Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners upgrade Denon 1602?

hey everyone

my receiver is a low end Denon 1602.

I have M80's, QS8\s and VP150 (no sub, no intention to buy one) so the M80\s run on Large. I don\t listen very loudly ( I live in an apartment)

would I realistically hear an improved sound quality if I purchased a higher end receiver?

As the owner of a comparable Denon 1804, I'm going to vote NO, and request that if you do upgrade and notice a difference that you just keep it to yourself

if you dont listen to it loudly, then i would think that you would not hear an improvement with a new receiver. in my experience, the main factor in the difference of receivers, comes when you put the power to it. as you turn it up, higher quality receivers with more watts, have better staying poewer, and the sound doesnt breakdown or degrade. but they will with lower wattage units.. but, as you mentioned, you dont max the volume out, then i dont really see how a new receiver will do anything more than give you more power that you wont use.

just my opinion.

bigjohn

I agree. If you keep the volume low the difference would likely not be that great at all. But if you start cranking it up (70+ db) a beefy amp/receiver will sound better.

<ducking>

I don't play it THAT low. I generally have the volume nob at -30 to -20 (rarely at -15), its range being -60 to +10.

I don't notice any sound breakdown or anything, i just wonder if the sound quality woukd improve due to better parts, DACS, better power supply, connectors, etc..

75db is fairly loud in an apartment. 80db would likely upset grumpy neighbors. 85+ would likely p.o. even nice neighbors. Over that and you should expect an eviction notice on the door.

Or have I just had a rash of bad luck with apartment neighbors?

Some nice hifi shops will let you demo units in your home. You'd likely need to leave a heft deposit, and some form of id, but it would certainly be the best way to know if a Denon 2805 made your M80's sound better.

In reply to:

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Or have I just had a rash of bad luck with apartment neighbors?

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You should have given them the ol', "it'll either be loud music or loud sex. Which would you prefer?" ultimatum.

It's win-win for you.

I just upgraded from a Sony HTIB receiver to a Denon 1905. I did not find any difference in sound quality accept at very loud levels. The Sony ran out of juice and the Denon does not. If you are in an apartment and don't have the volume up that loud stick with what you have. You will be just fine.

Ravi - if you need to scratch an itch (who really NEEDS more HT?? - go for it. Aside from a modest power incrase, you may want additional bells & whistles. For example, the 1905 upconverts video, the 1602 doesn't. This hobby is partly about feeliong good. Spend the money!!!!

Ravi, "high end" really means "high price", and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with sound quality. You've also mentioned a couple times in the past that your 1602 had plenty of power for your M80s in your setup. Unless you're playing at such high sound levels that your 1602 is audibly distorting(apparently not, from your description)the 1602 is giving you transparent amplification and isn't affecting the sound quality in any negative way. If the time comes when you want some new features in a receiver, that might be a reason to buy one, but sound quality isn't.