AVR Opinions Please

[Hugh]

I'm helping a friend to put together a budget setup.

I found some info on Denon 1911 and it seems to be a good enough avr.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

[Steve_vai_rules]

I'm helping a friend to put together a budget setup.

I found some info on Denon 1911 and it seems to be a good enough avr.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

the denon is nice, dont discount the stuff from onkyo or harman kardon.

Personally I think the harman stuff sounds quite nice, and there is a bit of a trickle down effect considering the size of harman and the vast array of audio companies (and thus technologies) under it's umbrella..

Just my 2 cents.


Matt

[tthurman]

My brother in law just finished his setup a few months ago. He had to have a HTIB and it had to come from Best Buy. After swaying him away from the real cheap brands he went with a Boston Acoustics set that is actually pretty nice. It came with what translated to a 1610 and it gets the job done if all your looking for is basic features. The 1911 should be a little more feature rich but I would image similar sound wise.

From what I've read the 2311 is the sweet spot in the current line up but it's also upwards to $300 more.

[cdy2179]

That's a nice AVR, personally I'd get a mid-priced AVR with PRE-OUTS with all the options you want.... Later on or now....match it up with an Emotiva XPA-3 or 5 and for the same money as those high-end AVRs you'll have a AVR/amp combo that'll spank the pricey AVRs around with ease. Not sure if the 1910 has Pre-outs but this would be my biggest make or break spec...Room for future upgrade of you amps is a must IMO. But it may not be too big of a deal for your friend...of course he may want more power later!

Don't worry about upconverting video AVRs and all that.... it's a waste of money (unless your TV has a crappy upconverter in it) All high def TVs will upconvert or down convert all material to fit the native resolution of your screen.

[Cujobob]

The Pioneer receivers are fantastic and super cheap online, I'd go for one of those over anything else unless having pre-outs is a sticking point. The new versions out (for under $400) also have decent video upconversion. They have plenty of options and amazing sound quality for the price.

[PhenomeNhan]

I would skip the Denon to avoid it's complicated remote control and setup menu. You'd have to learn a third language to understand the Denon. I had a headache trying to setup a friend's Denon 1909.

A second vote for the Pioneer. Get one with pre-outs for future amp(s).

And if your friend is old like you, which I'm guessing is the case ;), he may have older components that would need upconversion (or is it transcoding) to HDMI. So you might consider one that can do analog to HDMI conversion.

Oh yea, get a Logitech remote control, too. You know who to talk to if you want to go with Onkyo. Their features and ease of use is very nice, but I'm not crazy about their SQ.

[dvenardos]

My experience with the budget receivers is the biggest sound quality upgrade comes from going with an external amp. If you can get something cheaper with pre-outs and then fit in at least a two-channel external amp that would make a big difference. What other components will he be using?

[Cujobob]

My experience with the budget receivers is the biggest sound quality upgrade comes from going with an external amp. If you can get something cheaper with pre-outs and then fit in at least a two-channel external amp that would make a big difference. What other components will he be using?

The actual rated wattage of the included amps rarely meets the specs manufacturers claim. It's certainly improved over the years, but sensitivity of the speakers can often determine the necessity of an external amp. External amps certainly make little sense in a 'budget' setup though where speakers should comprise most of the budget.

[Sandbagger]

I will vote for Pioneer also, just hooked one up for a friend and was pretty happy with it

[Mike_TX]

I'm also looking for an AVR.
I just need a 2ch AVR with HDMI switching.
Just for my gym setup to use WAF-1's and avoid using stereo speakers.

I was consider this:
Pioneer VSX-520-K Audio/Video Receiver
$200 at Amazon

Thoughts?

Mike

[Hugh]

Thanks guys,

What Pioneer model do you recommend?

[PhenomeNhan]

Start with the Elite model. I was thinking that it would have to start with the VSX23 to have pre-outs, but looking at the Pioneer site, the base Elite model (VSX21) does have pre-outs:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/HomeEntertainment/AV-Receivers/EliteReceivers/ci.VSX-21TXH.Kuro

I can't tell if the not-yet-released top-of-the-line non-Elite model (1120) has multi-channel pre-outs or just L/R outs:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/HomeEntertainment/AV-Receivers/PioneerReceivers/ci.VSX-1120-K.Kuro

The Elites come with 2-year warranty vs. the regular model's 1-year warranty.

[PhenomeNhan]

I'm also looking for an AVR.
I just need a 2ch AVR with HDMI switching.
Just for my gym setup to use WAF-1's and avoid using stereo speakers.

I was consider this:
Pioneer VSX-520-K Audio/Video Receiver
$200 at Amazon

Thoughts?

Mike

That's interesting...I didn't think HDMI and 2-ch go together :D That would be quite useful for those of us with just 2 speakers in the bedroom. Sounds like a pretty good price...but 20 lbs? One of the cages for my new Melody mono block weighs more than that :D

[PhenomeNhan]

Ooops...I didn't see those rinky-dink speaker terminals :D I thought it was just a stereo receiver and was wondering why they were advertising 5.1 speaker sets with it :D

[Mike_TX]

That's interesting...I didn't think HDMI and 2-ch go together :D That would be quite useful for those of us with just 2 speakers in the bedroom. Sounds like a pretty good price...but 20 lbs? One of the cages for my new Melody mono block weighs more than that :D

Ooops...I didn't see those rinky-dink speaker terminals :D I thought it was just a stereo receiver and was wondering why they were advertising 5.1 speaker sets with it :D

Remember my qualifier as just looking for something for HDMI switching and sound better than my TV speakers -- that part should be easy.

I don't need 5.1/7.1, Audyssey, etc. but a lot of stuff comes with that even if not needed.

Mike