Receiver Suggestion ( < $350 )

[ak_ka]

Hi Guys,

I was gonna wait for Black Friday to pick up a receiver(my first ), but since I already bought the speakers(couldn't pass up the deal), I need it to hook em up.

I have a budget of around $300-350 at max, since I still need to pick up a sub(which is gonna set me back by another $350).

I've tried to narrow my choice to the following :-

Onkyo HT-RC160
Sony STR-DN1000
Pioneer VSX 919AH-K(though it seems its in huge demand so can't find it under $350 right now)
Harman Kardon AVR-1600

My speakers are Klipsch Quintet SL, rated at 50W. So I don't really need huge power. I want to get the cleanest sound.

Which one do you suggest? I really wanted to go with a Marantz, but with the sub thrown in, and considering I gotta save for a Blu-ray player too, I can't fir it into my budget

Help!!!!

[tarletonaggie]

I really like my pioneer 919. I got one of the last ones that NewEgg had and IDK when they will get more in but I paid $329 for mine.

[ak_ka]

Originally Posted by tarletonaggie

I really like my pioneer 919. I got one of the last ones that NewEgg had and IDK when they will get more in but I paid $329 for mine.

Yeah, seems like they're out of stock for them. And they'll get more in Nov. Besides, they charge tax for CA

[Kryptonic]

The Denon AVR590 is an excellent receiver. Usually find it well below $350. It's served me well.

[ak_ka]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

The Denon AVR590 is an excellent receiver. Usually find it well below $350. It's served me well.

The only reason I didn't list Denon is because its 5.1 And I'm pretty sure I'll wanna add a couple of speakers to make my system a 7.1, and thats when I'll have to do the receiver upgrade. Plus, all the others offer 7.1 in this price range, so that ended up being a deal breaker for me

[progers13]

Originally Posted by ak_ka

The only reason I didn't list Denon is because its 5.1 And I'm pretty sure I'll wanna add a couple of speakers to make my system a 7.1, and thats when I'll have to do the receiver upgrade. Plus, all the others offer 7.1 in this price range, so that ended up being a deal breaker for me

Glad to see you're thinking ahead. You'll definitely want to keep your options open for expanding to 7.1

[bluman007]

Originally Posted by progers13

Glad to see you're thinking ahead. You'll definitely want to keep your options open for expanding to 7.1

if you add $50 to your budget, you can get an onkyo tx-sr607 on ebay. just my 2 cents.

[ak_ka]

Originally Posted by bluman007

if you add $50 to your budget, you can get an onkyo tx-sr607 on ebay. just my 2 cents.

The thing is I can't justify the extra cost for the 607 over the RC160. It has 1 extra HDMI, 90W per channel v/s 80, and has satellite radio support(which I don't use)

Am I missing something important?

PS: This money could cover my cabling cost :P

[bluman007]

heres the review of Onkyo HT-RC160 on cnet. i guess this receiver is very close to 607 and for less money.

The good:
Solid sound quality; five HDMI inputs; relatively inexpensive; onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding; upconverts analog video signal to 1080i; automatic speaker calibration.

The bad:
Slightly less power than the TX-SR607; no built-in Sirius support; analog video upconversion is poor; no true graphical user interface; no 7.1 analog inputs; big and boxy design; Dolby Pro Logic IIz doesn't have much audible effect.

The bottom line:
The Onkyo HT-RC160 has nearly all the same functionality as the similar TX-SR607, for about $100 less, making it one of the best AV receiver values of the year.

[callas01]

The Sony DN-1000 is the same as my 920, it is actually a very good receiver, when I saw that they listed it at $100 less on the MSRP I was a little surprised, but it looks as if it may be a little beefier then the 920. I push my Energy speakers very well with it so I think of the ones listed that may be the better of them. The Onkyo would be 2nd on my list and then the Harman. The Pioneer 1019/919 are basically the same, and the 1019 reviews were not well. I would steer clear of the new NON-Elite pios at the moment

[ak_ka]

Originally Posted by bluman007

heres the review of Onkyo HT-RC160 on cnet. i guess this receiver is very close to 607 and for less money.

The good:
Solid sound quality; five HDMI inputs; relatively inexpensive; onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding; upconverts analog video signal to 1080i; automatic speaker calibration.

The bad:
Slightly less power than the TX-SR607; no built-in Sirius support; analog video upconversion is poor; no true graphical user interface; no 7.1 analog inputs; big and boxy design; Dolby Pro Logic IIz doesn't have much audible effect.

The bottom line:
The Onkyo HT-RC160 has nearly all the same functionality as the similar TX-SR607, for about $100 less, making it one of the best AV receiver values of the year.

Yeah, I did read through the CNET reviews. It does seem like a compelling buy. The only problem is that for sound, its rated lower than the other 3 listed. It does have its pluses: 7.2, extra HDMI input.

Originally Posted by callas01

The Sony DN-1000 is the same as my 920, it is actually a very good receiver, when I saw that they listed it at $100 less on the MSRP I was a little surprised, but it looks as if it may be a little beefier then the 920. I push my Energy speakers very well with it so I think of the ones listed that may be the better of them. The Onkyo would be 2nd on my list and then the Harman. The Pioneer 1019/919 are basically the same, and the 1019 reviews were not well. I would steer clear of the new NON-Elite pios at the moment

Well, the reviews I read were that they've actually lowered the quality on the DN-1000 from your 920. The power rating is exaggerated. Though it gets the highest marks for sound quality, a bit of a surprise to me.
Its funny, I started out as a big Sony fanboy when I was a kid, now I'm a bit skeptical bout them :P

[callas01]

Originally Posted by ak_ka

Well, the reviews I read were that they've actually lowered the quality on the DN-1000 from your 920. The power rating is exaggerated. Though it gets the highest marks for sound quality, a bit of a surprise to me.
Its funny, I started out as a big Sony fanboy when I was a kid, now I'm a bit skeptical bout them :P

Well the power ratings on most of the $500 and below receivers are all exaggerated now-a-days. Look at the Yamaha 665 it runs 42 wpc and listed at 90 wpc, the Pioneer 1019/919 is bench testing at 28 wpc and listed at 120 wpc.

Don't be fooled, they all have suffered power loss and still lay claim to higher output.


https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=104836 Look at post #19 & #24, that is the test results.

[tootall82103]

Originally Posted by callas01

The Sony DN-1000 is the same as my 920, it is actually a very good receiver, when I saw that they listed it at $100 less on the MSRP I was a little surprised, but it looks as if it may be a little beefier then the 920. I push my Energy speakers very well with it so I think of the ones listed that may be the better of them. The Onkyo would be 2nd on my list and then the Harman. The Pioneer 1019/919 are basically the same, and the 1019 reviews were not well. I would steer clear of the new NON-Elite pios at the moment

I agree. I'd go with the Sony out of the bunch also.

[ak_ka]

Originally Posted by callas01

Well the power ratings on most of the $500 and below receivers are all exaggerated now-a-days. Look at the Yamaha 665 it runs 42 wpc and listed at 90 wpc, the Pioneer 1019/919 is bench testing at 28 wpc and listed at 120 wpc.

Don't be fooled, they all have suffered power loss and still lay claim to higher output.


https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=104836 Look at post #19 & #24, that is the test results.

Yeah, I had come across this as well. (donno if me having Klipsch helps it though )
Thats why I was interested in the HK, coz they tend not to exaggerate their ratings, and I really like their Logic 7 processing, at least in my car

My head's already spinning from the confusion

[Phatjedi]

Just sold my Sony 920 for the DN-1000 and I am glad I did. Took 15 minutes to set up, GUI is much better than on the 920. 7.1 never sounded so good.
I have everything running through it (Sony XBR 50, PS3, 360, Laser disc Player and Sony BD S360).
Price was $340.00
Very happy with my purchase.

[ZIPPO]

Originally Posted by ak_ka

(donno if me having Klipsch helps it though )
Thats why I was interested in the HK, coz they tend not to exaggerate their ratings, and I really like their Logic 7 processing, at least in my car

I vote for the HK. Like Marantz & Denon, HK is very truthful in their power ratings. Here's some feedback on the HK x600 receivers: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1178816

[ak_ka]

Originally Posted by ZIPPO

I vote for the HK. Like Marantz & Denon, HK is very truthful in their power ratings. Here's some feedback on the HK x600 receivers: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1178816

Yeah, the HK does sound tempting.

I know it doesn't upconvert(most upconversions in this range a bad anyway), but does it conver from Analog to Digital, or do I have to run a component cable from the receiver to the TV too?

[ak_ka]

Originally Posted by ZIPPO

I vote for the HK. Like Marantz & Denon, HK is very truthful in their power ratings. Here's some feedback on the HK x600 receivers: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1178816

Originally Posted by ak_ka

Yeah, the HK does sound tempting.

I know it doesn't upconvert(most upconversions in this range a bad anyway), but does it conver from Analog to Digital, or do I have to run a component cable from the receiver to the TV too?

Well, I went through that thread, and apparently HK have been misquoting the power rating on the 1600. Its actually 35W per channel. Don't think that'll be enough..
So it seems a straight shootout between the Onkyo and the Sony.

[ZIPPO]

35 watts would be plenty for those speakers. Any of your receiver options would be drive them fairly easy.

from Audioholics.com Quintet SL review
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/s...sch-quintet-sl

The front three speakers of the Klipsch Quintet SL package are of an MTM "D'Appolito" design with a horn-loaded 3/4 inch aluminum dome tweeter flanked by two 3.5 inch mid-bas drivers. Outside of the woofers are two ports. With the grills on, the three speakers should outline three sides of a flat panel nicely. The rear speakers use the same horn-loaded tweeter and one of the 3.5 inch woofers (these are the same speakers that are included in the Quintet III speaker package). While we have found that orienting the center channel vertically will give you better overall sound quality, we're willing to bet that your better half won't let you. But we suggest you try just in case.

The build quality of these speakers is up to the high standards we've come to expect from Klipsch. The stands once again double for wall mounts which is a nice touch as it negates a potentially expensive add-on that other companies are more than happy to stick you with. The 93db@1watt/1meter for the fronts and 91db@1watt/1meter for the rears sensitivity is crazy high for any speaker much less speakers of this size. There isn't a receiver or amp on the planet that should have a hard time driving these speakers to their limits and beyond.

[ak_ka]

Originally Posted by ZIPPO

35 watts would be plenty for those speakers. Any of your receiver options would be drive them fairly easy.

from Audioholics.com Quintet SL review
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/s...sch-quintet-sl

The front three speakers of the Klipsch Quintet SL package are of an MTM "D'Appolito" design with a horn-loaded 3/4 inch aluminum dome tweeter flanked by two 3.5 inch mid-bas drivers. Outside of the woofers are two ports. With the grills on, the three speakers should outline three sides of a flat panel nicely. The rear speakers use the same horn-loaded tweeter and one of the 3.5 inch woofers (these are the same speakers that are included in the Quintet III speaker package). While we have found that orienting the center channel vertically will give you better overall sound quality, we're willing to bet that your better half won't let you. But we suggest you try just in case.

The build quality of these speakers is up to the high standards we've come to expect from Klipsch. The stands once again double for wall mounts which is a nice touch as it negates a potentially expensive add-on that other companies are more than happy to stick you with. The 93db@1watt/1meter for the fronts and 91db@1watt/1meter for the rears sensitivity is crazy high for any speaker much less speakers of this size. There isn't a receiver or amp on the planet that should have a hard time driving these speakers to their limits and beyond.

Aah, guess I am a complete noob I did read that review earlier, but forgot bout the sensitivity. Now I'm eve more confused.

Guess should've opened a poll, coz its hard to keep track of the votes.

So far:-

Sony - +3
HK - +1
Onkyo - +1
Pioneer - +1