nick4433
07-26-2005, 09:24 AM
I thought I'd start a thread on buying a receiver and give some helpful hints to fellow purchasers. Everytime I see a Denon v Yammy v Pioneer thread I go O no, not again.
So here are a few things you need to know when you shop for a receiver.
1) Make a firm budget and stick to it:
Staying with a firm budget will help you in the long run as moving one step above in a receiver line will not always benefit you in the sound department. Save those $$ and buy yourself some DVDs.
2) Processing:
Don't worry about this as even the cheapest of receivers have this covered very well. Most decent receivers will have all the processing power you will need. Better receivers will often have dual processors to handle different responsibilities and this results in faster speeds, not quality of sound.
3) Power:
Most receivers on the market claim anywhere from 100W/channel upwards. Caveat being the lower priced receivers will say 100W/C at 1KHz and the better receivers will say 100W/C 20-20,000 Hz thus covering the full spectrum.
4) How much power do you need?
If you have very efficient speakers then you probably don't need much power. A receiver that outputs "true" 45-75W/C should suffice. If you have those power hungry speakers then make sure your receiver has preouts for external amplification.
5) Receiver as a prepro: (Not intended for Smokey)
There are many receivers on the market today that make excellent prepros. Prices of electronic components have become very cheap and you will find excellent DACs and solid Chips in mid priced receivers from Denon, Pioneer, Yammy and Onkyo. They are dead quiet and perform flawlessly when used as prepros. I was in the market for a prepro last year and for $449 brand new from the good guys my Pioneer 2012K is still an excellent prepro and I was comparing it to offerings from Outlaw and Rotel and I picked the Pioneer on my own testing abilitites.
6) Automated speaker calibrations:
Most decent receivers will offer this out of the box room EQ calibration features and if you have absolutely no idea what an SPL meter is then this feature is paramount for you. This feature will enable you to hook your speakers up to the receiver and connect the supplied mike, follow the OSD instructions and viola, you are all done. It will even check your wiring for polarity (+/-). I personally prefer a manual EQ in my receiver as this lets me tweak the sound to my liking for movies and music and the Pioneer lets me do this with ease.
7) Sound:
This is dicey because IMHO most receivers will sound tremendously close to each other unless you have trained ears that can distinguish and seperate the sound qualities of one from the other. What may be good to one might be warm or bright to another. However the gap between the receivers in terms of sound has narrowed tremendously but as I mentioned before if you have trained ears or are a true audiphile then you can probably tell them apart. (Experiment a lot with speaker placement before you give up on the receiver's sound)
8) Brick and Mortars:
I have always purchased equipment from B&M and used their 30day exchange policy to the fullest. This gives you the ability to test 2-3 receivers in your own home and keep the one you like the best.
9) Buy it for looks:
For those of you who play golf you will understand this part. If the equipment gives you confidence then it will show in your game said a sports therapist. Therefore if you like the way your receiver looks then you will enjoy it more so make a note that this is an important aspect of your purchase.
10) And:
Once you get into this hobby, many of you will turn into equipment hos and will find yourself buying and selling equipment like stocks. You know who you are. You will give yourself many reasons and convince yourself why taking a $200-300 hit is more to your advantage in the long run.
11) Lastly:
Learn to enjoy what you have instead of constant tweaking and worrying if you made the right decision.
Fellow ARites. Please add more to this if you can and enjoy!
So here are a few things you need to know when you shop for a receiver.
1) Make a firm budget and stick to it:
Staying with a firm budget will help you in the long run as moving one step above in a receiver line will not always benefit you in the sound department. Save those $$ and buy yourself some DVDs.
2) Processing:
Don't worry about this as even the cheapest of receivers have this covered very well. Most decent receivers will have all the processing power you will need. Better receivers will often have dual processors to handle different responsibilities and this results in faster speeds, not quality of sound.
3) Power:
Most receivers on the market claim anywhere from 100W/channel upwards. Caveat being the lower priced receivers will say 100W/C at 1KHz and the better receivers will say 100W/C 20-20,000 Hz thus covering the full spectrum.
4) How much power do you need?
If you have very efficient speakers then you probably don't need much power. A receiver that outputs "true" 45-75W/C should suffice. If you have those power hungry speakers then make sure your receiver has preouts for external amplification.
5) Receiver as a prepro: (Not intended for Smokey)
There are many receivers on the market today that make excellent prepros. Prices of electronic components have become very cheap and you will find excellent DACs and solid Chips in mid priced receivers from Denon, Pioneer, Yammy and Onkyo. They are dead quiet and perform flawlessly when used as prepros. I was in the market for a prepro last year and for $449 brand new from the good guys my Pioneer 2012K is still an excellent prepro and I was comparing it to offerings from Outlaw and Rotel and I picked the Pioneer on my own testing abilitites.
6) Automated speaker calibrations:
Most decent receivers will offer this out of the box room EQ calibration features and if you have absolutely no idea what an SPL meter is then this feature is paramount for you. This feature will enable you to hook your speakers up to the receiver and connect the supplied mike, follow the OSD instructions and viola, you are all done. It will even check your wiring for polarity (+/-). I personally prefer a manual EQ in my receiver as this lets me tweak the sound to my liking for movies and music and the Pioneer lets me do this with ease.
7) Sound:
This is dicey because IMHO most receivers will sound tremendously close to each other unless you have trained ears that can distinguish and seperate the sound qualities of one from the other. What may be good to one might be warm or bright to another. However the gap between the receivers in terms of sound has narrowed tremendously but as I mentioned before if you have trained ears or are a true audiphile then you can probably tell them apart. (Experiment a lot with speaker placement before you give up on the receiver's sound)
8) Brick and Mortars:
I have always purchased equipment from B&M and used their 30day exchange policy to the fullest. This gives you the ability to test 2-3 receivers in your own home and keep the one you like the best.
9) Buy it for looks:
For those of you who play golf you will understand this part. If the equipment gives you confidence then it will show in your game said a sports therapist. Therefore if you like the way your receiver looks then you will enjoy it more so make a note that this is an important aspect of your purchase.
10) And:
Once you get into this hobby, many of you will turn into equipment hos and will find yourself buying and selling equipment like stocks. You know who you are. You will give yourself many reasons and convince yourself why taking a $200-300 hit is more to your advantage in the long run.
11) Lastly:
Learn to enjoy what you have instead of constant tweaking and worrying if you made the right decision.
Fellow ARites. Please add more to this if you can and enjoy!