I was afraid this might happen. Like I said, I am looking at an ES receiver. Everyone I know is happy with ES quality, if not mass market Sony quality. As far as I know, Sony specs their receivers with continuous power at full bandwidth all channels driven. I'm familiar with the "circuit city sales technique" and that wattage numbers alone mean nothing.
I'm not really questioning the Sony ES quality, I'm more concerned with how it sounds. I don't want it to sound too forward or thin with the Axioms. They seem to me like they both have forward characteristics. Like a Les Paul with a Fender amp for any guitar players out there – not necessarily a great pairing IMO.
So is that concern valid? Or would another receiver sound noticeably smoother, but just as ballsy, as the Sony.
In a perfect world, I'd be buying a Rotel. Their reputation for stereo quality is exactly what I want. However, their costs are prohibitive at this point.
Outlaw keeps getting good reviews, but I have to rule it out because of inadequate connections.
I was also scared off from them when I saw this article:
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/clone_prepros.php
(it's 8 pages, but chopped up for convenience, so it's not that long with pictures)
Perhaps I shouldn't be scared, as it shows 3 receivers that were virtually identical, the Outlaw being least expensive. I digress...
So who’s got a Rotel killer at about $500?
