AVR your opinion

anything I don't mind · 6 Dec 2010 at 12:35

I am looking to purchase a new AV Receiver but i can not decide which one, after reading up for hours on end i am even more undecided than i was when i started.

I have Wharfedale 8 speakers and the choices are between the

Onkyo 508, which has all the features but does not upscale to 1080p and i heard that there was several problems with the build quality and it does not look that great.

Pioneer vsx-520, has all the features but apparently does not have a lot of power, which i thought was surprising. But looks great and good build quality. no upscale.

Yamaha rxv467, looks great but does not have upscale to 1080p apparently has a good power and build quality

Sony STRDA2400ES, has upscale to 1080p and is 7.1, i heard some bad comments on sony's sound quality and build quality and the receiver does not look that great, it is also a bit more expensive. But the fact that it upscales for the price is pretty good.

Any opinions that can help me decide based on your experience with the different makes.

I am leaning towards the Pioneer or the Yamaha. But i don't know. :confused:

Grimley · 6 Dec 2010 at 21:25

I think in your case is to find somewhere where you can find a selection of AV receivers, then ask for a demonstration. Take a selection of DVD's/blu-rays with scenes you know & like, ask for a demo with them instead of the shop demo discs (no genuine salesperson will refuse) & pick the one you like best! Sometimes features aren't everything. I'm a owner of a 3 year old AV receiver & I never use all of its features, these days I just want to switch it on, pop a disc in & watch a film without faffing around with settings etc. Only reason I'd replace it now is to replace it with a model with more HDMI ports (probably with 2 out if & when I get a bigger telly)

lucid · 6 Dec 2010 at 21:47

I'd take any claimed power ratings with a very large pinch of salt. It's physically impossible for an amp to produce more Watts sustained power at the speakers than it draws in Watts from the mains socket.

Scaling isn't that important either. Your TV does it (and probably better) even if your amp doesn't.

anything I don't mind · 6 Dec 2010 at 22:12

I think i have decided on yamaha 467 because i heard that it is good with music. I also like the look of them, they look solid and good build quality. It has all the features that i am looking to use. They are all good avr that is the problem, they all have different specs.

What do you think of the DTS neo surround feature, how does it do in making two channel sources surround compared to dolby II. I just think that this aspect of the technology has not been given enough focus and it has more been focused on getting the bluray and hdtv sound standards. They should release a dolby hd surround and a dts hd surround feature. Not for blurays but to upscale two channel audio to the 5.1.

Confused · 6 Dec 2010 at 22:15

Providing it up-converts, if accepting multiple input types, then don't worry about up-scaling.

(Ie, if you feed it with composite, S-Video, Component and HDMI - will it convert all of those to an HDMI output to your TV?)

I only ever use my Yamaha ASP AX757SE in "direct" mode - so whatever my source material is - that's how I listen to it. I'm not a fan of letting it decide what should go where. This also up-converts composite, S-Video and component into Component output (I got it before HDMI became mainstream)

jaybee · 6 Dec 2010 at 22:42

I went through all of this about a year ago and had my contenders down as Sony, Onkyo and Yamaha. They will have been different models to yourselves. However, having read, and read, and read up on all of the features and user opinions extensively on avforums I ended up deciding on the Yamaha for a couple of reasons. (I will try to find what model I got.)

I seem to recall one of them was to do with being able to manually set audio delay settings. This is for when you get lip sync issues say when you run HDMI for Video but have to run optical audio or whatever. Needless to say, I never ended up having to use this anyway but there were some clear reasons why I chose it. I just can't remember them.
It also was recommended as being quite well suited to my current speakers which were/are Mission fronts, center, rears and a Paradigm sub.

The best thing you can do is go to a competitors website (I think you know the one) and do a compare on all three models scrutinizing every individual detail kind of doing a marking system on what is important to you and which ones fit the bill and gives best bang per buck. Think about how you will really use it. Look at features like standby HDMI pass through, ability to send everything over the one HDMI lead to the TV (if you so wish), HD Audio/Bitstream abilities.

If you are stuck between them and are literally just deciding on one or the other based on brand then I would go with the Yamaha. I am biast although I have owned A LOT of AV gear over the years and have sampled every major manufacturer bar Denon. With regard to Sony vs Onkyo vs Yamaha - and this is just my experience personally - I have a mate that has an Onkyo and he has had issues with a port going bad, I love some of the features of Onkyo but they are majorly pushed by a certain competitor as they get a good mark up on Onkyo and in all honesty they are often made on a budget internally. Sony stuff is hit and miss imo. I own a Sony AVR for bedroom which has an issue outputting surround, although still works for stereo duties.

Rewind to about a year ago when I bought my Yamaha, I had previously been using a Marantz AVR which had become like family over the years sorting everything I threw at her (yes I am sad). This was an upgrade to take me into the HD times. It needed to be able to seemlessly work with all my gear. The Yamaha is absolutely flawless. It just works, which is the best thing I can ever say about a piece of electrical equipment. I set it up once and barely have to touch it. I use a lot of its features.

The build quality is great apart from one thing I will say is that the speaker binding posts at the rear of my model for the surrounds and front are the old style for thinner speaker cable, which feels a bit cheap. However, its very musical and also very clear for films. It has an easy setup mode with a mic for aiding surround levels. I managed to get rid of my TV remote completely as I ported over the controls to the bottom section of the Yamaha remote all by just reading the instruction manual. It's snappy to use and I've just never had one issue with it. Packs some punch when needed, and the enhanced audio functions you mention like surround decoders for dual stereo modes etc, are quite good. It runs quite cool unlike my old Marantz.

I found the model now. I got the Yamaha RXV465. It was recommended to me over the Sony STRDH800 and the Onkyo TXSR507 as being better musically for my setup.

Hope this helps. Sorry for waffle.

anything I don't mind · 10 Dec 2010 at 17:56

Thanks jaybee for your reply. Today i bought the yamaha rx-v467 and i am very pleased. No complaints so far

I do not have a sub but i am very pleased with how well the bass comes through the main speakers.