AV Receiver - best two channel sounds

[damocles]

I am looking at buying a home theatre receiver. I would mainly use it as a two channel music amplifier with occasional 5:1 duties.

My budget is lowish, perhaps $1,200 or so. It would need to have decent HT technology so it wont be obsolete in 2-3 years but I am not too demanding on that front. Pre outs would be nice if I could use power amps to boost audio quality later.

I am hearing that the Onkyo 805 has good sound quality but runs very hot? Some of the NAD stuff looks like it would pair nicely with a CD player but are possibly lacking in some modern technology in my price range.

I am starting to read some guides now but if anyone has a few suggestions, I'll listen happily

Ta

 

[montypythizzle]

Buy the Onkyo 805 and save for speakers and other upgrades.
It has lossless features through HDMI with new HD video formats of course, you can't really get any better than lossless ^_^ Shouldn't be outdated for years
Yeah, it runs hot, but not instant blisters on your hand, maybe around 60C MAX!

 

[damocles]

Originally posted by: montypythizzle
Buy the Onkyo 805 and save for speakers and other upgrades.
It has lossless features through HDMI with new HD video formats of course, you can't really get any better than lossless ^_^ Shouldn't be outdated for years
Yeah, it runs hot, but not instant blisters on your hand, maybe around 60C MAX!

Thanks, does the 705 have the lossless features?

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: damocles
Thanks, does the 705 have the lossless features?

The 805 and 705 have identical processing abilities, so yes it can do the lossless audio decoding. The big thing the 805 adds is a Zone 3, higher peak current (as well as a larger more powerful amplifier in general), THX Ultra2 instead of THX Select2 certification, and Burr Brown DAC's, which are a bit nicer than the DAC's in the 705. But this comes at a cost, since the 805 is about 20lbs heavier and a good deal deeper/taller than the 705 and also runs hotter.

Personally I see the 505, the 605, the 705 then the 875 in Onkyo's lineup as the receivers to buy. The 805 and 575 are the two that I skip, since they add so little for the price as you go up the tree. But thats just my opinion.

For you the 605 fits the minimum you need, the 705 adds a lot to it (better DSP modes for expanding audio to 5.1 and 7.1), multi-eq setup is better than the 605, Pre-outs are huge, also the 3rd HDMI port becomes gold the more equipment you add, as well as other features I cant think of off hand. The 875 is probably overkill, but the HQV Reon 1080p video processor as well as the insane palate of features it possess makes it truly an amazing receiver.

Another brand that you should definitely be looking into is Denon. Their new line of XX8 and XX08 receivers are quite comparable to the Onkyo's, though they are more expensive than Onkyo for the same features. I dont know their lineup off hand, except that you need to look at the receivers above the AVR1908.

*note the AVR1908 is the same as the AVR788, their lineup has some dual models which only differ in the remote they come with and the fact that they are shipped to big-box retailers vs online to make price-matching impossible.

To summarize:
IMO the 650 dollar (can be found for as low as 550) Onkyo 705 fits your needs exactly and will likely be great for what you want. Also its about half your budget which is nice

The 875 would be a big jump, but barely squeezes into your 1200 dollar budget (1195 at BH Photo)

Denon is another great option.

 

[damocles]

Thanks, this is very valuable information for me. I'll check out some of the Denons. Both Denon and Onkyo discount heavily as new lines come in e,g. the Denon 4306 costs the same as the 2808 and a lot of the 07 lines went for about half price.

There are a lot more Denon retailers here than Onkyo also.

I think I need to wait for a special!

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: damocles
Thanks, this is very valuable information for me. I'll check out some of the Denons. Both Denon and Onkyo discount heavily as new lines come in e,g. the Denon 4306 costs the same as the 2808 and a lot of the 07 lines went for about half price.

There are a lot more Denon retailers here than Onkyo also.

I think I need to wait for a special!

Yeah that definitely tends to be the case with receivers, but I find the only thing that tends to match when you compare this years model to last in the same series is the amplifier's power. Every year the features trickle down the line and get better. For instance the Onkyo 705 pretty much compares to the 804 from last year, but it has 1 more HDMI port than the 804 and can also do the lossless HDMI codecs, which the 804 cant.

Pretty much the 705 beats the 804 in every category, except that it does 5W less per channel. However price wise, clearance 804's are just barely more expensive than the 705.

The 2006/2005 models are particularly problematic when it comes to HDMI, because HDMI 1.3 was virtually unseen/unfinalized then. This means some of the things the 2007 receivers can do werent even known back then, so even the top receiver of 2005 might have lack some of the abilities an 07 has just based on what was a standard at the time.

 

[Snakexor]

personally i do not like onkyo receivers, as i think they are cheap in comparison to other brands ie. denon, pioneer elite, mirantz, Yamaha.

the features that the 805 has makes it much better for 2ch stereo listening. krotchy outlined it for you: Burr Brown DACs (make a big difference imho) and the better amp/power transformer. all that really matters in 2ch stereo is a ton of power and bandwidth and clean DACs, which the Burr Brown sure are. up the ante and get the 805 or look into another brand.

read over at avs forum and look at how many people buy a system that fits their budget but not their ears, and they end up spending double because they are buying equipment twice because they upgrade to what they wanted down the road.

 

[erwos]

I would definitely be a little suspicious of older receivers if you're going down the HD-disc route, or planning to in the future - older receivers won't support the newer stuff like Dolby TrueHD, and if you're an audiophile, you'll appreciate the lossless audio those provide. I've always liked the features Denon provides with their receivers, and it seems like the 2808CI might be what you're looking for.

 

[RupTheKid]

www.emotiva.com

 

[uli2000]

Sherwood Newcastle-The 2 channel is just as good or better than the multi channel. Though I havent seen or heard anything from them for awhile.

 

[spidey07]

It's very difficult to get good two channel when using a HT receiver. The requirements are just so different that a HT receiver never does anything really well, but it does do everything. I tried for years to do a two channel and home theater at the same time. I finally wound up with two different systems, one for music, the other for movies/multichannel audio. The amps, pre-amps, DACs in all but the flagship receivers just can't cut it.

You could go with an integrated amp or a pre-amp and power amp to start with 2 channel and at a later time get a receiver for the other stuff. That's about as close as you're going to get to have a good music and surround. 1200 you could find a used Krell integrated amp that would work really well.

 

[Tiamat]

As usual I would agree with Spidey07 on concentrating on good 2-channel. I have a Rotel RB-1070 Amp and Rotel RC-1070 preamp for my stereo and that costs less than 1200$ at your local Rotel dealer. This setup has given me excellent 2-channel playback and I have had no complaints whatsoever through my B&W 804S speakers. The Krell KAV-300 is most often at the 1200$ mark used, the newer KAV-400 is typically 1600$ used and is an integrated amp with a good amount of power, although it runs extremely hot.

An inbetween approach might be to buy a 600$ receiver that has the options you need, and separate power amp for 600$ for your front speakers for 2-channel.

The "better" approach for a higher budget while maintaining 1 system would be to get a 2-channel integrated amp with HT Bypass and a receiver with your wanted features.

 

[spidey07]

The receiver/amp is a good idea as well, but shamefully it is the pre-amp that seems so bad on receivers. At least to me.

I can confirm the kav-300 is fabulous for the money (incredible power), haven't listened to the 400. Can't go wrong with rotel either - I thought they had a decent integrated?

But all this talk about good two channel, speakers and placement should be first concern. Then source. Then pre-amp.

 

[Rio Rebel]

I agree with Spidey and Tiamat. When I hear "audiophile", I don't think of a good receiver. I think of separate amps.

I'm not quite there myself. I have a Denon 3805, and despite being pushed toward the need for hdmi, I still love it and am getting by with the analog inputs.