Guess which one of these 3 receivers is the best value

[ArkiStan]

Hey people.
check out this spec comparison at BestBuy:

http://www.bestbuy.com/compare.asp?tp=R&m=1&cat=3&scat=4&b=0&3=11062763&7=11057808&18=11050063&txtCount=21&x=63&y=12

I finally had decided on a Yamaha HTR-5440 receiver and was about to go out and buy it, but thought I would do a little last minute research first(hey, it's a lot of money for me). I had heard so much good stuff about Yamaha's sound quality so despite its weaker power I had pretty much finalized my decision, but after another look, I noticed how "bearbones" the Yamaha's functionality was (no S-video in/output -- what's up with that?? the HTR-5240 had 2 ins and 1 out, and the 5440 has NONE??). And I just discovered the Pioneer VSX-D710S receiver which has so many more inout/outputs. Does anybody know about the sound quality of Pioneer receivers?? I threw in the Sony STR-DE675 just for comparison. These are all of the same price range ($270-300). Please give me recommendations. Which one of these is the best for the price?? Does the Yamaha's sound quality outweigh it's minimal fuinctionality?? Or should I buy the Pioneer, or even the Sony?

p.s. they all got good reviews at audioreview.com

thanks

[Leon]

Look into the Denon AVR-1801.
http://www.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/avr1801LIT.pdf
http://beachcamera.com/product_query.asp?query=product&i=DN1801

Or wait until later this month when the AVR-1802 comes out.
http://www.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/avr18023.pdf

[LPMiller]

Leon, no one asked about the Denon! Ack, Audiophilles!!!!

Just as bad as computer geeks.......ahem.

I love Pioneer recievers. The only bitch is it takes awhile to learn the goofy remotes. This is a fairly new reciever, so not too many views on it, but go here:

http://www.audioreview.com/reviews/AVReceiver/product_77925.shtml

This is a good site for any buying you might do.

I have a Pioneer VSX-D409, which I got for 150 bucks (and I hadn't even ordered it, I ordered a cheap, skank reciever, they ran out and gave me this instead) and I have an old Pioneer VSX-D498. I have a pioneer 5 disk DVD player. Yeah, I like their stuff.

[ArkiStan]

Ahh...all you guys (except LP) aren't any help at all!! I wanted some opinions. NOT EVEN MORE CHOICES!!! :D Well, if the Denons are that great and if those are in my pricerange then I think I should definitely take a look at them. And I had just thrown in the Sony's for comparison's sake, but those DB series models look pretty nice too.

However, I'm leaning more and more towards the Pioneer VSX-D710S because of its functionality. Now if there was only a way I could find some more info sources about Pioneer's general sound quality, cause all that functionality is just useless if the sound is poor. Not that I don't respect your opinion LP. You've influenced me in the Pioneer's direction a lot so far, but I just need a little more push in order to convince myself to make this $300(mucho money!) purchase on. Anybody know any more sites I could find opinions or professional reviews on this particular receiver or Pioneers in general??

for now I'm gonna check out the Denon's reviews at Audioreview.com

thanks guys.




[Edited by ucbstan on 08-02-2001 at 05:51 PM]

[Black Francis]

I will second Leon's recommendation on the Denon....it is probably the best reciever in that price range. If it is in that price range....not sure about that.....

I ended up getting a Marantz after I decided to wait and save more money......which wasn't an issue in the end because I got it for free.....but I think that I already told that story, so good luck deciding....that is the hard part. Once you get it, you will be in movie heaven.

[ArkiStan]

well, you can give that money you saved up to me, so I can get that Denon! :D I just checked the Denon's reviews and they are pretty much flawless. I must say I'm very impressed. However it's slightly above my pricerange. It sells for as low as $310 (if I can trust those shady looking websites). So I'm still in a dilemma here... pay about 60-70 more bucks and get the definite winner (Denon)the first time or pay much less and get a possible Dark Horse (Pioneer) ahhh...the pain! The only solution I guess would be RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!!!

[Black Francis]

Go for the Denon if at all possible. You don't want to get something that you are going to want to upgrade in six months.....trust me. I have been through all of that.....I bought three subwoofers, two receivers, and two sets of speakers before I was satisfied.

[ArkiStan]

Yeah after some research at the HomeTheaterForum.com it looks like people don't really recommend Pioneers unless it's the "Elite" line of products (the one I'm looking at isn't). But then again these people are audiophiles. It might be more than enough for me. The thing is I don't want to mail order. I want to buy from a B&M if possible. I wish there were some cheap dealers in my area (SF Bay Area). Seems like all the really cheap stores are in NY or something.

seems like the more research I do the more I can't make up my mind.

[Leon]

Thanks for backing me up, Francis. :D

Yeah, the Denons are REALLY nice and I think their output specs are a little underrated. What really sold me on them is that they can convert 2 channel CD music into all 5 speaker channels. Talk about total immersion...

[LPMiller]

#1 I never said the denons aren't nice, I just was trying to answer the actual question :P

#2what I would do is try to find them in the stores, and listen to them yourself. The pioneers have been bitched at mostly because the older 70 watts didn't really have any umph, and some folks dont like the DSP. I happen to like my DSP, but I usually don't use it too much, prefering to funk around with it myself. But everyone has different ears, even audiogeeks, so I'd see if you can't get an earview first. If Best Buy won't, there must be a higher end place by you that will.

I've never liked sony sound reproduction; I think they are too trebly, and I'm a bass kinda guy. The pioneers do decent bass reproduction - the Denons will of course be better, unless you could find a cheapo Pioneer Elite. I've got 2 Pioneers, and I'm happy, but I don't have a giant space needing THAT much umph to it, so it also will depend on your sound space. You don't really need a Denon for a smaller room.

Sound is so subjective, unlike say DVD playback, that no matter how many people you talk to, you still really need to give a listen yourself.

the best of the lower end would be, to me, Yamaha, Pioneer, Sony, no order. Of the more expensive stuff, Denon, Maritz, Yamaha, Pioneer Elite, and the occasion Harmon Kardon. Kenwoods have too many quality issues, Awia's dont' have enough ooomph, Phillips suck. Technics and JVC can be nice, but again quality issues, and some serious inconsistant performance.

I have a TV with about 2 billion Svideo inputs, so I don't need them on my reciever - don't degrade your video signal if you don't need to.

[ArkiStan]

I think I'm finally getting a clearer view of the wide range of different receivers. Thanks to everybody's input. :thumbup: I guess it's just a matter of testing them out personally and finding the one I like.

About your last comment LP, I have a TV with only 1 S-video input. But then I only have 1 machine with S-Video output (my DVD player). Does that mean that even if my receiver has S-video ins and outs, I should just connect my DVD player directly to my TV so I don't lose quality??

[LPMiller]

Yeah, I would. As long as you are using a high quality cable, just got direct to the TV. If you have more than one SVideo device, then I'd go through the reciever.