Home Theatre Receivers

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Handle9

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#272110 10-Jun-2020 05:38

So I'm in the market for a new receiver sometime this year. My trusty Onkyo just won't die but I'd like to upgrade to something with 4k support this year.

It'll be driving a Kef 2005.2 set so it's not an especially demanding load.

I'd strongly prefer Yamaha as I have a Yamaha Bar400 and would prefer to stay in the music cast ecosystem. Saying that I can be convinced to go elsewhere if it makes sense.

Other requirements are Spotify support and Atmos would be nice I guess.

There's no rush but would be interested in opinions.

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#2501806 10-Jun-2020 08:08

Not sure what you're trying to get from the upgrade.

Do you have speakers for Atmos?

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JPNZ

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#2501820 10-Jun-2020 08:39

I just upgraded from a Yamaha RXV675 - That did 4K @30hz (kinda pointless) and looked at newer models to do full 4K and Dolby Atmos. Yamaha's were too pricey for what was offered. Ended up with an Onkyo RZ730 its an older model but does everything I need and then some. It was on sale for $1099 and is actually 9.2 so two extra chan above everything else in its price range.

Very Happy with it now running 5.1.2 atmos with the ability to run an outdoor zone 2 or another room with HDMI zone 2 and stereo out.

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

sen8or

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#2501833 10-Jun-2020 09:22

I have the integra DRX-5, a 9.2 system, not sure on retail, I think its about $3k but I'm very happy with it. Runs Kef Q series speakers very well, plenty of power and great detail.

Handle9

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#2501837 10-Jun-2020 09:28

I'm probably looking at something like the RXV585 class at the moment.

I'm not driving floor standers so don't need huge amounts of grunt. That could change but isn't likely to in the near future.

4k60 is must have.

In this market (Middle East) Onkyo/Integra doesn't seem to be around much. Yamaha, Denon, Marrantz, Sony all seem quite available. Yamaha seems pretty decent value here.

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#2501842 10-Jun-2020 09:37

Handle9: I'm probably looking at something like the RXV585 class at the moment.

I'm not driving floor standers so don't need huge amounts of grunt. That could change but isn't likely to in the near future.

4k60 is must have.

In this market (Middle East) Onkyo/Integra doesn't seem to be around much. Yamaha, Denon, Marrantz, Sony all seem quite available. Yamaha seems pretty decent value here.

Yamaha are always quality, you can't go wrong there imo. Funny to note that Denon, Marantz, Pioneer & Onkyo are all owned by the same parent company.

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

ShinyChrome

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#2501843 10-Jun-2020 09:38

How much do you want to spend?

What sort of % HT vs. music usage do you average?

How far do you want to go with more channels? I'm guessing the Kef's are a 5.1 set, so when you say atmos, how many height channels are you looking at? 5.1.2, 5.1.4 etc...

What sort of TV do you have?

Most good receivers on the market will support Spotify Connect, or at the least, Chromecast. The determining factor will really be how much you want to stick to the Yamaha ecosphere.

Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, Onkyo all have good options in the market at different price-points that will largely be determined by your answers to the above

JPNZ:

Yamaha are always quality, you can't go wrong there imo. Funny to note that Denon, Marantz, Pioneer & Onkyo are all owned by the same parent company.

The deal never went through in the end, so Denon/Marantz (Sound United) and Onkyo/Pioneer (Onkyo) are still separate entities.

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FineWine

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#2502239 10-Jun-2020 13:51

You might want to have a look at this thread as well - https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=34&topicid=262010 dated 29-Dec-2019 20:39

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

surfisup1000

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#2502245 10-Jun-2020 14:06

mentalinc:

Not sure what you're trying to get from the upgrade.

4k I think.

Handle9

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#2502315 10-Jun-2020 15:36

Atmos is really a nice to have - I wouldn't use it unless I upgraded speakers. That won't happen in the near future.

I don't plan on buying another receiver for 5-7 years (I've had my onkyo for 7 years) so would prefer to buy something with a bit of head room.

sm1ff

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#2502402 10-Jun-2020 17:03

Rxv 685 is what I purchased on boxing day sale! Ironically it was the same price as the black Friday sale price. I had a cheap onkyo that I bought only 12 months prior, my reason was specifically for dolby atmos and dts x! Its fantastic and I also recommend yamaha. I had seen great reviews which lead me to buy it. My onkyo was faulty out of the box as it kept turning off right after I turn it on. I did get a replacement which still works.

Handle9

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#2502406 10-Jun-2020 17:08

sm1ff: Rxv 685 is what I purchased on boxing day sale! Ironically it was the same price as the black Friday sale price. I had a cheap onkyo that I bought only 12 months prior, my reason was specifically for dolby atmos and dts x! Its fantastic and I also recommend yamaha. I had seen great reviews which lead me to buy it. My onkyo was faulty out of the box as it kept turning off right after I turn it on. I did get a replacement which still works.

What made you go for the 685 over 585? Just the extra power or was there something else?

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Handle9

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#2502409 10-Jun-2020 17:14

surfisup1000:
mentalinc:

Not sure what you're trying to get from the upgrade.

4k I think.

Yes.

sm1ff

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#2502411 10-Jun-2020 17:15

I also own a rxv 771 in the living room (only for sky tv) and wanted the closest model to match it. The rxv 685 is in my bedroom where I watch 4k hdr and atmos content and a variety of other things.

ShinyChrome

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#2502793 11-Jun-2020 10:41

Handle9: Atmos is really a nice to have - I wouldn't use it unless I upgraded speakers. That won't happen in the near future.

I don't plan on buying another receiver for 5-7 years (I've had my onkyo for 7 years) so would prefer to buy something with a bit of head room.

I would look at the RXV-685 then; for the little bit extra it price adds on over the RXV-585, you get better room correction (YPAO RSC), as well as Zone 2 pre-outs, and an extra HDMI port in. The extra 10wpc makes zero effective difference really.

Another option: you could get a similar feature-set cheaper in an Onkyo or Pioneer AVR (minus the MusicCast of course), even though they are not as well regarded as Yamaha. I paid $697 NZD for my Onkyo NR-676 which does pretty much all the same stuff as the RXV-685, bar 4k up-scaling (which is a useless feature IMO, your TV or media player will do it better). The room correction is definitely not the greatest, and the DAC will be a matter of taste (a single AKM AK4458 vs 4 x unnamed Burr-Browns), but really, for critical listening, you probably shouldn't be looking at AVRs. Up to you whether the price difference is worth it; the current model is the Onkyo NR-696, but even the next step up to the higher quality RZ series could be possible for a similar sort of price as the RXV-685.

Anything above sounds like you will be paying more for features you may or may not use. The only reason you would really want to go higher at this time is to add on pre-outs for external amps, process more channels, or better room correction software. It looks like the 2020 AVRs are shaping up to be the bare minimum number of HDMI 2.1 ports slapped onto them to call themselves "8k ready" over this year, so most people will get better value trying to get a current AVR at a discount and syndicating HDMI 2.1 devices on an appropriate TV.

Handle9

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#2503021 11-Jun-2020 15:40

Onkyo isn't readily available here.

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