I am a virtual novice when it comes to good stereo or HT equipment, I usually go with the trends. My last reciever was a NAD 751 but it crapped out and the cost to fix will possibly out way the cost of buying a new 6 or 7.1 "Lower end" reciever.
I have some 2 PSB Image 2b speakers and a Alpha ? sub.
What reciever would do the PSB's justice? I loved my NAD but is is WAY to high for my budget now.
My budget is probably around $600-800 CAN.
I love my music and movies so something that will do both would be great.
Yamaha would work well only if you went with a higher power RX-V series receiver. HK's have a superior power supply if not better sound and reliability. I have a Yamaha and have been enjoying the XM radio. I also have a power amp running the front 2 speakers. See my profile to see what I'm running. All of that gear is in one system. Good luck and let us know if how it goes.
Ya you gots, some stuff there. You like the power. 2 pre amps hmm, do your neighbors like you?
Anyways thanks for the info
You say Harmon is a better product then I will believe, but if both products are running the same power/channel such as (90 X 7) what makes Harmon better. Just curious?
My actual desire is to have a great sounding smaller speaker system a sleeper so to say small but will blow you away. Im not sure if I want to go any smaller than a bookshelf, but if there was a good system I might. I used to like the bose acoustimaster systems but everyone I knew said for music they suck.
Here's the retail prices for receivers close to C$800: H/K AVR140 ($700) H/K AVR240 ($900) H/K AVR435 ($1500 --- or $800 if you can get one at costco, hint hint hint Marantz SR4600 ($630) Marantz SR5600 ($850) Yamaha RXV657 ($670) Yamaha RXV757 ($800) Yamaha RXV1500 ($800 - clearance model) Yamaha RXV2500 ($900 - clearance model) NAD T743 ($1000) --- If you really like NAD, it's worth seeing what you can get this one for. I asked a dealer about the T753($1500) and they immediately offered to sell it to me for $1200, so they're obviously a fair bit of room. Cambridge 540R ($900) Pioneer 1015TX ($600)
HK has bigger and more powerful power supplies which means more current. Current is what drives speakers not watts. Also there is how each manufacturer rates their power. The HK AVR235 I believe is rated at 50 watts per channel but delivers 60 plus to all channels driven simultaneously. The Yamaha RX-V657 (my receiver) is rated at 95 watts per channel and delivers about 65 to all channels driven simultaneously.
BTW I only have one pre amp, the NAD C162. I use my AVR as a source component for AM/FM/XM and movies sound track processing. It also powers my center channel and rears. The Hsu sub is connected to the AVR LFE and is used in the HT only and the Era sub is connected to one set of my C162's pre outs and works for the 2 channel setup when the AVR is turned off.
i have an NAD and didn't like it at all. it couldn't image worth beans and made my superzeros sound like they were hiding in sleeping bags.
my onkyo had much better treble resolution and imaging if not as much oomph in the bass, but i have a sub anyways.
i bought a panasonic SA-XR55 for just $240 delivered (from a 4 star shop, but amazon has them for $220, but they're on my poopoo list) not for better sound, but to make room for 4 ohm magnepan MMGs that i want, but as soon as i turned the panny on, my jaw dropped.
it spanks the daylights out of both my NAD and onkyo in every way except maybe in the NAD bass.
it's deeper and tighter than the onkyo
it has much better scale and dynamic jump
it images like crazy. i've never heard an image stretch about a foot outside my speakers before, but the panny pulled it off. the center image isn't as bunched up either. it's wider and more defined.
the treble is really nice. it's very detailed and grain free. even with my ear right next to my tweeters, i can't hear any tizz at all. it's onboard D/A converters are a little more polite in the treble than my onkyo, but it's alot more detailed and faster
but the biggest improvement that knocked me out of my chair was the silky smooth midrange. WOW! i've never heard vocals sound so natural in my room before.
it just sounds like the panny gets out of the way of the music top to bottom. everything is faster, smoother and more detailed. it kicks backside in the out of the room test too. it just disappears.
i'm starting to think that an external D/A converter can further improve the sound as it sounds like my sony DVD player is a little more detailed and quick in the highs using it's own D/A converters vs. sending the panny a digital signal.
it could be the effect of a slightly louder sound, but i think i can still hear more air with volume matching.
regardless of the D/A issue, the class-d amps onboard sound super detailed, but not in the least bit harsh which i thought were mutually exclusive traits. it's been described as sounding in between solid state and tubes.
i'll never get a class A/B amp or reciever ever again.
check the SA-XR threads out here. so far, everyone that i've seen that owns one, loves it. i'm so happy that i can watch TV late at night without straining to hear for a change.
i'm happy to find out that it wasn't my speakers soft domes that were robbing me of detail as much as it was the recievers i fed them with.
panny's need some break in to smooth out by the way, but even 8 hours made a noticeable improvement.
