Hands down, your fav receiver for <$1000

[Klipschnut]

I went up to the Portland area for 4th of July, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to look for stores that carried the brands I'm comparing. I was pretty pressed for time, so I figured I'd just check out what Fry's had to offer. After a dissapointing walk through their theater rooms and a quick laugh at the Bose section booth, I walked through the receiver isle and took a look at the brands they carried. All they had available at the time were Yamaha, Harman, and Onkyo. I got about 2 seconds time to start looking at the units on display before a pushy sales guy walked up and tried to be my best friend. I talked with him for a few minutes. He had some experience with the various brands, but his technical knowledge was pretty limited, so he didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know.

After my stealthy escape from the sales guy, I remembered that Magnolia Hifi was in the area, and although I had never visited their store, I had heard alot of good things about them. It took a while to find where they were located, and by the time I found them, they had already closed.

So now I'm back home with little more information than I left with. I've all but ruled out Yamaha's line, as my experience with them in the past and the opinion from others on the current models is that they are very bright, and a poor match to Klipsch, or any other horn loaded design.

Denon's 3803 looks great, but I think Pioneer's VSX-45tx or VSX-2012 would suit me better. They have some features that Denon's lacks, namely autoEQ, and they appear to have better build quality. I also wouldn't mind a change from the Denon sound, if for no other reason than to be different.

I've also found some other interesting receivers on auction since my return. I'm still doing research on the Marantz SR7300, which seems like a very nice unit. Another is the NAD T762, which is a little more expensive than the others, but shows very strong build and sound quality. Any opinions on these units or others would be much appreciated, as well as any on the receivers I am ruling out.

[sy_lu]

VSX-2012 is on sale at Goodguys for $499.85. I got the unit over the July 4th weekend after my Denon 3300 died suddenly on me. I am happy with sound and you can check my review on unit in the review section. Overall a good bargin for the price.

[DougD]

sy_lu, thanks for the heads-up on the VSX-2012 sale this past weekend. Goodguys gave me the same price just the other day after I mentioned the sale. Saved me some $. It was time to change
out the Denon I have had for the past 6 yrs.

[Klipschnut]

I did more research, and shopped around some more online, and read more opinions and specifactions for A/V receivers. The problem with this is that each time I narrow my list down by scratching off a unit, I find 3 more receivers to add to it. Lol. I am quite the perfectionist, so I imagine I would shop around and compare models forever - or until I keeled over. There are so many movies out on DVD that I've been wanting to see, but I had to get my HT back up and running to enjoy the full experience. So after a brief period of slapping myself around, I woke up and decided to search through Ebay and bid on the first good deal on one of the receivers I was considering.

I'm still very interested in the VSX-45tx. I even started bidding on one on Ebay, but I hadn't quite made up my mind yet. I found some great deals on the NAD T762, but for as many rave reviews posted about it, there were as many posts detailing serious problems with the unit, and multiple trips to the factory. I realise that people are more likely to post critisizm than praise, but these issues still left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm sure it sounds amazing, but I'm not looking for something that's gonna break down on me in 8 months with no warranty. The newer T763 seems to have addressed most of the problems, and I thought I found the deal of a lifetime on AudiogoN for $600, but I called the guy up, only to find out that he unknowingly (or not) had a 762 in a 763 box. He said he'd take $500 for the 762, and pay the shipping, but I'm not sure I want to get myself into that. Then again, I could use another paperweight to replace my Denon AVR-1601. =)

The only models I've looked at for my price range that nobody seemed to have anything bad to say about was Harman/Kardon's line. I've always been impressed with their power reserve and their weight, but I haven't had any opportunities to listen to their newer models. I wasn't crazy about the asthetics of the units at first, but I think it's starting to grow on me. The AVR7200 seemed right up my alley. It's a big, heavy, muscular receiver, with plenty of features, and more power than my highly efficient speakers will ever demand. I don't think any of the other receivers on my menu can boast 75 amps. It also has great sound in both music and movie playback, or so I've heard from everyone I've talked to. The one thing it lacks that I might use that some of the other models I've been shopping for have is the auto room EQ feature. I think it's worth the sacrifice for all the other qualities it brings to the table. Besides, I'm the kinda guy that tweaks his system twelve times daily, so the automatic calibration would only be a starting point for me.

I found some pretty hot deals on the net, but I snagged the best one I've seen yet direct from Harmanaudio on ebay. It's a factory remanufactured unit, and I took it for $775, after shipping. It's possible that I would have been happier with another unit, but I figure I'll love my Harman, and I'm pretty confident it's not going to break down anytime soon. I'll post again once I get it home and set it up.

[nick4433]

Klipschnut, congrats on the purchase of a wonderful receiver, the HK 7200. First and foremost about the 7200 not having the Auto Room EQ feature. While I was one of those that was overwhelmed by the YPAO initially, after many a tests on the YPAO and the Denon EQ and the MCACC, I have firmly concluded that the Room EQ feature might be slightly overrated IMHO.
The EQ does not calibrate the LFE frequencies so it looses its importance. I always found the need to tweak my system after the auto EQ was done. If you are good with a SPL meter then you should be fine. The 7200 was a HK "Flagship" receiver and anytime you can get a flagship for that price is definitely worth it. It has some serious muscle and offers everything but PL-IIx which is also overrated again IMHO.
So enjoy your new purchase and let us know how its going!