Recommendation: Receiver and speaks

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Recommendation: Receiver and speaks

browned

636 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 36

#59317 1-Apr-2010 14:51

Which would be better

I have W7MC getting Freeview | HD, playing music, tv and videos, blu-ray from my Home Server. Sound card is Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 + addon with more connections available. You name it has got it except the HD audio formats. Which I am not bothered about as that is a future upgrade.

Anyway, should I get a possible more expensive Onkyo TX-NR906 which is a network receiver, but I use media center for pretty much everything so wonder if it is worth it. Or should I get an TX-SR607 which Harvey Norman have for $988 at the moment. Are there better units aruond for less money?

Also what speakers would be recommended to go with either of those units?

cheers
db

Home Server: AMD Threadripper 1950X, 64GB, 56TB HDD, Define R6 Case, 10GbE, ESXi 6.7, UNRAID, NextPVR, Emby Server, Plex Server.
Lounge Media Center: NVIDIA Shield TV 16GB: Kodi18 with Titan MOD, Emby.
Kids Media Center: NVIDIA Shield TV 16GB: Kodi18 with Titan MOD, Emby.
Main PC: Ryzen 7 2700, 16GB RAM, RX 570, 2 x 24"

grolschie

911 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 159

#313978 1-Apr-2010 18:12

$988 for a 607 is a good price. I read that some Onkyo's run quite hot/warm. My Onkyo is a few years old, and feels reasonably warm (I laid an espresso thermometer on top of the hottest part of the case just now and it reads approx 48c - ok it's not a very scientific test). It's in a cabinet - and I keep the door slightly ajar because of this.

If you are considering an Onkyo, maybe you might also want to look at Denon receivers. The Denon AVR-1910 is pretty nice @ around $1500. Reviews are good for it. I tried out my friends one recently with my Acoustic Energy Neo 3's and it sounded really nice. A very quirks, but the sound was good.

One thought though, perhaps, the more your spend on high end (revealing) audio gear, the less you may like the sound quality of some Freeview|HD channels. :-)

Just my $0.02 and YMMV, etc.

Bolly

68 posts

Master Geek

#314014 1-Apr-2010 20:50

Yeah the Onkyos are very HOT amps. The 607 is a good amp for the price. If your looking at Harveys they stock the Denon AVR-790 which is the same amp as the AVR-1910. (Just NZ version)
So would agree with "grolschie" very good amp which has Discrete channel amplification.

Speakers? Theophany all round please!

Depending on budget, Wharfedale Diamonds are always a good bet for value for money, either the 9's or 10's.

"They mostly come out at night...........mostly"

grolschie

911 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 159

#314054 1-Apr-2010 22:36

Bolly: ...If your looking at Harveys they stock the Denon AVR-790 which is the same amp as the AVR-1910. (Just NZ version) ...

Not quite.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1152799:
The four-digit models are generally sold by high end stereo shops and custom installers, and the three-digit models are the "consumer" version sold in retail outlets....

...In the specific case of the 1910 vs. 790, the only differences (besides the cosmetics) is:

1. the 1910 has A/B speaker switching, whereas the 790 only has "A" front speakers
2. the 1910 adds a "room to room" remote control jack for wired control from Zone 2

Some won't need these features though. :-)

ErnieII

17 posts

Geek

#319557 16-Apr-2010 23:18

Yes, the Freeview will start to grate after a while. Better gear doesn't mean better sound, unless the whole chain moves up...

cgrew

860 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#319618 17-Apr-2010 10:32

browned: Which would be better

I have W7MC getting Freeview | HD, playing music, tv and videos, blu-ray from my Home Server. Sound card is Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 + addon with more connections available. You name it has got it except the HD audio formats. Which I am not bothered about as that is a future upgrade.

Anyway, should I get a possible more expensive Onkyo TX-NR906 which is a network receiver, but I use media center for pretty much everything so wonder if it is worth it. Or should I get an TX-SR607 which Harvey Norman have for $988 at the moment. Are there better units aruond for less money?

Also what speakers would be recommended to go with either of those units?

cheers
db

Good topic. First off the receiver's; I used to own an Onkyo they are good but I have become a Yamaha fan recently. The RX series will power most good speakers very well and have enough HDMI inputs/outputs you won't know what do do with them all. At a price of around $900-$1200 you can get a very good Yam RX model. I can also vouch for the Denon AVR-1910, it is better then the 790 and more solid too. Also What Hi-Fi gave the Denon 1910 receiver product of the year for 2009-2010 mainly for the price! It is an incredible AV receiver.

Now to speakers; Yes Theophany speakers are beyond excellent, but by-crykey they are not cheap. You get what you pay for, but honestly being a Whafedale Diamond 9 series owner, these are a great speaker and are just tremendous value for money. I have always been a fan of the company's that make speaker's that compete with other high end brand names. And your not paying a huge price tag either. Whafedale have exceeded in this department very well and at around $2000 for the Diamond 9 speaker package they perform extremely well against othe brands that cost around double, even triple that price. I can definitly vouch for that and the Diamond 9s have won year after year as product of the year from the likes of What Hi-Fi.

Anyway thats pretty much it in a nutshell, good luck! :)