I have been looking to upgrade to a better receiver. I currently have an entry level sony (STR-DE595) receiver hooked with 4 KLH T-5AW towers (front and rear, gotten at costco for a rediculously low price of 70.00 US/pair) and a KLH center and KLH sub. This was my first journey into the audio world and it was a good beginning. Of course now I have to get better, hahaha, and so I am moving this system into the den where the kids have the gamecube/PS2 and where they watch DVD's and want to get a new system for the family room.
Within the budget I have for the new receiver at this time (and within wife allowances and all) I have narrowed my choices down to:
All of them are 6.1 receivers that I am planning to pair up (one of them) with a set of Athena AS-F2 Towers for fronts, AS-R1's as surrounds in back, and the Athena Sub.
My problem is I like both the Onkyo and Yamaha equally and cannot decide which would be the better choice. Although the power ratings for the receivers are the same, the Onkyo seemed (albeit subjectively) seemed to sound clearer at higher volumes but I easily concede that may have been due to the speakers they were paired with at the store.
Does anyone have experience with either the yamaha or onkyo that they could enlighten me with; or suggestions as to what might be the better choice?
Get the Onkyo for yourself* and spend more time with your kids and wife. Don't let your kids waste away playing video games.
*Explanation: The Athena speakers, while good, are a little on the bright side. The Yamaha receiver will accentuate the bright characteristic of the speakers and cause bleeding from the ears. OK it doesn't get that bad, but you might experience aural fatigue after listening to this combo. The Onkyo will be a matter match. If you have a chance, also try a Harman Kardon or Marantz receiver with the speakers. And don't forget to play with your kids.
This morning I visited Circuit City's website to look at the Onkyo and perhaps on the whims of fate, it was on sale online for a special sale and was sale priced at $359.00 from $499 along with a 25 dollar gift card.
So I went and bought it.
Wow! A substantial improvement from the entry level Sony595. With the Sony, if I set the towers to large it would struggle and I had to keep them set on small for it to sound decent. This ONKYO 601 pours out the power and has no difficulty. I am still reading the manual (over and over) to understand the functions but really it was quite simple to set up.
I had to reposition the sub, since the ONKYO will do this double bass thing where the bass goes to the large speakers and the sub as well. Not sure I like that and to be honest the simple 2 channel stereo with no sub sounds better, at least for my tastes.
Right now I am running it through the KLH T-5AW towers front and back with a KLH center and Yamaha sub and it sounds incredible. I was watching a section of Fellowship of the Ring and I swear there are sounds in there that were not there before, that I didn't hear with the Sony and don't recall them in the theater.
I put in YES "Close to the Edge" and it also sounds incredible. Like I remember when I used to play the vinyl on my father's Marantz receiver back in the 70's.
Now I have to get the new speakers. The KLH's are fine for the moment but considering how good this sounds, I really want there to be as big an improvement as this receiver was to the sony, if that makes any sense. Not sure if I will follow through with the Athena's or something else. I am visiting a local shop tomorrow to audition some speakers and will see what I can afford with the 950.00 that I have set aside for them.
Thanks again. Oh and by the way, hahaha, I always play with the kids and they only get to play the nintendo on a minute per minute basis based on them doing reading or math (i.e., one math problem or one minute reading earns them one minute playing the game). It is amazing how "motivating" that is and how much their reading and math improved since doing that! As for the wife, hahaha, she finds all this "amusing" at best but what the hey, everyone needs a hobby to keep them out of trouble.
Good for you Shan. You will hear another leap in audio quality when you replace your KLH speakers with better ones. Don't forget the subwoofer. It makes a huge difference on most soundtracks. Enjoy your new system.