What drew you to your AV Receiver?

[ozzman]

I have to say,for myself the one thing i don't mind spending money on is a reciever.Its the brain to all my audio.
I never feel guilty or lose any sleep.

Spending $900 on my CD player was a different story LOL

[rded]

Originally Posted by ozzman

Spending $900 on my CD player was a different story LOL

Ozz,

What king of CDP do you have?

[Blu Titan]

I have an Onkyo 606, and the combination of price, performance, features, and reliability were the key for me.

[Kryptonic]

I own a Denon 590. The fact that it was Denon, that the price was good, and that it did everything I needed was the reason I picked it up and enjoy it.

[crazyBLUE]

For me , I had just sold my Yamaha & an amp To A member ! At the time pioneer was closing out models . I chose an Elite SC -07 because of the deal .

Retail ~ $ 2,200.oo

Picked it up for ~ $ 1,300.oo Brand New in Box !!

[ozzman]

Originally Posted by rded

Ozz,

What king of CDP do you have?

You can see it in my gallery .
Here some info i found on it.I love this thing.
But like i said lost some sleep with the price , But it all good now

http://www.stereophile.com/hirezplayers/1007mar/

[rded]

Originally Posted by ozzman

You can see it in my gallery .
Here some info i found on it.I love this thing.
But like i said lost some sleep with the price , But it all good now

http://www.stereophile.com/hirezplayers/1007mar/

Great! But you only live once! The reason why I asked is because I thought that Marantz in your rack was a BDP.

[ozzman]

Originally Posted by rded

Great! But you only live once! The reason why I asked is because I thought that Marantz in your rack was a BDP.

I have a Yamaha Blu-ray player and PS3 for backup.
You are right my friend we only live once

[kingofgrills]

I've auditioned and used a variety of gear since the mid-80's. One of my favorite combinations back in the day was a Kyocera CD player that I connected directly to a Yamaha M-80 amplifier. The combination was super clean and dynamic, terminating through a pair of A/D/S tower speakers. Well, I've been a fan of Yamaha amplifiers and sound processors since then, and I'm now on my third Yamaha surround receiver, the HTR-6080 (RX-V861).

I had been running with the Yamaha HTR-5960 in my home theater room, and it was a great 7.1 channel receiver with a good amplifier section and Burr Brown DACs. However, it didn't have HDMI inputs, which I needed for lossless audio from my PS3. The HTR-6080 added lossless audio via HDMI, but it doesn't have built in lossless decoders, which I don't need. I bought it soon after its replacement, the HTR-6180, went on sale in 2008, adding DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD decoders. The HTR-6080, had a retail price of $999.95, but I got it on clearance brand new for just $279 shipped.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by kingofgrills

I've auditioned and used a variety of gear since the mid-80's. One of my favorite combinations back in the day was a Kyocera CD player that I connected directly to a Yamaha M-80 amplifier. The combination was super clean and dynamic, terminating through a pair of A/D/S tower speakers. Well, I've been a fan of Yamaha amplifiers and sound processors since then, and I'm now on my third Yamaha surround receiver, the HTR-6080 (RX-V861).

I had been running with the Yamaha HTR-5960 in my home theater room, and it was a great 7.1 channel receiver with a good amplifier section and Burr Brown DACs. However, it didn't have HDMI inputs, which I needed for lossless audio from my PS3. The HTR-6080 added lossless audio via HDMI, but it doesn't have built in lossless decoders, which I don't need. I bought it soon after its replacement, the HTR-6180, went on sale in 2008, adding DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD decoders. The HTR-6080, had a retail price of $999.95, but I got it on clearance brand new for just $279 shipped.

You better believe it!!! The Yamaha M-80 is a classic and it's a tank of an amp (they still go for over $500 on the used circuit)! I currently have an M-80, 2 MX-830's and a XM6150 (all Yamaha amps - the last is part of the Professional line). I have never run my receivers internal amps yet (so I don't really know what they can do), but I have trusted 3 companies when it came down to surround Yamaha (all the way back to the DSP-1 - DSPE-200 and others), and Fosgate (Model 5, 4, and when I finally went THX the 3A and then the Citation 7.0 and 5.0. I still have the 5.0 in stroage!) - I also trust Lexicon - it was a battle between the Fosgate 3A and the Lexicon CP-3+, but the deal on the Fosgate was too good! I believe thats another reason why I went with Yamaha - their history in surround sound processing. If Jim Fosgate comes out witih something - I may be changing quickly he just showed a new turntable preamp at CES - it got rave reviews (as all of his stuff does).

[Jimbowne]

I went with the Pioneer 819H-k for a couple of reasons:
It decodes Lossless audio
It has a .05% THD rating on all channels
It has a pre-out for 7.1 channels for the future
Price: I got it for $259 Shipped

I joined Blu-ray forums today so I will be posting picks of my HT later today.

[Moefiz]

A bunch of research for the features I need and most important the price..

I settled for the Yamaha RX-V663 after playing around with a bunch of other ones at Best Buy and Circuit City..

[mpdhrd]

I'm glad this turned out to be a popular thread. Reading through and seeing those gorgeous pictures makes me think I may have to go with Pioneer Elite when I finish the basement build and put the home theater there. I seriously need to win the lottery!!!

[Galley]

Styling
Simplicity
Size

[Irrob]

Within a strict budget I chose based on performance, power, the features I needed and aesthetics.

[Linksys2.4]

If I were shopping for a new receiver now, it would be between, probably, Denon and Onkyo still...there's something about these two brands that just seem "quality"...

That said, I have had numerous Yamaha stereo receivers in my systems, and even Kenwood integrated amps, and have heard Sony non-ES receivers. I don't think Sony receivers are worth a penny, unless you're going with an ES model, and I am uncertain about Harmon/Kardon or Pioneer...

The selections available in the non-affordable arena get even more daunting, now with the boutique brands getting on board with HDMI 1.3...brands such as Rotel and Arcam are putting out monsters of receivers, so the competition has become even more heady...

[lokir1]

My onk 705 drew me in for both hd codecs 7.1 spk set-up 3hdmi inputs and 100 watts per channel along with the performance and build associated with onkyo for value was the best thing for my bedroom set-up

My pio sc-07 drew me in for the ice power class d amplification along with its elite quality build 140 watts per channel 7.1 spk set up 2 hdmi outs and kuro link and i love the aesthetic look of seeing both my kuro and 07 badged elite! lol

[Hammie]

Features and sound drew me to my Denon 3808ci.

It took me about 8 months to decide on this one. Many, many listening sessions were made at my local dealer.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Linksys2.4

If I were shopping for a new receiver now, it would be between, probably, Denon and Onkyo still...there's something about these two brands that just seem "quality"...

That said, I have had numerous Yamaha stereo receivers in my systems, and even Kenwood integrated amps, and have heard Sony non-ES receivers. I don't think Sony receivers are worth a penny, unless you're going with an ES model, and I am uncertain about Harmon/Kardon or Pioneer...

The selections available in the non-affordable arena get even more daunting, now with the boutique brands getting on board with HDMI 1.3...brands such as Rotel and Arcam are putting out monsters of receivers, so the competition has become even more heady...

You know there is a guy on here (Mr. Roy) that has both your Onkyo 605 and a Sony 920 (non-ES) and he says the Sony is much better then his Onkyo. Also, I auditioned the Onkyo 606, Yamaha 663, Pioneer 1018(non-Elite) and the Sony 920. I thought the Pioneer was my favorite and the Sony/Yamaha was next. I cut the Onkyo from my decision early, it didn't have what I wanted and I personally didn't like the sound of it. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean others wont like them. I am not going to sit here and talk about how I don't like Onkyo. The question was what drew you to YOUR receiver, not away from Harmon, Sony and Pioneer.

I have read about 3 posts now where you are just talking crap. I am happy you like your Onkyo, Congrats!

[StimpsonJCat]

I've always been a fan of Pioneer Elite and Denon. My first real AVR was a Pioneer Elite (almost bought a Denon instead) and I still enjoy it in my game room. I love the solid build quality, the nice DACs, and the warm sound of the Pioneer Elites.

For my latest AVR I went with the Denon because I liked the new Audyssey features included in their AVR line. And I got a good price on my AVR when it first came out. I also think the Denon AVRs have solid build quality and I'm happy it stays cool while running.