Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Reciever upgrade!

So I've been waiting to get into blu-ray once a good player comes out with profile 2.0 and analogue outs (since my reciever doesn't have hdmi). Then I realized that my reciever doesn't apply any bass management or other settings to the multi channel in. It looks like my only option is upgrading my reciever!

Currently I have a Pioneer VSX 1015 TX Thx Select 2 reciever powering a pair of M22's, a VP-150, and a pair of QS-4's, plus a 350 sub. My room is fairly small, no more than 2000 cubic feet.

I've been looking at recievers at my local Best Buy Magnolia store, and I'm looking at either a Denon 3808CI, a Pioneer Elite VSX-94 (or possibly the lower priced VSX-92)or possibly a Yamaha RX V3800. I'm leaning towards the Pioneers because I've been pleased with my current Pioneer, but I know that the Denon is very popular.

Any advice on how these work with regards to decoding the lossless formats as well as how they sound with the axioms?

I would also consider the emotiva LPA-1 and the new XMC-1 of course they are still waiting on a chip to finish the XMC-1 but it will be out by this fall.

I like the sound of my Yamaha RX V1800 paired with the LPA-1 but I don't think I would use the internal Yamaha amps. I will upgrade to a Emotiva processor probably the XMC-1 after I see the reviews.

Others on the forum love the Denon. I would choose it over the Yamaha or the Pioneer IMHO.

I was also considering running Emotiva separates, but that really bumps up my price. One question about the Denon, does it decode all the new codecs? I'm pretty sure it does, but I was on the Denon website comparing all their recievers and it said the 3808 did not support True HD. Of course, that could've been before firmware updates.

yes it decodes:

Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital+ decoding
dts-HD Master Audio decoding

denon 3808 can be had from 6ave.com for less than $1100

How do you get it for that price? Don't you have to call and tell them "I heard about this at avs" or something? Anyways, now I have to save up some money! And decide whether to go for a PS3 or wait for the Sony 550.

I haven't called 6ave to see if that deal is still on, but looking at amazon I see it's listed at 1399 from onecall, and 1299 from dbroth. Are these reputable dealers?

Mario, onecall is very reputable, but so are 6thave and J&R, which at least recently would both sell the 3808 for about $1100 if asked for the best price in a phone call.

Any of the three receivers that you you mention would meet your needs and would all amplify Axioms without adding any audible coloration. The Onkyo 805 and 875 could also be included in the list

My suggestion is to look into the Anthem D2

http://statement.anthemav.com/HTML/Products/D2/D2.html

http://statement.anthemav.com/HTML/Products/D2/downloads/D2_ARC_PDS.pdf

It's pricy, but it simply blows away anything Denon has to offer. I used various Denon products for years and started to feel that the sound was somehow "missing" something. I started to look into it and did commparisons of high end product and very quickly found that Denon seemed to be ... dull. The sound was somehow muted in tone. In the end the Anthem D2 delivered beyond my expectations in quality and features. Yes, you will need a seperate amp (I'm using the Axiom one) but the quality is incredible.

If the Anthem is a bit much in terms of price for ya, I'd suggest looking into Yamaha rec/amp unit. After listening to a demo at a high end store with the same speakers/movie/music I was very surprised to hear the Yamaha perform so well.
In the years I've been evaluating products and using them for my site I become very disapointed in Denon - they've become the over priced bucket of paint that provides less coverage than a thought of lesser brand. (I just recently found out that Glidden makes Ralph Lauren Paint - only the shades are different - why pay $20 bucks more to dip you brush into Ralph!)

- Scott

One of the reasons I chose the denon/pioneer/yamaha choices is that my local bestbuy carries them, so I can actually go there and listen to them and push all the buttons and check it out in person (and return it if I find it unsuitable). No one nearby carries the Onkyo, so that'd end up being a blind buy. The anthem stuff is a bit too pricey for me, I'm just a 22 year old student who's also trying to save up quite a bit of money. Plus I also just splurged on my QS4's and EP350. I'm trying desperately to keep the HT spending in check.