Which A/V Receiver??

[bushwesl]

I'm in the process of building my first home theater, and was hoping that I could get get some advice on which a/v receiver I should purchase. Unfortunately, I don't really have the option to trial vairous receivers or experience in listening to different brands of receivers, so I'm basically basing my purchase off from reviews and information I find online. My current 5.1 speaker arranagement is as follows - fronts: RF-82's, center: RC-62, rears: RS-42s, and subwoofer: RW-12D. I'll be using the system for movies (40%), music (45%) and gaming (15%).

Actually, I have already purchased a Marantz SR7005, due to positive reviews (both online and from the dealer), and the price in which I've found it for, but I'm now second guessing myself as it was sort of an impulse buy. The Marantz is due the end of this week at which time I'll provide any feedback possible. I know that I've already purchased it, but I have until Jan. 25th to return/exchange it for something else. The other a/v receivers that I've considered include the following:

Marantz SR7005

Yamaha RX-Z7, RX-V3900, RX-A3000

Denon AVR-4310CI

Onkyo TX-NR3008

Any help or experience in how these receivers would match up to my current speaker arrangement would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking for either confirmation that the Marantz is a good match for me or perhaps one of the other receivers that I've listed would be better suited for me.

[edwinr]

I would choose the Marantz. Reviewers have raved about it and frankly, the Marantz leaves it's competitors in the dust...

[willland]

All the AVR's you are considering are pretty top notch. The Marantz products these days are getting rave reviews and in musicality they are a step above most of the mass producing mfr's, IMO. Set it up, demo it for a while, then decide.

Good luck,

Bill

[bushwesl]

Thanks for the replys, guys. I'm sure I'll be more than happy with the Marantz, it's just that I'm pretty green to A/V setups and want to ensure that I'm going down the right path with my specific speakers, as those have already been purchased. The merchant that I purchased the Marantz from mentioned that it should compliment my Klipsch speakers well, as the Marantz has a warmer sound that would couple well with the horned Klipsch speakers. Also, he advised against the Denon, as they tend to have a brighter sound that wouldn't balance well with them. Once again, thanks your inputs, and any other suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

[edwinr]

I agree with the comment about some Denons being a little bright. Although this only really applies to the less expensive low to mid range models. The up-market Denons are very nice. I have yet to hear the new Yamaha range.

[mharper3]

I just bought the rf-82 system and have been looking at a new receiver so this post is a lot of help. Since this is a pre amp what amp are you using? How does it house so far. I have been looking in the $600 range but after reading your post I am thinking I need to follow your example and go high end to get the performance I am looking for. I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong.

[bushwesl]

I purchased the Marantz SR7005, which includes an internal amp (125watts/channel); you're thinking of the Marantz AV/MM separate component line. It's supposed to show up Thursday, so I should be able to provide some feedback after this weekend. Surely you could find a decent receiver in the $600 range. After a certain point, you're just paying for additional features that you may or may not use.

[mharper3]

Is there a separate component line around the $600-$800 range that is good? My hopes are to spend $700 on an emotiva xpa-5. That is if I have to buy new. Then look for a good preamp or pre/pro I don't know the difference. Maybe they are the same thing. For around $800 or would it jut be better to spend $1500 on a kick *** av receiver? I am Very new to this whole ht thing.

[Xki]

You won't be disappointed with the XPA-5. Have you checked out the UMC-1 also offered by Emotiva? I have had mine since April. Wonderful! It's made for those who want full control over all the settings. If you would rather plug it in and just have it work, the UMC-1 is not for you.

BTW: I've just upgraded to the latest firmware release and this version is very close to final. I will be updating to the 'Hot Rod" firmware this evening and all the reviews on the Emo forums are possitive. The reported glitches are mostly gone. I'm very happy with this unit and at $699 + $100 in EmoBucks on top of that, there isn't anything out there that has the capabilities at twice the price.

Just my 2 cents.