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Brian Grubbs Unregistered guest | I have a long open room with infinity IL speakers. I estimate my usage will be about 95% movie watching for HDTV, DVD and DSS. It would be nice if it had a built in amp to also run my outside speakers too but this is not a must. I expect I need some kind of user friendly way to EQ my room for best sound. If I should be looking at a differant reciever, let me know. I have an Onkyo 555 that is about 5 years old and wanted to upgrade now that I'v upgraded my TV to HDTV. |
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Anonymous | You should be looking at pioneer receivers-new models 814,914 and elite models 55tx($600)up.Datavis has the new 814 in stock.you can search yahoo for other sellers.the 55 up has a parametric equalizer like the yamaha 650 but better build quality,better sound.the 814,914 are also more powerful than the yamaha's and are highly rated(last years 812,912 are highly rated--the 814,914 are the same with more features as they're brand new like the yam 650).Because you have a large room I would recommend pioneer over almost any other receiver as it is probably the most powerful,with the possible exception of nad which might be a little better for music but for home theater the pioneer's are far better(I've heard).If price is a factor you can't go wrong with the 814 which is very cheap but plenty powerful and supposedly sounds excellant as well(in addition to being the best surround performer there is according to the reviews).I personally don't think you need the parametric equalization unless perhaps you have alot of problems with your sound and bare walls and floors all around.If you only play your music at listenable levels,not loud than other receivers may have enough power and might be a little better sounding(not necessarily better in surround than any pioneer though)-receivers like denon 1604,1804 etc. |
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Silver Member Username: JohnnyMissouri Post Number: 266 Registered: Dec-03 | Brian, I must respectfully disagree with Anonymous above. While very good, Infinity speakers definately tend to sound a little bright. Therefore, in my opinion, they sound best when paired with a warmer sounding receiver. I would second Anon's recommendation of Pioneer Elite. Pioneer Elite receivers have wonderful power supplies and are very warm soudning...a great match with your speakers. However, the Elite model anon recommended (the 55txi)is much more expensive than what your budget seems to be $400-$500?). I have never seen this receiver for less than $900. I don't know where anon gets the $600 price from. The cheapest Elite model is the 43tx, and I have seen it being sold for around $700. Also, the "regular" Pioneer receivers are not even in the same ballpark as the "Elite" models. Like I said, the Elite receivers are very warm sounding, but the regular Pioneer models are the exact opposite...they are very bright sounding and are nowehere nearly as powerful...and thus would make a VERY poor match with your Infinity speakers. I listened to a Pioneer receiver paired with some Athena speakers once (also very bright), and my ears almost bled. I am not doubting the fact that some reviews may have given those "regular" Pioneer recievers very good marks...they just make a very poor match with Infinity in my opinion. That being said, Denon would also make a very poor match with Infinity speakers in my opinion. Denon is also very dry and bright sounding, and once again, would make a very poor match with Infinity. In your original posting, you mention the Yamaha 650. In my opinion...another very poor match with Infinity. Those lower end Yamaha receivers are some of the brightest sounding receivers out there...and once again, not a good match with your speakers. Of the two you listed, Onkyo would be a better match with your speakers as it is not as bright as the Yamaha, but let me see if I can give you some other recommendations that might give you some better results. While it is a capable reciever, Onkyo receivers don't have the best power supplies in the world. Some Onkyo receivers have been known to be unable to meet half of their specified power ratings when rated with all channels driven at once. 1. Try the Harman Kardon AVR-130 (45w x 5)or AVR-230 (50w x 6). Both are wonderful receivers and would make excellent matches with your speakers. Don't be fooled by the seemingly low power ratings of these two receivers. HK rates their power very conservatively and these receivers will give you much more "real world" power than the Onkyo ever will. The 130 retails at $379 and the 230 retails for $475. 2. Marantz SR4400-80w x 6-retail $429. Once again, this receiver has a very warm and inviting sound, making it a perfect match with your speakers. 3. NAD T742-50w x 5-can be had for $450 from www.saturdayaudio.com. This is my best recommendation in this category. I own an NAD receiver, and the sound is absolutely wonderful. It is very detailed and full sounding. Listen to one of these receivers if you can, you won't be sorry. In this price range, this receiver simply cannot be matched in my opinion. As with the HK recievers, dont let the relatively low power rating fool you. NAD receivers rate their power conservatively as well, and this receiver certainly packs quite a punch. This receiver started out with a retail price of around $700 and is now on closeout as a newer model is being introduced. As for the "user friendly way to EQ my room for best sound", go to Radio Shack and buy a $50 SPL meter and do the calibrations yourself. You will get the same (if not better) results as you would with one of those automatic calibration features on some receivers. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out! |
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Anonymous | Whoops I meant the pioneer elite 53tx which is $600 online(search yahoo shopping).according to the reviews of the pioneer 812,912 the new 814,914 should be smooth sounding and they are indisputably the best surround performers.I like onkyo just not as much as pioneer(on paper at least).I like marantz but the processor in the 4400(like the HK's) is a little behind the pioneer.It seems like if your going up to the marantz price you might as well get an nad(unless you can get the 4400 for much less).Yamaha is great on paper(perhaps the best) but I don't have as much faith in them as a manufacturer as I do pioneer,and while their sound is good I don't think it would be as good as pioneer overall(a little smoother but not as dynamic)-also their power delivery is way behind pioneer's----to be fair though the yamaha 650 at about $400 is the cheapest receiver(now) with parametric equalization(the pioneer 53 being the second cheapest i beleive)but i don't think you need that feature unless you are in a very problematic room with bare walls,floors all around and lots of reverbaration that you can hear already---the pioneer 814,914(as well as most others I think) have good equalization already-just not parametric which is only necessary if you ahve real problems with your room..I personally have some concerns over buying an nad by mail order as there are some complaints on this site and elswhere about possible problems(and again in surround performance the pioneer is more detailed and exciting,although admittedly not as "musical").I have a bias against HK because i bought one about 10 years ago and did not like it-I thought it sounded powerful but "thin" sounding(I'm sure their newer receivers are better but how much I don't know)-also I thought the HK had more distortion which i beleive they do since they use low to no negative feedback designs(having no neg. feedback increases distortion-comparing equivelant designs of course--in other words a less well designed or cheaper receiver with feedback is still going to sound worse than the HK-but comparing the ones we're comparing I think others may sound better). |
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Anonymous | reading johnny's post above again he makes some good points and if he listened to the pioneer 812,912 with the infinity speakers(similar or same that you own)I would beleive his opinion.Before the current model 812,912 and the newer 814,914 the pioneer receivers were always very bright and pretty bad sounding fromwhat i've read(they completely redisigned the newer pioneers-once again read the reviews).if you decide not to go with a pioneer marantz may be you second best bet and i think dependableaudiovideo.com has the 4400 for about $280 and as I may have mentioned datavis.com has the pioneer 814 and you can search yahoo for other prices. |
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brian grubbs Unregistered guest | Thanks so much for the detailed response from both of you. I'll start shopping for the Elite, NAD, or HK yall have recomended. I do want to keep it under $500. |