From all my research into purchasing a reciever , I know I'm going to ask a question near impossible to answer. I'm first of all caught between two price points. The first is a Marantz SR4200 (my favorite choice) and the Onkyo TX595. Both of these are slightly above my budget(right now) . The other two recievers that are a little bit more resonable for me are the Onkyo TX494 and the Yamaha RX-V420. This will be the second addition to my HT set up. I have a DVD player already. My next purchase will be front speakers. Originally I was sure about purchasing a pair of Paradigm Titans. But I recently discovered axiom and the M3's have intrigued me. The set up will be in a basement rec room with a listening area aprox 10ftX15ft. The room in total will be about 20ftX15ft. I'm the process of finishing the basement now. So I will be posting lots of questions when I actually start to wire the room.

i own the marantz sr5000, the updated models called sr5200. it's a step up from the sr4200, and i've been very happy with it. marantz makes a real reliable receiver. hifi.com has a lot of affordable receiver. you can compare prices and probably find them for sale locally.
i've been interested in the outlaw 1050 (outlawaudio.com) $500. it's got great reviews and goodsound.com recommends it along with the axiom m3ti.

Onkyo is in bankruptcy. Although it is trying to reorganize, it is a rare company that does so successfully. If you want to save yourself potential warranty and servicing headaches, you may want to go with your other options.

Try bestpriceaudivideo.com. I bought the 595 from them for $300 (Refurbished but comes with 1 Yr warranty). I think it is an excelent deal for the money.

I am connecting M60 and VP150 to the recv'r and I am really pleased. I have heard Axioms with Marantz and even that combination sounded awesome.

I think the decision is yours depending on the budget.

So, if I removed the onkyo option I guess my question would be this.....Would I hear a big difference between the Marantz SR4200 and the Yamaha Rx-V420?($200 difference?)

Would you hear a big difference? No. Indeed, I'd be surprised if you heard any difference. Remember, in retail store comparisons, when there is even a slight difference in playback volume between two pieces of electronics, the louder will be perceived as "better". It's a cunning trick of some salesmen to steer naive customers to brands on which the salesman makes more commission. And playback comparisons in stores are almost never equalized in level, or conducted with instantaneous comparisons. If these conditions are not met, the comparison is largely invalid.

In my experience, Yamahas and Marantz receivers have no problem driving lower impedances. There may be other aspects of the receivers that may sway your decision.



Alan Lofft
Axiom Resident Expert

I have a 1050 and use it with my 80's, vp150 and the ep 175.
The 1050 sounds awesome. Personally, I highly recomend it.