Need help choosing an AV receiver for home theater

[rob323]

Hmm that's looks like a good idea. But seeing as i dont know a lot about power amps what kind of money would i be looking at in order to get a 5 or 7 channel power amp that could deliver 150-200watts ACD?- (the AVR's im looking at do 100watts @ 8 ohms in 5 channels so i would want a substantially improvement over that in order for it to be worth it).

Don't fall for the numbers trap.

200 watts is what, about 3 dB louder than 100 watts?

100 quality watts from a power amp (or even less) will be miles better than 100 watts from an AVR (if they can actually do it).

I just run a 2 channel power amp for the fronts and that alone relieves the avr of a ton of work so it can do the centre and the surrounds alot better, cleaner and with less chance of running out of puff and clipping.

Power amps can be bought quite cheaply, especially some of the pro amps.

[Nick69]

Power amps can be bought quite cheaply, especially some of the pro amps.

Really? I had a quick look at some of the Rotel power amps and they seemed to be quite expensive even in mono or stereo models.

what other brands would make power amps that are in my price range (1-2k)?

Edited June 27, 2009 by Nick69

[rob323]

Behringer, Alesis etc.

[emesbee]

I just run a 2 channel power amp for the fronts and that alone relieves the avr of a ton of work so it can do the centre and the surrounds alot better, cleaner and with less chance of running out of puff and clipping.

I do something similar, but with a stereo integrated amplifier. I originally bought the stereo amp to power my front speakers, before I had surround sound. When I added the extra speakers and HT receiver, I retained the stereo amp in the setup. I tried it with and without the stereo amp, and it definitely sounds better with. More dynamic. All I do is set the volume control on the stereo amp to the halfway point. Kind of like a psuedo power amp I guess.

[Mika75]

I suggest the Yamaha RX1900

http://www.yamahamusic.com.au/products/avit/htavreceivers/RX-V1900B.asp

suggested retail is $2499, but I've seen this for sale @JB for $1700

2 close friends both recently upgraded and could not be happier with it's form & function....130W x 7 and it will drive just about anything.

[A9X]

I am sick of spending money on AVR's which get superseded in under two years.

If I were to buy one now, I would buy the cheapest one that will do all the things I want and has preouts. And then spend the savings on decent power amps (which never get superseded) instead. Food for thought.

This is what I'm doing. I would just get a pre/pro but they're more expensive on the whole than receivers.

Don't fall for the numbers trap.

200 watts is what, about 3 dB louder than 100 watts?

100 quality watts from a power amp (or even less) will be miles better than 100 watts from an AVR (if they can actually do it).

I just run a 2 channel power amp for the fronts and that alone relieves the avr of a ton of work so it can do the centre and the surrounds alot better, cleaner and with less chance of running out of puff and clipping.

Power amps can be bought quite cheaply, especially some of the pro amps.

Yep....

Behringer, Alesis etc.

The A500 and EP series are very well regarded on the HT DIY forums.

[Nick69]

Would a cheap power amp such as the A500 sound as good as say the Marantz SR6003 if i used its Biamping feature? Its my understanding that Biamping makes speakers perform better and the Marantz is apparently amazing in stereo mode. (hopefully more so if i bi amp it)

[lebowski]

or look at a NAD C272 - 150w p/ch continuous and can be bought for $1000

[rob323]

This setup is mainly going to be used for movies but will definately have some hard rock and metal thrown in for good measure.

With that type of music, I think you will find the quality of the recording to be more noticeable than the differences in amplification. I know I do.

The speakers im looking at are the 5 series package from TLSK:

http://www.theloudspeakerkit.com/shop/processtype.asp?ProductID=85&ProcessType=1

From what I can see on the web site, neither the F6's or the TL6's are capable of being bi-amped/ bi-wired anyway.

I have not used an A500 or a Marantz AVR (only Yamaha, NAD and Integra) so I cannot comment on they sound.

[A9X]

Would a cheap power amp such as the A500 sound as good as say the Marantz SR6003 if i used its Biamping feature?

Probably.

Its my understanding that Biamping makes speakers perform better and the Marantz is apparently amazing in stereo mode. (hopefully more so if i bi amp it)

Every implementation of 'bi-amping' I have seen with AVRs is simply passive biamping. I have never seen one give you a choice of xover frequencies or slopes etc. IME/IMO passive biamping isn't worth anything.

[Nick69]

Hmm i think that for now i'll go for a good AV-R that can produce the sound i want, support bi-amping and has preouts.

Just so that i've got a system that will do what i want now with the option for easy upgrading in the future.

[rob323]

The catch is that it is the features in the preamp side of the avr which get superceded (hdmi, audio codecs, video scaling etc). And very very very rarely will any AVR's other than pre/pro's have pre-ins (yes of course you can use the 5.1 direct inputs but they still have to go through the preamp stage for volume control). Meaning, that you need to get a new avr to make use of the new features, but can't use the old avr as a power amp.

I have a dolbly prologic avr and a dolby digital avr at home with channels of amplification just going to waste (unless I get inside and modify them).

[Nick69]

I probably will get a good power amp eventually, it will just be futher down the track.

for now i'd be happy with something that works moderately well that i can upgrade without spending too much

[benoz]

I bought the cambridge 640r, I know that it doesn't do the new codecs but it does have 7.1 inputs making it more future proof than anything without pre ins in my opinion and it is exceptional in stereo.

[Nick69]

yeah codecs and it doesnt support audio over hdmi (still uses old hdmi standard)

but having said that all of the AVR's im looking at have preouts for 7.1 so its no biggy

[Nick69]

OK quick question here about power amps.

I was looking at the Rotel RB 1070 earlier today and wondered if i got 2 of these in bridged mono mode (would probably way over power the 200 watt speakers im looking at) be worth the slight price jump over the RB-1080 in stereo mode?

[A9X]

OK quick question here about power amps.

I was looking at the Rotel RB 1070 earlier today and wondered if i got 2 of these in bridged mono mode (would probably way over power the 200 watt speakers im looking at) be worth the slight price jump over the RB-1080 in stereo mode?

Having more power than needed is not a bad thing, and will not damage your speakers unless you are careless. Speakers will let you know when they're being pushed too hard; if you ignore gross distortion, then they may be damaged. It is not usually the power that damages many speakers but excursion. The models listed on the 24th should be fine with more power capability available from the amp. Music and movies are not constant in level, they vary a lot from moment to moment, so the average is much lower then the peak. This is what causes the heating of the coil, and a speaker's power handling in watts is how much heat it can take. This is measured by a constant test tone or pink noise and is a much tougher test than music or movies.

[waricle]

What Rob323 said.

A lot of AVR claim 150W x 7 but only use 400w of mains current:confused:

150W r8 all channels driven should consume about double the output Wattage - 2400W or 10 amps!!!!

My 230W/channel two channel power amp uses 800W.....

If you need all that fancy upscaling and HDMI switching and HD dolby etc, etc it will still be obsolete in a year or two.

I guess it depends on how much money you have and how often you want to upgrade.

My old Marantz OSE 6.1 with pre-outs does me fine! (plus a couple of kW of power amps)

[Nick69]

Well work has decided to send me over east later this year so i figured i should take an extra day and drop into VAF/Adelaide speakers and have a listen to them in person

/me pauses the Home Theater hardware hunt until futher notice.

[emesbee]

Well work has decided to send me over east later this year so i figured i should take an extra day and drop into VAF/Adelaide speakers and have a listen to them in person

/me pauses the Home Theater hardware hunt until futher notice.

It would definitely be worth popping into VAF to have a listen to their speakers.

Adelaide Speakers is a somewhat different setup, from what I gather. It may not be so easy to audition their products. By all means check them out though.

[Nick69]

It would definitely be worth popping into VAF to have a listen to their speakers.

Adelaide Speakers is a somewhat different setup, from what I gather. It may not be so easy to audition their products. By all means check them out though.

Yeah, i'll definately try and get into Adelaide speakers, its just question of whether or not i have enough time to do it; as i've only got 1/2 a day to play with in adelaide.

[Guest pedromadeira]

Hi Nikc

I would like to know which one that you decice to buy

between below "

-Marantz SR6003

-Onkyo TX-SR706

-Denon AVR-2809

I read that MARANTZ SR 6003 is far way better but really I don't know that. I found

tha USA is around only 999$ only problem was voltage 110.

Did you find you which one is best or which one choose ?

And speakers which one do you recommend ???

RGs

[Nick69]

I haven't actually decided 100% what im going to get yet.

But having said that; the Marantz is probably highest on my list of AV receivers, just because IMO it looks better and from my auditions it produced a better sound to my ears.

Speaker wise i haven't actually listened to the VAF speakers yet so no comment on them but the other 3 were pretty good as well.

All i can suggest is that you go out and do some listening with your own ears.

[Guest pedromadeira]

Let me know please you decision for future. I am new in Perth.... Do you know

where I can find good AV Receiver likes as Marantz and good speakers to ear.

I saw in Harvey Norman but it was Marantz 4003 and few speakers...It was very

expensive...any way...

Rgs

[Nick69]

Let me know please you decision for future. I am new in Perth.... Do you know

where I can find good AV Receiver likes as Marantz and good speakers to ear.

I saw in Harvey Norman but it was Marantz 4003 and few speakers...It was very

expensive...any way...

Rgs

Check out some of these guys and see what they can offer:

http://www.showrooms.com.au/Perth/Home_Cinema_and_Theatre/157-0.html

Good luck

The showrooms listed in that link are pretty good. Its by no means as exhaustive list of all the show rooms in Perth though.