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I heartily recommend the Pioneer Elite VSX-32. $800 retail and can be had for $525 delivered. 110watts, 7.1, 6hdmi. Great performance at a very modest price. Plug 'n play iPod integration. Too many options to mention. This replaces a $5k former HT prepro/amp combo, and frankly I couldn't imagine getting much better performance level for my modest sized room.
Good luck. |
A major thank you to all who have posted their suggestions regarding receivers.
I'm not at a point where I've narrowed it down to say one, two or three choices. Still researching and reading up on the brands as well as some of the units on offer here at Audiogon.
If there are any other options or preferences, let me know. |
I have used the Onkyo TX-SR 876 for a while, and it does have an amazing performance/features.
I've found mine (used) at around $800. |
Here is a NAD T763 receiver which is one model below my T773. Very musical with plenty of power(true specs) to go around. No affiliation with ad.
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?miscrcvr&1302808202&/Nad-T763-very-clean |
I would recommend against the Arcam AVR2XX-3XX units. They sound great, but with their power supply regulators on the motherboards, got way too hot and ate their own solder joints.
At a former Arcam service center, we made a profit (for the first time in company history the service dept broke even) due to these receivers melting down. Had to rent a storage facility to store all the AVR's waiting repairs. |
I have a NAD T773 receiver from the mid 2000's and truly could not be more pleased. 52LBS + beast with dual(stacked) toroidal transformers to handle most any load. Great sounding leaning to the warm side of neutral with plenty of bass and very good detail. One caveat, high noise floor with high sensitivity speakers(Klipsch in my case at 99dB)but add just a little volume and it washes out. I am using it as a pre/pro only powering the surrounds and letting a 2-channel B&K handle the fronts and a 3-channel B&K(used as a monoblock)to power the center.
Believe me, this NAD would have no problem running a full HT setup with it's own internal amps. Great multichannel analog with BD to handle the new HD audio codecs.
Bill |
Any recommendations on older Marantz and NAD receivers that might work for my needs?
Would they be at the same level of the other brands mentioned or are they above or below, depending on model, of course? |
Thanks to everyone who has posted their recommendations. Appreciate your choices! and I'll check them all out. Don't know much about B&K so will need to read up on them.
Some additional info may be helpful. I had a Sony 5300ES that I sold - thought I would be able to live without it, regretting it now!
I have an Audio Research DAC7 - Ayon Spirit II int. amp - Vaughn loudspeakers for my 2ch system - to give you a feel for the type of 'sound' I enjoy.
Keep the suggestions coming. |
The Sony ES receivers are very well built. If you don't need HDMI and the latest decoding, they can be purchased in the $300-$500 range. The earlier models such as 777ES, and 4ES sound very nice. |
I would buy an Integra! I believe there's a DTR 8.9 HT receiver which will do everthing you want and do it very well. You will have a great receiver that has reasonable power and you can bi-amp the front channels. The Integra receivers sound great and offer a lot of features. I had a 7.9 and I thought it was much better than the higher $$ Denons & Arcams that I previously owned. I think the member is looking for $600 for a couple year old receiver that was about $2k when new. You won't be disappointed!!! |
B&K AVR-305,307,505,507. NAD receivers sound great also.
Bill |
second the arcam. b&k 202/307/507 is the other obvious choice and should meet all your requirements. |
Meiwan: Regarding your recommendation on the Arcam...
Just read the Ultimateavmag review and it definitely fits my needs. Like that :
-the 6th & 7th channels can be used to bi-amp the L/R channels.
- it has 4/8 ohm settings
- it has stereo direct.
I'll do some more research, but it's going on my list.
Thanks, -- David. |
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Arcam AVR350 Should be around $800 used. |
