Best receiver for Athenas? (plus: CR bashing!)

[cinzano]

Hi all --

First, great forum. I'm a low-end buyer trying to up grade my home theater and just bought the Athena AS-B1s as mains/front surrounds after learning about them on here (and listening to them, of course).

Now I'm shopping for a receiver. I ignored the cardinal rule of Never Trust Consumer Reports For Audio Equiptment and got their "best buy," the Panasonic HE-100. It had all the imputs I wanted (2/1 component, 3/1 digital audio), sounded fine on surround .... then I tried to play my CD player ... and was hugely disappointed. My 8-year-old Pioneer receiver, the one I bought the Panasonic to replace, provided far superior sound quality on every disc I put in.

So now I'm back to square one. I'm looking for a dependable receiver that will light up my AS-B1s, while still providing top-notch surround, and has gobs of imputs (and, if possible, doesn't bust $350). I'm tempted to go the Pioneer route, but I read on here that they're farming out their manufacturing nowadays.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Cinzano

[uncooked]

i own athena speakers as well. i extremely encourage you to check out the yamaha htr-5650 it has tons of inputs. awsome sound. its a perfect match with athena speakers.

a quick question for you as well. did you buy a athena sub woofer as well? or centre asc1? there all awsome products

[mtrycraft]

Hi all --Now I'm shopping for a receiver. I ignored the cardinal rule of Never Trust Consumer Reports For Audio Equiptment and got their "best buy," the Panasonic HE-100. It had all the imputs I wanted (2/1 component, 3/1 digital audio), sounded fine on surround .... then I tried to play my CD player ... and was hugely disappointed. My 8-year-old Pioneer receiver, the one I bought the Panasonic to replace, provided far superior sound quality on every disc I put in. Cinzano

Why do you think there is something wrong with the new receiver? Was it hooked up correctly? Wires not busted?
How did you compare the two receivers? Did you closely level match the volume? Did you use bias controls for the comparisons?

[cinzano]

mtrycraft: It was a pretty unscientific comparison, i'll be the first to admit. the first thing was simply listening to a CD on the new reciever and realizing it sounded fine ... but not great. After listening to couple more, i started switching the speaker wires and imputs back and forth between by old pioneer and the new panasonic -- making adjustments for bass, treb, volumn and other assorted options as i went.

so all i can tell you is that, yeah, the HE-100 was working fine but, nope, it just couldn't hold a candle to the pioneer -- miles davis' horn sounded tiny, wilco's yankee hotel foxtrot didn't quite fill the room, etc.

believe me, believe me -- after spending many hours agonizing over which reciever to buy, this was the last conclusion i wanted to come to.

uncooked: hmm, yamaha ... eh? was a little tempted to get the pioneer vsk-d912k, cnet gave it top marks and i like my old pioneer's sound, but the yamaha reviews do seem to be more consistantly positive....

[markw]

When I first bought my Athena system I was running an older JBL (yes, JBL) DPL receiver. I believe it was a H/K rebrand. It was not a great receiver but I got it for $100 NIB in '99.

The Athenas sounded extermely fine with it.

When I got a DVD player, the ability of 6.1 was burning on me and I then went and got a Denon 2802.

The Athena's sounded even better.

My son has your receiver and he's running some small cheapo speakers he got at Best Buy and, I gotta say, the overall sound is quite amazing for their size and price.

Dunno why you have problems with your receiver and speakers, though. Both are excellent performers in their own right.

Perhaps your older receiver somehow "manipulates" the sound to your liking?

[cinzano]

Guess I'm now down to four choices --

Pioneer - VSXD912K
HK avr-225 -- ebay refurb
Onkyo TX-SR501
Yamaha HTR-5640

[uncooked]

trust me you wouldnt be upset with any yamaha. they sound awsome with athenas for some reason. go to a local store and listen for yourself. and your not loosing the 6.1 option that your old he 100 had. if thats a big deal at all. the yamaha should be around the same price as the he 100 i would think maybe a slight bit more. but your getting more inputs.

[ThreeDHomer]

But I have the Onkyo, and it is a breeze to run, dependable, very sweet sounds...and very thrifty.

[spacedeckman]

It isn't much better than the Panasonic. Okay, it is better, but, the other choices listed are WAY better. Different league.