future receiver

Hello,

In my search for a new DTS receiver I've found the following receivers that fit into my budget.

Denon 2800
Yamaha RX-V795
Marantz SR-5000
Onkyo TX-DS575
Sony STR-DB930
Harman Kardon AVR-500

I hope somebody wants to share his/her impressions of one or more of these receivers., that'll help me a lot.

Hi lukas...

Well, first thing I can advise is that you listen to as many as you can. They all differ in sound, and since it's a subjective thing, you might like one better than the other.

2nd, I've been on the market for a receiver myself, and since I'm in portugal, I can't audition anything (shelves are empty, and you can only order). But I've been with Onkyo for a while (Dolby Pro-logic TX-DS646) and am now upgrading for the TX-DS787.

Ok, my budget is a little higher than yours, and I am an unconditional of Onkyo (Love how my old unit sounds with both Audio and Home Cinema).

So, I'd go with Onkyo, but don't trust my saying... Go out there and audition it.

Best regards

Rui

Com' on, there have to be more of you who's heard one of these receivers!?

[neilbennett]

I own a SONY 930, can't fault it. Except for my first one which I had to take back to the Sony centre because the silver paint was starting to come off on a part of the plastic drop down panel, had the unit replaced, no problems still working and looking good 11 months down the line. Best advice that you can take from anyone is to get to your local demo suite and check a few out. Take your fav music/films and see which one you like.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was in the same boat as you. I had a Pioneer Pro-Logic amp and wanted to upgrade to DD & DTS. Like you, I looked at several models around the £500 mark and after several demos, I bought the new Yamaha RX-V596RDS which retails for £285 from WWW.HOTKIT.CO.UK (£150 cheaper than in shops). Although this is a model under the Yam 795 that you mention, it is actually the latest model and has had serious component upgrades. Most of it's insides are now from the DSP-A1! It is also the same unit as the new DSP-A5 (without the tuner) and this has just won What Hi-Fi's Home Cinema Amp of the year award.

In my opinion it sounds fantastic with both movies and music (unlike Sony!) with just the right amount of features necessary (i'm not into toys, sound/picture quality is much more important).

The Denon is about to be replaced with 2801 and the 795 is about to become the 796 as far as I am aware. The Sony has been replaced by the 940. Don't know much about the others. As already said, demo them for yourself and decide. Include the Yam 596 in your choices as for £285 it is an absolute bargain and frees up more cash for other equipment.

That's what I did anyway - Good Luck!


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NPS

Thanx.
I hadn't heard anything about the Yamaha, but I have a little bit more information about that receiver (well, the 595 actually).

[Reiner]

Just for info:
The latest models are the Yamaha RXV-795a(RDS) and Sony STR-DB940 you should consider.

But like the others said: audition yourself and decide according to you liking and budget.

[Brox]

I have a Harman Kardon AVR500. I chose this receiver after auditioning the Sony 930 and the Yamaha 795 receivers in stereo only as I thought it would be difficult to compare properly in Cinema sound. The sony sounded horrible in stereo, very harsh and metallic, the Yamaha was just ok but what put me off was the way it looked - a mess of buttons and cheap looking volume and source selector knobs. So I looked at the HK as they have a reputation for good stereo sound - which it does, It looks good very minimalist and classy looking, and the logic 7 mode gives an excellent pseudo rear stereo sound like Dolby digital , much much better than Yamahas enhanced mode on my 592. In fact the HK is miles better than my old Yamaha 592RDS in every way. The Dolby Digital is also excellent and you can also buy it for £500 in a hi fi shop in Gerrards cross. It has been reviewed recently in What HiFi and it got 4 stars and they acknowledged it was very good in stereo. The only possible downside is that there are questions about its reliability see www.audioreview.com. But i'm very happy as its a good allrounder with no functions i'll never use like 100's of sound effects.

[asimm]

Bought the Sony 940 on Saturday after having spent over one and a half hours auditioning at my local very helpful Musical Images. I listened to the Yamaha 800 (through a Denon amplifier) and the Sony. The Sony now has pride of place under the telly. It sounds fantastic with movies and music. I am not sure if it is an audiophile music amplifier but I like the sound and that's the important thing. I also bought the Arcam 7SE at the same time. My films and cds have been brought to life!

[ReTrO]

I own a Denon AVR 2800, great thing! Needs a TV/Monitor connected most of the time to make full use of it, I don't have TV which is annoying! Good otherwise, bliss to setup and use, superseeded by the 2801 now though which is even better and has a full set of pre-outs.

Rick

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'I am just a figment of your imagination.'
MiB 1997

Work Site: The Sound Gallery
Home Site: WD A.V.

LUKAS
I have bought the Sony STR DB930 in the last few days, it looks the part and sounds excellent.

Thanks for all the replies!
Mal, did you compare the sony str-db930 to any other receivers when you bought it?

Lukas, yes the Yamaha DSPA5 I already had a Sherwood {which is'nt as bad as some make out}I usually look at what gets awards and within my budget. So the Yamaha and Sony were the two main contenders, for looks the Sony wins hands down. Most of my DVDs are music and sounded so much better on the Sony, I bought it from my local Sony center and got it for £350.00

Did You hear the NAD AMPS? They are both musical and excellent Home cinema Amps. Try out the NAD T760 DD & DTS.

I have a Sony 930, I auditioned it alongside a Yamaha 595 and a Denon (can't remember which, higher price). I was upgrading from a Yamaha 393 (no DD/DTS, just decoder inputs) and the Sony was the hands-down winner for movie soundtracks against the Yamaha and the Denon. There is an option in one of the submenus called "Effect" on the 930 which, when turned up full on a DD soundtrack, makes the sound completely enveloping (echoey on DPL tho') It might not be purist, but is sounds tremendous. That swung it for me over the 595, which, but for that effect setting, was a very close contender.

I did notice, even in the demo room, that the Sony was not as musical as my old Yam, let alone the new one. And the Denon was in another world musically. But in the end I decided that what I really wanted was DD/DTS performance, not audiophile 2 Channel sound. Had I not given my old 393 to my brother, I would have kept it for 2 channel, since it was easily better than the 930. They should be dirt cheap these days!

Be aware that some people hate the 930's remote, but I love it. I hated the 595's. Also, I saw a 940 recently and I don't think it looks as elegant as the 930 it replaces - although there appeared to have been some well-thought-out button placement changes. And I recommend going for the silver finish.

HTH

Mattie.