Help! Budget AVR - Yamaha/Denon/Pioneer/Onkyo?

Marantz Cinema Series AV Receivers
koushik

koushik

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from Kolkata, now in Melbourne.
Hi,

I have found these within my budget-
1. Yamaha RX-V471
2. Denon 1312
3. Pioneer VSX-821K or
4. Onkyo SR309
5. Onkyo s3400 (HTiB)

I will be using my Sonodyne Floorstanders as my Front Speakers for Music.

Considering that my usage will be music-movie 60%-40% and I am not finicky about sound of movies but I am particular about 2 ch Music, which of the above (or anything else) will be better?

A mere 5.1 sound will do wonder for me but as I don't have digital-in in my Stereo amp and want to connect AVR in between thats why it is so much of concern. I want to set as follows -
Audio: Source(Media player, DVD player via HDMI or optical) ---> AVR (2 ch analog out)---> Stereo Amp ---> FS speakers
Video: Source (HDMI)---> AVR (speaker level out) ---> 5.1 Speakers

Budget is ~22K for AVR or HTiB. If I decide upon AVR then I will be happy with 3.0 for now and add the rears and SW later. And if it is HTiB then well and good ... :)
 
Hi Koushik, this is my first email in hifivision and its going to you man. Even, I'm facing the same confusion like you. I'm decision is stuck between yamaha rx-v371 or denon receiver. I want to use to amp for movies as well as music. My budget is around 20000 rs. Can anyone of you please help me make a decision or suggest better options.
 
Yamaha 471 or denon 1313 ate your best bets. Suggest you carry your sonodynes (if possible) to auditions and listen to the sound on both these AVRs. Go for the set up that appeals to u most.
 
Carrying 42kg speakers to audition an AVR is not a practical proposition :D

You meant Denon 1313 or is it a typo of 1312?

I see in your signature that you do a similar type of listening with V471 and Sonus. Do you like it? The sonodyne guy uses Denon 1312/1912 for auditioning 2605 V2 for their 5.1 speakers system.

One more thing, what is the cost of your Center Channel C2401V2 ?
 
So Guys, going for the Denon AVR 1312 tomorrow. The ProFx has quoted Rs. 21K as best price. Let me see whether they are willing to give some more discount if I bundle a center channel with it. ;)

Any last minute suggestion if I say it 70-30 Music-movie and I don't care much about the sound of movie?? I need good SQ for 2 channel pure Music.
 
Did you audition Yamaha 471 or not? It is more detailed and musical than Denon. Check 'Post your audition/demo' thread. I think you should listen to it before taking the plunge.

Here I got a quote of 19k for 1312 four months back in beats99. 471 is almost equal to 1612 in features, I guess.

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
koushik said:
How is Yamaha 371? Price ~23K

As V471 is quite above my budget ... In Kolkata they are saying ~28K for V471, which I can't go for.
Click to expand...

I think you could negotiate hard, should be able to bring it down to atleast 24k. Do not settle with 371. I think it does not have USB, GUI and YPAO
 
Sorry Santy it was late, as I already went to buy V371 in the afternoon. And thank God, else it would have been yet another time I step back after deciding.
My wife almost started believing(much of her delight) that I will not buy yet another piece of electronics (read AVR) for music :D . In the last 2 months there were many a times that I was almost certain that I will buy it today, went to showroom, and came back empty hand. Somehow, didn't make my mind.

Okay, so the damage has been done. I got it for 21K. And it has YPAO. I asked them about the feature difference between 471 and 371, they said USB and GUI and power/ch. I was ready to compromise the GUI through HDMI and USB is only for apple product which I don't need.

Musically, I listened to both of them using the same source and speakers. They are similar sounding. Didn't notice any difference over short listening span of 2-3 songs.
 
One more thing I want to know. Now that I have AVR with multiple digital i/p (HDMI, Opt, Coax) do I need good source(CD Player) for better sound Quality or is it like that, as the o/p is PCM or RAW (from Media Player and DVD player) the DAC inside AVR is responsible for the SQ?

Thanks.
 
Congrats,I can see your changed signature.
Now I have found Yamaha also sounds good if you connect via HDMI.Even when I heard mav's system,we connected similarly.Yamaha analoge sound also is trust worthy.
In short,try connecting digitally,if you doesnt like much,add CDp later & connect via analog.
 
Congrats and welcome to the club.
Yes the Yamaha' BurrBrown dac is very good. I did an a/b comparison with my Caiman dac and the avr was really close. I did it this way

Wdtv to optical to dac to avr (analog)
wdtv to hdmi to avr

And change audio in to compare. The Caiman was more refined but the avr did fairly well.

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk
 
I didn't do any a/b as of now with the my sonodyne amp but I am getting sound to be brighter and mids lacking the warmth.
I'll connect hd player via hdmi to the avr and connect my sonodyne via analog of the avr.
 
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