High End Receiver Choice

Charles Rose

Just wanted to get some opinions on the these three A/V receivers. If you could by one which one would it be and why?

Denon AVR-5803
B&K AVR 507
Pioneer Elite VSX-49TXi

These seem to be the flagship models for the resepctive companies, and they all are around the same price. Which system seems to be the best (most robust...capable of high current etc.)? Just reading the specs makes it difficult to distinguish.

CR

hamzahsh

I would love to buy Denon AVR-5803 if my budget allows. Nothing compares, best AVR!

robodell

No Rotel RSX-1065 in your list? I recently acquired this unit and love it. It only has 5 amps, but decodes 7.1, so you will need an additional two amps if 7.1 is where you are going. I have an LSi HT setup and need the high current: Into 4 ohms, it puts out 198 watts per channel continuous at .1% distortion, 238 watts per channel at 1%, plus some "dynamic reserve" on top of that. Its a big unit that runs warm when you push it, and has a built in fan that kicks in when needed and thermal overload protection just in case (although I have never heard the fan kick in and never heard of it tripping from anyone who has one). Rotel takes pride in their power supplies. Very high build quality, 5 year warranty, excellent customer service, etc. List is $2000, and you will not get more than 10% off.

The sound from the Rotel is a bit "detailed" and matches very well with the "laid back" LSi. It is supposed to have an excellent tuner ...although I'm not in good area for FM.

I personally don't like Denon with LSi, the Denon is too flat ...not bright enough for the LSi.

I have not auditioned the Pioneer Elites, but hear that the newer units are not really that good at handling high current - they tend to trip alot.

I have not auditioned the B&K, but hear great things about it.

Hope this helps & good luck.
Rob

Dr. Spec

B&K - the best choice of the ones you listed.

Doc

wallstreet

This came for a S&V article I had a couple of years ago. The article compared flagships for Pioneer, Marantz, and B&K.

Pioneer- Best choice for flagship performance at reasonable cost.

B&K - Will certainly please the more technically adventurous shopper as well as those who demand very high power and performance levles along with tremendous adaptability to different kinds of system setups and room acoustics.

Marantz - Well suited for those who want to be utterly confident of benchmark quality audio and video.

I bought the B&K.

polkatese

Charles,
I too, would go with 507...

Rob,
if you get strong FM signal, 1065 shines really well! I was in the similar situation with FM reception. So, I installed a Channel Master directional antenna in the attic. It works great! I tried the indoor-type of powered antenna, it wasn't work that great, beside, price-wise, they are actually more expensive than a CM 3016 that I use.

Sorry for the derail, now back to original program in progress...

rskarvan

At the price of these receivers, you should go ahead and bite the bullet and go for seperates. In the long run, its a better investment. Of the ones you have listed, there is no doubt in my mind that the B&K is the best choice - because, it is basically, seperates in a combined unit (if that makes sense at all). The others are just high-powered receivers.

Tour2ma

AVR ---- the 507

.... But agree that separates need to be considered.

botany

Hands down for me is the Pioneer Elite VSX 49-TXi, Why? I have one and its the best sounding receiver I have ever had.
I had seperates before going to the Pioneer, and this beast is by far better then my H/K setup in (MOP)

iLink: the ilink interface makes it possible to connect the receiver to ilink equipped componets such as a DVD player (47ai)

MCACC: this receiver makes trouble free setup a snap. The MCACC adjusts the vparameters to establish excellent surround sound effects (9-ban).

THX Ultra2 certified

Pioneer Video converter

Weight of unit 79 Lbs.

These are just a few of the the things I like about Pioneer 49TXi.

Also, if you want to buy I can help you with buying from a Auth. dealer at a very good price.

Email me if you want,

Botany

mantis

Charles Rose,
here's the deal.They are all well respected receivers designed for a certain kind of speakers.

The Pioneer Elite is killer.Has all the features you could want.The video upconverting is excellent.MCACC is what I think all receivers should have.SOund quality when properly matched is one of the best.

The Denon avr5803 is a connecting and feature machine.Nothing and I do mean nothing on the market has better of both.Denon rules here.It also sounds terrific with matching speakers.

The truth about japanese receivers on the market is that they run out of steam.There reserves suffer at reference levels.Had to drive speakers sound better on better power....ed receivers.

The avr507 the best of the bunch when driving difficult speakers.They comment about it being seperates in one box is true to a point.It is a receiver but has the quality of seperates and built that way.You could go as far as calling it an intergraded.I own B&K and dson't look back.I had Pioneer Elite and Denon,but I perfer B&K due to the kind of speakers I own.Polk Lsi series.

So basically it comes down to needs.Needs of the speakers.Your needs.

Rotel can hang in there only in sound quality.All 3 flagships kill it for features and preamp flexability.

Rotel is just cheap killer sounding rear.I love it.

robodell

Originally posted by polkatese

Rob,
if you get strong FM signal, 1065 shines really well! I was in the similar situation with FM reception. So, I installed a Channel Master directional antenna in the attic. It works great! I tried the indoor-type of powered antenna, it wasn't work that great, beside, price-wise, they are actually more expensive than a CM 3016 that I use.

Polkatese,
I have a old powered Terk antenna, with dismal results. I'll look into the Channel Master antennas. Their web site says that they are carried at Lowe's.

Thanks!

polkatese

Rob,
that is where I got mine from, $34.99 I think, for the 3016, and bought a CM preamp ($55) since I ran RG-6 from the attic (two storey house), so it was about 50' run. I split the signal three ways: one for the 1065, OTA local HDTV, and ref 50 tuner. Works great. I have the indoor powered Terk with a dismal result. I almost bought a Terk TOTL FM50 ($120), but have read that it won't do the job adequately, still. All in all, I am very satisfied with the result.