Reciever

Demiurge

In the next 6 months I'm going to need to get a new reciever and I'm wondering what direction to go in. In the past I was sold on the Denon 3803, but Rotel has really gotten my eye. With the speakers I have and the fact that I'm going to be getting a SVS and some FXi50s added in the next year or so what would you guys reccommend?

I'm a guy who likes consistency in my equipment...so if I go with a brand I'm going to want to stick with it. So like if I get a Rotel reciever I'm going to want all Rotel componnents.

What about AMPs?

I'm mostly interested in hearing from the Rotel and Denon owners. Those are the 2 companies I'm narrowed down to right now.

I'm also confused on what would be a good model.

dave shepard

For me it is the 3803 from 6th ave. at $699.06 it is still one of the best deals offered.

Dave

pjdami

For me it is the 3803 from 6th ave. at $699.06 it is still one of the best deals offered.

I'll have to agree with this one. Unless you are looking into getting into LSi later on the Denon is a fine choice.

I owned a Rotel RSX1055 receiver for a little over six months this year. Very nice and solidly built receiver but there was one thing that I didn't like about it that was driving me nuts and I didn't realize this until after I had purchased the receiver. Rotel's bass management for two channel audio sends the full range signal to your mains even if you set them to small if you are using analog inputs (say from your cd player). If you use the digital coax out on the cd player it would work properly but the DACs in the Rotel didn't sound as good as the DACs in the cd player to my ears.

This was a big issue for me with my LSi 15s since my left main is positioned relatively close to a wall corner compared to the right main. When listening to two channel music (with a sub) which is still my preference over multichannel audio, I could localize the overaccentuation of the bass from the left main because it was playing below the 80 hz crossover setting I chose. This was driving me nuts for a while but I lived with it.

I stumbled across a new B&K 307 receiver at a significant discount from an authorized dealer and jumped on it. With the $1,000 price drops that B&K recently announced on the newer 507 line there are some deals to be had out there on the 307s.

I then did a mega receiver shootout RSX1055 vs. B&K AVR307. I thought it was going to take me a longer time to decide which one I liked better but the B&K I liked better almost immediately. More relaxed sounding on the midrange and a tad bit sweeter on the highs which is a good thing for me since I have relatively "harsh" sounding acousitics in my living room with ceramic tile. Also, no bass management issues whatsoever with the B&K and a friendlier menu system with room notch equalization and a host of other things that are very nice.

So, I would still recommend Rotel based on the sound quality but thought I might just let you know about the bass management issues as these issues also exist in the multichannel stereo modes but there is a fix out there for that that requires a resister to be cut or something. I didn't want to mess around with all of that though.

I now have B&K in my two channel rig in my office and in my home theater rig in the living room and I couldn't be happier or more satisfied. B&K amplification is about as close to tube sound that I have heard from solid state equipment. Very relaxed, neutral sounding and true.

cfrizz

Both are excellent choices, but I would go with Rotel. I had a Rotel Amp & Preamp/Tuner which I gave to my brother. I wanted to get into HT and the Rotel had become outgrown. I would have gotten a Rotel if I could have afforded it. How I wish Tweeter carried Rotel, then I could've financed it as I did my Denon 3802.

I got the Denon because it came the closest to matching my Rotel musically. This was the most important factor for me. I have not been disappointed, but if I suddenly had a way of getting the Rotel, I would do it in a heart beat.

dorokusai

Demi - I am like you, about the matching gear thing. I would go for the Rotel, and its often cheaper than the B&K. PJ mentioned some deals, and that may also be a deciding factor for B&K tho'

Perhaps even get into another brand, NAD or Anthem for example. I get pretty tired of hearing the same old "insert manufacturer here", all day every day thing, high end gear is high end gear, damn near regardless of manufacturer.

Demiurge

Man...I just checked out the B&Ks on a few websites and it looks like it's going to run me about $2700.

Do you guys think it's best for me to just go with the Denon for now since I could most likely get a Denon DVD player and the 3803 for under $1000 all together or to just save up for a monster AVR with all the bells & whistles?

It's kind of a confusing thing. I mean...I guess I'm asking myself if it makes sense to spend that kind of money on an AVR at this point in my life.

I mean the reciever I have now is about as low end as you can get on the DTS/DD 5.1 scale. I bought it about 3-4 years ago and I'm not too into Sony products as of late.

Going from a once $500 Sony AVR to a $2,700 B&K AVR is quite a jump.

Bleh, I'm still confused. I wouldn't be having this problem if I could demo some of these AVRs on Polk Speakers, but CC doesn't carry the products I'm considering.

My 'High End Store' for A/V Electronics is Flanner's Audio & Video. They are VERY highly spoken of in this community, but they don't carry the polk line. So it's safe to say I'm not going to know what they have that will match up with what I have for speakers.

That's the big predicament. I mean this is about the biggest addition a person can make to their HT so I don't just wanna make a blind purchase on the net. It's also why I've held off so long on pulling the trigger on AVR. I've read a lot on these forums and EVERYONE seems to have a different opinion on what matches well with their Polks.

So what other options do I have?

I'll check out NAD, but Frank-Z's Anthem debacle has me runnin' scared.

scottvamp

Spend $2700 or $1000 or less, your call. Onkyo or Denon is going be an good upgrade over the Sony. Get what you pay for.....
Running "small" on my $1500 Onkyo, it would take a large jump in quality/price for me to notice a good difference.

Demiurge

Yeah...I just checked out the NADs and there seem to be a CRAPLOAD of bug issues with their recievers.

Which Onk model do you have Scott?

scottvamp

It is the 898, that is now the 901.
Onkyo 901

pjdami

Demi,

I think you would be happy with the Denon / RTi70 setup. Doc has this setup and likes it alot (although he has the predecessor to the RTi70 the RT800i). The Denon has got a lot of user friendliness and its ability to mate well with the RT series speakers has been documented numerous times here on the forum. This is going to be the most affordable acceptable solution.

Now, if you decide you may want a receiver that can handle 4 ohm loads for future upgradeability NAD or Rotel comes to mind but at a higher price than the Denon. The NADs and Rotel are not going to as user friendly (kind of quirky but liveable) with some rather strange menu systems but heck they work. NAD has an authorized dealer online here:

http://www.yawaonline.com/nadreceivers.html

Their new receivers, the T7X3 lines are out and they look really nice.

Rotel RSX1055 you can usually get a 10% dealer discount off from an authorized dealer. I paid $1150 plus tax for mine... just to give you a point of reference. Rotel RSX1055 vs. NAD T762 I spent a few hours listening to both at the dealer on some Paradigm Reference speakers and man they were both very good sounding. Rotel sound quality is very good. Perhaps they have fixed the bass management problem with the newer production models so its worth asking about if you have a local dealer.

The B&K that you are looking at for $2,700 is the new AVR507. The older AVR307 can be found for under $2,000 if you look hard enough. Try Audiogon because some of the authorized dealers are unloading them there. The 307, Brett and Mantis have this model and can be upgraded to 507 status. Have the same amps as the 507 and Dolby Digital and DTS which is all I use right now anyways.

I know its tough deciding... been there and done that.

Demiurge

I'll see if I can demo it somewhere. Looks like the lowest price I've found on it is about $1,250 after a tad bit of searching.