Denon, Yamaha or Marantz Receiver

[GOIRISH]

I'm new to this whole Audio/Video deal. Just bought B&W 604 S3, B&W center, B&W Sub and Mirage rears. The dealer sold Yamaha, Marantz, Pioneer Elite and a couple other brands I do not rememeber. He told me for my price range (under $1000.00) you can't beat a Yamaha Receiver. He said when you jump to the $1500.00 and > range there are better receivers out there than Yamaha. I don't really know the real deal; I guess you just have to listen and decide what YOU like. I see a lot of people bash the B&W Line of speakers. I think they sound pretty damn good....Paul

[spricajder]

After so many friendly advices I decided, after all, to believe my own ears. After weeks spend in listening rooms with all kinds of eq.(and price range) my personal conclusion is this. All receivers sounded good but Marantz, NAD and Rotel were ahead of others in music. Best HT device is Yamaha but for stereo its not that good as three above. My only advice to all confused people here is -listen. Take a holiday if you need but be patient bother salesmans (its their job to answer question and connect speakers) and bring your CDs. High price doesnt mean good sound and oposite. Back to the point: Rotel (RSX 1055) could be good choise but the price is insane, NAD (752) is incredible performer but its design (sorry nad fans) is failure and I heard some complains about quality check. Marantz SR5300 is the winner in my quest. Built like brick s@#*t house with superb sound and timeless design (gold aluminum finish). Besides music and HT, I wanted to enjoy every time I look at it for the years to come. My second pick would be Yamaha (RX-V740 or RX-v1400). Ther is no trace of bright sound (with B&Ws though), sound is clean and clear but missing some component that I noticed when I compared it with others.

[psyopwak]

Here is my 2 cents worth-

each manufacturer's receiver sounds better or worse with a given set of speakers.

For instance, I had a Yamaha RX-V890 that sounded very good with my
Paradigm monitor 9's. I now have a Denon Avr-4800 that sounds good with my Snell E-5's. BUT when I switched Snells to Yamaha, and Monitor 9 to Denon, they did not sound so good.

Don't really know why ??? Both Denon and Yamaha were great units.

WAK