Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Ordering Receiver Today -- Any Last Advice?

Hi Hansang & JohnK --

Thanks both very much for the input. Holding off still until my mind is settled. Its worth another day, and I appreciate the input!

The Marantz was pulling away in the voting, but the Denon (who was winning the comments) is making a horse race of it in the polls as well. One of the votes for the Marantz doesn't count though -- I had to vote to see the results! I guess I should just go with my own vote, but I need a more reliable source!

JohnK -- I'm particularly pleased to read your suggestion that either receiver would drive the speaker package readily. Also, very glad to hear a "second" on the A4L refurb route. I'm realizing that if I put the order onto a Visa Signature card then the warranty will be extended to a second year, which is reassuring (apparently not all cards will extend a refurb unit warranty, and there are other very interesting and subtle differences in coverage between providers). I'm starting to lean this way (toward the Marantz), just for the looks and branding more than anything else (which is really quite silly, but they seem close in other regards, so there you have it).

Thanks also very much for the nice clarifications on the 4 Ohm and max power ratings. I should revise, perhaps, to instead say that the Denon manual states that it is "compatible" with 4-16 Ohm loads, whereas the Marantz states similar for 6 Ohms and up only. I'm with you on the comment that 125 to 150 is not substantive logarithmically, and I appreciate the emphasis. The thing that's getting me a bit hung up is this this post at AVS from one of the resident experts (to be clear, I say that seriously, not sarcastically) who says:



Looking at the actual power draw, there is again not much difference (710 vs 780), which would give what, maybe 60-70 real Watts per channel at the most all driven, leaving some overhead for the processors? Again, not much practical difference in those stats, but I suspect that there are some realities of the design distinctions that just don't always translate into the commonly provided standard specs that guys like JD are nonetheless privy to.

By the way, that quote was from an older thread, but he was generous with personal advice when solicited as well (I don't anticipate that there would be any objection to sharing the comment) and said:



Straightforward, insightful, and appreciated, as are the comments of the members here. I'll stop agonizing and pull the trigger on one or the other shortly (I hope).

Cheers - DSQ