thinking of upgrading?? help

[ryan4blu]

hey all, was thinking of upgrading my 606 and here what i was looking at for a few choices.

http://shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?prod...il=1&ext_war=1

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-2308...025162&sr=1-24

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-10...025417&sr=1-44

any input from owners??

[Steve]

Originally Posted by ryan4blu

hey all, was thinking of upgrading my 606 and here what i was looking at for a few choices.

http://shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?prod...il=1&ext_war=1

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-2308...025162&sr=1-24

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-10...025417&sr=1-44

any input from owners??

Of the three models you listed, only the Pioneer is a current model. The Onkyo and Denon are both a little bit older, with newer models already available. My question regarding all three of them vs. the 606 you have now, is are they a big enough upgrade to make upgrading worthwhile? My point is if you're only taking a small step up, you might be better off saving up a little more money and making a more substantial upgrade in a few more weeks or so. Then you would know you're definitely making a worthwhile upgrade. That's just my 2¢.

[quest88]

Originally Posted by ryan4blu

hey all, was thinking of upgrading my 606 and here what i was looking at for a few choices.

http://shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?prod...il=1&ext_war=1

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-2308...025162&sr=1-24

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-10...025417&sr=1-44

any input from owners??

I was in the same boat you were. I'd say go with the base elite series if you are looking at the pioneers. Up your budget to 600 and you can get one around or below that price.

[HAMP]

I agree with fireman325, The option you are giving are not a big enough upgrade. It's just a tiny step and I don't feel tiny steps with AVR is worth it.

[ryan4blu]

Originally Posted by HAMP

I agree with fireman325, The option you are giving are not a big enough upgrade. It's just a tiny step and I don't feel tiny steps with AVR is worth it.

ya i kind thought about it after, but i dont want to spend big money either. i will try to sell my 606 in place as its only about 4 months old.

so i was kinda leaning towards a denon for some reason, seems like they great reviews. i love my onkyo and have owned 3 now in the past. they are easy to setup and control. but i am researching the denon's alot lately and they seem real high quality. i know pioneer elites are top of the line as well.

so

[ryan4blu]

so how about this one? seems like its got all the bells and whistles of an elite without the name??

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...H-K.Kuro?tab=B

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by ryan4blu

ya i kind thought about it after, but i dont want to spend big money either. i will try to sell my 606 in place as its only about 4 months old.

so i was kinda leaning towards a denon for some reason, seems like they great reviews. i love my onkyo and have owned 3 now in the past. they are easy to setup and control. but i am researching the denon's alot lately and they seem real high quality. i know pioneer elites are top of the line as well.

so

you state your onkyo is only (about) 4 months old, is there something wrong with it? and if not, then how certain are you that you'll be happy with buying another receiver so soon after having your current one for less than a half a year?

I ask because you really don't make a good hard argument about the need to upgrade (yeah, i know, like any of us really need a good reason!)

[ryan4blu]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

you state your onkyo is only (about) 4 months old, is there something wrong with it? and if not, then how certain are you that you'll be happy with buying another receiver so soon after having your current one for less than a half a year?

I ask because you really don't make a good hard argument about the need to upgrade (yeah, i know, like any of us really need a good reason!)

upgraded my speakers with alot bigger ones, went from sat's to some huge towers and was told actually by some ppl on this site that i should upgrade my amp/receiver to handle my upgrade in speakers, its in my speaker thread. i had one member hear offer to buy my 606 and then not hear back. so i may craigslist it and put that $ towards a bit more powerful solid receiver.

i know knew when buying the 606 that it was entry level compared to all the rest, but it did the job good for what i had. now i have CSW T500 towers for L & R speakers, they have 12" 300wt powered subs in each tower along with one 10" passive sub in each tower, so i was told a more powerful receiver would be needed. also hooking up 7.1 soon (only have 5.1 now), so i am adding 2 more speakers to the rear of my setup.

now i am starting to wonder wether i was give wrong info and my onkyo 606 is enough for what i got?

[ryan4blu]

thinking this one is a good choice and can be had for about $569 i see on ebay, brand new.
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...TXH.Kuro?tab=B

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by ryan4blu

upgraded my speakers with alot bigger ones, went from sat's to some huge towers and was told actually by some ppl on this site that i should upgrade my amp/receiver to handle my upgrade in speakers, its in my speaker thread. i had one member hear offer to buy my 606 and then not hear back. so i may craigslist it and put that $ towards a bit more powerful solid receiver.

i know knew when buying the 606 that it was entry level compared to all the rest, but it did the job good for what i had. now i have CSW T500 towers for L & R speakers, they have 12" 300wt powered subs in each tower along with one 10" passive sub in each tower, so i was told a more powerful receiver would be needed. also hooking up 7.1 soon (only have 5.1 now), so i am adding 2 more speakers to the rear of my setup.

now i am starting to wonder wether i was give wrong info and my onkyo 606 is enough for what i got?

if you really want more "true power" then your only real answer is going to be an amp. if your on a budget then i would recommend to get an amp to power your front 3 speakers. in either a 5 or 7.1 the front 3 are the most used and the most important for HT or 2 channel stereo.

i recommend you check out the Emo XPA-3 amp with true power @ 200wpc all channels driven @ 8 ohms and 300wpc all channels driven @ 4 ohms. the price is pretty close to your budget, but, you will need to keep the receiver to power your remaining channels.

http://emotiva.com/xpa3.shtm

i currently run a 7.1 system and use an Emo XPA-5 amp and it truely opened up my speakers. i use the XPA-5 for 5 of my 7 and use the receiver to power the two surround back channels.

for you, i recommend powering your front 3 with an amp and your current 2 and future back 2 (totaling 4) channels with your receiver.

of course, if your happy with what you have then stick with it. however, if you really want to open up those speakers, imo a new receiver is not going to do it for you.

i am speaking from a true experience of a receiver that has more power than your current one and my move to a power amp.

hope this helps, keep us posted.

[^Lestat^]

Well i guess best option is to get a reciever that you want that has pre outs and when the budget is available to get a 2-3 channel amp to run your towers or front 3 in the future.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by ^Lestat^

Well i guess best option is to get a reciever that you want that has pre outs and when the budget is available to get a 2-3 channel amp to run your towers or front 3 in the future.

thanks for this, i didn't realize that your receiver had no pre-outs so yes, you would need to get a unit with pre-outs. i'd recommend getting a used unit with pre-outs and still going the way of the amp!

[Zman2k2]

I'm a big Pioneer fan, but the latest offering isn't the best they've produced. You're looking at the VSX-1019 and here's the power output as measured by Home Theater Magazine.

Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 28.7 watts
1% distortion at 34.3 watts

Full review here.


I'm more in agreement with fireman325 and solardadd. Save a little more cash and make a real step up. I've done the little steps thing, and in the end, I always just drove myself crazy. The best upgrade I did was going from a lower model Pioneer to the Elite line a couple months ago. Save the money and be patient. It will be more worthwhile in the end.

[ryan4blu]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

thanks for this, i didn't realize that your receiver had no pre-outs so yes, you would need to get a unit with pre-outs. i'd recommend getting a used unit with pre-outs and still going the way of the amp!

ok so if i sold my onkyo 606 and bought say a pioneer elite 23 model that would not be enough? or say a onkyo 806? or a denon 2310? i would figure one of these receivers should work fine with my setup??

by the way thanks all for your input

[ryan4blu]

found this deal, was wondering if anyone has dealt with this online dealer? also buying factory reconditioned, is that a mistake??

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...e-Ship-/1.html

[Pycroft]

I have ordered from Accessories4less.com before and think it is a good company. I have not heard about anyone having problems. I have purchased 2 refurbished units so far, and both have performed very well. Sometimes, they are tested more than a unit straight out of the factory. I would say, buy with confidence. It also comes with a one year warranty.

Pycroft

[ryan4blu]

Originally Posted by Pycroft

I have ordered from Accessories4less.com before and think it is a good company. I have not heard about anyone having problems. I have purchased 2 refurbished units so far, and both have performed very well. Sometimes, they are tested more than a unit straight out of the factory. I would say, buy with confidence. It also comes with a one year warranty.

Pycroft

thanks,

i have been checking out the onkyo 807 and was thinking a few people said if your going to upgrade than dont go just a little. thought this would be a good jump from the 606 model i have now??

seems like not too much difference between the 806 and the 807 other than 5 watts?? 7.1 to 7.2??

[Steve]

Originally Posted by ryan4blu

found this deal, was wondering if anyone has dealt with this online dealer? also buying factory reconditioned, is that a mistake??

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...e-Ship-/1.html

Originally Posted by ryan4blu

thanks,

i have been checking out the onkyo 807 and was thinking a few people said if your going to upgrade than dont go just a little. thought this would be a good jump from the 606 model i have now??

seems like not too much difference between the 806 and the 807 other than 5 watts?? 7.1 to 7.2??

Those models would be a more worthwhile upgrade IMO. You're also getting into some of the models where they actually put out (or at least come close to) their rated power output.

As far as the 806 vs. the 807, if those are the only differences, then that's not really anything to pay attention to, and I would say buy whichever one you found a better deal on. 5 watts is nothing that would ever produce any noticeable difference, and to get 7.2 vs. 7.1 all you need is a $3 Y-splitter to run 2 subs off of a receiver with a single subwoofer out.

[serenity]

A friend of mine who's father services Onkyo products mentioned the 06 series from Onkyo had many issues with their HDMI/Video boards. Many people had issues and had to have these boards replaced with an updated version.

The 07 series has corrected these issues and is a much more reliable series so far.

Just some food for thought.

[sinister184]

Originally Posted by serenity

A friend of mine who's father services Onkyo products mentioned the 06 series from Onkyo had many issues with their HDMI/Video boards. Many people had issues and had to have these boards replaced with an updated version.

The 07 series has corrected these issues and is a much more reliable series so far.

Just some food for thought.

that was a problem with the first batches of 806's yes, but was fixed after with revisions. I have a refurb 806 (i got from Onkyo, but same thing) and its been flawless. i wouldnt have a problem recommending it