What's a good HT receiver for audio?

Mr. Sharpe

By "for audio" I mean that the only sources I'll be running is a Blu-Ray and Cd player. We'll be getting rid of the cable soon, nothing really good to watch on there anymore and paying $100/month for 200 channels I don't watch well... ya know, that could go towards other things.

I have been looking at older Denon receivers and there are many that match my Denon 3910 player, or maybe even a 3930... depends really on whether or not I actually change to blu-ray's or start buying new movies period. The only thing new I'd be getting is the stuff my son watches on tv, not even much of that really.

like I said this will only be for audio (no pass-through vidoe etc.), fiber optic for movies, and analog for cd. I've read a good bit about say Denon avr-4806, 4805, 3805, 2807 etc. those would be the ones. I can't do anything too huge lol.

I've also considered some of Marantz's slim-line receivers, you can get some of the older models for not too expensive and i have considered getting one of these instead. like a 1403, 1602, etc. For some reason these have been an after-thought though because I want one that will match my 3910. But if marantz would be the better choice then it's not biggie.

Like I said, the only real reason I was looking some of the Denon's was to match the 3910... it'd look cool but if the receiver won't do all the processing a new receiver will do then never mind that. I know that a Marantz would do pretty much anything processing wise since it's new and all my movies are pretty old. I would use this one for pass-through stuff. We'll say budget is $400.

so either way it's mostly for audio but with a marantz I would use pass through. just not with a Denon.

Mr. Sharpe

Guess I should rename this "marantz or denon"?

mantis

Hello,
I have no idea what you mean by to huge. I got questions.

1) What speakers are you using?
2) How many channels do you need?
3) What size room is it?
4) No video switching is kind dumb, one cable one way one direction , clean setup. HDMI is the way to go.Why?

I'd suggest finding a used Rotel RSX model receiver for excellent sound reproduction. Or look for a B&K AVR. NAD also makes killer receivers for sound quality and all of these can drive just about anything out there with few exceptions.

Denon makes fine receivers but not for my taste. Musically they are nice and if you have listened and enjoyed then by all means look for a AVR3801 / 2 / 3 at the entry level and really avr4800 or above newer models yield better results.
You talked about going to huge but not many if any thin receivers have excellent sound quality.

Mr. Sharpe

by huge I mean denon 5308.

speakers CV U-103 but will eventually have something differnt.
5 channels.
pretty big.
why is no video switching dumb? I will have one video source, either blu-ray or DVD.

Why Rotel? I don't mean to sound rude but I don't really need or want something that is way expensive or to wow my neighbors, anything other than what I have (better brand) will do, like a denon or Marantz.

Like was said, I'll be using a different amp for the front speakers. Are the Marantz slim-line receivers no good? have you heard them? i've only read good things about them.

thank you for the reply. I'll see if my equipment will show in this post... probably not.

Mr. Sharpe

here's all of everything.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=110532

right now in my ht I have the sony receiver and denon DVD2800.

jbooker82

Why would you run your audio from the BluRay player via fiber optic. Do you not like HD Audio? You have to use an HDMI cable to get lossless HD Audio.

Mr. Sharpe

If I have an old denon receiver they only have video pass through right? the ones I've been looking at. and that's only assuming I change to blu-ray at all. like I said, I'm getting to where I rarely ever buy new movies anymore and I have a large dvd collection.

jbooker82

I just figure hdmi is easier and cleaner. One cable from your BluRay to the avr, and one from the AVR to tv. Then you can change both sound and video with one button. No need to change the video on your tv and the audio on your AVR.

cnh

I have an old Denon AVR 2807. Not a bad piece. It has 2 HDMI Version 1.1 which means that if you have a Blu-ray player that can send HD surround formats to it as LPCM it will do your HD sound fine! It is also does pass through on video. So although it's dated by current standards it can do what you want. And it's NOT a bad pre-amp for an AVR, reasonably musical.

I've also found that these Denons seem to like the Polk Rti and Rti-A series speakers quite a bit. The lower Monitor 70s series also works well with them. Denon and Polk? A pretty good combo!

I have not heard the Marantz and Polks but I have heard the Marantz 600X series and I also think those are warmer and more musical than a lot of other AVRs.

Although the 2807 is not quite in the same league as the 480X (in terms of power), it does share many of the features and the technology of the models just above it. When it first came out, years ago, it was rated Best in its Class according to CNET. Which is one reason I decided to take a look at it.

Although it now powers my secondary home theater in the basement and the Onkyo TX-SR 805 does the main duties upstairs. The Denon sounds a little better for two channel than the much heavier and more powerful Onkyo.

Plus all those higher models as still "made in Japan" pieces so I expect a higher level of reliability!

Good Luck!

cnh

Mr. Sharpe

cnh wrote: »

I have an old Denon AVR 2807. Not a bad piece. It has 2 HDMI Version 1.1 which means that if you have a Blu-ray player that can send HD surround formats to it as LPCM it will do your HD sound fine! It is also does pass through on video. So although it's dated by current standards it can do what you want. And it's NOT a bad pre-amp for an AVR, reasonably musical.

I've also found that these Denons seem to like the Polk Rti and Rti-A series speakers quite a bit. The lower Monitor 70s series also works well with them. Denon and Polk? A pretty good combo!

I have not heard the Marantz and Polks but I have heard the Marantz 600X series and I also think those are warmer and more musical than a lot of other AVRs.

Although the 2807 is not quite in the same league as the 480X (in terms of power), it does share many of the features and the technology of the models just above it. When it first came out, years ago, it was rated Best in its Class according to CNET. Which is one reason I decided to take a look at it.

Although it now powers my secondary home theater in the basement and the Onkyo TX-SR 805 does the main duties upstairs. The Denon sounds a little better for two channel than the much heavier and more powerful Onkyo.

Plus all those higher models as still "made in Japan" pieces so I expect a higher level of reliability!

Good Luck!

cnh

aw see now I thought the 2807 only did video pass through! denon's product sheet on it says it does but obviously it does audio too:D so happy! thank you so much!!!