Need help with 7.1 A/V Receiver ($600 or less) [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Ron_Deb
04-23-2006, 11:20 AM
I am planning on getting a new receiver. I have had my old one for about 7 years now. I want to keep the price under $600 if I can. I looked at the reviews here and have narrowed the choices to these:
1. Denon AVR-2105/2106
2. Onkyo TX-SR702
3. Yamaha RX-V2400
I can all of these off ebay for under $600. I will be using the sytem to mostly watch movies and TV and some music once in a while. Any help in choosing one or the other (or other recommendations) will be greatly appreicated!! Thanks!

L.J.
04-23-2006, 11:43 AM
Lots of options at $600 or below. Any of the named should be fine as long as your needs are met and you have some flexibility. You can also look at Marantz, HK and Pioneer if you haven't done so yet. I would lean toward ease of use and flexibility. Auto setup/eq, video switching/conversion, preouts, learning remote, on screen display and so on are great features to have and makes daily use easy and very convenient.

Ron_Deb
04-24-2006, 04:18 PM
Thanks LJ. I was leaning towards the Denons since they have gotten rave reviews all around. I currently have a 5.1 system from Fluance (SX-HTB) but I am going to buy a matched set of bookshelf speakers to get my 7.1 setup. Do you think the Denon will have enough power for my TV room (its 20' by 23')?

L.J.
04-24-2006, 05:00 PM
Thanks LJ. I was leaning towards the Denons since they have gotten rave reviews all around. I currently have a 5.1 system from Fluance (SX-HTB) but I am going to buy a matched set of bookshelf speakers to get my 7.1 setup. Do you think the Denon will have enough power for my TV room (its 20' by 23')?

Yup, there should be no problem. I'm curious, why are you upgrading your AVR?

EdwardGein
04-24-2006, 07:08 PM
I got the Denon 3801 on Ebay for around $425 with shipping inc. remote & manual in excellent condition. I think if you're going to get a Denon on Ebay you can do better then the model you named with your budget level.

Ron_Deb
04-25-2006, 06:07 PM
Yup, there should be no problem. I'm curious, why are you upgrading your AVR?

I don't have an AVR right now. Currently I have a Kenwood 5.1 system I bought in my freshman year in college (I was broke!). Now that I have a house and an actual TV room I want to invest in a good system that I can use for 5+ years.

L.J.
04-25-2006, 08:08 PM
I don't have an AVR right now. Currently I have a Kenwood 5.1 system I bought in my freshman year in college (I was broke!). Now that I have a house and an actual TV room I want to invest in a good system that I can use for 5+ years.


Got ya!

I personally would be looking at getting something new with a $600 budget. Lots of excellent units out there within that price range. That's just my my own opinion though. I would strongly suggest a unit with auto setup if you do not own a SPL meter. My Denon is extremely accurate with distances and levels.

KaiWinters
04-26-2006, 01:58 AM
Several weeks ago I purchased the Yamaha RX-V659 for $500 US at a Tweeter shop.
I compared it to a Denon for $699 and while the Denon was a bit louder at the same db and settings I went with the Yamaha.
Glad I did. Its' quite a nice receiver. It is Yamaha's new release and performs quite nicely. If you are an IPod user it is IPod friendly. I am impressed with its' power, specs, tweakability, set up and sound. I even like trying out the HT sound fields and find some of them pretty decent.

Good luck and keep us informed on your decisions.

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/receivers/RXV659.htm

kexodusc
04-26-2006, 03:59 AM
Several weeks ago I purchased the Yamaha RX-V659 for $500 US at a Tweeter shop.
I compared it to a Denon for $699 and while the Denon was a bit louder at the same db and settings I went with the Yamaha.
Glad I did. Its' quite a nice receiver. It is Yamaha's new release and performs quite nicely. If you are an IPod user it is IPod friendly. I am impressed with its' power, specs, tweakability, set up and sound. I even like trying out the HT sound fields and find some of them pretty decent.

Good luck and keep us informed on your decisions.

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/receivers/RXV659.htm

I just bought a new Yamaha, HTR-5890, which is equivalant to the RX-V1500 for $450 from
J and R (jr.com). It's 99% the same as the RX-V2500. It has the same power supply, don't let the wattage ratings sway your decision and almost all the same features, not sure if the 2500 has anything you'd need or not. I'd recommend the 5890 from j and r because it's an authorized internet dealer, so your warranty will still be valid.

You might consider the Pioneer VSX-1015TX for $399 from J and R too.

I did a review of sorts a few months back on these 2:
http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=16201&highlight=htr-5890

By no means am I saying you have to buy from J and R, but they do offer among the best prices I've seen amoung AUTHORIZED retailers. If you do buy from them, phone a salesperson rather than ordering online...often the deal is a bit better if you talk to someone - it was for me by about $100...

Good luck

thekid
04-29-2006, 02:28 AM
I second Kex's recommendation on checking out the Pioneer if you are looking to save a few dollars that could be spent elsewhere. Read his excellent review/comparison and check out the Pioneer for yourself. I am not knocking the others but from a budget/value standpoint w/o sacrificing much-if anything in features/performance-the Pioneer is hard to beat.

superpanavision70mm
04-29-2006, 02:31 AM
I am going to echo the Pioneer recommendation. They are making some really great receivers of late...even better than before. Not only that, but they are giving you options that other manufacturers are not or at least not for the low price. Go with the Elite series if you can!

Eric Z
04-29-2006, 03:58 AM
you really can't go wrong with any of the receivers listed in these posts. the pioneer will probably save you the most $$. check out the denon, pioneer, yamaha, etc and see which one you prefer in regards to ease of use.

enjoy and let us know what you decide.

CABLES
04-29-2006, 02:24 PM
:cornut: MABY A YAMAHA RXV-1500 OR A YAMAHA RXV-2500 BOTH A GREAT RECEVERS

superpanavision70mm
04-29-2006, 03:16 PM
You could probably find a Pioneer Elite on ebay for your price range. They are simple to use, easy to navigate, fun to setup, plenty of options, lots of imputs/outputs, and sound great for their money!

macsound
04-29-2006, 09:29 PM
Yamaha to me is better from what I've been told for home theater. I had a Denon 1700 before and noticed that I like my Yamaha RX 457 a little better.

gjpham
04-30-2006, 06:38 PM
No one mentioned about the Harman Kardon AVR635? This is a TRUE power 75w x 7 . HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. It too comes with microphone for sound calibration.
www.etronics.com is selling it $619.
http://www.etronics.com/listproducts.asp?order=stk_price_a&catid=4118&store=&Make=&Model=&type=&kit_id=&prod_type=&manaf=Harman%2FKardon&cid=1A70D08821414542911A247B236197B5&image1.x=14&image1.y=13

hastie
05-14-2006, 04:25 AM
i bought a marantz 7.1 sr 4500 for AUS$ 799, which is about $600 american probably heaps less, and i looked around for ages and this was the best sounding,looking and had all the extra you would really need.

N. Abstentia
05-14-2006, 05:52 AM
Onkyo TS-DX898. There's one on Ebay right now. It's one of the best sounding receivers I've heard.

superpanavision70mm
05-14-2006, 08:15 AM
I don't really understand why you would go all-out in the room that you have and then skimp out on a receiver of all things. I understand the desire to keep things within a budget, but why not go with a higher end model. I am going to get the Pioneer Elite once they begin handling the newer DTS HD and HDMI switching. Until then I am keeping it simple with my basic Pioneer, which does the trick for now.

N. Abstentia
05-14-2006, 03:10 PM
I don't really understand why you would go all-out in the room that you have and then skimp out on a receiver of all things.

Were you talking to me or the original poster?

Hyfi
05-15-2006, 07:07 PM
No one mentioned about the Harman Kardon AVR635? This is a TRUE power 75w x 7 . HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. It too comes with microphone for sound calibration.
www.etronics.com is selling it $619.
http://www.etronics.com/listproducts.asp?order=stk_price_a&catid=4118&store=&Make=&Model=&type=&kit_id=&prod_type=&manaf=Harman%2FKardon&cid=1A70D08821414542911A247B236197B5&image1.x=14&image1.y=13

I just bought the AVR635 for $599 shipped from JR. Lots of nice features but dificult to setup since the manual sucks. This is a good reciever if you don't plan to connect speakers. The cheap binding posts that won't accept spades or any serious cable stripped the first time I tried to tighten down on the thin blade connectors I had to replace the spades with. I then had to go out and buy banana connectors to get a connection that would not throw the reciever into protection mode.

Now since I am replacing a 15 y/o Hafler system for the future capability of configuring a HT to acompany my new Sony 40XBR1HDLCD tv I decided on a 7 amp reciver with multi-room setup leaving 5.1 for HT. Please, now I know why I always bought quality gear if only at entry level high end. The sound is thin and hollow compared to the old Hafler and sounds like a Walkman next to my main system of a tube SoundValves pre and Odyssey Stratos amp.

I guess if you never owned any quality gear, all the recivers in this $600-$1000 range may just sound great to most people. It will do for what I got it for (a tuner with the ability to drive two rooms plus my outdoor Athenas)so for the price to feature ratio, I'm not unhappy.

So, even though alot of you recomended many different recievers, are all of these mass-market products so cheaply made. Do any of them have serious binding posts that allow cable other than zip cord?

Hyfi

teledynepost
05-16-2006, 07:05 AM
What could be wrong with a refurbished receiver that is not wrong with a new receiver?