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Buy Yamaha RX-Z7 now or wait and get Denon 5308?


bluewaves

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I am replacing a Denon 5803 that I sold a few months ago, I'll have enough money to buy a Yamaha RX-Z7 now with my tax refund or wait till the end of the summer and get the Denon 5308.

I have RF-3II's , RC-3 with RS-42's and RB-51's in the back with a RSW-10 sub.

I am not impressed with the Denon 4308 between the older scaling and it just didn't sound as good to me as the Yamaha, I did like the Denon 5308.

Just looking for some opinions with anyone whos used either and whether I should just go for the Yamaha or wait for the Denon?

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I agree with Bill H.; Emotiva, Outlaw Audio, Denon, Sunfire...any of these would best a Yamaha...

I despise blanket statements like these.

Buy whatever you like. Sometimes the features of one brand are more to a person's liking. I bought Yamaha back in the day's when Denon's source changer made a nasty KA-CHUNK noise every time you toggled through the choices. I've been very happy with three more Yamahas (for various surround systems, HDMI, and stereo use) ever since. And NONE of my systems suck, ask the dozens who have heard them.

from the op- "
I am not impressed with the Denon 4308 between the older scaling and it just didn't sound as good to me as the Yamaha,'

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YAMAHA, please stop the bashing.

M

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Why spend that much on a receiver ? At least check out what you can get for that amount of money, I like Yamaha also. What about a middle of the line Yamaha with a separate amp ? Same $

When I first went to get a HTR I didn't like the Denon sound compared to the same price Yamaha, personal opinion only.

Welcome to the forum [Y]

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Well I can get either at a pretty good discount as I work for somewhere that sells them so thats why I am looking at receivers not to mention have a little bit of space constraint.

Well that makes all the difference, [Y] I still like the Yamaha. [;)]

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If you have the room and like to tweak you may want to wait till summer for your next AVR upgrade.



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Sounds great!

Until then:

Less the 2k for a used Mc Intosh MX-132 has made a huge improvement. Letting the Blue Ray player due the decoding and having a better Pre has been a good trade off.

High quality DVDs sound better than 96Khz "Looseless" Master Audio through the Elite (when you can find it)

Blue Ray Master Audio decoded to high Res Dolby and DTS sound better than the "loseless" through the Elite.

Plus no more switching the CD connetions to use the varible out direct to my main amp. Piping CD through the optical input on the MX-132 actually improved the overall sound by tighting up the low end by utilizing the 80hz cross over to the sub for Stereo.

Waiting 5+ years for an "affordable" used Mc Intosh Master Audio Decoding/Pass Through capable Pre with Dolby IIz . . . .

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Do you know why on some sources the Dolby II or Dolby 5.1 makes the center channel sound weak and tinning but other times much deeper and better timber match?

This weekend while watching golf in 5.1 the center channel sounded as above but when the Super Bowl came on it sounded great, I could hardly tell the differance between an Academy and La Scalas. During the golf my Academy sounded like the Blue Light Special pager at Kmart, had to switch to stereo.

This has happened both on an Elite reciever and the Mc Intosh Mx132.

AT&T Uverse Issue?

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Yamaha AV receivers have had a Presence channel (that calls for speakers above and behind the main speakers, usually on the wall) since at least 2004.

As for sound quality, I've been happy with the 4 Yamaha receivers I've had since 1975 and I'm still enjoying two of them. Great sound!

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I really have enjoyed the proprietary algorithms from Yamaha as well and am currently using the RX-V 2600 in one of my systems. The DIY
version of the height channel I have been playing with off and on I like more than
the EX channels in my HT. My dedicated HT room is fairly large so I am
welcoming the addtional channels and format from Dolby. I am not sure
about the two front effects channels but I will definitely incorperate
the additional height channels for a 9.1 set up. I have found even with my low tech DIY version hard steering pans
from front to back and difuse foley effects take on an addtional sense
of realism with the additional speakers abouve and slightly behind the
listening position. For me as an A/V Installer I really enjoy the technical aspects of home
theater technology probably even more than listening and viewing my
systems. My personal systems change from week to week and are always
either evolving or devolving depending on my itch. PS.... Sorry didn't mean to highjack the thread.

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Hi Bluewaves,

I
would like to ask you a few questions before offering my $.02 to the allready
great advice you have received here on forum.



#1 What is your room size?

#2 Does your room have any acoustical treatment?

#3 Do you plan on keeping your current Klipsch speaker configuration or do you
plan on an upgrade in the near future?

#4 What are your listening habits (IE )are you say a 50% multi-channel 50%
music person or do you listen to more multi-channel content?

#6 Do you consider ease of use, set up and equipment reliability important to
you?

#7 Will you be installing the receiver or pre-pro in an enclosed cabinet?



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next up: speakers mounted in the floor for additional realism

geesh- when will it end?

Your right, they should be more worried about a decent recording and decent movies, the playback side is way ahead of most of the crappy movies that are out. There are some sorry movies being made and without even a standard set for the soundtracks, DVD concerts are the same way, you take a chance on the recording with every DVD you buy.

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the room itself is 13 by 17, the 17 side is completely open to the Dining room and then open to the kitchen, the ceilings go up to about 18 ft and are open on the second floor to the loft, no acoustical treatment, sticking with the Klipsch setup. Not enclosed at all open cabinet, no pre-pro's at the moment, probbaly 60% tv, 20 % movies 20% music. Reliability is important easy setup not so much, want to get into blu-ray audio I know the wifey has ordered some of the 7.1 audio only blu ray recordings for my birthday

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