New A/V Receiver recommendations; thoughts.

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Nov 23, 2006
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So I'm in the hunt for a new A/V Receiver. My choices are either the Yamaha V765 or the Denon AVR 1909. Both are comparable in power, output, specs, etc. I'll be running Paradigm Titan Monitors up front for now until I switch over to 5.1. What are everyone's thoughts on these two? Why are the weights of the receivers getting so light (~24lbs.)?...does that = cheap quality?!

If not these, what would you pick in a similar price range?

TIA!
 
i was in your shoes just a few weeks ago. i researched receivers for months before deciding on the harmon kardon avr 254. i like it veeeeerryyy much. dont be scared away by the 50 watt per channel rating, its on par with others in its class, just measured differently. not sure if it is 100 percent true, but i have read that yammy skimped on their build quality in this years receivers. not sure of that exact model though. the list of receivers in my maybe list were:

yamaha v663
denon 1909
avr 254 + 354
onkyo 606

all of them are good receivers....i think they all have their ups and downs
 
I have the Denon. Excellent receiver running KEF KHT2005.2 Egg speakers. No issues with HDMI output from my 9300 HTPC board.
I've heard the Yamaha V663 as well. As good as the Denon, but the Yamaha manual and remote are far,far better than the Denon's. Just go with whichever is cheaper.
 
I just purchased the Onkyo 806 and I absolutely love it. Sounds great and has all the HDMI inputs that you could ask for. It also does HDMI decoding -- not just switching, as well as upscaling to 1080p.
 
I have a Harman/Kardon AVR 245 for a receiver and it is great. Dennon and Onkyo are also good but the Harman/Kardon was much cheaper for the same quality (ordered mine from Amazon). The weights are getting so light because the companies are getting smart and using switching power supplies which are smaller and lighter, also companies are using mainly Class D amplifiers which increases the distortion but makes the amplifier smaller and cheaper to make. Some Class D amplifiers are ok mut for the most part I would stick with class A/B for high quality sound. the Harman/Kardon that I have says specifically that it uses class A/B and the power supply is not a switching power supply.
 
I'd go with Denon/Marantz. Why? They don't have as many problems as Onkyo, or even Harmon Kardon. Onkyo is near the bottom of my list. It's going to be a long time before I put aside the popping/overheating issues they've had.
 
dandragonrage said:
I'd go with Denon/Marantz. Why? They don't have as many problems as Onkyo, or even Harmon Kardon. Onkyo is near the bottom of my list. It's going to be a long time before I put aside the popping/overheating issues they've had.
Click to expand...

Word of Caution on the Marantz. All their models lack the ability to overlay Audyssey room correction over lossless formats (like you find on most blu-ray's). If you are like me and your room setup is less than ideal, being able to have everything (dips, peaks, delay's, etc) automatically calibrated was GREAT! The sound is soo much better using it than when I attempted to tweak the settings myself. If your going to spend the money do so on a Denon, Onkyo or Harmon Kardon. I know the Denon and Onkyo's will overlay the correction, not sure about the Harmon Kardon.

Marantz will overlay the correction on anything that is not lossless, but as I have a 7.1 setup with some decent speakers I wanted to ensure I was "future" proofed a little.

I personally bought a Integra 5.9 after hearing it against a Marantz 5003 and 6003 and am fully in love with it.

Head on over to AVSFORUM if you really want some details. They have threads with thousands of posts on the models your referring to.
 
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Pioneer Elite FTW!

Might be a little high in price, but they are near perfect receivers.
 
I'm waiting a month to pass my probation at work to pull the trigger on the Onkyo 607
 
I also own the HK 254 and would recommend it as well. It puts out much more power than advertised. I run a 7.1 loudspeaker setup with it. My three fronts are all Canton speakers rated at 4ohms and the 254 handles them wonderfully. I've actually managed to trip a breaker in my home, pulling so much power from the wall. I ended up pairing it with a large battery backup to avoid the problem going forward. I've alway been a Denon owner previously.
 
I'm a recent convert to Denon (AVR-988) and am totally sold on the quality and performance of their products. I was a big Onkyo fan for a long time, but have been rather unimpressed with them as of late. My old TX-DS898 from 2000 still runs strong and currently powers my little brother's home theater in his apartment. The 898 is a beast and seems much more solidly built than the Onkyos I've tried over the past few years.
 
thanks for the input guys. Also, are pre-amp outs really a necessity? While I plan on using this receiver for movies/music/etc, it will not be in a giant room; roughly 20 x 30' at the most. So I really wouldn't need to use a pre-amp right? Thoughts?
 
Are you trying to fill the 20' x 30' room with music or a movie soundtrack? If yes, then you will definitely need the pre-outs or buy a more powerful A/V receiver. My opinion on this comes from theatre spec sound levels. Which is louder than most people like.
 
I have the Yamaha 663 and fill a room 16' x 30'(maybe 40') for my home theater. Not a problem.
 
I ended up picking the Yamaha v863. I have nothing but positive thoughts on this receiver. It's heavy, great sound, YPAO setup is great, and it looks fantastic. Thanks for the help guys!
 
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