Moderators Youthman Posted March 24, 2009 Moderators Share Posted March 24, 2009 There are a lot of things to consider and questions that you need to answer before deciding on a receiver. Do you have a bluray player? Do you need HDMI? How much do you listen to Music vs Movies? Will you be hooking up 5 or 7 speakers? There are a ton of great receivers that are great budget receivers. I would seriously consider looking at used items. Check out your local www.craigslist.com there are some steals to be found. I bought my Yamaha RX-V1800 in perfect condition for $400 on CL. Guy was moving to England and was selling almost everything he owned. It's a $1200 receiver. Look around, be patient and the deals will show up. IMO, Onkyo will give you the most bang for your buck. Great for home theater, ok for music. Harman Kardon is great for music, ok for HT. Yamaha is a good mix for both. Many love Denon as well. Lots of options. Search the net for ones within your budget. If you want new, check out www.vanns.com. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 IMHO, Pioneer is a great option also, but is also better on the HT side on things. Music sounded good before the Rotel, but now it sounds GREAT!!! I second what Youthman said about C list. I know in my local area NOW is the time to buy!!! The lowest I've seen my Rotel anywhere else (Ebay, Audiogon, etc.) used was about 220 bucks, and I paid less than half that on C list............... Also look around our Garage sale section here. Every now and then a great buy on a used receiver pops up............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokarz Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 i don't really need hdmi 5.1 or 7.1 is fine (i am currently only using 5.1) no bluray movies 70%/music 30% (roughly) i guess as long as i stick with the major brands (Onkyo or Denon), i should be fine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 24, 2009 Moderators Share Posted March 24, 2009 If you listen to 70% music, I would give Harman Kardon a look. They run a little more but you can pick up a used one in your budget. Very nice units, great 2ch sound. I had an older HK AVR55 (55 watts/ch) and it sounded fantastic for music. Incredible separation of instruments. It was probably 10 years old so I'm not familiar with how their newer models compare in sound quality. It did not have DTS processing so I sold it and bought an Onkyo TX-SR703. It had more power (100 watts/ch), was 7.1, and had DTS. It sounded fantastic for movies, ok for music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokarz Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 no, i watch movies 70% of the times. listen to music by 30%. so i am looking for an avr that's more appropriate for HT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 24, 2009 Moderators Share Posted March 24, 2009 no, i watch movies 70% of the times. listen to music by 30%. so i am looking for an avr that's more appropriate for HT. Sorry, I just saw 70%music, didn't see movies in front of the 70%. In that case, I think Onkyo would be a good fit. You will get more features for the same price with Onkyo compared to HK, Yamaha and Denon. Your money will go further and for HT, it sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 sorry for the stupid question, but are these good amps? are they klipsch quality? also, i currently have the Onkyo TXSR504. will these amps be compatible with my current receiver? so i would send the 2 front channels to the amp, and let the receiver handle the rest of hte channels? Yes they are fine amps. No your TX-SR504 does not have pre-outs to hook up to an outboard amp. With Onkyo you would have to step up to at least the 700 series(705,706,etc.). to get pre-outs. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokarz Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 really? i thought i saw preouts on the 5 series (507 and 576). maybe i weren't seeing the right things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 24, 2009 Moderators Share Posted March 24, 2009 really? i thought i saw preouts on the 5 series (507 and 576). maybe i weren't seeing the right things. Unfortunately, neither of them do. If you look at the Product Features page for the 576, it only shows "Sub" next to Analog Preouts. If you are looking at the back of the receiver, just because you see Sub, Center, Surround etc doesn't mean these are preouts. On the 576, these happen to be DVD Inputs instead of Pre-Outs (see image below). Sometimes they call this multi-channel inputs. These are used to connect a DVD player to the receiver that does not have the new HD audio codecs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokarz Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 thanks for the clarifications. that make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesV Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 NM James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokarz Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 anyone familiar with the Denons? which Denon series would have preouts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Not sure what your budget is, but here's a good deal on an open box one............ http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=93223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesV Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Yea, I was just looking at the Denon site and the cheapest current models that have pre-outs are the AVR-2809CI and AVR-989. Both with a MSRP of $1199. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokarz Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 That AVR-2809CI sure looks nice. Crutchfiel is selling it at retail, but they give the Denon BD player for FREE ($800). Quite a deal. I am trying to sell some of my existing A/V equipments on Craiglist, hopefully I can raise enough funds for either this Denon or the Onky 7 series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbon summit Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Sunday it was 75 degrees, then Monday and Tuesday we had a blizzard!!! Thats South Dakota for you. So I had a few extra days off to play with my son and my toys. I unhooked my speakers from the XPA-5 and hooked them up to the 663 again just to see if it was worth getting an amp or not. I am the king of buyer's remorse but in this case I'm happy with the improvements. The music has more life, a fuller sound with an amp. I mean it wasn't night and day but the difference is there. It sounded ok before and it sounds even better now. I have had the XPA-5 over a month now before I unhooked it and listened to music I'm familiar with and then listened again for a while without the amp. Then hooked the amp back up and listened again. I know there are guys on here who say an amp is a waste of money but I think it really helps. I still wish I had a Rotel 1095 to try for a few weeks... I've talked to guys online that have gone from the bigger Rotels to Emo and they say if you were blindfolded you'd never hear the difference so I guess I'll give up on that part of my buyer's remorse too!!! Now do I replace the 663 with a UMC-1 when it is released???? [^o)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbon summit Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 That AVR-2809CI sure looks nice. Crutchfiel is selling it at retail, but they give the Denon BD player for FREE ($800). Quite a deal. I am trying to sell some of my existing A/V equipments on Craiglist, hopefully I can raise enough funds for either this Denon or the Onky 7 series. What would I be gaining if I got rid of my $250 Sony S350 BD and got a Denon that cost $800? I'm not going to do it, just curious?? I mean I know mine doesn't decode everything but my receiver does so I figured why bother with the S550 or any better one but $800?!?!? I do wish I would have gotten a Samsung or LG that you can steam Netflix right to it. That would be handier than moving my son's xbox 360 to the living room to do it. We have separate ac adapters and input cables for his xbox 360 and wii in his room and the living room so its a few second fix when he wants to play games on the big tv. Plug two plugs in the back of the game console, hit "play xbox 360" or "play wii" on the Harmony remote and he is off and going (or I am [] ) so using the xbox 360 for Netflix isn't that big a deal but it would just be even better to have a BD that did it but probably not worth the money to sell the one I have and get another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Not sure about everything you would gain, (I have the same Sony as you) but you'd gain a couple things. First, our players don't decode DTSHD Master. But, not many BD's are recorded in this sound mode yet anyway. And secondly, you'd have analog outs with the Denon. But if your receiver is HDMI, it doesn't matter. Kind of hard to justify a almost 600 buck increase in price IMHO............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Well, I've never heard an Emotiva, but once I got my ROTEL hooked up, I was blown away by the difference in sound! Night and day from my previous setup! I was looking at/saving up for an Emotiva, but got really lucky and found my ROTEL on C list for 90 bucks; so obviously I was all over that one! Probably going to be the best audio purchase I ever make........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 You paid $90 for your Rotel amp?? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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