Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Matching Receiver

To whom it may concern,

Can someone give me suggestions of several A/V receivers (brand and model #) that would match the following system:

4 pcs of M60ti
1 pc of VP-150
2 pcs of Aperion Audio 522D-SS
1 pc of SVS 20-39PC Plus

Thanks,
Art Ortega

welcome art... that is about the most WIDE open question i have seen in a while

you have a multitude of options avail to you.. the main issue you will have is 'how much do you wanna spend'. you also may need to think about if you want a 'all-in-one' receiver unit, or if you wanna go with seperates for more power and versatility..? its up to you...

since i know you are gonna get tons of suggestions.. here is a quick way to figure it out.

1st- you have good speakers to start, so dont skimp on the receiver.. stay with the brands that are well known and reliable.. denon, H/K, onkyo, yamaha, marantz, pioneer elite series, and sony ES series. if you go separates, you can look at nad, rotel, and parasound.

2nd- determine how many inputs you are gonna have, and buy a receiver that can handle what you wanna do. there is no need in wasting money on a receiver with lots of options that you will never use.

3rd- determine how much wattage you are gonna need. that will be determined by the size of the room, and how LOUD you like to crank it. any receiver rated betwen 80-100wpc will be plenty loud for 95% of the people.

4th- try and audition different receivers at friends, stores, shops, etc. it is commonly argued that certain receivers are warmer or harder, and make speakers sound different..? i dont know if i believe that, but you might wanna find out for yourself.

5th- have fun. its addictive, so watch out.. make sure and have confidence in what you buy.. dont leave any room for the upgrade bug to bite you in a year.. get something good the first time, and go with it.

let us know how your search goes. i am interested in what you end up getting.

bigjohn

Art
Do what bigjohn says and you should be fine.
Before you spend a lot of money, you might check back in with us to see if we could find it cheaper somewhere.
If you go with a Denon, they are tagged with different names for the same model and usually there is a good savings to be had if you just choose the right tag.
The Denon 2805 is also tagged as the Denon 985 with about $100.00 price diff.
Good Luck

BigJohn,

My budget is $1000. I have been told that Pioneer Elite TXi-56 would best suite the system since M60tis have a "bright" high-end and mid-range. My second option is Yamaha RXV-2500. My 3rd option is Denon AVR 3805.

Thoughts?

i prefer the word "detailed" instead of "bright". the axiom tweeters are very precise. i do believe there is an adjustment period for your ears if you are not used to the highs being so well defined.

as far as the receivers, i think you would be perfectly happy with any of those you listed. i think a lot of people on this board have denons. H/K's are popular, as are yamahas. i have an onkyo, and i know of a 2-3 that have the pioneer elite series. i think the whole deal with a receiver sounding "warm" or "laidback" is purely based on personal preference. i think it may have more to do with the room and environment, than the actual receiver itself. so, i cant say, "yes, the elite-56 will warm up the axioms".. know what i mean. i have nothing to base that on.

all i can tell you, is that axioms are extremely detailed, efficient, and accurate speakers. they can handle lots of power without losing sound quality. i think you will be impressed with how they sound with ANY of those receivers you have listed.

so, if those are three you like. go to their respective websites and pull down some spec sheets, and see which one can give you the best bang for your buck. even if you have a $1000 budget, keep in mind, you may well find a great receiver with everything you want, for much less than that. so, do some research, and determine what you need. and you may want to add an H/K 630 and an Onkyo 702/802 to your buy list. wouldnt hurt to see what they have to offer.

bigjohn

Hi Art,

bigjohn's basically got you covered.

There are not too many people on this forum that subscribe to the notion that particular brands of solid-state receivers (like the ones you mention) have a discernably different sound based on anything except the available power at very high volumes. Any of the models you mention would serve you well, I'm sure, as would the others bigjohn suggested.

Look for the features you want and don't be too concerned about "matching" something to the Axioms. They'll sound fine with any good quality receiver.

Are you running all 4 of those M60's in the same room? Do you have preferences relative to SACD/DVD-A? Are you running 5.1/6.1/7.1? Do you need Zone 2 control and/or amplification? Do you listen to more music or watch more movies? How big is the room?

Yes, I'll be running all 4 M60s in the same room (2 as front channels and 2 as side surround channels). My 2 rear surround channels wil be Aperion Audio's 522D-SS. They have a superb switchable Bipole/Dipole toggle control.

I do not have any preference yet on whether I prefer SACD or DVD-A.

Initially, I will start with a 5.1 but within 1 year, it will be a full 7.1 setup.

No Zone 2 and/or amplification plans at this time.

More movies but I certainly have my share of CD to listen and enjoy!...This is also why I did not pursue Definitive Technology because I find that they are excellent for movies but not so much for music.

18'(W) x 8.75'(L) x 8'(H) - actual listening location (family room)
18'(W) x 17'(L) x 8'(H) - if I included the kitchen since the room space literally extends this far.

With a $1,000 budget, I'll add the highly anticipated Outlaw 1070 that will sell for "Under $1,000".

I use the 1050 and have been extremely happy with it. Expect the 1070 to offer performance and features well beyond it's price class. It will have bass management for it's direct analog inputs to accomodate SACD/DVD-A.

According to one of the service techs at Outlaw, we can expect to hear more release info after the NY HE show coming up.....so hold on!

Here's a look at some of Outlaw's new stuff....

http://users.adelphia.net/~scott-hirsch/Outlaw_HE2005.html