First receiver advice

L

Lucky Scotsman

Guest
Hi all, I am looking for some advice on what receiver to buy.

Originaly, I was going to go for an all in one home cinema kit solution, but have now decided to go for a more seperate route. For the receiver and speakers, I have stretched my budget to £400 and have narrowed my list down to the following.

Sony STRDB780S - £235
Kenwood KRF-V5060D-S - £202
Kenwood KRF-V6060D-S - £243
Yamaha RXV430RDS - £220
Yamaha RXV530RDS - £282 (extra stretch :D )

And I am thinking of going for Eltax Cinamex 5.1 speaker system at £138.

My preferences are 60% music and 40% DVD, I need the system to handle the DVD player for movies and music, TV, PS2, X-Box and PC.

If anyone has any experience with any of these systems, can you please give me some info.

Thanks,

Colin
 
Colin

No comments about the Yammys or Kenwoods, but you could look at this thread to see my first impressions of the Sony.

By the way, I'm still very happy with my choice!

Super7
 
Thanks super7, that was very helpfull.

I must admit, I do like sony equipment and the comments on your above mentioned thread convinced me that it is a good choice for my short list.

I think I will drop Kenwood from my list. But, before I make my choice, I do need to find out some more about the yamaha. My closest specialist (HiFi Corner, Glasgow) has a lot of stuff and they highly recommended Yamaha as they have the longest experience with this sort of thing.

The major factor in the Yamaha is that both of them have DTS-ES Matrix 6.1 in Phantom Mode.

Is this worth having?

If I need to get another speaker, I can as my living room is being centred around this purchase.
 
Colin

Glad to be of help!

As I said, no experience of the Yamaha receivers, but I guess having DTS-ES 6.1, even in phantom is probably better than not having it!

Have the Yamaha's got Dolby Pro-Logic 2 (not just Pro-Logic)? If not, I strongly recommend choosing a reciever with this, as it is absolutely brilliant at making any stereo source (e.g. TV) into full surround - very clever stuff indeed.

Apart form that, personal preferences play a big part. I like Sony stuff (as does my wife), and wanted the receiver to match everything else in terms of design.

Sony also do the STR-DE685 with Pro-Logic 2, and the ability to drive a second set of speakers (stereo only) - ideal if you want music elsewhere in the house...

Let us know what you decide!

Super7
 
Originally posted by super7
Colin

Sony also do the STR-DE685 with Pro-Logic 2, and the ability to drive a second set of speakers (stereo only) - ideal if you want music elsewhere in the house...

Can the Sony STR-DE685 do the "phantom rear speaker mode" like the Yamaha 430RDS?
 
Spacecowboy

As far as I know, the STR-DE685 does not feature phantom rear mode. The second set option is to either have a remote set of speakerts, or possibly to use a different set of speakers for stereo music sources. I believe you choose one set or the other.

Super7
 
How about a 1070,stretches the budget a little £299 and does not decode pl11. That apart it's a decent all rounder and can decode 6.1 e/s,e/x.
 
The yamaha does do DPL2, this is a must in whatever I choose as music is a main factor in the purchase. I have now narrowed it down to either the Sony or Yamaha, I'm interested in the 6.1 and would like anyones advice if they have had any experience.

Time is runing out as I was wanting to purchase it tomorrow, but I am willing to wait another couple of days.

If I don't hear anything about the Yamaha soon, I will probably just go for the Sony partly based on Super7's small review on another thread. (thanks for that)

Colin
 
Originally posted by Lucky Scotsman
The yamaha does do DPL2, this is a must in whatever I choose as music is a main factor in the purchase. Colin
Music will be better without any additional processing (imho).The novelty of pl11 and music will soon wear of <lynx awaits the onslaught :) />. Whatever you decide i hope you enjoy it. :)
 
lynx, I will have to reserve judgment on that one as I haven't experienced DPL2 yet. I am new to all of this, but I am looking forward to getting into it.
 
I bit the bullet. I couldn't wait any longer. It's a Sunday and I get bored before I go to play football, so I had to spend some money. :D

Just as I was about to click the confirm purchase button for the Sony STRDB780S and Eltax Cinemaxx speakers, I had a change of heart and thought about it for another 10 minutes and decided to go for the Yamaha RXV430RDS and Eltax for a total of £355.81 from QED-uk.com

Should get them about Wednesday or Thursday, I can't wait. :)

Thanks for all advice given.

Colin
 
Colin

Glad to hear you've made your decision. Hope everything arrives on time. Let us know what you think!

Super7
 
Lucky Scotsman,

The Luck is with you. You have may an excellent choice. With LOTR DVD out last week and Blade 2 with 6.1 features Xmas has come early! You have done well. The advice is as always ....if you are buying an amp/receiver try to get the best you can afford.

Delevery-wise QED is quite good (got Yam630se with them and previously a Kenwood) to go with Eltax 5+.

PS when u get your toys they will need a bit of "run-in" at normal volume levels and use isolation spikes with its shoes provided with the Eltax. Also try the DSPs of the amp. You might find the "enhanced DD or DTS" or "enhanced matrix 6.1" and PLG2 to your liking!!
 
Thanks for the advice Joshua.

It eased any worries that I had reading your post above as I am new to this and didn't want to buy something that I wasn't going to be happy with. With it being Yamaha, I was pretty sure that I would be happy as I have heard good things about their audio equipment.

Originaly, the money that I had was for the entire setup (Receiver, Speakers & DVD), then I decided to leave the new DVD for now and just use what I had to buy the receiver and speakers. The money that I have left over from this will be spent on decent wiring for the setup.

Thanks,

Colin
 
Originally posted by joshua_bond
Lucky Scotsman,

Delevery-wise QED is quite good (got Yam630se with them and previously a Kenwood) to go with Eltax 5+.

PS when u get your toys they will need a bit of "run-in" at normal volume levels and use isolation spikes with its shoes provided with the Eltax. Also try the DSPs of the amp. You might find the "enhanced DD or DTS" or "enhanced matrix 6.1" and PLG2 to your liking!!

joshua_bond do you own the Eltax Cinamax 5.1 sub/sat package? If so, how do you rate them? And how big is the room you use them in?
My living room is 19ft x 14.5ft, and i'm worried the Eltax 5.1 will not be loud/powerful enough to fill the room.

I'd really appreciate any help.
 
Just found out that it could be up to 14 days for the speakers and unkown when the receiver will arrive.

Not fair, but I suppose it's to be expected when the prices are so low.

:mad:
 
Just found out that it could be up to 14 days for the speakers and unkown when the receiver will arrive.

LuckyScots,
I know the feeling, I had 2-3weeks wait for Yam630 from QED, and that's before the genuine hype surronding these latest Yams. QED order there stuff directly from Yamaha UK so hang-in there..it worth the wait.


Spacecowboy,


do you own the Eltax Cinamax 5.1 sub/sat package
I have the Eltax 5+ (floorstanders), 3+ (rears) on Atacama Nexus 6 stands and Wharfedale picture panels as centre rears (misses don't like HT-2) and wharfedale valdus as centre. The Eltaxes (with their spikes) are on thick floor tiles. All in a 18x13ft room. To answer your question the Eltax does fill the room. I describe them as expressive ("likes to show-off"). But I often believe in my setup that it is more of the amp that does the biz (comparing with the Kenwood, I had). If you go the 5+ route (better that sats) then u don't need a sub.
 
If you go the 5+ route (better that sats) then u don't need a sub.
It's not a valid comparison (sats and a pair of floorstanders) and to say that you don't need a sub with Liberty 5+'s :confused:
 
Lynx,

The comparison is the sats + sub against floorstanders. In terms of frequency raw data, the 5+ rolls off at 40. Some subs can go at 30 or even 20. The point is that (as a first system) the price/performance you do not really count, in the broadest sense, for much when comparing a floor standanders to sub/sat. Of course if you have a sub (active) it will shake your room but in overall terms (and assuming you have space), floor standers are usually the better bet than that of sub/sat system.
 
Joshua,

I agree with you on a couple of counts. The first is regarding the amplifier being very important for the sound. I've got a pair of eltax Liberty 5's and had a Kenwood 5030 receiver. The sound for music was ok but not great. I've now got a Marantz SR4200 and the Libs have come to life. I love the sound of my system now and switch the telly off to listen to music much more often these days.

I also don't really feel the need for a subwoofer (I filled the libs with kitty litter) as the bass is pleanty strong enough for me (my living room is about 13' by 12') and any more will surely annoy my neighbours as the party wall seperates our livingrooms.

I'm using Eltax Millenium II's for the rear but I'm interested in the Wharfedale picture speakers which are going for 80 quid in Richers.

How good do they sound? Would they make good rears as opposed to rear centres?

Cheers.

Edit:
PS I ordered my Kenwood from QED and it arrived next day as promised - they must have been in stock.
 
I have heard from others that they sound very nice indeed, then again I am a long suffering NXT shareholder, so don't take my word for it. ;)
 
So, are you guys saying that if I get a set of floor standing front speakers and a set of sats for the back along with a centre speaker, I don't realy need a sub?

How would it sound with this setup including a sub?

My living room is about 12x12 (from the top of my head) and the neighbours aren't an issue.

It may be a stupid question, but I'm new to all of this.

Colin
 
Originally posted by Lucky Scotsman
So, are you guys saying that if I get a set of floor standing front speakers and a set of sats for the back along with a centre speaker, I don't realy need a sub?

Subs are like a bigger telly: you don't NEED one if you have (decent) full range speakers, but they are great to have and will add plenty to your movie experience. You won't know what you are missing (maybe another 5-10% lowend - IMO and a VERY rough estimate depending on your fronts) :) until you actually plumb a good sub in. Start with 5.0 and add the .1 later (WAF and budget dependant).
 
Originally posted by calscot

I'm using Eltax Millenium II's for the rear but I'm interested in the Wharfedale picture speakers which are going for 80 quid in Richers.

How good do they sound?

They are fair sounding. I use them as rears (wife got involved:rolleyes: ), but I found them to be quite insensitive. I had to set my rears to LARGE before they produced enough sound to match my Mission M73 fronts and Mission centre. On SMALL they didn't do much at all. I reckon they work well when your rears need to sited close to your ears as the sound disperses a bit like dipoles. They are about 5 inches behind my head and I reckon normal speakers here would just overwhelm the sound instead. 4/10
 
Originally posted by Lucky Scotsman
So, are you guys saying that if I get a set of floor standing front speakers and a set of sats for the back along with a centre speaker, I don't realy need a sub?
Maybe others are suggesting that. Your system will work, however you won't be getting the full benefit and you will be missing some sonic substance.
joshua_bond,
As a side note i used to own Liberty 5+ ,indeed i still have the 3+ and they will not perform well at the frequencies that you mention.
 

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