I found myself in need of a 5 disc changer and I set out to buy a high quality unit. I found that most changers are entry level priced so I set out to find the best one. I was at a store that could play the 3 they had through the same system at the same volume, so I let the sales person run through them for me. He played a Denon $199.00, an Onkyo $189.00 and Yamaha $149.00. Some here may recall I tend to be a little harsh toward Yamaha at times. I do not like the sound of their amps. Anyway thinking that the price must reflect the quality and by reputation, I thought I would end up with the Denon. He played the Onkyo first which sounded somewhat bright compared to the other two. We used the same song each time. It was either Staind or 3 Doors Down, I get their 2 ballads confused, but it was a song with acoustic guitar intro and strings coming in to accompany later. There wasn't much difference between the Denon and the Onkyo accept what i already stated. They both had pretty good detail for the price. But my surprise came when the Yamaha was played. I heard the difference the first time but I had to run through them all again just to make sure i hadn't just missed something on the first go round. The Yamaha displayed their signature lack of bass detail but what sold me is what it done with the rest of the soundstage. The Yamaha revealed the backing strings much better and gave them a more realistic feel. The strings had more of a presence. I think some may call this being more musical. I ended up buying the Yamaha. I put it into it's intended system but some day I'd like to put it in my main system just to see what it would sound like.

My experience goes to show that we can be objective and honest with ourselves during a listening test. If it was true we psych ourselves out because of price I would have walked out with the Denon as I had expected. I would put the 3 in this order first to last; Yamaha, Denon then Onkyo.