Need help selecting a mid-range reciever. Onkyo/Denon/Pioneer/Sony/Marantz???

[bigvilley]

Hi Sandeep - left a message for you to connect. Let me know

Thanks

 

[Eddierockks]

I have been offered the Pioneer VSX-922-K for Rs. 34500 all inclusive. It meets all your requirements. I will be auditioning this receiver in a weeks time. Waiting for my speakers to arrive. What Hi Fi does not sing praises for this receiver but I am, in all probability still going to pick this one up as nothing remotely matches its specification and feature list at this price point. Dealer comments are positive for this receiver.

Hi Sandeepmohan, how is the after sales service of Pioneer AVRs? Have you heard any good or bad stories about it? I'm looking out for an AVR and really like LX56 from Pioneer but there are disappointing after sales service stories about it so pushes me back to Denon, Yamaha or Marantz. Any suggestions here? Thanks.

 

[sandeepmohan]

left a message for you to connect. Let me know

I have not received anything.

 

[sandeepmohan]

how is the after sales service of Pioneer AVRs? Have you heard any good or bad stories about it? I'm looking out for an AVR and really like LX56 from Pioneer but there are disappointing after sales service stories about it so pushes me back to Denon, Yamaha or Marantz. Any suggestions here? Thanks.

It used to be a concern for Pioneer. Not a problem anymore as they are established in India with full sales and service support. I won't comment or rate their support as I have never used them.

In general, take care of your receiver. It should never run hot and should not be placed in a closed cabinet. With care, any receiver will last long. I plan on placing a Cooler Master laptop fan on top of the receiver. It will exhaust all the hot air from it.

You are not going to be lucky when it comes to service with all the brands you have listed. If something fails, be prepared for a couple of weeks to get a replacement part. The reliability index for all the brands are good. Just don't buy the absolute low end models. A Marantz should be alright but not from any of the other brands.

I just ordered for a Pioneer VSX-1122-K. On a spec front, nothing comes close to it and I managed to get it for 10k off the listed mrp with bill and warranty.

The LX series are outstanding. If funds are there, close your eyes and buy it.

 

[nikhil1300]

Well after all the discussion i have short listed denon 2113,marantz 5007/6006,yamaha 720/820/v673/v667
what do i buy.....
BUG 45 K
I have only read reviews no seen the products or the demo
so user pls advice have i made the right choice or i need to consider other brands

 

[denom]

Well after all the discussion i have short listed denon 2113,marantz 5007/6006,yamaha 720/820/v673/v667
what do i buy.....

Decide between Pioneer 1122, Denon 2113 & Yamaha 673

All above models are between 38k to 45k price range & all are good at what they do.

 

[VSG12777]

Hi Nikhil

You seem to be in the same boat as me! As Denom said, the Yamaha 673, Pioneer 1122 and Denon 2113 are the ones to choose from.

The Yamaha 673 seems to be the most expensive here in Chennai. I am not getting a price lower than 49k for it, which in my opinion, is not worth it. The other 2 are available for 43k.

Features, aesthetics and connectivity - Pioneer beats the other 2.
Build quality - Denon I would say
Sound - From what I have read and watched (on YouTube) so far, Pioneer is definitely NOT the best.

But the point is, how much of a difference are we going to be able to make out, among the 3 AVRs? Something tells me the Pioneer can't sound so bad. I mean they make excellent car audio head units and even stereo amps.

I had a 1991 model Pioneer 50W/ch stereo amp, single CD player and digital tuner till about a month back, and they were stunning. No problems. Sold the components since they were lying idle for some time, due to my home theatre setup in the hall.

I have asked my dealer for a demo cum comparison between the Denon 2113 and Pioneer 1122. If it is organised by tomorrow, I will post my feedback here after taking the demo. That might help you. Similarly, if you get to have a demo, please do share your feedback here.

---Venkat

 

[nSinghal]

Decide between Pioneer 1122, Denon 2113 & Yamaha 673

All above models are between 38k to 45k price range & all are good at what they do.

Did you exclude the marantz 6006 coz of the higher price (~50k) or because of its sound quality/features? I ordered the marantz 6006 today only and now wondering if I made the best decision or not

 

[sandeepmohan]

In my opinion, the VSX-922-K more than cuts it for your requirements. It will cost 34K with bill and warranty in Bangalore. The cash saved can be used for a better quality speaker system or cables.

Professional reviews don't have high praises for Pioneers except their LX series. However, user reviews are very positive. I am taking a gamble buying the Pioneer 1122 as its a blind buy. However, I am confident that it won't disappoint.

 

[sandeepmohan]

Well after all the discussion i have short listed denon 2113,marantz 5007/6006,yamaha 720/820/v673/v667
what do i buy.....

From this list, get the Denon.

 

[nikhil1300]

people on the forum ......is any one using these amps at present pls do let me know the pros and cons of the amps
why should i buy denon 2113 and not marantz 5007/6006 or yamaha 720/820/v673/v667
what about 4k up scaling
what about the after sales service
any heating problem with the amp
any integration problem with mobile phones,ipods,mps players, wifi
which blue ray player will sync well
waiting for your inputs

 

[sandeepmohan]

why should i buy denon 2113 and not marantz 5007/6006 or yamaha 720/820/v673/v667
what about 4k up scaling
what about the after sales service
any heating problem with the amp
any integration problem with mobile phones,ipods,mps players, wifi
which blue ray player will sync well
waiting for your inputs

Any other model from Marantz apart from the SR7005 sounds junk. Don't just take it from me. Listen to the SR7005 and then listen to any other Marantz and you'll understand. It baffles me what Marantz put into their cheaper receivers for them to sound radically different from the SR7005. It is the primary reason I dropped Marantz from my purchase plans. If its a Marantz, it has to be the 7005 or above and nothing else.

The Denon 2113 is a proven and superb av receiver.

No concerns with Yamaha's. Excellent receivers.

If you are willing to wait, I can give you the low down on the Pioneer 1122. I should get my receiver today. The 922 is nearly the same thing as well.

4k up scaling with a receivers video chip should work okay but what about a 4K TV. Do you have one? This is a feature you should not have to worry about. A pass thru would be more than enough.

After sales is not great with any of the brands. If you blow the amplifier, be prepared to wait for a couple of weeks for part replacements.

All receivers run warm and then run hot if you are driving them hard. Keep them well ventilated and you should be alright.

No integration issue with phones, ipods or ipads. I doubt if any of the receivers you have listed have built in wi fi.

All Blu Ray players will sync well.

 

[mitra]

Did you exclude the marantz 6006 coz of the higher price (~50k) or because of its sound quality/features? I ordered the marantz 6006 today only and now wondering if I made the best decision or not

well as per my understanding from discussion with forum member marantz 6006 :licklips:is best value for money....it has every feature except 4k upscaling which i am not bothered at this point of time ....main advantage it has pre out which can be used to enhanced sound later by using power amp....other two 2113 or yamaha 673 no preout...so if budget permit Marantz 6006 is better choice according to my understanding...

basically you should compare

option 1 denon 2113 vs yamaha 673 and

option2 marantz 6006 vs denon 3312 vs marantz 5007 vs denon2313 ....

 

[nikhil1300]

NEW CONFUSION WHAT TO BUY AND FROM WHERE
MARANTZ 5007 OR 6007 OR
DENON 2113 OR
YAMAHA RX-A730:sad::sad::sad::sos::sos:

 

[shanmune]

Any other model from Marantz apart from the SR7005 sounds junk. Don't just take it from me. Listen to the SR7005 and then listen to any other Marantz and you'll understand. It baffles me what Marantz put into their cheaper receivers for them to sound radically different from the SR7005. It is the primary reason I dropped Marantz from my purchase plans. If its a Marantz, it has to be the 7005 or above and nothing else.

.

Can you throw some more light on this ? That would help.
You mentioned that all the Marantz receivers below SR7005 sound junk when compared to SR7005. How did they sound against equivalent models in Denon or Yamaha ? Say SR5007 vs Denon 2313 vs RX-V673 -or- SR6007 vs Denon 3312 vs RX-A720 ???

 

[nikhil1300]

is 55k for a Marantz sr 6007 good or to high....

 

[sandeepmohan]

You mentioned that all the Marantz receivers below SR7005 sound junk when compared to SR7005. How did they sound against equivalent models in Denon or Yamaha ? Say SR5007 vs Denon 2313 vs RX-V673 -or- SR6007 vs Denon 3312 vs RX-A720 ???

The SR7005 I heard was probably the last of the Japanese made units. All other models below this from Marantz were not. To start, non of the other models had any life in them. You don't require too much to wake up a Polk Audio Rti A9 and except for the 7005, everything else sounded as if the amplifier section was struggling to drive these speakers. They were unlistenable from the word go.

I would pitch the SR7005 only with something like the Denon 3312. Yamaha's are too bright for my music. They work very well for movies though. The SR7005 beats all the other models you have listed in terms of sheer dynamics of the amplifier. However; I have started to notice Denon close the gap with Marantz when it comes to sound quality. There is next to no difference in sound signature. It should be no surprise though as both are now being manufactured by D&M holdings.

I have been using my Pioneer VSX-1122-K for three months. The one and only complaint I have is the lack of power and I don't have demanding speakers. For a movie, it is required to crank the volume up to 80%. There is no harm but I wonder why it needs cranking up to such high levels. The auto calibration works really well from a movie perspective. I successfully networked the receiver but could not find a way to get flac to work. It is not possible to use a NTFS partitioned hard drive to get music playing through USB. It has to be fat32 and who has hard drives formatted in this way. Arc and hdmi pass through functions work well and I see no loss in picture quality with everything routed via the receiver. What impressed me the most is stereo performance. It is outstanding for a receiver. I am not really missing a dedicated stereo integrated amplifier. Excellent detail and timing for a av receiver. For 40K, I don't think there is anything to beat this Pioneer. The equal priced Onkyo and Denon might scale a little better in the power department but thats it.

 

[prosenjit]

not heard marantz 7005
heard denon 33 with polk rti 7s and it was real fantastic for movies.even without a sub.the center was a killer...and rti7s helped it to get the fantastic exp
for 2 ch music it was nothing special btw.
i could not difretentaite anything with 25k set up....maybe i am noob..
imho for cinema you can go for onkyo 818 retails 90k here,import dirctly within 45 or max 50k...
and maratnz and onk you will get pre outs with reasonable cost.for demnon pre out models its hugely expensive.pre out is very very future proof

 

[sandeepmohan]

imho for cinema you can go for onkyo 818 retails 90k here,import dirctly within 45 or max 50k...

All Onkyo's are retarded in terms of their pricing in India.

I rather go Emotiva pre power for this sort of money. It might end up being cheaper too. On a performance front, it blows just about any integrated AV receiver for similar and higher money.

 

[prosenjit]

off course separates win..thats a diff issue.
but a pre pro will alne cost you around 1 lakh and a power amp another 70k..