Denon or onkyo

greene1968 · August 2010

Been looking at receivers online, thinking about replacing my 805 onkyo..wandering about the sound difference between onkyo and denon. Looking at the denon 3310. My system now tends to have a bright sound..and have read that denons favor a warmer sound..any advice?

kawizx9r · August 2010

What's your budget exactly and what are your must-haves for a receiver I.E. # of hdmi inputs/etc.

Don't leave out Marantz AVRs as well!

Telling us what you're currently running would also help, case you're running external amplification or not for your speakers.

-Freddy

greene1968 · August 2010

right now im running a onkyo 805 and a emo xpa3 amp.need 3 hdmi inputs. Id like a warmer sounding setup, my 805 sounds good, but does tend to get bright, hence the reason i was looking at denons, since ive read they are warm sounding. Looking for something around 1k or less.

cnh · August 2010

What speakers are you running with the 805....Onkyos do not sound bright with the right speakers? I have both that Onkyo and an older Denon. Yeah, the Denon is a tad warmer--again with SOME speakers.

If you want really warm go Marantz 6004 or Harman Kardon 3600. Get your 'ears' on as many of these as you can...synergy is, well...

cnh

greene1968 · August 2010

was running polk speakers, rti10, csi5, now running klipsch speakers, which are known to be bright. I must be overly sensitive to bright setups, cause i had the same problem finding a setup for my truck that was warm and laid back:D..are the hk,s any good? i thought i read somewhere the hk,s had quality control problems

cnh · August 2010

I can understand how that might be the case with that set up. The HKs did have quality problems in the past, not sure what state the NEW units are in but there are a few people that run them here and they haven't had problems. I can't speak from personal experience in terms of ownership, only that I've heard these AVRs and they make a nice pre-amp for surround sound.

Maybe someone who owns a newer unit can chime in here. I know what you mean about warm. I'm in that camp myself.

cnh

Krazyz1 · August 2010

Go with the ONKYO. Look up D&M holding company JAPAN. You might be surprised which brands are under their umbrella. McIntosh and Denon are 2 off the top of my head.We all know what " holding company" means. Based on stocks and profit not necessarily anyone giving a crap about what is going out the door with a trusted brand name on the front.

greene1968 · August 2010

been reading up on receivers, lol..the more i read, the more confused:D. I do know i want a warm sounding brand. The marantz seems to get good reviews, the hk,s, im not finding alot of good info on. Seems some people love there hk,s, some people hate em. The marantz 6005 and 7005 look nice and seem to be getting good reviews. I was thinking about the denon 3310, but after doing some reading, its not what i thought. I was thinking it was an upgrade to the 38 series denons(3808), but actually its a step down, so that ones out.

mole' · August 2010

whats your price range

greene1968 · August 2010

mole' wrote: »

whats your price range

like to stay around 1k, maybe more if its worth it:D

mole' · August 2010

Pioneer Elite SC-07/25/27

Marantz 7005

domflane · August 2010

Harman Kardon makes some fine recievers, I've never had a problem with mine. It makes a wonderful pre-amp for my HT, but the amp section itself is very respectable. They do have a very warm natural sound that blends very well with the more forward RTiA series speakers. HK would suit your Klipsch's nicely. Marantz also has some great AVR's that are nice and laid back and would marry well with your speakers. The only one I heard was wasted powering a Bose Acoustimass system, but it did it admirably. Good luck,

Dom

bopicasso · August 2010

greene,
I owned almost the same setup as you. Onk 805, Emo XPA-3 but I had the RTI8s.
It was to bright for me also with music. The problem is all the gear you have is bright or forward sounding. The best way to tame your system would be to swap out the emo for something more laid back like something by B&K. That would be the fix, no matter what receiver you have, the emo will still sound on the bright/forward side with the polks/klipsch. I went through numerous amps, receivers, speakers, and preamps but finally found the sound I am looking for.
As for as the Harman Kardon goes, it was my least favorite. Once you get use to the user friendly Onkyo, the HK is a headache, plus the lack in features makes it even worse.
It does have a nice sounding amp section but that is not worth the trouble. Pioneer Elite is the best sounding receiver that I have tried imo. And the features and price point were perfect for me. The Vsx-21txh can be had for around $500 which is plenty receiver if you are using a external amp. It powers my 6 ohm center channel with no sweat and has all the up to date features except 3d compatability.

greene1968 · August 2010

the setup was bright sounding before i bought the emo amp, so i dont think thats the problem. I also have a onkyo in the bedroom setup, its also a tad bright to me. I just ordered a HK 3600, I stopped in a audio store, and although they didnt sell HK, they did sell klipsch, got to talking to the salesman, and he has my exact speaker setup. He reccomended marantz or HK. I really like the looks of the new marantz 7005, but dont really want to pay 1600 and not sure if it will be what im looking for. So after some browsing last night and this morning, i found a good deal on a hk 3600..hopefully it will be the fix..if not, im back to square 1:D. Im keeping the 805 though..just in case, lol

keeneyrm01 · August 2010

Its a combo of all your gear being on the brighter side. Changing the Onkyo would probably have the smallest change in your sound though because using the external emo amp bypasses the receivers built in amplifiers. The Klipsch speakers being powered by the emo amp would give a very bright sounding setup no matter what your using as your receiver/preamp processor.

rdb2001 · August 2010

I have bought tried and sold every major brand receiver within the last two years. Here are my findings and is subjective because its my listening preference. I own Kefs by the way which are slightly bright and run dedicated amps for all my speakers. I run dual adcoms gfa555II biamping my fronts and A sherwood newcastle to run my surrounds. If you dont think that a receiver can color the sound of your speakers a little bit your kidding. Yamaha just didnt cut it. Very bright did not keep it long. I ran an HK 354. By far the warmest of every receiver I have owned. Absolutely awesome for music. It made my kefs very warm sounding. I miss that receiver. I then after 6 months jumped on the pioneer elite bandwagon and bought the vsx21txh elite. Terrible choice, very dynamic, great receiver for home theater just too bright when I wanted to listen to music. Sold it about 2 weeks ago. My final receiver is the Marantz sr 7002 I just got in. It is being used til I get my dedicated processor for my bday this month. By far the best sounding receiver i Have ever owned. It has the warmth of the HK with detail the HK couldnt provide and amazon has it on sale right now. I will have a dedicated 2 channel rig as soon as I find me a pre. Marantz all the way. IMHO

I have heard onk 805, emo, and rti10s, a good friend has that same setup. It is definitely not a match made in heaven. I couldnt not sit there and listen to music on that setup for more than 10 mins. It was terribly bright to the point I walked out the room.

bopicasso · August 2010

+1 w/ Keeneyrm01

greene,
I went the same road you did, by switching the receiver first. I went to a seperate pre/pro by Rotel and it did not tame the brightness because what makes it bright is the amp section. If you use the HK's amp it will be warm and glorious, but using the emo will still be bright. Once I replaced the emo with a B&K amp it was night and day difference. No more fatigue. Hopefully the HK will give you what you want, but be prepared for a night and day difference. Difference from the user friendly onkyo to the nightmare HK.

concealer404 · August 2010

keeneyrm01 wrote: »

Its a combo of all your gear being on the brighter side. Changing the Onkyo would probably have the smallest change in your sound though because using the external emo amp bypasses the receivers built in amplifiers. The Klipsch speakers being powered by the emo amp would give a very bright sounding setup no matter what your using as your receiver/preamp processor.

This.

greene1968 · August 2010

well i will be able to compare the sound, with and without the emo amp..if the amp causes it to be bright, i'll definately buy a different one. But..i also have a onkyo with a polk surround bar in my bedroom setup..and it sounds bright also, lol..i think i just have a thing for warmer sounding setup

bopicasso · August 2010

Onkyo's amp section is on the bright side as are polk speakers and emo amps. All together not a good combo.

cnh · August 2010

Higher end Onkyos are IMO more 'neutral' than 'bright'. They tend to be quite 'tolerant' of a variety of speakers. Only very forward speakers like the Rtis sound a bit shrill on them--and even then ONLY when you PUSH them. I have a pair of M-70s with supporting center and surrounds and they're 'hardly' bright. But then again that's why I prefer the Ms with the Onkyo vs. Rtis.

I've used a number of other speakers with the TX-SR 805. One thing you notice when you move up the Onkyo food chain is that the beefier amp sections sound 'better' with many different types of speaker. Something that sounded forward on a 606/7 sounds more neutral on an a 50+ pound Onkyo with its greater power reserves, Burr Browns, etc?

cnh

greene1968 · August 2010

i always thought it was the processor that would change or color the sound and not the amps. I havent had but a couple different amplifiers, so i have no idea. I have read so much its confusing, lol. Like i said, im keeping the 805 just in case, and if i dont like the hk, i'll sell it and try something different:D. I am trying to work on my room..just installed heavy drapes last night on the french doors, gonna try to find a large area rug this weekend..we have hardwood floors, and im sure that aint helping. Its just hard to treat the room properly due to the wife..nothing fits into her decor, hehe. Maybe after i spend a few thousand, trying to get the sound im after, she will be willing to change her decor to stop my spending:D

mole' · August 2010

if you sell the 805, LMK

TORI3 · August 2010

greene1968 wrote: »

like to stay around 1k, maybe more if its worth it:D

Had a HK paired with the RTi4s and they sounded nice and cozy.

Recently had a Onkyo 607 paired with the RTi8s and they sounded pretty bright (almost harsh when playing music).

Two weeks ago I was able to get a display Pionner VSX-23 from Best Buy with a four year BB warranty for under $800. After tweaking with the MCACC I was able to make it sound a little warmer, but not as warm as the HK. To say the least, I'm very impressed with the dynamics and imaging.

Here's a link to an online dealer that sales refurbished Elites. Might want to spring for one of their extended warranties as Pioneer won't support their 2-year manufacturer's warranty if bought online.

http://eusa.stores.yahoo.net/receivers.html

I've never bought from this site, but a couple of people from AVS have...

greene1968 · August 2010

TORI3 wrote: »

Had a HK paired with the RTi4s and they sounded nice and cozy.

Recently had a Onkyo 607 paired with the RTi8s and they sounded pretty bright (almost harsh when playing music).

Two weeks ago I was able to get a display Pionner VSX-23 from Best Buy with a four year BB warranty for under $800. After tweaking with the MCACC I was able to make it sound a little warmer, but not as warm as the HK. To say the least, I'm very impressed with the dynamics and imaging.

Here's a link to an online dealer that sales refurbished Elites. Might want to spring for one of their extended warranties as Pioneer won't support their 2-year manufacturer's warranty if bought online.

http://eusa.stores.yahoo.net/receivers.html

I've never bought from this site, but a couple of people from AVS have...

i got a new Hk 3600 gonna be here tuesday..hopefully it is what im looking for..if not, i'll start over, lol

greene1968 · August 2010

mole' wrote: »

if you sell the 805, LMK

i'll probably put the 805 in my bedroom setup. But i'll keep you in mind. Didnt you just get a new pioneer? dont like it?

Denon or onkyo

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