Help me pick a receiver that's best for me.

Imspun4u · May 2010

Here go's, I am building my ht a few pieces at a time. I am having fun researching but could use some help. I am a semi-audiophile-videophile and here's where I am at so far. I bought a pair of Polk Rti8 Floor Standing Speakers. A Polk DSM 2000 micro subwoofer and Oppo BDP83 SE Blue ray. So what receiver should I go with? Onkyo, Harman Karmon, what? The center channel and rear's will be next but the SE has me concerned as to what would be best with it under $600.00.

mystik610 · May 2010

Imspun4u wrote: »

Here go's, I am building my ht a few pieces at a time. I am having fun researching but could use some help. I am a semi-audiophile-videophile and here's where I am at so far. I bought a pair of Polk Rti8 Floor Standing Speakers. A Polk DSM 2000 micro subwoofer and Oppo BDP83 SE Blue ray. So what receiver should I go with? Onkyo, Harman Karmon, what? The center channel and rear's will be next but the SE has me concerned as to what would be best with it under $600.00.

I'd hop on this if I were you:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Harman-Kardon-HK-AVR-254-7-1-Home-Theater-Receiver-HDMI-/390189181079?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Receivers_Tuners&hash=item5ad9166897

I'm using an Onkyo 707 as a pre/pro, and a Harman Kardon Signature 2.1 as my amp. The HK amp has a very good synergy with my RTi8's. I was having trouble with my amp the other day, and had my Onkyo driving the RTi8's for a while....to me it sounded very bright, and very harsh. Not that the Onkyo is bad, its just that I had grown accustomed to the rich mid-range the RTi8's had when being driven by the Harman Kardon. It's all relative.

The RTi line of speakers are very detailed at the higher frequencies...which can make them sound a too bright at times. You really want to use warm sounding components to bring out the mid-range and make them sound fuller IMO. Harman Kardon gets my vote, although I do like the processing capabilities, particularly audyssey, on the Onkyo much better that what's offered on HK receivers.

ben62670 · May 2010

I second the HK recommendation. Don't get hung up on lower wattage of the HK's. HK has plenty of currant and that is what you want.
Ben

Sherardp · May 2010

I would suggest you go to a local BB and listen to the HK, Denon, Pioneer Elites and then shop around for deals online. I like the sound of the IceAmps in the Elite lineup from Pioneer. You can see a ton of reviews here if you search the forum, a SC-05 should be in your price range and will pair up nicely with the Oppo.

mdaudioguy · May 2010

ben62670 wrote: »

I second the HK recommendation. Don't get hung up on lower wattage of the HK's. HK has plenty of currant and that is what you want.
Ben

+2! I picked up one of those for a great price on ebay. It plays wonderfully with my RTis. I tried others... HK won it for me. Good luck!

acmf74 · May 2010

Definitely check out eBay....saved tons of dough shopping there.

Imspun4u · May 2010

Thanks a lot and I will be checking into these!

Imspun4u · May 2010

How about the HK 2600? For a few bucks more I can get one and I like how it cuts out the loud commercial's. Seems to have better video upconversion as well. Will the synergy still be strong with this one?

mystik610 · May 2010

Imspun4u wrote: »

How about the HK 2600? For a few bucks more I can get one and I like how it cuts out the loud commercial's. Seems to have better video upconversion as well. Will the synergy still be strong with this one?

My vote is still for the AVR 254 actually...mostly because it has pre-outs and the 2600 doesn't. Pre-outs essentially future-proof your purchase....if you ever upgrade to speakers that are more power-hungry, or simply want to benefit from running a separate amp, you have the option of doing so, and using the AVR254 as a pre-pro. I actually went through that exact process myself...starting with the Onkyo 707 by itself, and deciding to add the HK Signature amp eventually.

Dolby Volume hasn't been received well, and most people seem to prefer to leave it off.

cnh · May 2010

Imspun4u wrote: »

How about the HK 2600? For a few bucks more I can get one and I like how it cuts out the loud commercial's. Seems to have better video upconversion as well. Will the synergy still be strong with this one?

No pre-outs on the newer 2600....you're better off with the previous model....AVR254!

+1, on the new Pioneer model!!

cnh

Imspun4u · May 2010

I researched the pionners and found they had way to many gizmo's for me. (I did like the wider, higher soundfield in IIplz. Is this something only Pionner has done?) The Harmon Karmon (older versions) sounded good. Being a tube amp user I'm used to a little less wattage. There's a saying that if he first watt is crap then so are all the rest. If Harmen Karmen can pull off the first few watts cleanly then I may have found my amp.
I do late nght listening when the power systems clear and can sometime pull a gooze bump or to,and I liked the Pionners use of ice technolog. I was around when the first spoke of it. Glad to see it comeing along. Is there a difference in sound quality versus the vr254 (30watts) and the avr354 (60 watts)? Thanks, those are my questions and partly my physophy tognight. Mean while, those Polk Rt8 moniors are slowly breaking in. the bass is starting to fall in more and im just wishing for a little more detail. I like them.

searay40dad · May 2010

ok, I'll throw NAD out there... known for 'music first' approach, conservative appearance and ratings, but built w/ quality components and strong, clean reserve power. I recently bought a demo T755 w/ full warranty & shipped for $700...$1300ish new.

you might check some of the demo units and specials these guys are running right now. http://www.saturdayaudio.com

They have some great used gear too that I wouldn't be afraid of. The T737 they have on special is a nice AVR. They stand behind their deals and will work with you.

personally, i think NAD and RTi/RTiAs sound great together. although I have no exp on the NAD-Oppo match up... just my 2 cents...

Imspun4u · May 2010

In my audiophile experience I have heard alot of Nad. I hear they have great detail. I just finished a quick research on the 747 and it sounds wonderful. I will email them and see how they match up with the Oppo se. I don't see anything wrong with theyre features and look forward to seeing what Oppo has to say. The sale price is good and I wouldn't mind going there. Thanks for the info and if your a nad user share some of it's befenfits with us if you have the time. Thanks again,. I' hoping to win the csi5 used center channel on ebay.
Researching last might I found a HK 635 7.1. What I read was this product had a tube like sound but was plagued with problems. Is the NAD bright, neutral or maybe you can fill in the blanks. Thanks, John

Bernal · May 2010

Welcome to Club Polk.
My recommendation is: Denon
www.denon.com

Cthulhu11 · May 2010

I set up an oppo-bdp83 with a denon avr-1910 the other day and they worked flawlessly together but if you want pre-out's for the audiophile side of you, you'll have to go more than 600 to get it from denon.

searay40dad · May 2010

john,
I'd say NAD is neutral although IIRC Kex, Pearsall001 and/or hearingimpared also said it tended to be a little on the warm side. What sold me nearly 30 years ago was the focus on the components vs. bells and whistles...plus the dynamic range. some think its boring gear, I think its "quiet sophistication";)

Prior to my current set-up, I had a T761 driving a set of 10b's--no external amp (and a 3130 integrated for 2 ch before that). The 761, rated at 80w/ch, seemed to drive the 10b's very cleanly and effortlessly. I currently have RTI12s in my set-up and I couldnt be happier with the NAD-Polk match. Its just been a pleasing match over and over for me no matter what pieice gets tied together.

Imspun4u · May 2010

I wish to thank everyone for all the suggestions and good will. Tognight I ordered the NAD T675 from Spirithead. I wanted to do more research on it but it's been a long week. I read it had 3 HDMI cables plus the one needed for the Oppo SE. I figured it was a refurbished Item for 899 that originally went for 2000. Like someone said the Oppo SE went for 899 and needed a higher end product to bring out it's best. I thank all of you again and the Blue Ray player is really working well. Also tonight I hooked up my Polk Audio DSMMicrPro 2000 and realy had fun with it. Even though it was hooked up through regular televison with no sound channels to speak of. In the future I will be looking for a good buy on a csi5 center channel and rears. One piece at a time please. God Bless You All.

searay40dad · May 2010

Outstanding John!! No worries, you made a nice choice and should be quite happy. Let us know how it works out...

when you get ready to pull the string, you might watch Frys.com for the CSi5...I bought one a couple months ago for $214 (inc tax)...no dlvry though...had to pick it up.

I just ordered new FXiA6 surrounds from Sounddistrubutors.com for $396 shipped.
take care

Imspun4u · May 2010

I got an email from Spearit Sound saying my credit card address didn't match up. I called the bank and they said it was an internal problem that should be corrected soon. Just keep calling back until everything's ok. Asking Spearits a few questions I found out that I would have to run everything with rca's since the unit is not HD. I thought I read on the oppo se to get the full benefit you needed the HDMI and an HD receiver. Either way now I will have to buy more rca cables and those can get expensive too. Is this a sign I should backdown to a lower cost Hd unit, maybe from ebay or such? It suck's to be me for now.
John

mystik610 · May 2010

I'd definitely get a receiver that supports HDMI and the latest audio codecs for the sake of future proofing your purchase.

In fact, if I were in the market for a receiver today, I'd make sure to get one with support for HDMI 1.4 spec.....it will keep you from wanting to upgrade anytime soon.

dvran · May 2010

Onkyo 707 or 607

Imspun4u · May 2010

Just wanted to let everyone know I experienced some burn out trying to chose a receiver. I liked the review's on the Denon's, as well the rest. Today was the day and I just bought a Harman Kardon HK AVR 347 7.1 HDMI 3 from ebay. I think this will work just fine for me. Thank's again for all the great suggestion's, welcoming, and I feel like I have friend's here. I love my Polk speaker's and know everyone here does to. That's a great feeling in it self. My Csi5 center channel is on the way as well and all that's left is my rear's now. I have some different one's to play around with for now (3 different types of diy two way's I built). So, we'll see how that work's out. You guy's welcomed me here, offered great advice and I feel a friendly family connection now that is just great. Thank you again for everything and I'm sure you will hear from me again soon. John

Pappy1 · May 2010

Hi John,

Welcome again to Club Polk. It sounds like you have a neat setup. I experienced the same positive feeling when I joined the Club in February, and enjoyed the same support and helpful advice that you did. This is a good group to be associated with.

Best Wishes,

Pappy

AVR - Pioneer VSX 9040TXH
TV - Samsung HL-T6756W DLP
BD - Panasonic DMP-BD605
Cable - CableOne HD DVR
Fronts - Polk Audio Monitor 70s
Center - Polk Audio CS2
Rears - Polk Audio Monitor 60s
Subwoofer - Polk Audio PSW 505

mystik610 · May 2010

Imspun4u wrote: »

Just wanted to let everyone know I experienced some burn out trying to chose a receiver. I liked the review's on the Denon's, as well the rest. Today was the day and I just bought a Harman Kardon HK AVR 347 7.1 HDMI 3 from ebay. I think this will work just fine for me. Thank's again for all the great suggestion's, welcoming, and I feel like I have friend's here. I love my Polk speaker's and know everyone here does to. That's a great feeling in it self. My Csi5 center channel is on the way as well and all that's left is my rear's now. I have some different one's to play around with for now (3 different types of diy two way's I built). So, we'll see how that work's out. You guy's welcomed me here, offered great advice and I feel a friendly family connection now that is just great. Thank you again for everything and I'm sure you will hear from me again soon. John

Congrats!

I think you'll like the AVR 347 quite a bit. Synergy between the speakers and amplifier are most important in choosing a receiver IMO. HK amps really bring out the potential of the RTi's....they need warm components to really bring out their mid-range.

Let us know how it works out for you.

Imspun4u · May 2010

I sure will let everybody know and thank's again for the warm welcome. John

Imspun4u · May 2010

Well, just wanted to update everyone on my choice of the Harman Kardon HK AVR 347 7.1 HDMI 3. I bought the unit from Ebay, refurbished. I have only managed to get half way through the manual before the bug to hook it up and see what happen's hit. I have four in ceiling Polk speaker's on the way for the surround's but I went ahead and used a couple of nice two way's I had for a 5.1 for now. When I cut it on I didn't get a setup screen it just started choosing the surround's mode according to what ever I put into the Oppo Se. Non of the button's on the remote seemed to work except for the power on.
I watched Avatar and was pretty stunned by the detail and how wide the front sound stage was. Tognight I picked up a copy of Master and Commander and the rear's really came alive. I'm not really sure I have the rear's wired to the right channel's for the rear surround but again I was impressed.
I can't wait until I can get all seven channel's working and I expect I need to do a lot more reading into the manual. All I have is the one HDMI going from the Oppo to the receiver. You guy's were right about the HK having plenty of power and I think the synergy with the Polk's is right on. I'm not knocking any of the other A/V's suggested since the HK is all I have heard but I really like it and will probably stick with HK product's in the future.
Hopefully there's nothing defective with it and I just need to finish and understand the manual. It does have an audiophile sound quality and was just what I was looking for. John

Help me pick a receiver that's best for me.

Comments