Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Looking for AVR that can deal with 4 ohms...

...on a budget

I'm still not 100% sure I'm going to replace my aging HK 630 but the lack of HDMI switching is really starting to suck. While all the latest bells and whistles would be great, missing HDMI and some of the latest formats (Dolby Digital Plus) are what's driving me to look.

Right now my 630 has no trouble driving my M80's, VP180, QS8s and QS4s. I'm worried thou about finding a new AVR that could power that now. It always seemed like those old HK's started life as a power supply then had everything else added to it. Looking these days the process seems to be reversed.

I would truly love to move into the world of dedicated amps but I have no budget for that. In fact I'm looking for a minor miracle in that I just can't spend more than 500 here. I would really love to find something for under 300 that could just get me by for a few years even but I think my 4 ohm requirement screws me there. So I guess I don't really need something super powerful or fancy. Just an AVR that won't die in 3 months from driving my speakers. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Ben, since you are using powered subwoofers I will assume you are crossing your main's at approximately 80hz. If that is indeed the case that takes a huge demand off your receiver since bass draws the most power. I would not worry about 4k etc at this point in time and I would suggest looking for a upper tier receiver that is a few years old. There are plenty of people that have upgraditis (me) and sell off their used gear to finance the latest and greatest. I currently have a Yamaha RXA-1000 I only used a few months sitting on a shelf. I would surf craigs list or audiogon for a newer receiver. There is also accessories 4 less but that is a crap shoot in my opinion. There is a guy on AVS that sells AV gear and if you call him he will apparently give you some deadly prices. He goes by JDSmoothie and he is a asset at AVS.

Looking at used is a good idea. Still want to make sure I find something that will power my speakers without melting. So I guess the theory is that most upper end models from reasonably good brands are built well enough?

If I had to I guess I could crossover my M80's/VP180 but that's one nice thing about my HK is that it was built well enough so I haven't had to. Seems kinda like a waste to buy something like the M80 and not use it all. Thou if a AVR had a setting for like 40-50hz I would probably use that.

I completely understand where you are coming from , I am just not sure that you can get what you want for $500. I would stay away from older onkyo's which have proven problematic. For 2 channel I would understand not wanting to cross over to the sub but for home theater I see no reason not too. I would look at Denon or Marantz if it were me. I have a Denon 3311 and it is quite capable power wise and has preouts if you want to add an amp at a later date. It seems more and more that the addons are more important than the amplifier or preamp section.

Maybe something like this .

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Harman-Kardon-AVR-2700-7-1-Channel-Home-Theater-Network-Receiver-w-Airplay-/181945055208?hash=item2a5cc537e8:g:NIsAAOSwv-NWWhiO

Hello,

I'm excited to become a member of this family. I bought the 9.1 ( two m80, vf-180, subwoofer 500, two front qs8 and two rear qs8, four ceiling m22).

I am looking for a good 9.1/11.1 avr and looked on at Yamaha aventage 3040, Marantz 8 series. I have the budget to spend for the right one but am confused and novice in knowledge choosing the right avr for me.

Looking at the experts for advice . I'm planning to setup an Dolby atoms home theatre and ocassionally utilize the M80s on my dance floor.

Excuse the typos and techy mispells!

Happy Holidays!!

Vik

Ben, well-designed modern HT receivers have no problem driving speakers labeled with a 4 ohm rating(which applies in a relatively small part of the frequency range)in typical home usage. The reason that they don't carry an "official" 4 ohm rating(under the FTC amplifier regulations)is that they would have to drive a 4 ohm(at all frequencies)load for at least 5 continuous minutes at the full rated power. This is a laboratory torture test which isn't related to typical home listening.

You can get an excellent unit at around the $300 number that you'd like. The Denon X2100 factory refurb at Accessories4less can be recommended as a very full-featured model which should meet your needs and budget.

John that looks like a great deal. Looking around on their site they have this years model as a refurb as well. Have to say I'm a bit torn between them.

Denon AVR-X2100W $299

Denon AVR-S710W $319

The 2100 has a tiny bit more power (95W vs 80W), probably not enough to notice but I know it would still bug me knowing I could have just a bit more headroom. My HK is (conservatively) rated something like 90x2 or 60x7. I can get the M80's pretty damn loud with that but I know I've run out of power before.

The 710 has more HDMI capability/certifications but the 2100 has 4K upsampling. Neither of which I need today but who knows about the future. 2100 also has dual HDMI outputs which I could possibility utilize but it's not too big of a deal.

They both have Audyssey. From what I can tell the 2100 has one additional feature, MultEQ XT vs the 710's MultEQ. This actually intrigues me because I feel like my room is limiting the full potential of my system. Just curious if Audyssey can help.

710 has basic Atmos, which I'm not sure if I care about or not.

I should probably flip a coin because I am certainly capable of agonizing over this decision for a while.

I think either way these AVRs would fit the bill for a few years for sure. I've had my HK 630 for over 10 years now I believe. It was also a refurb.

or enter Yamaha RX-V773WA $329

Pros
Adds pre-outs which could be a real bonus feature down the road.

Cons
No Audyssey, which is more of a curiosity for me than a need
Fewer HDCP certs (I think) than the Denon 710. Again no big deal today.

Not sure if this helps at all but my Denon has Multeq XT and I found things sounded better without using it other than to set my distances. I measured my subs with and without and the difference was negligible. You will get more from room treatments and they super easy to make. The hardest part is deciding what material to use. Having preouts gives you an option of adding an amp at a later date which is a plus. On the downside I felt my RXA 1000 was a little underpowered. guess that didn't help , damn