Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Help choosing Pre/Pro+Amp or an AVR

My Setup: Two M60s for L/R front, VP150 for C, 4xQS8s for L/R Surround and L/R Rear (all version 1) and an SVS PC12-Plus (old model).

Room is 8064ft3 (24x24x14).

Currently have an Onkyo TX-NR801 which has served me well, but doesn't support HDMI or the new Blu-ray codecs. I was all set to pickup the Emotiva UPA-7 & UMC-1, but then started reading about issues so started doing more research. Budget is $2500, so unfortunately the A1400 is out. Primary use is HT with all channel stereo background music as a secondary use.

Looking for recommendations.

Thanks

First, welcome to the board.

That budget is a little tight to be going with a pre/pro plus 7 channels of amps. It can be done, for instance the Onkyo Pro PR-SC886P can be had for less than $1500, and Outlaw (who also sells that Onkyo) has a 7 x125 Watt (conservatively rated) amp for $1000.

But for that money, I'd be looking at the Onkyo TX-NR3007 for about $2000, or even the TX-NR5007 which would take you right up to the limit of your budget.

Was looking at the Yahama ZX11 @ $2499 or Onkyo 5007 currently on sale @ $1799.

Thanks for the welcome. I registered years ago but never had a need to post until now.

I should also add that my budget is flexible. I'm just looking to stay around $2500.

My next pre/pro will be another receiver. Pre/Pro's don't have the features that I want, yet. They typically lag behind AVR's with the latest tech since HDMI was rolled out. My next AVR will be the Denon 4810, which can be bought for 2000 - 2500 depending on where you look.

Another vote for Outlaw Audio and look at their B stock you can get a good amp and the Onkyo Chris mentioned from there.

In the $2500 price range, I would look into one of the NAD receivers T765, T775, or T785. In my mind NAD has a good reputation for quality products and this series of receivers are modular so they can be upgraded when new technologies come around. You might have to add in the cost of one upgrade immediately to support HDMI. My caveat is that the only NAD that I've listened to is a friend's older stereo NAD receiver but it has always sounded pretty good to me. When I was looking around, I went with a Denon 3808 because the NADs were out of my price range. Plus I did not find it convenient to go to a NAD dealer as it is to go to a BB/Magnolia (with Denon products) for a listening session.

-Dave

David, we've been anxiously waiting over three years for your first post, so welcome. As to the receivers, you can probably get the 3007 for about $500 less than the 5007. There's no appreciable difference in maximum power or other general performance aspects, so unless the 5007 has some added feature that you really want, the 3007 is a more cost-effective buy and that budget can be used on something more meaningful.

The NAD T7x5HD looks like a candidate at the high end of my budget. Onkyo pricing between the 3007 and the 5007 is about $400. The need for HDMI ports is what leads me to the 5007. I have 4 HDMI devices today and expect that will only grow with time.

you can get Nad refurbished from http://www.spearitsound.com/nad/nadspec.htm

they are great guys, when i lived in new england i bought from their boston store. You will need to call the Northampton store for refurbished inventory.. i would at least call and see what they have or what they can get for you, i think they are the only NAD certified company to sell refurbished items for NAD.. btw, i got my Krell from them for 1500, so you could see what else they have..

i would tell you to go with Nad, i have a Nad processor, and a Krell processor, and to be completely honest, i can only tell a slight difference in the Krell unit over the nad, with the same amps. Considering the Krell cost almost 4 times what the Nad did new...

i have a buddy who has a Nad receiver, and that sounds wonderful as well. i have owned onkyo as well, and the quality between Nad and Onkyo is uncomparable, in my opinion..

One question, why do you need the HDMI ports? my system is completely analog..
if you are ok with staying with analog, you can get much more power/performance for your money. this is a current listing off of spiritsounds used section.

NAD T175/T975 Package, AV Tuner Preamplifier with 7-Channel Power Amplifier (List $4,498) $2,948 Refurbished

i realize this is 450$ over what you want to spend, but i would say that this would be worth waiting another month for, due to the fact that this is a separates pre/pro. i don't know if you have ever herd a pre/pro set up next to a receiver. but that is also an uncomparable match as well in my opinion. I would rather go with less new technology (HDMI) but better DAC's and an amp you will never have to replace, just buy another processor when technology changes enough to matter to you.


anyhow you know where i stand... good luck with your choice.

But without HDMI the best DACs in the world in the pre/pro aren't going to do anything.

I can see the appeal of analog interconnects in a purpose-built, music playback setup. But for home theater you need HDMI. Finding sources with 5/7.1 outputs, for your TV channels, video games, video disc, etc. is impossible. Let alone the extra over-head of paying for high-end DACs in each piece of gear. If you use HDMI to connect all the digital sources to your pre/pro or receiver you only need pay for the digital to analog conversion in one place. Plus, the bass management, channel alignment, room correction, etc. are always better implemented in a dedicated processor than any source device.