 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
Greetings all,Hopefully this will help out some other people looking for a good all-around system on a budget.
I'm devoting some money to my hi-fi setup for mastering and active listening, so I don't want to go overboard trying to design the mother of all home theaters. I've more or less determined the speakers and such that I want to go with, but I'm nowhere near certain on what amps I should be looking at.
I'm wondering what amps people recommend for home theater/mid-fi usage. Setup will most likely include a DVD player, VHS, and a PC (for a PVR and MP3 playback). As far as music goes, it will be more ambience listening while roaming about the house or doing stupid things like assembling new cables or speakers... what am I thinking?
I should stress that I'm not looking for audiophile quality because I know it doesn't exist at this price level. I also, however, am trying to avoid getting the type of system you pull off the shelf of Best Buy or Circuit City that sounds just barely passable. If I have to pay $6-700 to get something markedly superior, OK, but I'm aiming for $500 or less if I can do something that will pull off a good night at home. If you own or have experienced these amps in person, all the better. If you've only read about them and are doing research on them as well, please share and let us know what you've found...
One amp I've heard about was recommended at the Audioholics site. The Panasonic SA-HE200K is said to be a decent amp with a lot of bang for the buck, but I still have some prejudice against Panasonic for their build quality problems a few years ago. Same goes for Sony (I had my CD player, amp, and VTR all die within a year of each other...)
Let's hear it!
Follow Ups:
Look into the Denon 2803 at $799 LIST. I bought my Denon 3803 not long ago for $899 (lists for $1199) and I'm very pleased with it's performance for the H.T. setup. I have other gear that I use for my more serious audio-only needs.Buy from a reputable Denon dealer. The first one I bought was DOA. I returned it for a no hassle over-the-counter exchange the next day. The new one and the rest of the system have been working great.
Yes, Denon is definitely up there. After researching their gear a bit and seeing some of the competition, the lower end Denon stuff is looking like very attractive; however, I also feel myself being lured to the darkside for full 7.1 and more processing capabilities.I remember when in the 80s when I impressed my mom by hooking the stereo up to our TV and VCR... somehow that just doesn't cut it anymore... ;)
SG,The 3802/1082, 3803/1083 provide full 6.1/7.1 out of the box. The 3803 is a bit more video oriented with upconversion and adequate bandwidth for HD switching. Neither unit is a slouch when it comes to decode modes - they've got 'em all. BTW, $899 for an "authorized" 3803 is a total steal - this price is just about what you'd have to pay for a grey market unit.
Austin
"BTW, $899 for an "authorized" 3803 is a total steal"I should qualify why I got the $899 price on the 3803 from this retailer. I bought the TV and DVD-1600 and a bunch of cables and a stand all at the same time. He didn't have much room to budge on the Sony TV so he gave me a break on the Denon gear. Had I bought the Panasonic TV, he would have given me a big discount on it but less discount on the Denon. In any case I beleive $899 is a good deal on the Denon but the retailer made it up on the other gear I bought from him. They make their money one way or another. ;-)
Denon 1082. 1 year factory warranty - low to mid $500s.This is the mass-market version of the venerable 3802. Every decoding mode you'll want for HT, very decent audio, support for full 6.1/7.1 setup, full preouts and analog ins. Since your not looking at HD, you can even switch your video up to DVD resolution using the 1082. You can pull the manual off the Denon site and see what you'll be looking at. The electronics are IDENTICAL to the 3802 - only differences are the distribution channel, warranty period and model number on the unit.
Good luck.
YOW! Just checked out the specs on the 1082 and that is one beefy amp. Intimidating, honestly. Still, the features look really good. Actually, all of the Denon amps look really good. I'm also looking at the 982 and 883, both of which seem to have most of the important features of the 1082.Also, I couldn't find the 1082 for under $600 anywhere. Not that I'm ready to buy yet, but I wanted to see who had it out there. Also, I went to Denon and noticed that they are no longer covering amps sold at mass market e-tailers unless they're authorized Denon dealers... This seems to be a trend among manufacturers as someone else mentioned this to be the case with Marantz or NAD, I believe.
Thanks for the suggestion... Denon's are looking really nice all of a sudden!
The Denon model numbers you listed are unique to Sears, so you won't find them anywhere else. They are identical to Denon's regular A/V receiver line. I suggest you contact the seven mail order dealers listed on Denon's site. It is important to call them; while Denon can enforce Minimum Advertised Price on their products, they cannot dictate the actual selling price, so you may get a lower price by calling and asking for a better deal.While the Denon AVR-2803 is a fine choice, I would also consider the Pioneer Elite VSX-41TX, Harman Kardon AVR-325, Yamaha RXV-730, and I even saw the discontinued HK AVR-520 for $500:
http://www.6ave.com/product.jsp?x=AVR520
I am not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or resellers listed in this post.
The mass-market versions of the Denon receivers are available from a number of sources - certainly more than Sears.Pro integrators are a very good source as well as regional mass-market outlets. Sears is certainly a viable national source and is, to my knowledge, the ONLY national outlet for these products.
As the sources are quite varied, I'm not clear on the warranty qualifications on these units. My understanding has been that these mass-market products are warranted independently of the distribution source. That is, the product carries the warranty, not the source of purchase. A quick call to Denon should straighten this out for any interested parties.
Austin
Panasonic receivers have rated sonically poor across the board: The best for the buck is the Marantz SR-4300 rated***** in recent What hifi I own & consistently enjoy using the SR-5200 which is superb in all respects sans the Ultra EX DTS 96/24 stuff. It also has superior(for the $) internal dac's.
The only others to consider would be the Denon, Rotel & Yamaha & Sony gear....... Also good things said about Outlaw audio.........
Thanks for the recommendations. I've never cared much for Panasonic, but I wasn't sure if the company had done anything lately to change that. I'm glad the hesitancy came through.I used to like Sony, but their quality control issues (even on some of the ES stuff) bothers me. Yamaha has always been one of the better of the mass-market Japanese brands, but I know that they've had a reputation for some harsh sounding amps and how their filters work... moreso on some of the digital processing that they've used.
Rotel and Outlaw I've never heard, but I've read about them briefly... it looks interesting. I had a Denon tape deck years ago that was a trooper until one of the channels cut out. It was a gorgeous deck when it worked. I've also read a lot of great stuff about their amps. My stepfather used to swear by them.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
