Trying to Choose Receiver

TundraDCab

I'm looking for some input on choosing a receiver. I am in the process of putting together my system and was looking at the Denon AVR-3806 and my sales rep at Tweeter recommended the Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXVi. Does anyone have any experience with either of these? I am leaning toward the Denon but am still unsure. Thanks in advance...

cfrizz

Hi Tundra welcome!

Take some of your favorite music that you know very well & go listen to both and let your own ears decide which one has the right sound for you.

What speakers do you have/getting? Make sure to check them out with those speakers.

TundraDCab

I did spend some time there the other night and I listened to both but it's so hard to tell in the room. Here's what I'm thinking so far...

Sony 60" Grand Wega SXRD
Sony HDMI DVD NS90V (I don't want to spend a bundle on a dvd just yet with new hd dvd's coming)
Denon AVR3806
Polk RTi10 front
Polk CSi5 center
Polk PSW505 sub

I haven't decided on surrounds yet. I'm currently running a 5.1 set-up and going to a 7.1. I just starting browsing the internet today and have been reading about the differences between direct fire and bipolar/dipolar surrounds. (I'm more confused).

My setup will be used for movies and HDTV, I really don't ever listen to music.

I'm in the process of fininshing the basement and would like to be all set-up by the end of March but don't want to make any poor choices when spending this much money.

I appreciate the help, thanks again!!!

cmy330go

Cfrizz is right. Both are good receivers, just pick the one that sounds best to you.

I hope you are not shopping at the same tweeter (Schaumburg, IL) I was in recently. They had an entire room wired out of phase. The funny thing is it was their "high end" room.

Welcome to the forum....and happy shopping!

Dave

aaharvel

FXi3's or 5's all the way Tundra, and I'd stick with Denon. welcome to Club Polk.

Pablo

I haven't tried the Pio, but I have nothing bad to say about my Denon.

cfrizz

I love my Denon as well! Looks like you are going to have a great setup!

*Seby*-Polk-

Those receivers are great. Also, you may consider in the discussion a models of Harman Kardon and Yamaha (like the RX-V2600 which sounds great) for make a "real" conclusion.

TundraDCab

I haven't looked into the Yamaha yet but my rep was telling me that they just came out with new receiver that does something special with HDMI and suppossedly it's the only one that does this. I don't remember what he was talking about, I had heard so may great things about Denon that I probably wasn't listening very well. Plus that I was still in awe over the picture on the Sony and my brain wasn't retaining too much...

*Seby*-Polk-

mmm...i don't know. Anyway all Denon models are great. Listen both and decide !!! (IMHO Pioneer doesn't have the sound clarity as Denon or Yamaha)

TundraDCab

Thanks again for all the help everyone, I'll prob go with the Denon. I've had a lot of people recommend them. Now to figure out the rear surround deal...

Holydoc

Nice system Tundra! Welcome to the forum. Can't help you much with your receiver selection since I haven't owned either.

However since your next step is surrounds, I would agree with Andrew (I do that alot) and go with the FXi series.

peteran

Tundra If you are willing to wait until March, Denon is coming out with the 2807 model.

http://www.cnet.com/4831-11405_1-6413272.html

*Seby*-Polk-

Anybody knows if Yamaha upgrades this models 457/557/657/757 in the next months ???

mldennison

TundraDCab wrote:

Thanks again for all the help everyone, I'll prob go with the Denon. I've had a lot of people recommend them. Now to figure out the rear surround deal...

looks like you have a great system there. i have the 3802 and love it. as for the surrounds, i would agree, try out the fxi series. i would also recommend some caution when going to 7.1, from the few setups i have heard there was not all that much benifit from 5.1 to 7.1, see how you like 5.1 before you sink the cash for the other 2 speakers.

RoosterD

TundraDCab wrote:

I'm looking for some input on choosing a receiver. I am in the process of putting together my system and was looking at the Denon AVR-3806 and my sales rep at Tweeter recommended the Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXVi. Does anyone have any experience with either of these? I am leaning toward the Denon but am still unsure. Thanks in advance...

Well one of the reasons why I was deciding against the 3805 which is pretty much 3806, is the power ratings. I have a 5.1 LSi setup, and wanted to be sure that the Denon could power it without any heat issues, or the unit shutting off since the LSi's are 4 Ohm speakers and sometimes dip down to 2 Ohms. After a lot of research from both internet related info, and information from a reputable audiofile from Audio Extasy in San Luis Obispo, I was told that the Denon 3805 should have no trouble running the LSi's. I bought the 3805, and haven't had any hint of heat related issues, and though the LSi15's need a little more power, I made the right choice in my oppinion. I recently bi-amped the LSi15's and personally noticed a big difference in terms of the 8" subs on the 15's. Also, I just found this http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/assets/download/DenonAVR-3805lab.pdf
which would have made the purchase a little easier too. I was told by a number of people that Denon overinflated their power ratings. 120/channel would be closer to 70-80W/Ch. I guess they were wrong.

thuchien

i tried both denon 3805 and pio 72. i think pio 72 is sound better with my rit10

stay away frm hk not sound good on my rti10

gregure

If you're married to Denon, more power to you, but I used to sell receivers at Magnolia and found that Pioneer Elite, invariably, is a much better receiver. More power, completely stable into 4 ohms w/o compression, a huge problem with Denon, and more detailed than Denon. Denon is oft described as warm, but I think what people are hearing is more a subdued sound due the lack of detail. Denons also have rather muddy bass in my opinion. The PE VSX56TXi was even better than the new 74, as they were still powered w/ MOSFET amps and had even more power, but they switched to Bipolar amps to keep the price bracket the same with all the new features (iPod interface, XM radio, etc).
If you're into the features offered by PE and Denon, by all means, go with them. However, the 10's really shine with superior amplification (B&K vs. Denon is absolutely no comparison, but we're talking about a $2500 difference). In my experience, in the $1200-$1500 price bracket, Marantz SR8500 had the most open, detailed and warm sound for music that I've heard, and this was using $3500 4 Ohm Vienna Acoustics Beethoven speakers. Marantz was easily the best against Denon 3806 and PE VSX 74. However, Marantz is very sound quality oriented, and you won't get the features offered w/ Denon and PE. No XM radio (do you really need it?) and no ipod interface, although any iPod can be plugged in using a mini-2rca cable. Again, find what best suits your ears' pleasure, but the Marantz gets my vote any day of the week.

EricBurg

Also, I just found this http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/****...VR-3805lab.pdf
which would have made the purchase a little easier too. I was told by a number of people that Denon overinflated their power ratings. 120/channel would be closer to 70-80W/Ch. I guess they were wrong.

I would be careful in interpreting those power numbers. It only is putting out around 90 wpc when all 7 channels are driven, which doesn't sound that bad, but look at the testing method...It is a constant 1khz 8 ohm resistance...which is a very easy load for most amplifiers to handle. In the real world, even 8 ohm speakers are going to change impedance with varying frequencies. A much better rating would be a 20hz-20khz measure at a specified distortion, rather than at clipping.

One thing to think about is that the RTi10's do like a little "extra" power and can really sing with good amplification. I have a pioneer 1015 (talk about inflated power specs) and was running the RTi10's off the reciever power. But they just didn't seem to sound like I thought they should. The bass seemed weak and the higher frequencies had a "distortion" to them when playing at higher volumes (approaching reference levels). So, I added a high current Rotel 1075 amplifier to the setup (120x5) and was really impressed with the sound quality. Its hard to describe the sound difference, but I would say the sound is more "detailed" and solid.

Since you are already looking to spend a pretty good penny on a reciever, I would suggest that you look at some of the seperates or higher end recievers. Look for real world power ratings and maybe skimp on the "feature" packed recievers that offer things you won't ever use.

Just some thoughts.

Good luck with your search.

Eric