what to audition ?? - AV recevier and Speakers

M

mooky

Guest
Hi,

I'm about to sell my audiolab 8000s etc. and delve in to home cinema. I'm ditching the old music scene and just want to concentrate on AV enjoyment. So, I have about £850 - £900 to spend on a recevier and sub/sat speakers. I'm currently thinking of auditioning :-

Receivers
--------------
Yamaha rx-440v

Marantz 4300 - Although i'd prefer a silver amp not gold !!
Denon 1803 - Although i'd prefer a silver amp not gold !!
Pioneer ??!!??

Sub/Sat
-----------
Kef KHT 2005.2
JM Labs Sib/Cub

Are there any other receivers/subsats I should be auditioning. Perhaps a slightly older amp but high spec e.g. Sony STRDB-1080B ?

Mark.
 
Mookie,
I too have a penchant for Silver stuff and wonder why Japanese manufacturers think that gold equals higher quality. Interestingly Sony's ES gear is Silver on the US stuff so why not here? Also Denon have just released a new CD player in black or gold or SILVER finishes, so fingers crossed that they start doing this with all their other stuff, if so their next 3804 might be on my shopping list.
Anyway to answer your question I'd look at the new Sony DB790 at around £300, or the DB2000 at around £500, or the Yamaha AX640SE (£400) in titanium (which is silverish), the Pioneer D812(£300) or 912 (£500).
Also, don't rule out the Marantz. The finish is more silver than gold in the flesh.
As for speakers, look at the new KEF eggs (given your budget, you'll have to buy a cheaper receiver) or the cheaper eggs that KEF have just released. Also Sony are about to release 2 new 5.1 speaker packages based on the Slim tower designs used on their DAV systems. They look great, but how they sound given Sony's speaker heritage, only your ears can decide.
Happy listening!

cookie
 
IMHO a Sony 1080 will see them off easilly. It's seriously under-rated and a large step up from the 940/1070. Well worth a demo if you ask me. How about NAD as well? Worth a listen.

Not sure about sub/sats.
 
Originally posted by pcookie
Mookie,
I too have a penchant for Silver stuff and wonder why Japanese manufacturers think that gold equals higher quality. Interestingly Sony's ES gear is Silver on the US stuff so why not here? Also Denon have just released a new CD player in black or gold or SILVER finishes, so fingers crossed that they start doing this with all their other stuff, if so their next 3804 might be on my shopping list.
Anyway to answer your question I'd look at the new Sony DB790 at around £300, or the DB2000 at around £500, or the Yamaha AX640SE (£400) in titanium (which is silverish), the Pioneer D812(£300) or 912 (£500).
Also, don't rule out the Marantz. The finish is more silver than gold in the flesh.
As for speakers, look at the new KEF eggs (given your budget, you'll have to buy a cheaper receiver) or the cheaper eggs that KEF have just released. Also Sony are about to release 2 new 5.1 speaker packages based on the Slim tower designs used on their DAV systems. They look great, but how they sound given Sony's speaker heritage, only your ears can decide.
Happy listening!

cookie

Yeah, but I think my budget is not going to stretch to £300+. If if take the price of the Kefs Mk2 or the JMlabs @£650 at Creative Audio, that leaves me around £200 - £250 for the amp. I've seen the Yamaha for £230 and the Marantz for around £200-£250. I think i've even seen the Sony 1080b for £250. Any other ideas guys ?

Mark.
 

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