What drew you to your AV Receiver?

[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.

[blarneyrubble]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

What drew me to my current receiver? (Marantz sr6003)

Consistently glowing reviews from every source in the media.

I previously had an entry-level Sony receiver. I did some months of research choosing its replacement, and all the sources indicated that the sr6003 had electronic workmanship and features that you would typically only see in very expensive units or high-end pre/pros, and that it actually produced its rated output, as opposed to most competitors only achieving 40%-60% of claimed output. Two weekends of auditioning several units sealed the deal.

Agreed--and it looks freakin sweet!

[CollinViegas]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

This may be a dumb question...... but what are the major advantages of having the built in LCD screen?

Actually for me this was a saviour. My equipment room is in a seperate room than my theater and also my speakers and subs are behind my screen. In order to move my subs and speakers I need to take the screen down. Easy enough but a pain to do over and over while doing testing.

So to find my subs sweet spot behind the screen I ran my Velodyne SMS1 bass test tones and used the screen on the receiver to view the graphs and find the best spots and beginning response for the subs.

after I had the beginning calibrations done I was able to put the screen back up and do the fine touches.

It is also good for when I give demos of the room, it allows me to go into the equipment room and cue up certain scenes watching it on the receiver screen without the people in the theater seeing all the skipping or rewinding/FF that goes into finding the right spot to blow there minds. Then when I get it there I switch the feed to the projector in the theater room and stun them...lol

didnt notice SlmShdy1 answered this for me... Thanks.

[b00st]

I went with the Yamaha RXV1800. I bought it right when it came out. It was one of the few amps at the time to support the HD audio codecs. Had clean power. listed for 1399 and i got it for $1099.

I still have a yamaha 5.1 receiver that i've had since i was about 18 that i run my upstairs with. And another 6.1 yamaha receiver. I was turned on to yamaha big time when I heard a solid yamaha receiver paired with some klipsch speakers in a dorm and the speakers yielded some chest hitting bass with no sub. i was impressed by the combo. i have never had an issue with a yamaha receiver...they have definitley lasted threw time. So i will continue.

[Jason_Gladstone]

I have the RX-V663 and the deal I got on it was what drew me to it.

I was looking at a cheaper HTIB set up at Fry's Electronics when the sales person pointed out one that was more than I wanted to spend (being my first adventure into the HT world).

The package included:

• RX-V663 Receiver
• Polk RM-10 speakers
• Polk DSW Pro-600 sub

All of which retailed for $2,000 (so he said - I found it on their website for $1,399.00; but I assume he meant all the components separately would come to about $2,000). He was clearing them out and only had two left. He sold it to me for $738.00.

As I said it was a couple hundred more than I wanted to spend, but now I don't know how I lived without it!

I would rather watch a movie in my living room than in any AMC/Harkins I have been too. (People actually have to listen when I tell them to shut up here )

[Dase]

Lots and lots of looking and asking questions, balanced with what features my old one was lacking. I came down to just a couple and was actually leaning towards a Pioneer SC-07, but the 4310ci being brand new had IMO a better feature set, better video processing, audyssey multieqXT and DSX, GUI overlay over HDMI, passthrough in standby, and my family and I are already familiar with Denon. Plus the dealer is a friend and the price was just too good to pass up. Even though I got the Denon, the SC-07 is an awesome AVR too!

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by -dase-

Lots and lots of looking and asking questions, balanced with what features my old one was lacking. I came down to just a couple and was actually leaning towards a Pioneer SC-07, but the 4310ci being brand new had IMO a better feature set, better video processing, audyssey multieqXT and DSX, GUI overlay over HDMI, passthrough in standby, and my family and I are already familiar with Denon. Plus the dealer is a friend and the price was just too good to pass up. The SC-07 is an awesome AVR too!

Damn -dase-, I think you forgot the kitchen sink as well..... Congrats on the Denon, she is a pretty good lookin' beast as well.

[Dase]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

Damn -dase-, I think you forgot the kitchen sink as well..... Congrats on the Denon, she is a pretty good lookin' beast as well.

Thanks. Not quite as nice looking as the Pio though . There are so many members that have upgraded and got just awesome deals lately!

[DonRSD]

i went with the 806 cause i needed the HDMI INPUTS & power
i bought a 706 from a locla store for $650 and after looking around and listening to a few brands i chose the 806 @ amazon.com for $620 and returned my 706

unless some new audio format comes out OR the new hdmi version bug starts biting me to upgrade.....ill keep this 806 for quite sometime.

[jonesyg27]

I went with my HK AVR-310 because I needed a receiver, and it was 50% off because the new models were coming out .

Seriously, 10 years later, it still sounds great, even with my 10 year old 'crappy' speakers. Why doesn't HK get respect anymore? I'm not being a jerk, I really want to know. If I am allowed to (yes, I'm married!), I will get a new receiver (and, hopefully, speakers) next year, and I see no reason not to consider another HK. Can someone please enlighten me?

[mjbethancourt]

Originally Posted by jonesyg27

I went with my HK AVR-310 because I needed a receiver, and it was 50% off because the new models were coming out .

Seriously, 10 years later, it still sounds great, even with my 10 year old 'crappy' speakers. Why doesn't HK get respect anymore? I'm not being a jerk, I really want to know. If I am allowed to (yes, I'm married!), I will get a new receiver (and, hopefully, speakers) next year, and I see no reason not to consider another HK. Can someone please enlighten me?

Because their line has gone downhill a bit since the change of ownership... they seem to want to specialize in miniature "lifestyle" options and computer speakers.

[Adam_ME]

Pioneer Elite VSX-01TXH

I've owned many receivers, but my favorite by far has been the Pioneer Elite VSX-81TXV. So when I was looking to upgrade to one with HDMI 1.3 that could decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD-MA, it seemed like a logical choice. I got it for a little over 400 bucks brand new and it's been working like a charm for the 4 months I've had it.

On a side note, I've had Onkyo/Integra receivers which have given me nothing but trouble. They make affordable equipment with lots of features, but either I have the worst luck in the world or they're not designed to last very long.

[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!!!

[-DLS-]

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

I have the 8002, trust me you won't be taking it back. As far as an AVR goes, it's above average musicality along with stellar HT performance puts it in a league of it's own.

So far I'm loving this thing!! I have to agree with pretty much with everything you said. I won't be taking this back and I'll quote you again - "As far as an AVR goes, it's above average musicality along with stellar HT performance puts it in a league of it's own."

So I was drawn to this receiver based on reviews and recommendations, and now with my own personal experience with it even though it's only been a few days - it is enough for me to say I'm keeping it!!

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by DLS_222

So far I'm loving this thing!! I have to agree with pretty much with everything you said. I won't be taking this back and I'll quote you again - "As far as an AVR goes, it's above average musicality along with stellar HT performance puts it in a league of it's own."

So I was drawn to this receiver based on reviews and recommendations, and now with my own personal experience with it even though it's only been a few days - it is enough for me to say I'm keeping it!!

Is the 8003 much more? You would gain balanced interconnects to your amp with it. Of course, you would need another amp to power the rest of your channels!

[-DLS-]

Originally Posted by JasonR

Is the 8003 much more? You would gain balanced interconnects to your amp with it. Of course, you would need another amp to power the rest of your channels!

Yeah I was thinking about that or the UMC-1 but I would have to add another amp like you said. The 8003 was $1200cdn more than what I paid for the 8002 at the same place and with the matching amp would be close to 5k. Plus I have enough electronics from the HT and the other room in my basement on one 15 amp circuit I don't want to even try a 2nd amp. Maybe when the XPR-7 comes out I will try it out with an XMC-1.
I wanted to swap out my XPA-3 for an XPA-5 too but thought trying out the Marantz would be so much easier and since with 125wpc and a toroidal transformer it would be close enough for me that I wouldn't need to want an amp to power my surrounds.