brightness

[dale331]

The salesguy said that since my Polk speakers are on the bright side I should go with Denon instead of Yahama.

How do you compare the brightness of receivers. Receivers I'm looking at aren't all at the same store and if they were hooked up they would be with different speakers. Are there numbers or a combination of numbers to look at to determine brightness?
Thanks

[markw]

i.e, if your speakers are bright on one good receiver, odds are they will be bright on a comprable receiver. Likewise, don't expect cables to fix this either.

[edtyct]

Well, if you otherwise like your speakers, I suppose you could spend an awful lot of money on tube equipment, which might warm them up a bit. :D

[dale331]

Sounds like you are both saying the salesguy was feeding me BS maybe cause he makes more money on the Denon than the Yamaha.

[edtyct]

I think that it's highly unlikely that any solid state receiver at this level will have any impact on how your speakers sound. Softening the walls in the room, if it has a tendency toward brightness, would probably have a bigger impact on the sound in general. However, I am only being partly facetious about tube equipment. If any preamp/amp combination were to have any appreciable effect on the sonic characteristics of your system, they would have tubes, IMHO. But tubes invariably come at a price.

[GMichael]

Sounds like you are both saying the salesguy was feeding me BS maybe cause he makes more money on the Denon than the Yamaha.

I think you nailed it here.

[topspeed]

Sounds like you are both saying the salesguy was feeding me BS maybe cause he makes more money on the Denon than the Yamaha.
Not necessarily.

While I agree that for the most part that it is very difficult to hear any appreciable difference between the amp sections of two high quality receivers at the same point, you can make a very good argument for the difference of the processed sound from each. For example, if you were to listen to music in Pure Direct mode on the Denon compared to Pure Direct on the Yammie, I believe you'd hear the difference in the Denon's BB DAC's vs. the Yammie's DAC's (at least I did). Please note that I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that they are different. Playing Devil's advocate, perhaps this is what the saleman was talking about.

Or not :).

[kexodusc]

Topspeed's right, the differences in receivers do exist. Sometimes you can find measurements that will demonstrate how "flat" or biased the amplifier is at different points on a spectrum, but I don't see these often.
That said, I haven't found much difference in the new Yammies and Denon's. Yamaha really warmed up their sound on their latest platform. Before this, I would absolutely agree with your salesperson. It may be the old reputation Yamaha had that he's basing his conclusion on.
Yamaha fans would similarly be quick to point out that Denons don't bring out as much detail.

It's all arbitrary and the only thing you can conclude here is that you should do whatever it takes to demo your speakers on both receivers (preferably in your home).

[dale331]

It's going to take some luck to demo in my home as I am also looking at an Onkyo, Pioneer and Harman Kardon and they're comming from three differern stores. Considering I'm not a very smooth talker..............

[markw]

Most stores will allow you to return an item within a period of time as lonf as you have all the materials and it's not abused.

Granted, you probably won't be able to have all your choices there simultaneously but even then, without the proper switching, you'll not have the benefit of a decent A/B test.

Some speakers are simply bright. Why did you buy 'em if they were too bright, anyway?

Here's two hints for future reference. Never buy a piece of geat you're not totally satisfied with and expect another purchase to compensate for it's shortcomings.

And, always buy speakers wit ha return privelege. They may sound great in the store but horrible in your home.

[dale331]

I never said they were too bright. When I told the salesguy I had bought a set of Polk Monitor series, he said they tend to be on the bright side and that I should get the Denon over the Yamaha.

There are a total of five receivers I'm looking at from three different stores. I would expect that if someone bought and returned a piece, it would then have to be sold as open box. That means there would be 4 or 5 receivers sold at discount. That just ain't right. That is why I am asking which brands are bright and which are warm. I'm trying to limit returns.

[swicken]

Sounds like you are both saying the salesguy was feeding me BS maybe cause he makes more money on the Denon than the Yamaha.

nah, denon and yamaha have the same margin

[swicken]

Bring your speakers and ask if you can hook them up, we let people do that where I work.

If he says no scream 'HEATHEN' and throw battery acid in his face.

[ToddL]

I never said they were too bright. When I told the salesguy I had bought a set of Polk Monitor series, he said they tend to be on the bright side and that I should get the Denon over the Yamaha.

There are a total of five receivers I'm looking at from three different stores. I would expect that if someone bought and returned a piece, it would then have to be sold as open box. That means there would be 4 or 5 receivers sold at discount. That just ain't right. That is why I am asking which brands are bright and which are warm. I'm trying to limit returns.

Watch out for re-stocking fees. I find Denon warm. To the guy who said bring your speakers in- You are right. If the salesman won't let you do this than this is a sign of bad service and it is not worth your time. Don't be afraid to make them work, you are the one shelling out a grand or so.

[mazdamanic]

That Salesman is full of sh*t. Since when has Polk been classified as bright and compared to what? Polks have traditionally been on the laid back side with relaxed highs and a slight midrange bloom. He could be right about the yamaha though, I find most yamaha gear to be bright with a recessed midrange.