I'm looking for a good <$900 Receiver recommendation

[mhjmhj]

First, thank you very much for your input!

Here's what I use my current reciever (that I blew the left front out on) to do:
Play music
Home theater (I have speakers for 5.1)
Play music in up to 4 or 5 other rooms of the house (I currently have a Niles 4-out speaker selector with volume control)
Power my main front speakers, which are Acoustic Research AR-3a (4 ohms nominal)

What is the best reciever under $900 I can get to do all that? $900 is really pushing my budget a little.


I think I fried the left front out on my current ($300ish - rated to 6 ohms) reciever by using the 4-ohm AR-3As. So I'm looking to upgrade. I've been looking at the Denon AVR 3806 and the Denon AVR 2807, which seem like they'll do the trick, but I've read reviews that they are extremely user unfriendly and that Denon has horrible customer service.

So I'm doing my homework here and probably on some other similar discussion boards.

Thanks again!
Matt

[Rock789]

when I got my denon, I was happy with it, but over the past year, I realized how much it was holding back my system...
I am sure it would work, but you may want to check out Pioneer Elite, and NAD (theT743 would probably be good musically, not sure if it has the video stuff you want)... these may be able to perform a bit better with the 4ohm speakers...
reason I went with my denon 2805 2-3 years ago was due to the number of digital inputs which I wanted at the time...
http://nadelectronics.com/products/av-receivers
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn...069789,00.html
B&K makes some nice receivers, but I think they may be a bit higher than your pricerange...
http://www.bkcomp.com/avr507.asp
another receiver which imo is about equal to denon is integra...
http://www.integrahometheater.com/pr...class=Receiver

hope this helps...

[Rock789]

I've been looking at the Denon AVR 3806 and the Denon AVR 2807, which seem like they'll do the trick, but I've read reviews that they are extremely user unfriendly and that Denon has horrible customer service.

with the older models, 2805 vs 3805, there were not many differences, but the 3805 did have a little more power and better preamp processing (which is what bothered me about the 2805 I purchased)...
guessin the newer models would still be the same, the 38xx series will have better processing than the 28xx series...
if you do go with denon, I would suggest going with the 38xx series, a couple hundred is worth it in the long run!

[mhjmhj]

when I got my denon, I was happy with it, but over the past year, I realized how much it was holding back my system...
I am sure it would work, but you may want to check out Pioneer Elite, and NAD (theT743 would probably be good musically, not sure if it has the video stuff you want)... these may be able to perform a bit better with the 4ohm speakers...
reason I went with my denon 2805 2-3 years ago was due to the number of digital inputs which I wanted at the time...
http://nadelectronics.com/products/av-receivers
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn...069789,00.html
B&K makes some nice receivers, but I think they may be a bit higher than your pricerange...
http://www.bkcomp.com/avr507.asp
another receiver which imo is about equal to denon is integra...
http://www.integrahometheater.com/pr...class=Receiver

hope this helps...

Thank you very much for the input!

Those Pioneers look great and within my budget. But I noticed the specs say this:
Surround Power: 130 Watts x 7 (20Hz - 20kHz, 8 ohms, .09% THD - FTC)
Stereo Power: 130 Watts x 2 (20Hz - 20kHz, 8 ohms, .09% THD - FTC)

Generally, they all say "8 ohms" under the power specs. Will that give me problems with my 4-ohm speakers? I really have very little understanding of what impedence is.

[Rock789]

dang...
I didn't check thoes specs... I thought I recalled the guy at the shop telling me the pioneer elite's could do 4ohm speakers without a problem... (perhaps he said that but it is not stated in specs...)
the NAD is rated to 2 ohm btw...
T743 A/V Receiver Features
* 5 x 50W Simultaneous Minimum Continuous Power into 4 / 8 / 2 ohms
* 105W, 145W, 165W IHF Dynamic Power into 8, 4 and 2 ohms, respectively

[mhjmhj]

dang...
I didn't check thoes specs... I thought I recalled the guy at the shop telling me the pioneer elite's could do 4ohm speakers without a problem... (perhaps he said that but it is not stated in specs...)
the NAD is rated to 2 ohm btw...
T743 A/V Receiver Features
* 5 x 50W Simultaneous Minimum Continuous Power into 4 / 8 / 2 ohms
* 105W, 145W, 165W IHF Dynamic Power into 8, 4 and 2 ohms, respectively

I noticed that about the NADs. I really liked the look of those Pioneers, though. They looked like a lok of bang for the buck.

[mhjmhj]

Unfortunately, the NADs I can afford are down in the 50-70w range.

[Carl Reid]

Unfortunately, the NADs I can afford are down in the 50-70w range.

Hmmm.... don't let the 50-70W deter you from trying them out.... NAD is known for understating their output power.... I have an 85 watt Integrated (in my closet) that would put most of these 100W receivers to shame....

So I'd strongly suggesting trying one out to see whether it will offer you enough power...

But the one piece of advice I always give when it comes to NAD is make sure that everything functions the way you need it to... especially if you're considering one of their receivers... I've heard that they have problems with Video Switching.... so if that's a requirement for you, then check that out before you buy one...

[Rock789]

Unfortunately, the NADs I can afford are down in the 50-70w range.

I would venture to say the nad 50 watt would compete with my denon 100 watt (or whatever the 2805 is)

as long as the signal is clean, 50 watts will be plenty loud for most people...
what's the sensitivity of your speakers?

as for the pioneer elite... I did a a-b comparrison with whatever model was ~$800 2 years ago with my denon, and they sounded the same in the highs and mids, but the pioneer elite seemed to have a bit more bottom end...
reason I didn't get it was it only had 2 optical inputs (I think) where as the denon has 4...
(I wanted to hook up 1 cd changer, 1 cd player, 1 dvd player, and my computer which I did and it worked nicely)

[kexodusc]

Yeah, a NAD 50 watter isn't going to struggle playing loud. Not a bit. I'd be shocked if it didn't out power the 2805 and match or beat the 3805 in terms of real power.
Moot point though. How loud are you going to blare this thing? The NAD has plenty of juice, but I'd expect it to sound better than a Denon or Yammie or Pioneer)based on my experiences with them (and I own a Yamaha right now). Especially for music.

Where NAD suffers is all the connections, bells and whistles they come with for the price.. Up to you to decide how important that is.
Consider Outlaw Audio's 1070 receiver
http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/1070.html
Damn attractive for the price...

[mhjmhj]

Yeah, a NAD 50 watter isn't going to struggle playing loud. Not a bit. I'd be shocked if it didn't out power the 2805 and match or beat the 3805 in terms of real power.
Moot point though. How loud are you going to blare this thing? The NAD has plenty of juice, but I'd expect it to sound better than a Denon or Yammie or Pioneer)based on my experiences with them (and I own a Yamaha right now). Especially for music.

Where NAD suffers is all the connections, bells and whistles they come with for the price.. Up to you to decide how important that is.
Consider Outlaw Audio's 1070 receiver
http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/1070.html
Damn attractive for the price...

Someone else on another board where I posted this same exact thread suggested that Outlaw. I looked it over and I can't make heads or tails of the specs - they don't seem to be written the same as most of the other makes I've checked out. Makes it hard to compare.

EDIT: actually, that model does does list the output power as "Output Power (FTC): 65 watts per channel, 8 ohms, 20 Hz - 20kHz,<0.08%THD, all channels driven" which is comparable to the other makes I've looked at. I guess I was looking at "Preamps/processors" which got me confused.



thank you all for the input, this is very informative.
The way I have my stereo configured right now is that tha A speakers are in the main listening room, and the B speaker outs go to the Niles speaker selector, which then feeds to various other rooms in my house. Would a 70-watt NAD struggle powering several sets of speakers like that?

Also, any websites out there where I can find recommendations already written for receivers? I bought my current receiver based on a Consumer Reports article and that didn't work out so well....

I'm going to start another thread to see if someone will explain impedance to me.

[Rock789]

how many speakers are you talking about running at the same time?
it may be a better investment to keep your receiver you have now, and get an amplifier (or two or three)... use your receiver as a pre amp, then amp other speakers seperately...

the nad can run 2ohm, so that would be ~ four 8ohm speakers in parallel...
(reason for ~ is because the 8ohm rating is just a generalized dc resistance, not the actual impedance...)

[mhjmhj]

how many speakers are you talking about running at the same time?
it may be a better investment to keep your receiver you have now, and get an amplifier (or two or three)... use your receiver as a pre amp, then amp other speakers seperately...

the nad can run 2ohm, so that would be ~ four 8ohm speakers in parallel...
(reason for ~ is because the 8ohm rating is just a generalized dc resistance, not the actual impedance...)

Well, the front left out of my reciever (a Panasonic SA-HE100K ) doesn't send a signal, so I'd have to get that fixed, in order to use it for home theater and the thing is only worth about $175 used.

And I might want to run 3 or 4, possibly even 5 sets of speakers at once, for parties. For everyday usage, maybe 2 or 3 sets - not blaring either. If it's not advisable to do power that many speakers with a receiver, I won't do it.

[Rock789]

I was thinking only the amp was bad, and you still had preouts that work...
5 sets of speakers is a lot to run... I would say, get a good receiver, then check ebay or audiogon for some cheap amps to run additional speakers... if this is for parties, I'm guessing volume is more important than quality, so you can probably find a couple of amps on ebay for ~$100 that will work fine...

also note... a lot of 7 ch receiver (such as my denon), can use ch 6&7 as zone 2 speakers... this would be a benifit to you trying to run many speakers... run two sets off this zone 2 amp, and the other two (or three if it's a good receiver) off the normal fronts...

[spasticteapot]

I'm personally a fan of high-efficiency speakers. Remember, 90db/w speakers on 50 watts are equivalent to 80db/w speakers on 500 watts, and 1/10 the power only means 1/2 the volume.

NAD is good stuff, from what I've seen. Very durable, very well built, and good sound quality. The fact that it's rated for 2 ohms means that it's capable of dealing with some "tricky" speakers that other amplifiers would choke on - like your AR3A's. ((However, I think you'd want more power to drive AR3As.)

[mhjmhj]

I'm personally a fan of high-efficiency speakers. Remember, 90db/w speakers on 50 watts are equivalent to 80db/w speakers on 500 watts, and 1/10 the power only means 1/2 the volume.

NAD is good stuff, from what I've seen. Very durable, very well built, and good sound quality. The fact that it's rated for 2 ohms means that it's capable of dealing with some "tricky" speakers that other amplifiers would choke on - like your AR3A's. ((However, I think you'd want more power to drive AR3As.)

How can I tell if a speaker is efficient or not?

[jrhymeammo]

How come no one has mentioned Cambridge Azur 540R v.2? Come to think of it, not many members are recommending Cambridge Audio lately. I think it's about time people start posting "What's the best CDP for around $500?"

jra

[Rock789]

How can I tell if a speaker is efficient or not?

your speaker will have a sensitivity rating... either on a nameplate data plate/sticker, or on the original paperwork for the speaker...
check out this from crutchfield...

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/IS...ml#sensitivity