swt61 Posted July 1, 2009 Author Report Posted July 1, 2009 The 607 is the sweet spot in the Onkyo line, in my opinion. Gets you the much better MultEQ room correction. The new Denons look like a lot of receiver for the money, too. In the budget category, you'd have to work hard to beat the feature set of the AVR590. Amazon.com: Denon AVR590 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver with 1080p HDMI Connectivity: Electronics That Denon is really appealing, especially at that price point! swt61, can you please comment on its headphone out especially the "Silent Cinema" before you exchange it, I may pick up something from Yamaha Thanks It's definitely different. I kind of like it, but I'd really need to spend a lot more time with it to come to any real conclusions. My headphones are all difficult to drive, and that makes it tough to really evaluate it. But I'd make you a slammin' deal, and you could spend all the time you need with it.
Fitz Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 Understood, however Yamaha has left a sour taste in my mouth at this point. I've never big much of a fan of Yamaha AV receivers... my vote would have to go to Denon. The vast majority of the ones we install are Denon, with the occasional Onkyo.
swt61 Posted July 2, 2009 Author Report Posted July 2, 2009 I've never big much of a fan of Yamaha AV receivers... my vote would have to go to Denon. The vast majority of the ones we install are Denon, with the occasional Onkyo. Yeah, as it stands right now that Denon AVR590 that Stretch pointed out looks to have everything I want at a really good price. I just don't wanna jump the gun again, so I'll spend a little more time researching things. I know this is really in your arena Fitz, so I may PM you with questions on dialing in my gear if that's cool?
Cankin Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 Which receivers have better headphone out for listening music? I know Marantz and H/K have Dobly headphone, Yamaha has Silent Cinema, while Onkyo and Denon have nothing.... Do these gimmick have anything to do with stereo, music actually?
Fitz Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 Yeah, as it stands right now that Denon AVR590 that Stretch pointed out looks to have everything I want at a really good price. I just don't wanna jump the gun again, so I'll spend a little more time researching things. I know this is really in your arena Fitz, so I may PM you with questions on dialing in my gear if that's cool? Yeah, definitely also check all the small details for what it does or doesn't have. Especially when you're going with the more "budget" models of any brand, things you might expect to be there aren't always actually present. But yeah, you know you're welcome to send me a PM anytime if you got questions on something.
ronnielee54 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 Which receivers have better headphone out for listening music? I know Marantz and H/K have Dobly headphone, Yamaha has Silent Cinema, while Onkyo and Denon have nothing.... Do these gimmick have anything to do with stereo, music actually? Pioneer has a headphone surround listening mode. I use it some for watching movies late at night. It is better than just plain stereo but nothing even close to speakers. I have an old Marantz 2020B that I use for a headphone amp when it comes to music listening. Not the best, but it works.
soloz2 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 I know not exactly budget, but my Marantz SR7001 works very well with the Oppo BDP-83. The SR7001 can't decode the newer HD audio codecs, but the Oppo can, still using only HDMI. As a plus, the SR7001 can accept DSD from the Oppo via HDMI. I've seen them used for under $500, might be worth checking out. Even if you don't go that route, if you have any SACD it would be worth getting a receiver that can decode DSD since the Oppo is fully capable as a SACD transport
swt61 Posted July 2, 2009 Author Report Posted July 2, 2009 So after a bit more research I see that stepping up to the Denon AVR-790 gets me 1080P upconversion from analog signals over HDMI, whereas the 590 upconverts to 480. This will be usefull for non HD satelite channels. Also it adds two more surround channels if I want to add more speakers at some point, and offers a bit more power per speaker. Four HDMI inputs instead of two, which would be really handy if I decide to go with a gaming system like the xbox 360 elite. It's $100.00 more, but seems to be well worth the added cost.
swt61 Posted July 2, 2009 Author Report Posted July 2, 2009 (edited) I know not exactly budget, but my Marantz SR7001 works very well with the Oppo BDP-83. The SR7001 can't decode the newer HD audio codecs, but the Oppo can, still using only HDMI. As a plus, the SR7001 can accept DSD from the Oppo via HDMI. I've seen them used for under $500, might be worth checking out. Even if you don't go that route, if you have any SACD it would be worth getting a receiver that can decode DSD since the Oppo is fully capable as a SACD transport If I decide to use the Oppo as an SACD player (and I might) I will use the Buffalo 32 DAC which supports DSD, and my Beta22. The Denon has the newer Blu-ray codecs like Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Pro Logic IIz decoding. Since about 75% of my veiwing is going to be Blu-ray movies, that's pretty appealing to me. The 1080 upconversion for analog signals also is quite useful. "...install...", Fitz? What do you do? He can answer that better than I, but he's an installer + a lot more. He installs just about everything if memory serves, but his abilities go way beyond that. I'm quite sure he's a major asset to the company, as he's one of those guys that can find solutions where none seem to exist. Edited July 2, 2009 by swt61
swt61 Posted July 2, 2009 Author Report Posted July 2, 2009 Oh, and he's my Brotha from anotha Motha.
Dusty Chalk Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 Except that the Oppo -- like probably every other SACD player out there -- will only output SACD over HDMI, so you're going to have to figure that out. If you do, please post your results, because I don't think anyone else has...yet... Cool about Fitz -- I somehow missed that. I had an entirely different mental image of what he did for a living...not sure what it was, but it wasn't that...I've actually fantasized about doing that for a living, myself. And feel free to post the discussions publicly, some of us are reading this thread for educational purposes.
soloz2 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 If I decide to use the Oppo as an SACD player (and I might) I will use the Buffalo 32 DAC which supports DSD, and my Beta22. The Denon has the newer Blu-ray codecs like Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Pro Logic IIz decoding. Since about 75% of my veiwing is going to be Blu-ray movies, that's pretty appealing to me. The 1080 upconversion for analog signals also is quite useful. He can answer that better than I, but he's an installer + a lot more. He installs just about everything if memory serves, but his abilities go way beyond that. I'm quite sure he's a major asset to the company, as he's one of those guys that can find solutions where none seem to exist. that works as well. up conversion is very nice indeed. I only have 1 HDMI cable to my TV, even though sources like my Wii are 480P and connected to my receiver via component video cables. If the price increase is only $100 you can easily make up most of that by not having to purchase as many cables!
ronnielee54 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 It's $100.00 more, but seems to be well worth the added cost. Definitely worth another $100.00. You will be happy with the Denon. I have had Pioneer Elite, Onkyo, Sony, Kenwood, and Denon. So far the Denon is my favorite with the Onkyo coming in a close second.
swt61 Posted July 2, 2009 Author Report Posted July 2, 2009 So from what I've been able to find it looks as though my two best options are the Denon AVR-790... [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR790-7-1-Channel-Multi-Zone-Connectivity/dp/B002AKKFQW]Amazon.com: Denon AVR790 7.1-Channel Multi-Zone Home Theater Receiver with 1080p HDMI Connectivity: Electronics[/ame] And the Onkyo TX-SR607... FadFusion.com: Onkyo TX-SR607B TXSR607B RECEIVERS-ONKYO TX-SR607 STEREO Both look to be excellent choices for my budget, but I'm leaning a bit towards the Onkyo for it's added features (6 HDMI inputs, 2 subwoofer outputs & Faroudja DCDi Edge). Not to mention that I can get the Onkyo for about $40.00 less than the Denon. It's been mentioned that Denon and Onkyo are both favorites, so any preferences here?
ronnielee54 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 The Denon uses Anchor Bay Technology for it's video processing. From what I have read on AVS it is prefered more. But I would think that the Oppo would have even better video processing than either receiver. The only complaint I have ever had with Onkyo is that they run very hot compared to alot of other AVR's. As far as inputs go, it would be hard to imagine the need for more than 4, but who knows. The lack of 2 subwoofer outputs on the Denon can be solved with a y adapter. I still vote Denon.
Hopstretch Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 Those two are really a toss-up. The Denon has a new Anchor Bay video scaler (ABT1030) that is a somewhat unknown quantity at this point, but based on the performance of that chip's big brother, the ABT2010, (which is in your Oppo) it shouldn't give up much if anything in quality to the Faroudja solution in the Onkyo. One clear edge the Denon has is its room EQ capacity. It has Audyssey MultEQ, which has twice the filter resolution of the 2EQ included in the Onkyo. 2EQ also has no subwoofer correction capability. Either will do you fine, though.
swt61 Posted July 2, 2009 Author Report Posted July 2, 2009 Thanks guys! That is the kind of useful info I need. The Oppo also uses Anchor Bay processing. So the Denon stays at the top of the list for now.
ronnielee54 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 Don't really think you would be dissapointed with a Denon
Fitz Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 So after a bit more research I see that stepping up to the Denon AVR-790 gets me 1080P upconversion from analog signals over HDMI, whereas the 590 upconverts to 480. This will be usefull for non HD satelite channels. Also it adds two more surround channels if I want to add more speakers at some point, and offers a bit more power per speaker. Four HDMI inputs instead of two, which would be really handy if I decide to go with a gaming system like the xbox 360 elite. It's $100.00 more, but seems to be well worth the added cost. I havent used the AVR-790 yet (slow economy means I don't necessarily get to see every year's new model ), but I've put in a ton of Denon 700, 800, and 900 series receivers. They're definitely excellent units. If you're even remotely likely to expand the system some in the future, I would agree that it's a very good idea to go a couple steps up from the entry model. Besides the additional connectivity there's always little quirks and missing features on the lower models that only become relevant or noticable when you start trying to do more (for example: speakers in other rooms running off zone 2 being unable to use any digital inputs as their source, only analog inputs, unless you went above a certain model). "...install...", Fitz? What do you do? I'm the lead tech for a low-voltage contractor. Which means I pretty much do just about anything related to wiring and electronics. Home theater, burglar & fire alarm systems, phone/TV, computer networks, CCTV, access control, etc. Being a small company and not specialized in one area means my job is very ill-defined with a lot of one-off situations doing new things (or different variations on the things I've done before; nothing is ever "routine"). I'm also the guy who's responsible for figuring out "impossible" situations like: We got 5 conductors left between here and the control panel, but we need 7 conductors to hook this crap up correctly and it would take over half a day to get another wire across the warehouse without a lift, what the fuck do we do now? I dunno, but it's Ryan's problem now.
Fitz Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 Oh, and he's my Brotha from anotha Motha. Cool about Fitz -- I somehow missed that. I had an entirely different mental image of what he did for a living...not sure what it was, but it wasn't that...I've actually fantasized about doing that for a living, myself. Yeah, I guess not everybody found out when I quit being a stripper.
swt61 Posted July 3, 2009 Author Report Posted July 3, 2009 So I've made my purchase. I bought a Denon AVR-1910 (same as the 790, but sold the the pro installer channel). A big thanks to Hopstretch for digging around, finding the deal through an authorized Denon dealer and providing me with a name and phone #! I did figure out that the Yamaha will play in surround mode through the digital in with satellite broadcast HD movies. I'm assuming that the Oppo is either too high of a bit rate for the Yamaha, or incompatible in some other way. Anyone interested in the Yamaha can find a slammin' deal in the sale forums.
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