Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners New Receiver Advice

OK I continue to have problems that I suspect are due to the 663 (an instance of wild popping, let's move on and skip the whining, and for the sake of moving forward accept it is most likely a weak link) so I desperately need to replace it as a pre/pro, making my plan of using the 663 as a stand in until the 997, 972, or UMC (? new emo) are finally released and evaluated completely un-viable.

Disappointing but hey I have Axiom speakers and I'm happy about that.

In the interim I have become even more impressed by the 3808 especially the feature upgrade which I suspect will hit the sweet spot of what I am looking for even if it may not be the absolute cutting edge, hey there is no such thing anyway, except for a few seconds if I'm not mistaken.

Not too sure if 6ave will honor the avs forum discount anymore in any shape or form, yet I am pretty much bound and determined to purchase the 3808 (damn the torpedoes and my poor credit cards) mainly because at this point I desperately need a reference point to rule out the processor as contributing to these problems (and hope for divine intervention to eliminate them all so I can happily progress from seemingly endless troubleshooting to the domestic bliss of pure enjoyment in combination with the inevitable disease of tweaking, yes I remain a realist, despite all indications to the contrary).

My question, finally is this: are there any other preamp/processors I should be considering at this point to run my system, keeping in mind that I like what I see in the 3808 feature set and desperately need something that is absolutely GUARANTEED (sorry I needed that shout) to work with Axiom.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,
SK

You didn't mention a budget, but you might want to also look at the yamaha reviewed below, first yamaha that gets a perfect score, note the stellar low ohm driving capabilities...

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/receivers/rx-z7-7.1

I was thinking about the 3809Ci, but that yamaha Z7 sure looks nice...

Dana

re: "My question, finally is this: are there any other preamp/processors I should be considering at this point to run my system"


Depending on your budget you might consider Anthem.

http://www.anthemav.com/

SK you have the A1400, Yes? Then I would look to the 2809 as long as you don't mind losing the GUI, the networking ability and you would be saving in the process to put towards the Outlaw or Emo pre/pros later on when they are avaialble and then the 2809 could go into another room. I would also consider an Onkyo 875(6), 905(6).

I was quoted about $1,000 on an Integra (lexus of Onkyo) 8.9 this weekend. I think it has the ISF video section and killer upscaller, so it would be a great pre/pro with huge multi-zone capabilites if you have another amp. Seems like overkill for a pre/pro, but companies just don't want to fill the void of pre/pros. The Integra 9.9 Pre/Pro lacks the amps of the AVR 9.9, has the same features, and cost the same. WHAT? It should be $500 less and I would get one today. Anyway, good luck.

Also look at the new Cary if you want a Pre/Pro.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, interesting bunch of equipment, I've decided to go with the 3808 because I couldn't beat the features/price ratio at the moment and think the networking capabilities will be welcome, BTW 6ave is still honoring the avsforum member discount price of $1099. Woo hoo!

All,
I am curious on new receivers as well. As many of you know from my other thread, I am currently waiting on my in-wall/on-wall W series of speakers to arrive (I will post pics as I go!). I have not purchased my AVR to drive this setup yet, but have the Pioneer Elite SC-05 planned for this purpose. However I notice that most on this forum seem to have or mention the Denon AVR's. I am curious if anybody has experience with the Pioneer SC lineup vs. the Denon? I chose the Pioneer based on brand familiarity, looks and feature set I liked (good power, home media gallery, ICE amplifier - plus my sales guy's recommendation). My local shop also carries Denon, but I never really looked into them. Would anybody strongly recommend revisiting this topic? Since my speakers won't be arriving until late March I have until then to make changes and second guess myself!

SatKartr, I'll be interested to hear your experiences once you're all hooked up.

I'm a huge Pioneer fan; owning their last Elite flagship DVD player, the DV-79AVi, their current top of the line non-Elite receiver the VSX-1018AH-K, and their last 50" plasma the PDP-5020FD.

I (this is a personal opinion) question Denon's value for money. There's no doubt they build good equipment, but I think at this point part of the price is the name on the box. A real glimpse at the way their marketing department thinks is in the fact that they are selling a $500 Ethernet cable--that's just offensive to me.

But if I were in the market for a $1500-$2000 receiver in the next couple months, I'd really be looking closely at the Sherwood Newcastle R-972 ( http://www.sherwoodamerica.com/site/newcastle/receivers/R972.html ), which Axiom will be selling when it becomes available.

And I'm not just recommending this because I'm an Axiom fan boy either. I found out about this receiver because of Outlaw, and only later discovered that Axiom sells Sherwood Newcastle equipment.

The 3808 gets a lot of love because some people prefer the Audyssey room correction to Pioneer's implementation, and because of the ethernet streaming and associated GUI. They're probably both fine pieces. I think the Denon manuals are unintelligible.