cjgeraci Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Yeah, yeah, I know - I'm one of the people that always advocates using quality pre/pros instead of a receiver whenever possible. But that is for music. This is a HT question. I am going to set up a friend of mine with a Klipsch setup using my Rotel 5-channel amp. I need to find a very, very reasonable pre-owned receiver to use as a processor only. I've been surfing ebay and audiogon for some options. Some of the older Yamaha and Pioneer multi-channel receivers keep popping up, those where the amps for the front channels are equal but the rear channel amps are less. Some of these models have Pro Logic I and DD which would probably work. Would any of these older receivers work as a suitable HT pre/pro?? I want him to get the benefit of movie processing, but it does not have to be the latest and greatest. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on models that might be a good idea? This setup will be a 5.1 - used for movies 90% of the time. Thanks. Carl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 what you are planning on doing is a great economical way to get very good sound..... i would recommend on getting the newest receiver that you can find..... pioneer elites do an excellent job for what you are looking for..... i use a current model (last year) pioneer elite vsx-55txi with an outboard amp to power my home theater..... it does an excellent job for the processing..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 An older Denon AVR-3300 or AVR-4800 can be hand reasonably cheap enough and would fit the bill nicely. A budget amount would be helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 Thanks for your response. Guys, keep it coming. In your experience, as far as the processor goes, how much of an upgrade is the Elite series over the regular Pioneer models? I want to outlay the minimum amount, yet do the rest of the system some justice (relatively-speaking). After all, I failed to mention that some of my various Reference stuff and my HSU sub are going into this system. In return, not only have I acquired the wonderful tube stuff, but today, there is a single vertical Cornwall sitting in the backseat of my vehicle. Stay tuned. More changes for me to come. Ahem, now back to the topic....... Carl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 ---------------- On 11/18/2004 12:47:38 PM Frzninvt wrote: An older Denon AVR-3300 or AVR-4800 can be hand reasonably cheap enough and would fit the bill nicely. A budget amount would be helpful. ---------------- Since I am going pre-owned, I would like to go $300 or under. I just don't know if anything in that range would give me a decent processor or just $#@%. Again, with the focus on almost entirely HT, and very little music. Carl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myriadcorp Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 I am using a Marantz AV550 pre amp that was over 1k new in 98. Its a nice item and can be found on ebay for under $150. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 ---------------- On 11/18/2004 12:49:01 PM cjgeraci wrote: Thanks for your response. Guys, keep it coming. In your experience, as far as the processor goes, how much of an upgrade is the Elite series over the regular Pioneer models?..... ---------------- the elite models are noticably quieter than the standard pioneer models.... and the overall build quality is much higher.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 Both, very good answers. I am going to check into the Marantz and various Elite models. If I go Denon, I am not sure that I need a receiver as high up as a 3300. For example, does anyone know if a AVR-1601 has pre-outs for all channels?? I am looking at a scheme of the back panel and can't quite make it out. Something like that or the Marantz or one of the various Elites, that supports DTS or DD, may work.......... Carl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkp Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Carl-interesting thread. I just sold my B&K receiver (307) and upgraded to separates. When we were installing the units, we got a very VERY loud distortion and finally rooted out the cause-a faulty jack on the back of the Ref 31. So while the B&K is in for warranty work, I am using a 2 year old Yamaha 5560 receiver as a pre-amp. The sound is actually pretty good for movies - nowhere the level of the B&K, but altogether a good processor. This unit ran about $500 new, so you could probably pick one up for less than the $300 budget you mentioned in your post. It has PLII, dts and will do 6.1. One note: The Yamaha is exceedingly bright when listening to music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 Thanks for the tip. That's what makes the search for pre-owned receivers a bit frustrating. Since most manufacturers only put multichannel preouts on their middle to higher-end models, you have to figure out which models those are - and where the cutoff begins. Now I can add another model to the list -for my hunt. Wish there was a list of these things that have preouts. I figured your Yamaha was bright for music; after all, I learned the hard way - my Yammie 1300 is paired up with some other Klipsch Reference in my family room - but only for movies. But again, mainly movies is the deal here. Thanks again. Carl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meuge Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 ---------------- On 11/18/2004 5:06:02 PM cjgeraci wrote: ...most manufacturers only put multichannel preouts on their middle to higher-end models, you have to figure out which models those are - and where the cutoff begins. ---------------- That's not entirely true. I originally had a low end Pioneer which had full preouts. I upgraded my amp and it made a huge difference. Only a couple of months afterwards did I upgrade to Aragon/MSB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 Now see, Meuge - that's also what I want to hear. Do you remember what model it was? The Pioneer website did not appear that user-friendly or have tons of info on older models - unless I missed something - so I need all the info I can get. Is there a good guide somewhere on the various features of different Pioneer receivers, that are not the current models? Speaking of DACs, there was also a pretty nice outboard DAC in all of this stuff that I am also going to be hooking up to a transport in this system so he still should have some decent two-channel musical capabilities. Especially with the mains and sub I am hooking up for him. Therefore, a Pioneer/Rotel might not be bad at all...... However, his primary focus is still going to be on movies. Carl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 Duhh, I just found the old manuals section on Pioneer's website. Some hints would help though so I do not have to go through all of these things. Carl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Since you're looking for all pre-outs, I'll just mention that this was a criteria of mine when I purchased a receiver last winter. You need to go fairly up in the Denon line-up to get that (except in this year's models). Pretty much all harmon/kardon's have them except the lowest, the avr-130. The Pioneer D812 and D912 were low cost and had pre-outs, but I don't think they compare to h/k for quality. You could also look at NAD. Last year's NAD T742 is cleared for $399 (not has few features) and the T752 for a bit more (much more features). Look for factory refurbs at www.ecost.com. Hope this helps a little... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 A Pioneer here (backordered for 10 days though): http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=PIOVSXD914K&product_name=VSXD914K%206%2E1-Channel%20Home%20Theater%20Receiver An HK and 2 nice Yamaha's here: http://www.audioconsultants.com/used.html Several Denon's for a little over $400 here: http://www.audioclassics.com/cat.php3?cat=Receivers They all seem to be relatively recent, if not current, models, with ample features and power supplies to boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 While the Elite's are generally much better built than Pioneer's, the gap is smaller on the Pioneer VSX-1014TX, $367.99 at www.etronics.com. It's supposed to be pretty close to the Elite 52. They also have the Pioneer VSX-D914K for $310 and the Pioneer VSX-D814-S for $240. Over at www.ecost.com, they have the Harman/Kardon AVR-235 for $349.22 Personally, I'd go h/k 235 over all the Pioneers except the VSX-1014TX. All of these have all pre-outs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 ---------------- On 11/18/2004 8:23:20 PM psg wrote: While the Elite's are generally much better built than Pioneer's, the gap is smaller on the Pioneer VSX-1014TX, $367.99 at www.etronics.com. It's supposed to be pretty close to the Elite 52. They also have the Pioneer VSX-D914K for $310 and the Pioneer VSX-D814-S for $240. Over at www.ecost.com, they have the Harman/Kardon AVR-235 for $349.22 Personally, I'd go h/k 235 over all the Pioneers except the VSX-1014TX. All of these have all pre-outs. ---------------- one additional fact to consider if you are purchasing new..... the auto eq/room correction feature - pioneer calls it MCACC - can produce a dramatic improvement in sound...... i would definitely recommend gettting a receiver with this feature..... the pioneer elites all have this feature as well as the standard pioneer 1014tx...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 Everyone, thanks for the options. That helps clear it up quite a bit. Now time to start shopping. Peter, I do agree with you on the build quality of the H/Ks. Was really impressed with that aspect of them. But the equalizer is also intriguing with the Elites. My friend is going to end up with a pretty decent system: RB-75s (with the killer stands) and an RC-3II across the front, a HSU VTF-2, and fairly decent Yamaha speakers (temporarily for the rear), the Rotel 1075, whichever processor, and a nice DAC driving the transport for two-channel. Don't worry though, I'm still keeping the Dean-modded RF-7s and the modded RC-7. It was simply time to add some Heritage to the mix to compliment the tubes. I plan on keeping the RF-7s for a separate two-channel and building a Heritage HT. The RC-7 will eventually move upstairs to my family room (the existing secondary Reference system). The Vertical CW is in the house. Now, time to figure out if it is going to be a center to (Belles or LaScalas) or a companion to another Vert.(more likely). The fun is figuring it out. Carl. Oh, BTW, I'm also gaining another tube amp - looks like a Stereo 70. Probably needs to be rebuilt though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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