AV Receiver: VSX920/RXV667/SR608

[Argis]

I am planning buy an AV receiver and finding difficult to make a decision on these models:
- Yamaha RX667
- Pioneer VSX920
- Onkyo SR608
Could you please give your opinion on these above- Pros/Cons?

What is the significance of the 'Power Consumption' in AV Receivers?
- Pioneer VSX920 (245 W)
- Yamaha RX667 (400W)
- Onkyo SR608 (620W)
When I choose the speakers for the above, do I need to go for 6 ohms or 8 ohms? Is the power consumption of the AVRs have any relation to the the speakers?

 

[lucid]

Choosing between these three amps is a bit like asking which of your three kids you like the best. Each has its strengths: the Pioneer's Life Style looks and cool gadgets including a control by iPod/iPhone would be a hit with the Stuff and T3 crowd. The Yam has dual HDMI outputs which would suit someone with a TV & projector setup very nicely. The Onkyo is, IMO, a bit more focused on AV being a THX Select2 Plus spec amp, HDMI 1.4 and catering for additional channels to do with Dolby PLIIz.

What is the significance of the 'Power Consumption' in AV Receivers?

The size of your electricity bill and how much heat they can dump in to your room.

In all seriousness though the power consumption figures don't mean a great deal unless they are reference and measured against the same standard.

When I choose the speakers for the above, do I need to go for 6 ohms or 8 ohms?

All the amps will handle either impedance rating.

You'd be better off looking at the efficiency of the speakers. Like-for-like, higher efficiency speakers go louder for the same power input. IMO they also sound more dynamic. A 3dB difference in efficiency means that the better speaker needs only half the power from the amp to produce the same volume.

As a generalisation cheaper speakers tend to be lower efficiency. Better speakers tend to be easier to drive. e.g Q Acoustics 1010i (£89) 86dB. Focal Chorus 705v (£199) 89dB

Is the power consumption of the AVRs have any relation to the the speakers?

Yes. The harder the speakers are to drive then the more power used to drive them

 

[Demon]

All are superb 5 star rated amps worthy of consideration.

They do all sound a little different, and there are minor spec differences between the 3, but all essentially do the same thing.

The 667 and 608 have good HDMI pass through in stand-by, so you can still send sound the TV to output when the AMP is switched off, and you can still switch between HDMI inputs when it's off. I found the 667 very easy to setup for this, and it works flawlessly.

I demo'd all 3 when choosing, to be honest there isn't a great deal in it, more personal preference.

In the end I went for the 667 because when cranked up, it never has that harsh 'loudness' that makes listening for extended periods of time a bit of a pain, it just keeps the clarity and balance at a nice level.. The Onkyo sounds slightly more 'fuller' and forceful at lower volumes and I can see why it's easily as or even more popular. The pioneer actually sounds just as good, but it wasn't quite as full on as the Onkyo, or as serene when cranked up as the Yamaha, but still totally worthy, and actually, if you want 'linearity' accross the board, it does that very well.

Looks wise, the Pioneer looks the most gadgety, the Onkyo looks purposeful, and actually the Yamaha looks probably a little cheap.. however, that wasn't an issue for me.

 

[Argis]

The size of your electricity bill and how much heat they can dump in to your room.
.

Thanks.
To summarise, Pioneer is more economical to run. But use with high efficiency speakers (89db+ / 8ohms) to get better performance. Please clarify.
YAMAHA NSPC210, CANTON MOVIE 80CX - are they good speakers for VSX920 or RS667?

 

[Argis]

All are superb 5 star rated amps worthy of consideration.
.

Does Pioneer support HDMI pass-through?

 

[lucid]

Thanks.
To summarise, Pioneer is more economical to run.

Can't say for definite. Do you know where the figures on power consumption came from and how they were arrived at?

Have a look at the 920 and 608 reviews on WhatHiFi. They measure the power consumption in low power and full power states. The two amps come out with similar numbers despite the very different numbers in your post, so do your original power consumption numbers reflect real world conditions.

Please clarify.

Do you mean "Clarify about efficiency"?

YAMAHA NSPC210, CANTON MOVIE 80CX - are they good speakers for VSX920 or RS667?

Two very differently priced packages. Cantons £150~£200 including sub. No efficiency figures as far as I can tell. Yamaha - 5 satellite speakers but no sub for £350. Fairly inefficient at 86dB.

1) the Cantons are, IMO, too low a spec for these amps.

2) the Yamahas are an unknown quantity. Yamaha has a great reputation in music but they've never cracked the UK speaker market en mass. The matching sub for the package (£160~£200) is a slimline lifestyle product. Is that your priority? Looks before sound quality?? And is that your budget - £500-£550? I certainly wouldn't buy without auditioning first.

 

[chaparral]

Does Pioneer support HDMI pass-through?

Yes & No ( not from a skybox)

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your email, your enquiry has been registered in our system
under reference number:

Pioneer ticket ref nr: 787

Hello.

When set to 'through' the amp will only pass through the video and audio
from sources solely connected via HDMI that support the CEC function.
Most HDMI products support this function apart from the Sky Box which for this reason
would not be recognised by the amp in 'through' mode.

Additionally any other sources connected via analogue would not be upscaled
and
passed through the HDMI connection to the TV.

Hi.

Thank you for your email enquiry.

All the HDMI ports allow pass through when the amp is in standby. All you
need
do is set the amp to 'through' in the HDMI audio settings.

.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/13592433-post91.html

 

[Argis]

. Is that your priority? Looks before sound quality?? And is that your budget - £500-£550? I certainly wouldn't buy without auditioning first.

I want to use this mainly for music. I presume the the USB in VSX920 will allow to play the MP3s from memory stick.
Could you suggest few of the speakers in the £400-£500 range?

 

[lucid]

I presume the the USB in VSX920 will allow to play the MP3s from memory stick.

Download the manual from Pioneer's web site and have a look.


Systems for music: The best thing for music with the budget you have available would be a bookshelf speaker for the left & right front. These are the sort of speakers you might put with an amp and CD player to make a small Hi-Fi. Have a look at the Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom or Cambridge Audio S30.

You then need to add a centre, surrounds and a sub. Tannoy makes it easy. The Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom 5.1 Speaker System is a complete package. It is discounted down to £370. That would leave a decent amount of change from the £500 budget for speaker stands and cables.

Cambridge Audio is slightly trickier. AFAICT they don't do a 5.1 package, but you could combine the bits needed from their range:

Cambridge S30 Front L&R £130/pr
Cambridge S50 Centre £80
Cambridge S20 rears £100/pr
Cambridge S90 sub £120
The total is £430​

The type of sub/sat speaker packages you see with very small satellites are really designed for movie use rather than music. However, have a listen to the Mordaunt Short (MS) Alumni package (£400 in white / £500 in black). MS is a good brand with a long HiFi pedigree.

 

[Argis]

Systems for music:
.

Thanks for the suggestions.
I would like to buy the speakers (to pair with 920/667), which can produce very clear detailed sound with enough bass when the music is played in low volume.

I have also noticed that, for certain speaker specifications, they marked as:
Sensitivity: 200mV for full power output
- There is no reference of 'db'
Frequency Response: 35Hz – 180Hz
- What is the significance of these values? What are the recommended values

 

[lucid]

Thanks for the suggestions.
I would like to buy the speakers (to pair with 920/667), which can produce very clear detailed sound...

... you are describing something very subjective.

Forum sites are great for ideas. What you don't know is how experienced each person is that offers an opinion. Nor do you know their standards. I've seen posts from people who thought their £80 supermarket home cinema kit was the best thing they'd ever heard. Others are listening critically to £1000+ amps. Each person has their own interpretation of what "good sound" means.

You must try to avoid buying from blind recommendations. Use the forum to gather ideas and draw up a shortlist. Then go have a listen to some speakers and decide for yourself. That's the most important part.

... with enough bass when the music is played in low volume.

Bass Reflex speakers (ones with a hole or bass port) give deeper and fuller bass. The effect can be emphasised by moving the speakers nearer to a back wall. There is a trade-off though. When played at higher volumes the bass can become overbearing. Treble can't be enhanced in the same way. Luckily both amps have bass and treble controls, so you can adjust the sound to suit your listening level.

I have also noticed that, for certain speaker specifications, they marked as:
Sensitivity: 200mV for full power output
- There is no reference of 'db'
Frequency Response: 35Hz – 180Hz
- What is the significance of these values? What are the recommended values

Those are the specs for an active subwoofer.

Active means there is an amplifier built in. So the normal dB sensitivity figures are not applicable because the amp isn't driving the sub from the speaker connections.

Frequency Response: 35Hz – 180Hz - Rumbly bass level up to the register of the male voice.

 

[Argis]

...
.

Thanks very much for the detailed information.

 

[anything I don't mind]

I own a Yamaha 467 after being undecided between the yam, onkyo and pioneer (the models down from yours) and i am happy with my choice. They are all good amps but personally what sold me on the yam was the silent cinema, which allows me to plug my head phones in to the avr with support for audio decoders. As well as the look of it and the features. The features between the three are pretty much the same. You won't be disappointed if you bought either of them.

edit: something else i would add that made me decide was the way the surround features were set out, the yamaha has a straight mode and a direct mode and surround mode and then stereo mode. But that comes down to personal preference, as all the av receives have pretty much the same stuff just laid out differently.

 

[Argis]

I own a Yamaha 467 .

What speakers are you pairing with 467?

 

[anything I don't mind]

I have wharfedale diamond 8 series, 8.3 8.1 and center, with no sub. Sounds amazing to be honest. But i have not exactly heard a large amount of varied setup to compare.

But after reading a lot of reviews they said that yam was better with music and would go well with speakers.

What speakers are you going to use ?

 

[chaparral]

edit: something else i would add that made me decide was the way the surround features were set out, the yamaha has a straight mode and a direct mode and surround mode and then stereo mode. .

The pioneer 920 also has this

List below of what on my pioneer 920

ALC
DIRECT
PURE DIRECT
AUTO SURROUND
F.S SURR FOCUS
F.S SURR WIDE
NEURAL SURROUND
STEREO

 

[anything I don't mind]

ALC
F.S SURR FOCUS
F.S SURR WIDE
NEURAL SURROUND

What are these ?

on my surround option i have, dolby movie/game/music dts movie/game/music. I also have over 20 DSP which are surround effects, but i never use those. But the dolby music and dts music are good for sending two chan pcm across all five speakers.

Yea but i think they all have the same pretty much. It is just set out slightly different. What i did was download the manuals of each one, then checked and compared the surround features and how it was on the remote.

 

[Argis]

What speakers are you going to use ?

I haven't decided yet...

 

[Argis]

List below of what on my pioneer 920

How's the performance of VSX920? Are there any major short commings on this AVR? What speakers are you paring with this?

 

[chaparral]

What are these ?

Just different ways to focus the sound i think...(Not played around with my amp enough to know yet

on my surround option i have, dolby movie/game/music dts movie/game/music. I also have over 20 DSP which are surround effects, but i never use those. But the dolby music and dts music are good for sending two chan pcm across all five speakers..

Yes i also have the dolby movie/game/music settings and a load of DSP settings..