Need HT Receiver Recommendation - Yamaha vs. Denon, etc.

[JeffDurbin]

http://www.onecall.com/ProductSearch.aspx?sHist=12-125&Sort=lowPrice&Page=-1

There's a darn good selection and they are extremely highly rated on www.resellerratings.com.

Better prices than Amazon.com.

[BobbyNGa]

I had been checking OneCall out yesterday as an option. I found them in the link of authorized dealers on Denon's website.

Good Prices.

Thanks

[Hellshound]

Well I can tell you I have the 3803 and I traded in my Yamha vx1500 for it. And I have no regrets the 3803 is a far better receiver and I have it driving the F-3"s S-3"s and C-3 and sub 12 . My only complaint is the remote is a pain in rear but other than that it's great I hope you decide to get 1 And as for the additional equp on the receiver it will handle anything you want to put on it dvd,satlight, X.box,turntable,casst, vcr and more. Good luck

[JeffDurbin]

I had been checking OneCall out yesterday as an option. I found them in the link of authorized dealers on Denon's website.

Good Prices.

Thanks

Go to www.resellerratings.com and you will see they are one of the highest ranked retailers. Very, very good. I am buying some bulk speaker wire from them and maybe an Adcom 7607 amp. I need to decide if I want to use my credit card in order to get the extra year warranty on the amp or if I want to use their credit facility to get the free interest. I am leaning towards using my credit card. I can use the hotel points!

[MrMcGoo]

OneCall.com is a local business that has a related business that has been in Spokane WA for a very long time. It is a family business that has been in the Huppin family for generations. They are the top retailers locally for reasons of price, service and selection.

They do sell some factory B merchandise, open box or out dated models, so some care is needed when shopping OneCall. Usally, the open box or B stock is clearly marked if you pay attention. Right now they have some prior model Synergy speakers for reasonable prices.

Bill

[Thoriated_Tiger]

OKAY ... FINE!

I cancelled the Amazon order for the Panasonic SA-XR55K for now... I am going to give this a bit more time.

And

thanks for pointing me towards the 3803 - If anyone knows a good place

to pick one up, let me know. A warranty would be nice...

Plus

the 3806 just came out, so maybe some local stores will discount the

3805 to move the unit?... I am a bit scared of some of these guys

on eBay.

I think you just let yourself be dissuaded by all the hoopla (positive

and negative) about the XR55. I would strongly suggest you get it

and run it. Amazon's return policy is reputed to be quite liberal.

I have one. My horns love it. A lot. I know what I

like in sound, and what it takes to get it -- and the Panasonic

delivers. Just my 2 ¢.

[BobbyNGa]

I have the XR55K on the way here. Should be here next week -

mid-week by my guess. I follow your thinking - I get it and get

it in and see. If I no likey, back it can go!

Thanks

[Zen Traveler]

I have the XR55K on the way here. Should be here next week - mid-week by my guess. I follow your thinking - I get it and get it in and see. If I no likey, back it can go!

Thanks

Go for it. If it works for you, great.[]

I still contend, looking at the spec sheet that the difference between it and the Denon will be considerable. I know going from the Yamaha RXV 800 to the Denon AVR 3803 was for me. I feel the difference is in the power consumption and what it takes to get the most out of your speakers. That Panny is "Energy Compliant," which isn't a good thing when you are talking about driving 5 speakers and a subwoofer to their potential. Will it allow your speakers to make sound--sure. Good luck regardless.[]

[Thoriated_Tiger]

I still contend, looking at the spec sheet that the difference

between it and the Denon will be considerable. I know going from the

Yamaha RXV 800 to the Denon AVR 3803 was for me. I feel the difference

is in the power consumption and what it takes to get the most out of

your speakers. That Panny is "Energy Compliant," which isn't a good

thing when you are talking about driving 5 speakers and a subwoofer to

their potential. Will it allow your speakers to make

sound--sure. Good luck regardless.[]

Specs never tell the whole story. Almost universally I've found

the lower the claimed THD number, the more sandpapery the amp will

sound (SAE, Sumo, Carver).. the more relaxed that number, the better

it'll sound (SET, Pushpull tubes, etc).

The panasonic breaks with all you might know about hi-fi. It's

not what you think it is. It's not an amplifier at all. The

rules which applied to conventional solid-state don't apply here.

In fact, from what I've gathered from my own experience with it, and

what I"ve been able to read on-line, it has characteristics more in

line with tubes than solid-state. (Distortion is minimal at low

power, rising as you ask for more, whereas traditional SS has a narrow

"sweet-spot" .. at about 50% throttle.. below that, and above that,

distortions quickly rise.)

As far as power, remember the Panny is *not* a power amplifier at all,

it is literally a DAC which can swing large currents. TI says

their solution, which is what panasonic uses (PurePath / Tocatta's

Equibit) is 95% efficient.. so yes, it'll pull a LOT less off the wall

than say, a 60wpc tube amp. Or a 100x7 solid-state amp.

Under conventional thinking, I'd dismiss the Panny out-of-hand as being

a wimp.. 9 pounds? C'mon, get real.. REAL hi-fi weighs a ton.. runs

hot.. is expensive..

All those rules are now moot when dealing with PurePath, Ice and

Tripath. Now we'll have to learn a whole new set of 'rules'.

But in the meantime, hoil, that little Panny is fierce.. and since we

use efficient speakers.. we also have tons and tons of headroom.

100 watts go VERY far with horns. []

[BobbyNGa]

Well, I'll know soon enough. And remember... I am coming from a

TEAC AG-D9320, so I know no better in my environment. What I am

gonna do is slap the panny in and see. In my mind it is still a

temporary but immediate fix. I was researching and researching

and researching and I still had nothing here for the weekend.

These other receivers are between 3 and 5 times the cost of the panny,

and I feel confident if/when it IS time to make my move "up", then I

can pass the Panny on to someone who wants a small and inexpensive HT

solution.

I'll know soon enough how it compares to the TEAC. My system will remain a 5.1 for now too...

I will report back on my experience with the new unit but you will have

to realize I can't offer a comparison with the Denon's, Yammies,

B&K, HK, or any others on MY speakers and in my envirement.

Thanks,

Bobby

[TheSoundBroker]

Take a look at the Sherwood Newcastle line. They actually build the

recievers for Denon/Maratz et al and they have some MIGHTY fine

sounding units. We were playing around with their R-965 on a Ref 7

system the other night playing LOTR Return of the King and it did a

VERY credible job to say the least on Klipsch's most notoriously

difficult speaker. Very impressive.

[BobbyNGa]

Disclaimer: I wanted to preface

my entire written experience with this new Panasonic SA-XR55K receiver

by saying that I am Very Much a fairly inexperienced "audiophile." I

have only owned and operated the TEAC AG-D9230 and the new Panasonic on

and in my own, mostly Klipsch, speaker environment. Therefore, my

opinion and experience as it relates to the many other, often

exponentially more expensive, receiver options available is

non-existent.

I also need to point out that the room my HT is

in is our carpeted "great" room (19 feet long by 19.5 feet wide), which

has fairly high cathedral ceilings(13.5 feet - the walls angle upward

to a flat area, not a point) and no real noise dampening materials on

the walls in the large upper ceiling areas. I know sound bounces around

up there because if my system is up Real Loud and I hit mute, I can

hear a little remaining sound for a fraction of a second, so when it is

up loud there is some noise being created by the environment, not the

system.

With that said... the new unit is in and hooked up in

a 5.1 configuration. I am not exactly sure what people mean in these

forums when they use the words bright, warm, cool, etc. to explain the

sound of speakers. What I can tell you is the receiver, with all of a

half hour on it, sounds "exact" or "clear" or "detailed" (digital I

guess) and sounds nice to me. I have the volume at about "30db" and

have the Eagles Hell Freezes Over concert DVD in 5.1 DTS playing. I

plan to let the receiver run for a couple of days, except while

sleeping, to "burn in" the receiver.

I also have not tuned

the system, going so far as to use one of those system configuration

DVDs with a sound meter from radio shack, etc., which I did with the

old receiver.

I report more after the burn in period...

Bobby

PS - just to clear up any misunderstandings...I

DID cancel the original XR55K order, but being the flake I am, I

re-reversed my decision the following day and reordered from Amazon...

I

just told myself "how can I go wrong at THAT price, plus I can sell or

return it if I don't like it or decide to move up. I owe it to myself

and the community to at least give it a try in MY environment, after

all, I would rather spen $230 instead of $700-$1200". I DID NOT purchase the Denon 3803.

[Thoriated_Tiger]

Make sure you go in and set all the speakers to "Large". The 55 defaults to "small"

Also, the receiver must be told how many speakers you have. For

5.1 it'd look like LCR S, with the sub selected elsewhere in the menu.

For tuning, you could use the setup DVDs, or just use the built-in

pinknoise generator.. take it off dual-amp mode (By selecting DPL II,

1st button from bottom up on the left of the remote) , hit "TEST" on

the remote, crank it to like -25db and that should get you 70db pink

noise (with most klipsch, that is.) Then tweak the center,

surr. l and surr. r to be as close to the mains as possible.. within 1

db or better if you can. Use Slow, C-weighted.

IF you have the Radio Shack SPL meter, the older analog one needs a

bass boost.. correction charts are all over the web. at 30hz it

needs +4 or so. So if you got all yor speakers singing at 70db,

make the sub 74 and you'll be set. Then spice to taste. []

[BobbyNGa]

Wow! Thanks a bunch!

Hugely helpful at this stage of the game...