Hello All,

Been poking around here after not reading this site for a while. I am moving into a new house in February and am upgrading some of my components.
Currently I have an older lower end Denon receiver connected to M60s, QS4s, a VP150 center and a 12" Klipsch sub. (I have had the axioms for around 4 years and love them best purchase I ever made!)
I will be putting a Panny PX75 in the new house and would like to upgrade to a new receiver. I have an Toshiba HD-A3 on the way and would really like to get PCM uncompressed sound so I need a receiver that supports HDMI audio. As we are buying lots of new stuff with the move I am on a tight budget for the receiver.
What does everyone on here think about which receiver fits my setup best? Alan I would love to hear your thoughts
How does Harmon Kardon pair with the M60s? I really like the features and price of the AVR 247 but really want to hear what Axiom owners/experts think.

Thanks
Mike

What is your budget for a receiver?

I would say my budget is at the low end around 500-600 dollars (Im in Canada too so they are a bit more expensive here depending on the brand) If you guys tell me I should save more I can wait if the advantages I will see are worth it..

Thanks

Where in Canada exactly? It might help with shipping costs if we know. Which Denon do you currently own?

Onkyo and Denon's appear to be becoming the AVR's of choice around here lately. Denon's in that price range are upto the 2308 that I have seen on sale for $650 here in Calgary. I am sure JohnK will be along to offer up an Onkyo for you in that price range. I like ecost.com for their prices on Denon refurbs. They list the 2808 at just over $700 including shipping but they seem to never have any of the 08 series in stock.

I am located in Waterloo. I am pretty sure its a 1603 but I will have to check again at home later tonight.

What about HK AVR 247? Does it not pair well with the Axioms?

Any receiver worth its salt (eg, any receiver that's not marketed as 5x100wpc, $80 only!) will pair well with Axioms. You don't have to worry about that. What you might have to worry about is receiver features and reliability.

I would check out JR.com

Find something you like then give them a call
There prices are WAY better over the phone (like $300-500 below MSRP)

terzaghi do they ship to Canada?

Also I am not looking so much at finding a deal but looking for what people here think is the best solution for me

Thanks again

jakewash: do you have experience with ordering from ecost.com? What type of warranty do these receivers have in Canada?

Mike, I am not sure if they ship to canada, but I would think so.

They are authorized dealers of everthing they sell as far as I know.

The denon 3808 which is MSRP $1599 was selling for $1299
The 2808 which is MSRP $1299 was selling for $899

I assume if you got the 2308 which is MSRP $899 you could get it ffor around $600

I am pretty sure they can offer a good deal on other brands as well.

I bought the 3808 from them and it arrived in Oklahoma in 4 days.

My advice would be to make sure you order from an authorized dealer. I know denon will only honor the factory warranty if the receiver is purchased from an authorized dealer

It says they do ship to Canada, but the price for the denon is back up to $1599.

I saw it on sale for $1299 online but I can't remember where. I'll check it out and post it for you.

The denon 2808 is on sale at AudioTronic.ca for $1188.88, and the 2308 for $948.88 (Canadian). Here's the links-

denon 2808

denon 2308

wheelz, JR.com always showed the MSRP price on their webiste. You had to call them to hear the special deals.

I did hear that they were going to stop the promotional price at some point.... so maybe that time has come?

I have never purchased anything from this web site and I don't know if they are a denon authorized dealer but they are currently selling the 3808 for $1194.00.

I can't provide the link to the 3808, so you'll have to do a search for it at their web site. Here's the link to it-

http://www.infinity-micro.com

I just ordered an Onkyo 805 for my 80-500 system for 619, free shipping (refurbished unit) from shop onkyo. Unless you've got a big room like I do I'm not sure you'll need the 805. The 605 or 705 are well respected as well. But like others have said, I believe that just about anything of decent quality (yamaha, marantz, denon) will do fine.
Have fun!

The HK's should do fine as well.

I have ordered from ecost. I bought the Belkin PF60 from there, no problems what so ever. The warranty fo rthe Denons is by Denon as ecost is an authorized seller. The cdn pricing is higher than listed at ecost until you go do a check out and click on canadian pricing, even when our dollar was higher the cdn price was still more expensive; but cheaper than from any store up here.

I would see what deal you could get on Boxing day and go from there.

Futureshop usually has great deals on HK receivers around Boxing day. That's how I picked up my HK 630.

Mike, welcome. The M60s don't have any unusual requirements and there's no need to look for a specific receiver that would "pair" or "match" better with them. So, there's no "best solution" for you. If you've already studied the HK 247 closely and you like the features and price, there's no good reason not to go with it. Just to mention another excellent unit that fits your budget, you might also consider the Onkyo 605.

Thanks everyone for your help. JohnK do you know where in Canada I can get Onkyo products they seem to be hard to find and when I do they are very expensive compared to US prices. I would definitely consider the 605.

You can sometimes deal for a better price out of London Drugs. Not sure how much closer to US pricing you can get them to go, though.

No London Drugs in Ontario though

Your best bet is online but Boxing day is coming so a Denon or H/K could be bought for cheap. That is how I bought my Denon.

I had the Harman 347 for 3 weeks and return it. I like it alot. Sounds rich, full, tight bass. It drives my M80 without a problem. But, the downside is that they have a lot problems. Here is the link you can read about.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=868358

I will probably see what Denon and HK deals Futureshop has on Boxing day and order online. Do you guys have better experience getting receivers in store on Boxing Day or are the deals usually reflected in the online prices?

Supermann I have actually read that entire thread If I buy the 247 I will be adding the FS PSP thats for sure. Did you have the problems mentioned in the post? I wont have a 1080p TV so I dont think I have to worry about the Sparklies issue. I will have to deal with the -10 dB LFE but I think I can work around that until a firmware update comes out... Decisions, decisions. I really want to have the HK sound that everyone raves about

I found much better deals in store, I almost bought an HK as I had the salesman down to the same price as the Denon but I went with the Denon as I have always liked them. everyone I know that has had one has never had an ounce of trouble.

Mike. Yes. these are problems I discovered during my 3 weeks owner. The Sparklies I can easily see on my projector screen (white sometime pink color), LFE (I have to raise my sub crossover/volume), EZset/EQ calibration test tone (it's too loud and very annoying), owner's manual is bad. Some page missed spell and some with wrong abbreviation. Also, not a whole like of features that you can adjust. For the calibration part, being too loud of the test tone noise. I have to tell my son to leave the room before I do calibration.

It is something they put inside that machine. I love the sound quality. The sound of the harman as I can describe. It is rich sound, dynamic, detail, just right not too right, and full room field of rich sound. That just me I like the way the Harman sound on with my Epic 80 speakers. It brings the best out of the speakers. Onkyo 805 not where near the sound field of the Harman. Wish I can have both. Putting Harman sound into Onkyo features/quality body.

Anybody, comparing the two, Harman and Denon. I really interested in the Denon sound. Is it better or near the harman sound.