Recommend me a Receiver ?

[Justnate]

Hey Guys, I have only just started to get into the home theater craze, so I only have a basic knowledge.

Anyway back to subject I am in need of some help so I thought I'd come to you guys.

Can you recommend me a receiver? I currently have a Pioneer VSX-519 and while it has served me well I feel it is not strong enough to power my speakers.

My Speakers consist of:

Wharfedale Diamond 9.4s Floorstands
Wharfedale Diamond 9.CC Center
Wharfedale Xarus 4000s Surounds
Wharfedale Pc-10+ Subwoofer
Sony Subwoofer forgot the model
And I also have a pair of Wharfedale 9.0 Bookshelves which are not currently in use because of the receiver not being 7.1

Okay so I would like the receiver to be 7.1 and have pre-outs if you guys can recommend me an amp keep in mind I live in Australia and things over here are ridiculously overpriced. My budget $400-800 AUD as I am only 17 but I will stretch it if it's worthwhile.

Thanks in Advance

[LordoftheRings]

About an Onkyo receiver in your price range? The 608, 607, or 707, or 806, or 807? Any one of these are good. Yeah, check that Onkyo 608 (or perhaps the 607 for a better deal). 607 = very nice.

* And you should also get a better sub (like an SVS for example), Sony ain't what we call a sub company.

[lojack1976]

I know things are pretty expensive over there, but I would suspect you could use something with good RMS power since they're not the most efficient speakers. Those speakers are 6ohm as well so you definitely want all the power you can get. What's available in your price range over there?

[BigAl87]

My personal choice would lean towards a Marantz. As good as RMS power is, ratings differ from one company to another and if you feel that your sound is tiny and would prefer something with serious kick, I strogly recommend looking into Marantz receivers.

Power Supplies on those are built like tanks and provide higher current with lower voltage for the same power making them really good candidates to run lower impedance speakers. Even a 8ohms speaker you will notice the difference in sound.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

My personal choice would lean towards a Marantz. As good as RMS power is, ratings differ from one company to another and if you feel that your sound is tiny and would prefer something with serious kick, I strogly recommend looking into Marantz receivers.

Power Supplies on those are built like tanks and provide higher current with lower voltage for the same power making them really good candidates to run lower impedance speakers. Even a 8ohms speaker you will notice the difference in sound.

You said ridiculously overpriced did not think that the smallest Marantz avr was selling for 1300$ AUS $ wow
600$ more expensive than Canada.

What about the AVR-260 from HK a bit over 800$ using High Current design with preouts. Something we don't find in North America, we have the 2600 but it ain't the same the 2600 is a bit more powerful but without preouts. Current is the Key here,higher wattage could be an indication of higer current but could also be higher voltage or combination of both.

You have to double wattage anyways to get 3db more.

I just hope that if you pull the trigger on an HK you don't get HDMI issues or other problems, but they are great sounding units warm and can make your speakers really rock

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

My personal choice would lean towards a Marantz. As good as RMS power is, ratings differ from one company to another and if you feel that your sound is tiny and would prefer something with serious kick, I strogly recommend looking into Marantz receivers.

Power Supplies on those are built like tanks and provide higher current with lower voltage for the same power making them really good candidates to run lower impedance speakers. Even a 8ohms speaker you will notice the difference in sound.

See the 5004/6004 owner's thread over on avsforum. With the spontaneous death of these units you may rethink your position on Marantz right now, and especially since Marantz has treated buyers of these units very poorly by denying for months that there was even a problem and also not honoring warranties.

As for Harman, yeah they have their quirks but from everything I've read they've always bent over backwards to satisfy their customers and that goes a long way. I had a Harman that I recently sold and it was great. I'm not sure which models are suitable for 6ohm speakers, but I would imagine that the 3600 would be ideal, but its pricey. The 2600 may do the job as well.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

See the 5004/6004 owner's thread over on avsforum. With the spontaneous death of these units you may rethink your position on Marantz right now, and especially since Marantz has treated buyers of these units very poorly by denying for months that there was even a problem and also not honoring warranties.

As for Harman, yeah they have their quirks but from everything I've read they've always bent over backwards to satisfy their customers and that goes a long way. I had a Harman that I recently sold and it was great. I'm not sure which models are suitable for 6ohm speakers, but I would imagine that the 3600 would be ideal, but its pricey. The 2600 may do the job as well.

Well I own an HK-254 right now and yes they are great with warranty here they have a wide network of authorized repair shop that does the work for them instead of having to send the unit back to them.

I had and HDMI jack that was malfunctioning and was replace in very reasonable delays.

I was happy with the service. As for Marantz it really sucks though because they are great sounding units and wil put out trmendous performance when they work but if they have a hard time with warranty then a would stay away. It's not in the OP's price range anyways.

Thanks for the heads up on the Marantz.

1600 2600 and 3600 can all run 4ohms with the High Current design, the 2600 and 3600 are better with 35amps vs 25 for the 1600 but the OP is aussie and they sell the 260 instead of the 2600 and are slighly different as I stated but also run the same current as 2600 and 3600.

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Well I own an HK-254 right now and yes they are great with warranty here they have a wide network of authorized repair shop that does the work for them instead of having to send the unit back to them.

I had and HDMI jack that was malfunctioning and was replace in very reasonable delays.

I was happy with the service. As for Marantz it really sucks though because they are great sounding units and wil put out trmendous performance when they work but if they have a hard time with warranty then a would stay away. It's not in the OP's price range anyways.

Thanks for the heads up on the Marantz.

1600 2600 and 3600 can all run 4ohms with the High Current design, the 2600 and 3600 are better with 35amps vs 25 for the 1600 but the OP is aussie and they sell the 260 instead of the 2600 and are slighly different as I stated but also run the same current as 2600 and 3600.

Yeah, I wasn't too sure on the Harmans. I had a 247 myself and it was very good to me. I've never read anything on 6ohm and 4ohm performance on them, so I didn't want to recommend them without knowing for sure. Sounds like the 260 is a good option for him then.

And its too bad about Marantz as of late. They've had a very good reputation up until the problems with these recent receivers came up. They've had a good rep for service in the past, so it blew my mind when I kept reading that so many people were having problems and they wouldn't rectify the situation. Its really a shame.

[Justnate]

Thanks for the suggestions I will look into the HK and see what I can do.

[Justnate]

Okay so I found the HK on ebay heres the link http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Harman-Kardon...ht_2646wt_1074

[lojack1976]

That's the one, and it looks like you can get it under budget by making a reasonable offer. I'm guessing that the seller will accept about $50 less than the buy it now. Give it a shot.

[Justnate]

Ah i'm going to have to wait until next pay so hopefully I will be able to get it in the next few weeks !

Thanks again !

[Justnate]

oh reading through the listing and found that the model is factory refurbished ! but I found it at an online retailer for $899. Another question so you guys think the HK will be strong enough to power all speakers ? I'm am also looking into upgrading my fronts in hopefully the couple months or so.

So it would be likely I'll have to get an external amp as well

Any recommendations?

Thanks a lot for the help guys

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Justnate

oh reading through the listing and found that the model is factory refurbished ! but I found it at an online retailer for $899. Another question so you guys think the HK will be strong enough to power all speakers ? I'm am also looking into upgrading my fronts in hopefully the couple months or so.

So it would be likely I'll have to get an external amp as well

Any recommendations?

Thanks a lot for the help guys

Well Current usually plays a big role in pushing the speakers I did a side by side comparaison with Onkyo TX-SR608 and the HK3600 and HK offer much greater punch running a pair of IQ50 from Kef.

As I said Greater wattage could be an indication of higer current but not always, Amperage is more important than voltage when calculating Watts.

Watts= Amperage x Voltage

I heard some people qualify HK as Boomy wich is not the case they just give great punch because of higher Current.

[BigAl87]

Justnate I would also recommend that you go audition recever and do a side by side comaparaison to see wich one offers greater sound to you with the same set of speakers of course.

I recommend smaller shops with good knowledgable people that can help you.

Your speakers are not easy to move as lojack mentioned with an 86db efficiency.

If you go ahead and change your fronts, change all 3 speakers, and also look for speakers with efficiency at 89-91db, but make sure you also like their sound .

That will give even greater puch to your system.

[lojack1976]

I don't know a whole lot about your speakers, but I've heard good things about the brand. They are not very efficient, but that just means more power will be needed to bring out the best in them. I agree that wattage is not always the best indicator, and Harman receivers are every bit as powerful as receivers rated 2-3 times higher. You will be surprised at how much a Harman can push.

With this in mind you should definitely go out and audition receivers if at all possible. I don't know what options you have in your price range, but like Justnate said try some of the smaller mom and pop shops. These places will have more knowledgeable people than the big box stores, and they can better assist you in matching a good receiver to your speakers. They will also have a better selection than the big box stores.

[Justnate]

Okay ill see what I can do. I have also found the Marantz 4003 for 999 would it be worth the extra $150 over the HK?

Thanks for the help

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Justnate

Okay ill see what I can do. I have also found the Marantz 4003 for 999 would it be worth the extra $150 over the HK?

Thanks for the help

Well in this case not really since it does not support the latests codecs such as Dolby true HD and DTS HD MA.

Might as well go with the HK 260 I recommend to audition the 260 if you can.

Marantz has had issues with receivers burning out lately.

I dunno what it looks like for Yamhas like the rxv-765 or 1065.

[lojack1976]

I think that price for the 4003 is just way too much. Go with the Harman. Its a much better deal and it offers all of the latest features. Another note about it and I'm not sure if you really care about it, but Harman will be offering updated firmware soon for 3D support on the current line of receivers so you will actually be future proofing yourself a bit more with the AVR-260.

[Justnate]

Okay cool. I found the HK 255 for $599 on special atm. From what I can tell the 255 is more powerful and the 260 is just the updated version? any of you guys care to clarify anything else ?