Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Help me choose an AVR

I finally got a chance to research some AVR specs this evening and I hear ya, no future proofing to be had for $400. My timing sems to be a bit off given the advent of 4K and HDCP 2.2. Then again, I'm not sure that I'll be buying a 4K tv anytime soon anyhow. I wish companies wouldn't make their 5.1 receivers so second tier to their 7.1, 9.1, etc models though.

Having said that, there's an Onkyo NR636 on for $530 locally (DHCP 2.2, reasonably powerful, etc). So, I'm torn between picking this up now while it's on sale or waiting things out a bit to see if anything else comes onto the market over the next month or two. Thoughts?

Also, is there a time of year when companies tend to release their new year's AVRs?

Thanks for helping me sort all this out,

Jordan

Have a look at accessories4less.com. They typically have very good deals and excellent customer service. I've bought several receivers from them.

I never liked Onkyo, but love Pioneer. I didn't know they bought Pioneer. That's gotta be a bad deal.

Hey all,

So I ended up pulling the trigger on a Marantz SR5009. A little over my budget but not too bad. I'm less fussed about video than I am with audio and have no intention to go with 4k anytime in the foreseeable future, so, the lack of HDCP2.2 is less of an issue for me (not to mention that I've got everything wired in wall with hdmi1.4 cable).

Looking forward to trying it out and seeing how far AVRs have come. Last AVR I bought was an HK 8 years ago - which is still going strong.

Thanks again all,

Jordan

I think you made a good choice. My brother got an upper end Marantz (Model close out thru Accessories4less) and loves it. I'll be traveling to New Jersey this Sat. and will hear it for the first time with a pair of M22's V3 and a pair of Hoyt Bedford Type 1's. Looking forward to the trip and the audio road test.

Dear Jordan congrats, those receivers have great specs.
Have to been browsing Marantz this year.
You may have jumped the gun a little though, because now is actually when all the company's will be releasing all the new products.
It always seems about June they release something HOT AND FANTASTIC so as to get us hyped up for Christmas technologies.

I noticed that companies seem to release new models in and around June or so but to be honest, I'm not sure that I have the budget available for anything new and shiny, so the 5009 via accessoriesforless is what I could manage.

I was also reading a bit about hdmi 2.0 and realize that I mis-spoke (posted) regarding the cables. If I understand correctly, the 2.0 version essentially allows for 18gbps transmission over HDMI 1.4 10gbps cables. Do I have this right? If so, that's great news to me.

I think so over on the home theater shack forum they seem to say that most current H.D.M.I. will be good enough already. So possibly no need for major upgrades. as most are already so fast.

Jordan, i got a Marantz SR5005 a couple of years ago, which i use as a preamp/decoder.

the sound is excellent and very detailed and i am very satisfied with this piece of equipment. you should not regret it.

Excellent. Seems everyone with a Marantz absolutely loves the sound. I'm looking forward to getting it hooked up in my new basement.

One more question - low frequency cut off settings, should I just set it at the bottom of the +/-3d range? I.e.:
In-wall / in-ceiling M3s: 70Hz
In-wall VP100: 95Hz

I'm thinking that the 95Hz setting seems high given that it's largely designed to anchor dialogue to the screen.

Thoughts?