I am at about the level with intrepid4's post requesting help, but am not going to be using a sound card etc. Oddly enough, we have almost come to the same conclusion with receivers..I am considering the H/K AVR 225 OR Denon 1803 or Yamaha RX-V1300 in my price range. I am starting with the M3's(on order), the reviews I read lead me to the conclusion that the M22's are nice, but the M3's are fine for my type of listening, and am going to build from there..I want to purchase a receiver, CD/MP3 and DVD player initially and then add more speakers as time and money permits...Admittedly, my hearing is not that great to appreciate all the nuances of the various musical formats, I just want to listen to the FM receiver some(easy listening, jazz and some country and western...hey, I'm from Texas!!!)...will appreciate any help/comments on the receiver decision and thanks to all in advance.
FishIsland
Consider the brand new
Yamaha RX-V1400. Its YPAO automatic calibrator is a strong attraction.
Thanks for the reply Sushi and please let me add I've enjoyed your insight into many topics on this forum, i.e. classical music, have learned a great deal...I appreciate the undo credit you give me by assuming I know what YPAO automatic calibrator is...can I draw an assumption that the Yamaha you recommended is one you would recommend over the referenced Denon and HK receivers...the other aspect I thought of after the post was that I would like to add to the base system, i.e. receiver/speakers with CD/DVD player from the same company...would Yamaha be a good choice...I understand that the owner of Axiom has a Yamaha receiver, although probably a higher end one than what I am looking at...again I just want a good, easy to use base system I can build on..I did read the Yamaha specs and like the non audiophile aspects like self learning remote, etc...thanks again...FishIsland
Truthfully if you ask 10 people here you'll probably get 10 different recommendations on what receiver to buy. I love my HK525 and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the HK225 but I'm sure the various offerings in your price range will be very similar. At that price range the wattage is probably close and the only difference being cosmetic along with a few features (like auto-calibration). I still think everyone should own a radio shack SPL meter and good test disk to setup their speakers though.
Any of your recievers will sound great paired with quality speakers like the Axioms. Pick one base on aesthetics and whether or not you like the remote. I do find the H/K remotes a bit cheap feeling but I use a Radio Shack super remote to control all my audio/video anyway. You might want to pick one with the best universal remote if everything else is equal.
Frank
i have the rxv1300, and the fm reception it receives is not as strong as an older tecnics (sp) receiver it replaced. may be an issue for you, i know it is for me. i hooked a tv rabbit ear antenna to improve the signal, but still not as strong as the older stereo receiver.
dan
Masa,
(gasp!)Do you recommend the Yamaha over the Pioneers.
I agree that the YPAO is a strong selling point but what about bass management and connectivity with SACD and DVD-Audio?
Do you think the extra power and fancier remote of the RX-V2400 is worth the money?
Any take on the new Sony STR-DA5000ES?
Should I wait for a receiver that does it all for a reasonable price (dreaming with a blank stare)?
I know its a lot of questions but hey, you are the man!
Thanks twodan...the FM reception is and will be important to me and all other things being relatively equal, that would certainly sway my decision..Yamaha now has the RX-V1400, but one wouldn't think the FM receiver would be much better. I enjoy the ease of use of some of the "consumer" brands i.e. Sony, Yamaha, Pioneer, but in my price range the decent reviews say stick with HK, Denon, etc.
In reply to:
(gasp!)Do you recommend the Yamaha over the Pioneers.
(gasp!) I certainly do not for the $1000-ish street price -- after all, I love my Elite. Just that FishIsland seems to be looking at $500-ish street, and there is no Elite receiver that I can strongly recommend at that price range.
If you have an eye on the i.Link, then by all means go for the 55TXi -- unless you can afford the soon-to-be-announced 59TXi.
In reply to:
I appreciate the undo credit you give me by assuming I know what YPAO automatic calibrator is...
FishIsland, the new YPAO-savvy Yamaha receivers come with a little microphone, which you put at the primary listening position in your room. You then click a few buttons on the remote, and the receiver will send various test tones to each speaker, and the mic will pick up the sound that each speaker actually generates. The receiver will then analyze the sound data from the mic in a few sophisticated ways, and automatically adjust and optimize the level, delay (distance), and even frequency response of each speaker, within the acoustical environment of your own room. This seems pretty nifty, doesn't it?
Fish, ditto sushi on the 1400.
The HK525 has the autocalibration built into the microphone on the remote. It is off compared to using the Rat shack SPL meter though FWIW.
Frank
I bought the Yamaha RX-V1400 a few days ago and am more excited about the purchase each day..the learning remote is fantastic...continue to be impressed with all the features for the $$$'s compared to other receivers
The auto-calibration on the H/K AVR525 only calibrates the distance and levels for the speakers. The Pioneer Elite (MCACC) and new Yamaha (YPAO) models go a large step beyond that and also perform equalization on all the channels.
I have the HK 525 and do not use the auto level/distance function. I found the levels to be off by up to 2db when using it. So I just use my SPL meter.
-curtis
Curtis, of course the question would be which method of calibration(or both)was off.
I wasn't aware that distance was measured in dB.
Yeah, but Curtis knew that you were watching Peter, so he made sure to write that the "levels" were some db off.