unless there are aftermarket cables out their, xbox 360 needs optical and ps2 needs optical) ...

my sa8300hd is only optical or regular coax (no digital coax), so if i want to watch tv in 5.1, i need to use an optical...

my dvd player which is a hk... is the only one with optical/digital coax outputs... and i use the digital coax for this...

disagree... i know many people who need 3 to 4 digital connections... you gotta remember just because its cheap reciever doesn't mean he wont have a dvd, xbox360, ps3, or hd cable box... i know about four people who have nice tvs with dvd players hd-cable boxes, and video game systems... but lower end hometheaters that do not take advantage of true 5.1