discussion New Receiver

[JD]

I only bought this Denon AVR-1612 about 2 years ago (doesn't feel like its been that long), but alas, I've used up all the HDMI ports (yet again) and have also been running into some audio sync issues lately too. So currently I'm relying partially on ARC with 2 devices plugged directly into the TV and the remaining into the receiver which I think may partially be the culprit for the audio sync issues and at times audio playing from the TV rather than through the receiver.

That being said, looking for a receiver with at least 6 HDMI ports, more would be ideal just in case, but I think in reality I've hit the max number of devices that'll fit in the living room anyhow.

Only have 5.1 speakers, I could potentially expand that to 6.1 but there's not really any distance between the wall and the back of the couch so I've never bothered. I could mount it high on the wall and have it pointed downwards onto the couch though.

Any suggestions on brands/models? Priced within reason, but I'd like something of decent quality that'll last for years to come.

 

[turtletrax]

Big fan of Anthem MRX lineup. ARC room correction is deadly and the new lineup uses USB instead of serial port. I have a MRX 500, but have heard that the 310 is a solid upgrade. They are not cheap but they are tanks and have impressive sound.

I have vintage JBL monitors with 15" alnico subs and room correction managed to smooth mid bass to perfection and ramp into my boxed sub amazingly well. My Pioneer Elite stuff never got close to sounding good.

 

[KaptCrunch]

look at Yamaha new RX-V477 5.1 loaded with goodies, streaming and App control the V577 same but 7.1 $500 amazon

been happy with my 1900 only has 3 hdmi ports and no wifi

 

[JD]

Big fan of Anthem MRX lineup. ARC room correction is deadly and the new lineup uses USB instead of serial port. I have a MRX 500, but have heard that the 310 is a solid upgrade. They are not cheap but they are tanks and have impressive sound.

I have vintage JBL monitors with 15" alnico subs and room correction managed to smooth mid bass to perfection and ramp into my boxed sub amazingly well. My Pioneer Elite stuff never got close to sounding good.

While that looks amazing, the price too is "amazing"

The speakers I have definitely don't warrant that. It's more of a "simple" HT setup, only really for TV/Movie viewing. It consists of Polk Audio RM95 (5.0 set) and a Boston Acoustics CS10 sub. I did switch out the center for the Definitive ProCenter 2000. I also have an old Polk CSi30 center kicking around too. I've considered upgrading bits and pieces, but really, I don't have much space to work with. I'm thinking I might look into replacing the sub though or at least trying to set it up differently since I don't think it sounds "right" currently.

look at Yamaha new RX-V477 5.1 loaded with goodies, streaming and App control the V577 same but 7.1 $500 amazon

been happy with my 1900 only has 3 hdmi ports and no wifi

That's definitely more within reason I think, $400-500 is probably where I'll be looking.

This seems largely comparable to the Yamaha, but with AudessyXT which I think is better than YAPO? Seems Audessy is kind of the de'facto standard but some would say otherwise. Though I believe Netflix primarily uses Dolby Digital Plus for 5.1 audio, which it seems Denon lacks in general?
DENON CA | AVR-X2000

Receiver | A/V Receiver | Stereo Receiver | AVR | TX-NR636 | Onkyo CANADA (surprisingly good discount with NCIX PP) but seems they've dropped Audessy for their own calibration. Not really sure on the quality as a whole as it seems to have a lot of features for the price.

At the upper-end of the budget: VSX-1124-K - 7.2 Channel Networked AV Receiver with HDMI 2.0 | Pioneer Electronics USA This now includes bass EQ which is brand-new to Pioneer in this year. Uses some sort of "premium" DAC too.

Personally I've never thought highly of Pioneer or Onkyo though (not really sure why), but they seem fairly well regarded on AVSForums. However, that community makes me want to spend tons of money after I start reading anything there so I try not to browse there too much :haha:

And yes, these are only 2014 models. Figure I should just stick to the latest than buying older-generations. I think those are my 4 possible options, unless I'm forgetting other brands? I think the rest of the brands push into audiophile territory and end up outside of my budget.

 

[Vittra]

You're forgetting Marantz, which is usually comparitive with Denon and better than Onkyo and (current day) Pioneer. Although I have an Pioneer Elite SC-05 myself, I'd probably steer towards the other brands these days. That being said depending on which Sabre DAC is on that Pioneer, it can actually be exceptionally good. As you've already found, Onkyo usually gives you better bang for your buck overall.

I don't want to influence you to spend more money, but around 700 - $1K is really the sweet spot for a receiver that provides everything you need, including proper amplification. I'd hate to see you buy something in the $500 range and be asking for suggestions again in a couple of years :/.

Note - Audessy has become the "standard", but some will argue it isn't worth it until you get into the Audyssey XT32 range. Very subjective feature.

 

[JD]

So you'd say this: Marantz CA | NR1604 is better than all of the above? The lack of height seems odd but I mean if they can fit better components in there, so be it.

The NR1504 is definitely more within my price range, but lacks 1 HDMI port on the back.

Arguably, on paper, all these look about the same. There's no discernible specs that I can judge by to say "yes product A is better than product B".

I mean, price isn't a huge concern, I want something good for the price. At the same time, I don't think I need a $2k receiver for speakers that have cost me <$1k.

 

[Vittra]

I should note Marantz was simply another option to explore. Amplification on the NR1504/NR1604 is weak on those slim ones at 50w @ 8ohms per chan. Your current one outputs at 125w per channel @ 8ohms. Based on your speakers efficiency and power range I'd avoid the smaller ones just in case. You'd have to go with the SR5008 minimum if looking at Marantz but that's going to cost you just shy of 1K.

I think of everything you are currently considering, the RX-V477 offers you nearly everything at the price point you are looking at. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on Audyssey vs it's rival technologies unless you are looking to get XT32 at which point you are in the price range of the Anthems anyway (ARC is arguably better).

 

[Nodscene]

The big issue with all those receivers is that the power rating you are seeing is at best 2 channels driven and will drop significantly the more speakers you connect to it. Not to mention it will have zero dynamic range. There are very few quality receivers that have any kind of output without spending a lot of money. Unless of course you go seperates but that will bring your pricing to a whole new level. Of you go seperates then you can probably find some good deals but you will be pushing $700 min.

Second option is to go with something like the Emotiva Fusion 8100 (Fusion 8100 | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and monoblock amplifiers, as) although that only gives you 4 HDMI. You can always get a decent HDMI splitter though or with the left over connections, send the audio through spdif/optical/7.1 analogue and send the video to the tv. This little beast does 110W into 2 channels and 65W into 7 channels and will blow away anything mentioned in this thread so far. Check often for sales or ask about B-Stock although it's a new product so you may not have much luck there.

If you can find a used Sherbourn SR-8100 that would be ideal (NAD, Rotel and the likes are a lot more expensive offering little in return). I have one of their processors and the sound is amazing. With a little bit of patience and some luck you can end up with a great system at significant savings. If I would have paid retail for my system it would have cost over $7500 but managed to get it for closer to $3500 B-stock, used, and sales are your friends haha.

 

[howpet]

I'm not an audiophile by any means but give Harman Kardon a look.
Harman Kardon - Home Audio - Components - Audio Video Receivers

Read up on power ratings and sound quality The high power amps you'll love...but probably not you're neighbors. H/K pricing has been very, very competitive recently.

Take a look at the AVR1565 and AVR1650

95 watts, 5 channels....Free clean air and lots of it is highly recommended. Had problems with my AVR 525 in a tv stand but luckily H/K has service dealers in Toronto area. Newer models probably run cooler but cool is always better.

 

[Nodscene]

I think your best bet would to just get an HDMI splitter and it's going to be extremely difficult or impossible to find a receiver in your price range with that many ports.