Denon3805 or Yamaha 2500or 1500 or Marantz 7500

[Mirageman]

I'm considering any of the above recivers which one is the best all around value?????. What is your reason for your choice. Thank you for your help

[EdwardGein]

I'm considering any of the above recivers which one is the best all around value?????. What is your reason for your choice. Thank you for your help

First of all the best all around value is the money you can afford. If you have $10,000 to blow and something costs you $8,000 & is only slightly better than something that costs you $1,500 your still better off spending $ 8,000 because you can & its better.

Having said that, I recommend- I know you'll disregard- no guts no glory, buying a used in very good or better condition Denon 3801 (I have 2 of them I've gotten on Ebay) for between $350- $425 with manual and remote from a reputable seller with excellent feedback. I don't think you'll notice any drop in qualityi between the 3801 & the 3805.. You'll save alot of money this way if you're money is limited. If its not, then of course buy something new. Definately do not by a Denon DVD player. They suck in my opinion. Good luck.

[paul_pci]

Are you going to listen to a man who digs up corpses for a living? Yamaha rules plain and simple.

[kexodusc]

First of all the best all around value is the money you can afford.

said the economics professor...


If you have $10,000 to blow and something costs you $8,000 & is only slightly better than something that costs you $1,500 your still better off spending $ 8,000 because you can & its better.

This is among the worst bits of advice I've ever read on this forum. If something is only slightly better but costs over 5 times as much, don't buy it! You are much better served reallocating that money to an area of your system where $6500 makes a huge difference, not a slight one.

If you can not find any other area of your system where that extra money will make more than a slight improvement, then you can consider blowing the $8000 on something that's only a tiny bit better.

I like the Yamaha 1500, does 99% of what the 2500 does, and costs a few hundred less and is 2nd to nobody in the quality department. The YPAO optimizer/equalizer is a nice toy too.
I like the other two receivers a lot though, depending on the deal you can find and which one rubs you the right way, any could be a good value.

You might also check out Pioneer's VSX-1015TXK (or last year's 1014 model if you can find it cheap). Plenty of power and THX certified...pretty good price on it too at under $500.

[Geoffcin]

You might also check out Pioneer's VSX-1015TXK (or last year's 1014 model if you can find it cheap). Plenty of power and THX certified...pretty good price on it too at under $500.

Kexo recommending a Pioneer? I almost spit my coffee at the monitor!

(He is right though, it is the best value)

Just for that; if it's going to be a choice between Denon, Marantz & Yamaha I'm going to reccomend the Yamaha. Save the $$$ between the 1500/2500 and put it toward bettering something else in your system.

[kexodusc]

Kexo recommending a Pioneer? I almost spit my coffee at the monitor!

(He is right though, it is the best value)

Just for that; if it's going to be a choice between Denon, Marantz & Yamaha I'm going to reccomend the Yamaha. Save the $$$ between the 1500/2500 and put it toward bettering something else in your system.

LOL! I'm not a huge fan of the entry level Pioneers (mind you few other brands are better), and I still have some concerns on their product quality with some other electronics given their recent history with DVD players and CD players (guess the move from USA to Tokyo doesn't always mean better, remember those 80 lbs stereo receivers from back in the day?). but their receivers, particluarly those heavy duty flagship units have pretty much always been built like tanks, more like the Elite stuff as far as I can recall. Just because they're sold at Sears doesn't make them Sony/JVC crap.

Tough to beat for the money, IMO...If the big names don't shape up, my next receiver could very well be a Pioneer..I don't own them long enough for long-term durability to be a factor anyway.

[Geoffcin]

LOL! I'm not a huge fan of the entry level Pioneers (mind you few other brands are better), and I still have some concerns on their product quality with some other electronics given their recent history with DVD players and CD players (guess the move from USA to Tokyo doesn't always mean better, remember those 80 lbs stereo receivers from back in the day?). but their receivers, particluarly those heavy duty flagship units have pretty much always been built like tanks, more like the Elite stuff as far as I can recall. Just because they're sold at Sears doesn't make them Sony/JVC crap.

Tough to beat for the money, IMO...If the big names don't shape up, my next receiver could very well be a Pioneer..I don't own them long enough for long-term durability to be a factor anyway.

And I STILL have a Pioneer VSX-5300 from 20 years ago thats going strong.(in my daughters system) I'm pretty hard on stuff, and even after repeated driving my receviers into overload I've yet to fry them.

I'm always a little skeptical when I hear about quality issues with manufactures. A lot of what gets passed around is just hearsay.

[kexodusc]

I'm always a little skeptical when I hear about quality issues with manufactures. A lot of what gets passed around is just hearsay.

This is true, but a lot what you here is based on truth. Sometimes when you hear more heresay about one manufacturer than another, it's for good reason, sometimes not. Sometimes people decide what they want to believe regardless of the truth.

I saw this firsthand everyday when I worked for Honda USA, our own research suggested that GM and DaimlerChrysler built better quality vehicles in a lot of classes, but consumer perception is just the opposite to Honda's advantage.
I'm on my 2nd 6-speed tranny in my 2004 Accord. But you'll never see that in the Lemon Reports :rolleyes:

[GMichael]

I like the Yamaha. It has a very good sound, a few extra bells and whistles and one of the lowest return/repair rates. I prefer the 2500 to the 1500 mainly for the 6 set up memory settings. I use one setting for music and another for HT. Is it worth the extra few hundred? That's up to you.
By the way, these are available on ebay also if you want to go that way. You can save a bundle but you loose your warranty.

[Geoffcin]

I saw this firsthand everyday when I worked for Honda USA, our own research suggested that GM and DaimlerChrysler built better quality vehicles in a lot of classes, but consumer perception is just the opposite to Honda's advantage.
I'm on my 2nd 6-speed tranny in my 2004 Accord. But you'll never see that in the Lemon Reports :rolleyes:

My wife's '02 CRV has been recalled like 3 times, and had to go back for some unschedualed repairs too (ABS system failed). I told my sister all of this and she just bought a '05 CRV anyway. This even though I told her that I thought the Subaru, after renting one for a week was BETTER IMHO! Not only that, but my mother just bought her third Accord in a row. I don't know what it is about Honda but once people get one it seems like that's it for life. Go figure?

[kexodusc]

This will be my last Honda...I think quality wise they're near the top of the pack, but the price premium isn't worth it IMO...I had an employee discount I won't be getting anymore.

Hopefully Ford and GM will follow Chrysler's lead and come out with a few RWD vehicles...In the meantime I'm looking at that little Pontiac G-6 for my soon to be wife.

[nick4433]

I would recommend the Pioneer Elite models also. I am using the 2012K as a prepro and am extremely happy with the overall performance for music and movies. Very, very smooth.

[godfatherofsoul]

First of all the best all around value is the money you can afford. If you have $10,000 to blow and something costs you $8,000 & is only slightly better than something that costs you $1,500 your still better off spending $ 8,000 because you can & its better.

Having said that, I recommend- I know you'll disregard- no guts no glory, buying a used in very good or better condition Denon 3801 (I have 2 of them I've gotten on Ebay) for between $350- $425 with manual and remote from a reputable seller with excellent feedback. I don't think you'll notice any drop in qualityi between the 3801 & the 3805.. You'll save alot of money this way if you're money is limited. If its not, then of course buy something new. Definately do not by a Denon DVD player. They suck in my opinion. Good luck.

No drop in quality maybe but the features added are worth a ton! And Denon DVD players suck?! On what do you base this and don't flog your HK as the end all be all because I have a Denon DVD1910 and love its performance...

Cheers

[Astro]

I have a yamaha rx-v2500 and wouldnt think about going for another brand, it does exactly what i want and has loads of grunt.

[Geoffcin]

Yesterday after posting to this thread about how my 20yo Pioneer receiver is still going strong, my daughter informed me that the old receiver plucked up. Strangest thing I ever seen too. No power to the display, no way to shut it off, as the power button was not working, but the FM was working perfectly (on the station it was tuned to), and the volume knob was working too! (wierd) After unplugging it and replugging it still nothing else worked, so I decided to pull it out and reconfigure her TV to play through the TV speakers. I was going to write the receiver off, but I thought; WTH, it's given me 20 years of good service, let me see if I can get something out of it. After cleaning it up a bit, I plugged it in and sure-as-ship it powered up just fine!

Since I had the receiver out, I decided to do a little testing to see how everything was working. Hooking my laptop into it the receiver played some Mp3 files for the first time in it's life, and it sounded pretty darn good! But what really got me was it's FM reception. Shockingly, the FM reception was BETTER than my newer Elite Pioneer! I had forgotten just how much I used to listen to radio, and we spent a couple hours tuning through the scores of stations this receiver was able to capture.

The VSX-5300 also has a Phono input, so this is going to be my chance to pull out the old TT, and some of my ancient vinyl. Ahh the memories...

[kexodusc]

Could just be loose, or grimmy connection at a point somewhere...Most of my old NAD stuff sees the the power switch go first, always stuck in the on position...sometimes it's a capacitor.

It'd be a shame to lose one of those.

Antenna's have really gone to *@#% in the past decade or so...I have a 23 year old NAD tuner that still delivers sparkling crisp reception...my H/K and Yamaha receiver don't even come close...for anyone who loves radio, drop $20-$30 on ebay for an old NAD, Rotel, Adcom, etc tuner, they're cheap, in abundance, and outperform modern built-in tuners IMO.

[Geoffcin]

Antenna's have really gone to *@#% in the past decade or so...I have a 23 year old NAD tuner that still delivers sparkling crisp reception...my H/K and Yamaha receiver don't even come close...for anyone who loves radio, drop $20-$30 on ebay for an old NAD, Rotel, Adcom, etc tuner, they're cheap, in abundance, and outperform modern built-in tuners IMO.

With receivers now including XM & Sirius, and the advent of Digital FM, there's no point for manufacturers to make analog FM better at all. Think of the poor shmuck who drops 2-4 large on a flagship receiver only to find out that his CSW Tivoli table radio has better FM reception!

[Mirageman]

I've listened to the 3805 and the 2500 for music the 3805 has a edge over the yamaha on movies the yamaha has the edge overall I'm leaning towards the 1500 does 99% of the 2500 offers but we will see after today as I'm checking out both today again.