Hi All,
New here. Looking to get into the HT arena with a more than solid system. My trouble so far has been deciding on a good receiver used mainly for movies (75%) and music. From what I have read on the posts..everyone seems to like the Yamaha (1400). Is there a better more logical choice within the same price range for a receiver I will be hooking up to the Axiom Epic Grand Master set (or Epic 50)? Onkyo seems to be at all the local stores here in New York and I read some good and some bad about them. Can anybody give a newbie some advice as to what to look for? Thanks in advance....my brain is on HT overload.

RJ

RJ, the first point is that there's no need to be concerned with "matching" receivers with speakers, which we sometimes see being addressed at length. Watts are watts and if they're delivered with a flat frequency response and inaudibly low distortion, which is routine these days, the speakers don't care what's on the nameplate. Get the features you want at the best price you can. The reason why I and some others on this board are attracted to the new Yamaha 1400 and 2400 or the Pioneer Elites is the automatic room and speaker equalization they have. This is a feature that actually can make a difference in the sound, so you should give it careful consideration in your shopping.

There are many, many excellent (feature wise) receivers out there. Pioneer and Yamaha receivers have an "auto setup" feature that automatically sets up your speaker levels, size, distance, checks for correct wiring and equalizes (also has video upconversition). Right now as far as features go, these are hard to beat. I beleive that in the near future, more manufacturers will will incorporate these features into thier products. I'm very curious and will be watching closely to see what will be introduced at CES (consumer electronics show) this January.

There are many things to look for in purchasing audio gear but aside from feature needs, one of the first things I try to look at is customer service and product reliability.

BTW, ditto what JohnK said.

Why does H/K never get mentioned when someoe talks of the auto setups? Weren't they the first to have it out of Yamaha, Pioneer and H/K?

Anyways. I have never been a fan of Onkyo, and loved my last receiver, a Yamaha RX-V2090. After getting my H/K 525 in, i now see why people say Yamaha's are bright. However, it never bothered me. I do recommend checking out the H/K 525. I got a refurb from H/K for $500 shipped. They sell on their webpage for $598 plus shipping, but also auction them off on eBay. If you are patient, you can get a 525 for under $500 plus $35 shipping.

It has one great selling point that most receivers do not in it's price range(especially at $500): you can set the cross over points on your analog in's for DVD Audio and SACD. Yes, it converts it to digital to do it, and some have mentioned how that will lead to degraded signal, but I have noticed no difference is sound quality.

I would agree with everything said here so far but would add that i do own an Onkyo (DS797) and it has been just great for our Axiom system.

JimmyTango,

The auto-setup feature on the H/K only does half of what the Pioneer and Yamaha auto setups do. H/K does only level adjusting, while the Yamaha and Pioneer do both level and frequency calibration (to get a flatter response in the room).

I didn't know that. Of course, i have never messed with it as doing it manually, to me, is much more accurate. I hear the Yamaha one can be very off.

Thanks for the help guys...right now I think I am going with the 1400....now just deciding on which Axiom speaker set to purchase!!