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Bronze Member Username: LobsterPost Number: 15 Registered: Oct-07 | Iam in the market for a stereo surround sound receiver. I considered buying from outlaw because they are a small company. I thought the customer service would be good. They stopped making the receiver ( 1070 ) I was interested in. I have had a onkyo now for 10 years and I did not care for there customer service.Too many products for customer service to handle. I am in hopes to find something in the 1k range( give or take ) that can compete with the 1070. I have considered the arcam 300 but its a little more then I want to spend. Hk has also interested me. any advice? thanks chris |
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Gold Member Username: Nickelbut10Post Number: 1176 Registered: Jun-07 | The Entry level Rotel, or the NEW entry level NAD. The new NAD A/V receivers sound much nicer than their previous offerings. I had a chance to listen to one for a good hour a few weeks back, and I must say I was impressed. Sounds closer to the Masters series. Completely upgradeable and now do the new HD audio formats. But come at a much heavier price. Also look at the new Onkyo stuff as it is good, and much better than their older offerings. A lot of people don't like either of these companies based on customer service though. But for a grand its the best your going to get IMO. |
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Bronze Member Username: LobsterPost Number: 16 Registered: Oct-07 | Thanks for that info nick.I will look into your suggestions for sure. I happend to stumble upon a thread that has a yamaha rxv 3800 receiver selling for $1, 098.00 shipped.. It involves a online coupon that you can use. Some people over there bought it and they say its legit. I cant find any info on that receiver. Do you have any input on it as well as the outlaw 1070. I talked with outlaw yesterday and they were very evasive on it . I asked why they stopped making it and they would not give me a answer. I thought that was kind of weird. thanks again chris |
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Gold Member Username: Nickelbut10Post Number: 1178 Registered: Jun-07 | I believe at least 90 percent of Outlaw products are rebadged products. I think this could have something to do with their stop of the 1070 production. The 1070 I have never heard, although it is said that it sounds very nice. IMO I would not buy a Yamaha for a grand, as I feel you can have something that will sound better than the Yamaha for the same price. This is my opinion only. Also if the Yamaha is coming from someone who is not a dealer of Yamaha, you will have no valid warranty. |
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Gold Member Username: Stu_pittIrvington, New York USA Post Number: 2483 Registered: May-05 | If you want good customer service, stay away from NAD. Arcam has very good customer support. They also make a good number of their products upgradable to cut down on obsolecence. |
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New member Username: DaveelsonPost Number: 8 Registered: Aug-04 | I posted yesterday re my NAD, and after Nick suggested I call them, I did. They haven't responded to my online support request after a week, but I have to say that I spent 25 minutes yesterday talking to "Bob", who couldn't have been more helpful or patient. I did call earlier in the day and was put on hold for a while, although the receptionist did keep coming back to me to tell me she was trying to get me a line. When I called later I explained I had called previously and I was put straight through to Bob. So for now I'm happy, although I have yet to determine if my NAD is actually faulty, but Nick's advise to call them was good and they were very helpful. |
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Gold Member Username: Nickelbut10Post Number: 1181 Registered: Jun-07 | I too have never had a problem with their service. I guess a bad experience can leave a crap taste in anybodies mouths. My friend didn't find Rotel's service very good he claims when trying to get a hold of them. Arcam does have very good support, with a very good product. You had said CG that Arcam was out of your price range, but if you could save the pennies for a while longer, then it would be my first choice. |
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Bronze Member Username: LobsterPost Number: 19 Registered: Oct-07 | The arcam would be my first choice but I just dont feel like parting with 2k. But I like good customer service so I just might. What do you hear about hk customer service? I like the reviews of the onkyo 805. Iam a little concerned about how hot they might get. I have a nice hand made cabinet with separate shelves above each other . It said not to stack. does that mean without separate shelves? What do you think of the marantz 7002? I have read good things about that today. thanks for all the replys, chris |
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Gold Member Username: Nickelbut10Post Number: 1186 Registered: Jun-07 | CG- is it possible you can go to a local dealer and listen to some of these brands you are listing? That would be the first step. We can sit here all day and tell you which products we like or dont like. That doesn't mean you wont like what we dislike and dislike what you like. I would say go do some demoing or buy some stuff and return the losers. Just a thought. Let us know what you decide. |
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Silver Member Username: ShawnharmanPost Number: 164 Registered: Dec-05 | nick, do you know what outlaw is a rebadge of? im kinda curious now. |
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Gold Member Username: Nickelbut10Post Number: 1187 Registered: Jun-07 | Depends on the product. Power amps they use are of one company, receivers and such are of another. I forget exactly what companies they are from now. I know guys like Nuck and David on this forum know where they get their stuff from. |
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Bronze Member Username: LobsterPost Number: 20 Registered: Oct-07 | I have been looking nick. I plan on going to www.ensemble-hometheater.com soon. They have nad plus other high end stuff. Can anyone tell me what model harmon kardon meets efficient video processing for a new 1080i lcd tv? Can any of there models in the 1k range give me a true hd . I dont know alot about the decoading, scaleing, dolby true hd etc. I just dont want alot of headaches in the video area. Anyone have any input on the marantz sr 7002? thanks chris |
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Gold Member Username: Nickelbut10Post Number: 1189 Registered: Jun-07 | Ive never heard that Marantz, sorry CG. As far as being future proof with the new HD audio in the 1K range you will have to stick with Onkyo or the new NAD(2nd edition) stuff. They are the only two brands that I personally know of that make nice sounding A/V receivers in your price range and are future proof with all the new Audio formats and connectivity. Cheers. |
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Bronze Member Username: LobsterPost Number: 21 Registered: Oct-07 | I like the onkyo 805 on paper. But there seems to be alot of issues with it . Ive been thru the ringer with there customer service. So for now Iam looking elsewhere. I will check the nad products out soon. Have a good one! |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2721 Registered: Sep-04 | Chris, As an Onkyo dealer I'd really like to know what issues you have with Onkyo's 805. So far we have seen no issues with Onkyo's latest AV receivers. Also as an Arcam dealer, you may be interested in knowing that Arcam have reduced their prices recently (last week or two). It may take time to get to the US, but expect to see reductions soon. In fact I am puzzled by Arcam. They have the AVR280, 300 and 350 all within spitting distance of each other price wise. Now that the prices have come down (by about 15%), it makes less sense to keep all three in the range the 300 was the first of the modern receivers and paved the way, but the 350 is appreciably better and one wonders whether the 280 is at least as good, although it doesn't have as many features. On the features front, I am convinced this is why Arcam have reduced their prices. At first glance, Arcam's feature set is far lower than one would expect at the price. The most telling limitation currently is their lack of HDMI support for audio decoding. They switch HDMI 1080p signals perfectly well (well the 300 can't since it doesn't have HDMI at all), but there's no support for the High Resolution Blu-ray DTS Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD audio streams which seems a shame. This is the only feature I would want added to them to make them current. Musically and sonically, the Arcams are in a different league to most. Incidentally, the support for those Master Audio/TrueHD streams in the various AV receivers including the Onkyo is a bit questionable. Many only support 48khz and can't use the full 96khz or 192khz stream capability of the various standards definitions. This is a limitation caused, in part, by the pace of change of said standards and cost of implementation, so there is a question in my mind as to whether it's better to buy a machine without the capability at all, rather than a cobbled version... Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: LobsterPost Number: 24 Registered: Oct-07 | Hi frank Thanks for the above info. Just to clarify, I do not own a onkyo 805.I have a onkyo tx sv545. Im looking for a new receiver and one of the ones I was interested in was the 805. Two things have scared me away from it. One is some of the over heating problems they have. The other is onkyo's customer service that I have been thru. Too many products for customer service to be able to handle. Thats why I was considering the arcam. A nice product with supposably better customer service.I have kind of put them on the back burner Because of all the same reasons that you stated above. Right now Im leaning towards the marantz 7002 or 8002.They have Pretty good reviews etc. on this site and others. It seems to meet my needs at a better price. I have not heard a thing about the marantz customer service. regards, chris |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2725 Registered: Sep-04 | Hi Chris, I have not heard of 805s overheating, but I am in the UK so it's possible we have been lucky here. We're also blessed with very good distribution. The Onkyo people certainly take care of their customers well in Europe, and seemingly better than the rest of the volume manufacturing crowd. I do not know enough about Marantz to be able to comment, although I was under the impression that they had limitations with their High Res codec implementation too. Not sure of this however. It's difficult to say definitively which is the best brand to go for at the moment. I have been very impressed with the Onkyos for performance, ease of use and value for money. I guess the other brand I would look at would be Denon with their 2808 or higher to include the High Res audio codecs. However, I still don't know if those implementations have any restrictions. The latest NADs are also purported to have the high res codecs but I haven't been in a position to hear them yet. Unfortunately, I know of no volume manufacturer who has a genuinely good backup service (not counting Arcam in this since they are low volume and don't come in this scope). All of them seem to outsource maintenance work to freelance engineers and so suffer from inconsistency and a general lack of timely return. Regards, Frank. |
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Gold Member Username: Mike3Wylie, Tx USA Post Number: 1114 Registered: May-06 | Chris G. Most service departments have toll free numbers. Just call them and let them know you are in the market for a product they support and you are rating their support as part of your selection process. I wish I would have thought of this before. LOL! |