Recommend me a 9.1+ Receiver

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Feb 19, 2007
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Budget under $1000
Used is okay
I will not be bi-wiring
I do not need additional zones
All of my speakers will be 8 ohms with about 89db sensitivity.
I'll probably have 2 floorstanding speakers, 1 regular center channel, 2 older bookshelf speakers as the height channels, and 4 in-ceiling speakers.
2 rows of 4 most likely.
 
Some processors go beyond 9.1 even, but you're adding height and/or width channels at this point. It's all processing, Blu-ray still tops out at 7.1.

That being said, just because it is processing doesn't mean that you'll not notice a difference. Width channels are generally for larger rooms, but height channels can do wonders in many situations, ideally creating a wall of sound.
 
Just curious, why 9.1? Once you get above 7.1, it's just splitting certain channels. I am all for more speakers, but when you have a tight budget it makes it a lot harder to get good quality AV receivers for that setup. Generally also you want to spend about twice as much on your speakers as your receiver and I personally have found that better speakers and better AV receiver almost always trumps having more speakers.

Under $1k for a 9.1 decent AV receiver may be difficult. Normally my advice would be a Marantz SR7008. I have the 6007 and its a beast.

You could try something like this:

The Denon AVR-4520CI is a popular choice, maybe you can find one used for a little over 1k? Or maybe another model, something like this or this.

Also you could go with one of the Yamahas: Yamaha RX-A2010BL or the A3010BL.
 
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I like Yamaha receivers since they tend to be reliable in my experience. I'm really interested in the Pioneer receivers mainly due to the digital amplification they use.

Its really between the Yamaha receivers and the Pioneer at this point I think.

As to why 9.1? I've found that I really enjoy the front height channels, and with 2 rows of seating, I don't want to get rid of the 4 surround speakers.
 
I own a pioneer SC-1222k and cant say I like them. receiver runs OK, software is garbage.
 
Matthew Kane said:
This!

How does one get 9.1 to work when most media (redbook = stereo, sacd = multichannel or stereo, dvd = 5.1, blu ray mostly 5.1 and 7.1)?
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Pro Logic IIz, Audyssey DSX.

Personally I wouldn't recommend Pioneer. Full-range class-D amps are cool and all but their MCACC auto calibration is just.. not good.
 
The Elite series has better MCACC than their other lines, but I do prefer Audyssey MultEQ XT or above.
 
Auto calibration is nice, but amp quality comes first for me.
 
Not to be snarky..but 89 dB sensitivity and 8 ohms doesn't mean anything if you aren't indicating what SPL you want at what range and how much power your speakers can take.

If you want 105 dB (THX spec) @ 4 meters with no amplifier headroom, you are looking @ 600W per speaker. Now to reverse this...assume you can get a solid 60W out of any traditional AVR (which is all you will get for under $1000) on a few channels simultaneously; you are looking @ ~95 dB-SPL which is still pretty respectable but definitely won't give you the punch you want from an HT system during explosions of fun.

Also...9.1 isn't "real", it is generated by a DSP from 7.1 information. Just like when they 7.2 or 9.2...the 0.2 is BS, it is all 0.1. Anything above that is a guess to the speaker. It wasn't mastered that way so it isn't that way.

Also the FS/FT at AVS is pretty respectable in terms of that kind of gear. Good place to shop for used goods.
 
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Angus said:
Anthem makes some nice stuff.. but probably not within your budget
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I'd love some Anthem stuff myself, and even talk them up occasionally myself, but their receivers have a gimpy version of their room correction software ("ARC") compared to their pre-pros. And supposedly while ARC can do good things, it takes a lot more effort than most other systems to use. So I really, really don't think of it as a priority or as a good buy.

I do like what they've done with putting some great video processing (GF945x VXP) in some of their products.
 
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