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Help with AV receiver


Incubus8

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Hi, I’m brand new to the forum and looking for any help I can get!  I’m in the process of picking up a pair of rp-280f for fronts and I have an rp-500c (potentially switching to 450c in the future) for a center. I’m only planning on running a 3.0 setup and would only really expand to 5.1 based on my current room configuration. I’m debating between the Denon x3500 vs the Yamaha a1080. The setup will be used for a mix of movies and music. I’ve heard so many different things between the two receivers that I don’t know what to do. The Denon is cheaper, but I’ve heard my friend’s Yamaha receiver (driving energy rc-50 and lcr) and the speakers sound great so i like the Yamaha sound if it were, but is it worth the extra cost? I can get the x3500 for around $500. The Yamaha is around $700-800. Or would they both be overkill?

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I run a 4.1 setup (cornwall mains) with a Yamaha rx-v685 I picked up on sale @ $450 from an authorized vendor. I'd say pick up a Denon or Yamaha AVR, whatever you can find at the best deal new. Be careful and make sure whomever you purchase from is an authorized dealer. Sometimes you can find a cheaper price (especially on ebay) but not an authorized dealer, and any warranty claims could very well be denied by manufacturer. Many guys here on the forum like Marantz units too.

 

Very pleased with my Yamaha, 90 wpc @ .06% thd two channels driven, can play digital files from a usb flash drive and not have to have the tv on for file navigation, YPAO sets up your speakers automaticly like Audessey in the Denon units. Ridiculous ability for settings, and the 685 allows for 8 "scene" settings in memory, diff input, tone settings, speaker settings, and on and on. Whatever you purchase, I would advise to print out owner's manual @ a local store as most of these AVRs do not come with printed manuals from the factory any longer. For example my 685 manual is 189 pages printed. It cost me $15 to print @ my local UPS store. But great being to read and reference the manual while listening or tweaking settings. 

 

Just depends on what features you value. Being able to play FLAC album/music files from a large usb drive and being able to negotiate the folders/files without my tv on (via the AVR display) is a huge asset to me. One scene button and its powered up and the music is playing.

 

One asset of buying at Crutchfield on line is you can purchase an AVR, try it out for 50 days and if you are not pleased or want to try out a diff unit, you can return it for a total out of pocket cost of $10. I tried out an open box Denon unit from them then returned it. Return process was a piece of cake. 

 

PS...i had the RP-280s just before the corns. 280s for the price are hard to beat, was very pleased with them. Many days I questioned my choice of returning them and spending much more $.

 

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Both are good receivers. The 1080 is the entry into Yamaha's Aventage line, which is their flagship series. No corners cut. I currently have their A3080. I have had Klipsch for over 20 years now and swear by Yamaha as a pair for Klipsch. Klipsch are horrifically revealing. If you have poor equipment, or poor source, Klipsch will let you know. It's not the speakers fault, they are just that efficient and that good. I have paired mine with Marantz and Sony and was dissapointed with both. I got a noticable hiss at points where there should be silence when the volume was moderate and above with the Klipsch, where the Yamaha's I have had were always silent. To me, Yamaha has always had the better sound signature and power distribution. They also have great DAC's in the Aventage line.  That being said, the Yamaha interface is somewhat clunky and dated. Their YPAO auto room correction setup often produces mixed results, and other receivers have better systems. Bells and whistles are a mixed bag between the many options, Yamaha has few unless you like their Musicast ecosystem. Pioneer Elite has some nice stuff.

 

TLDR - Yamaha tops for sound quality, for features and bells and whistles maybe shop around.

Edited by Turkeybaster
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8 hours ago, Incubus8 said:

Thank you all for the suggestions and help, I really appreciate it.  I think I'm gonna go with a Yamaha, but I think the 1080 might be just a little too much.  I'm gonna look for a good deal on an 880 instead.  

 

Good choice. If you do your homework as i did before purchasing, the A (Advantage) series offers a middle foot on the unit and an additional 1 year of warranty. Not worth the extra cost imo. When I was looking I found last years 9 channel V model with 140 wpc x2 for like $1000 shipped. Exact same specs as the A series.  Guys had discussed this A vs V on another music forum on line. It was a great buy but I went with the V685 for the lastest features.

I wanted to add  it does so much more than what i outlined above, just what is really valuable to me. Plays digital files from a music server, internet radio, Spotify, Tidal, ect. It does it all. Bluray movie playback is outstanding too.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I prefer Pioneer Elite over Yamaha and Denon.  On Amazon if sold and shipped by Amazon, you get some really good pricing and the 3 Year Manufacturer Warranty.  They have also stepped up their customer service since being taken over by Onkyo......you get to talk to a real person.

 

Good luck with your purchase.

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