 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
67.176.68.83
I haven't posted on this forum, but thought I'd ask your opinions. My HT system currently has a Pioneer Elite VSX-36TX receiver which is a few years old now. Front speakers are Spendor S5e with a C5e center, and B&W Leisure 1s for the rear. There are also a pair of DIY powered subs. The video is handled very well by a Toshiba 1080p DLP 55".
I'd thinking of replacing the receiver with a newer model. I have in mind the Onkyo TX805, Arcam AVR350, or maybe another Pioneer Elite. The Arcam is a bit out my price range, but I want to have the best sound. I do NO video processing through the receiver, only audio.
What receiver(s) would you suggest?
Thanks for your opinions. Happy listening (and watching).
Regards,
JerryS
Follow Ups:
but again, the arcam is in a different league, imo
nt
The Arcam is hands down the best sounding receiver out there to my ears, especially if you've got concert DVDs or you're going to use it to listen to music.
For the money, the Onkyo is great on the video side, but not nearly as good to my ears on music as the Arcam. It sounds plenty good enough for most people on movie soundtracks however. It's OK for rock but I did not like classical and acoustic music through it. I have classical and opera CDs and listen to music often through my HT system so sound is key to me. Since my HDTV doesn't have HDMI imputs I could care less about the video side. I do like the Onkyo over comparable Denons et al. I haevn't listedned to the latest Pioneers, but I always lean toward manufacturers that produce high quality audio gear rather than mass market HT lines.
Being a music person and coming from high end audio, I've been most pleased by Aracam receivers and Cary separates for HT with great sound and real world pricing. AVR350s crop up used on Audiogon regularly.
Just my 3 cents and YMMV.
My audio system gives me much more enjoyment than my HT system that I feel guilty taking time away from music to watch a movie. "It's an analog thing. You wouldn't understand." (Amusing paraphrase of a Jeep slogan.)
One of the most enjoyable sounds at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest this year was the room with an Arcam AVR-350. The sound (what were those speakers?) was very realistic. It shows what a good dealer can do, assembling a fine sounding system around the Arcam and 19 cents/foot speaker cables.
The AVR350 is another level better for music over the AVR300, which is a pretty darned good sounding piece already.
Post back if you remember the namne of the speakers. I've heard the 350 in a couple different settings and it always sounds musical and enjoyable, something I can't say about the usual HT AVRs.
The speakers were Era Design 10. The AVR350 and these $1700 speakers sounded complete.
I had the Denon AVR 3806 and upgraded to the Arcam AVR 350 - the Arcam has a much better sound quality for music which also translates to more natural dialogue during DVDs and subtler effects.
The Denon was still entertaining with DVDs however with a more forward voicing, but I couldn't return to it after the Arcam.
Best Regards,
Chris redmond.
:)
Marantz has a good rep for sound. I think the 8002 with its large power supply would be worth a look if you don't use an external amp. It is also twice the price of the Onkyo you are looking at.
They also have the 7002, 5002 and 4002 wich support the new formats. Marantz tends to be warm sounding and not as forward as some. I will say that an Onkyo I auditioned one a few years back also had a nice warm sound that I could have been happy with.
I will go for the 705, because it has DSD input for SACD and use Crystal DACs.
But the 805 got a rave here see link
...but I don't read German. Looks like both do dsd but the 705 does not in direct mode. Not sure what that really means.
I would think the 805 would have the better DAC. I respect your oppinion and would welcome your reasons why you like the Crystal DACs better than the Burr Brown.
a
I am still in research mode on Onkyo 805 and 705.
The link have a review of 805, giving it reference status in the pricerange. The 705 is only a prereview.
They find 805 better than Marantz SR 8001 and Yamaha RX-V2700
This is a German review, and the bass impact and precision of sound is described as very impressive. It is an outstanding good review.
My old experience with BB and Crystal, is that Crystal sounds sweeter and BB have better impact in the bass, but a bit sandpaper like in the treble. I have tried both in my products.
The Crystal structure was 1 bit (DSD like) and had build in balanced voltage out, the BB was multibit and current out. The current means that BB need more external circuit giving rise to more different sounds.
BB have since changed to making a mixed structure, and so have Crystal.
I have great respect for both BB and Crystal. So I should rephrase it,
with a Crystal DAC there is less design work and parts done by Onkyo.
This is not to critical of Onkyo, who do great job, and in my experience make the best sounding HT receivers.
But both 805 and 705 are limited by their pricepoint, and in both 805 (BB PCM 1796) and 705 (Crystal DCS 4398) the DACs are better than the recievers.
The CS 4398 offers 128 times oversampling, which I have good experience with for CD reproduction. A very smooth and non-mechanical sound.
About DSD
The manual for 805 write, that in all other modes than DSD direct mode, the sound is done in PCM.
The Manual for 705 write that in all modes DSD is done by PCM.
For me this is strange, because the Crystal CS 4398 DAC also can do DSD direct.
In fact it is designed specific for DSD and SACD with patented features.
It could be a printing mistake. I need to check.
It is a small point relevant only for those SACD discs, which are pure DSD recordings. With HDMI the DSD signal can go from the SACD player to the DAC in the Onkyo, and here be converted to analog signals, while staying in the the DSD format all the time.
SONY and some listeners think staying in DSD is very important.
I had been about ready to buy a Denon AVR-3808 (~$1600US) without any meaningful audition, but if there's a chance that I can just walk to Circuit City and buy an Onkyo for half the price and get better sound, I'm there! But the 805 may literally be more receiver than I want: ~30 kg worth! I think I'd like something a bit smaller and easier to carry, so maybe a 705 for me too?
I don't want sonics that are TOO smooth. Right now, it seems to me that even through the small speakers built into my Sharp TV, the 24/96 soundtracks are more in-your-face, and have more "bite", and I kind of like that.
I have now a written answer from Onkyo headoffice in Germany.
They write, that the manual is correct. The Onkyo TX-SR705 does accept a DSD signal, but it converts it to PCM.
So if maintaining pure DSD to DAC on HDMI from a SACD player is important for you, the Onkyo TX-SR705 is out, and you need to go up in price to a Onkyo TX-SR805.
The area DVD test also compared the Onkyo TX-SR805 to the older Denon AVR-4306. The Denon lost clearly in all aspects of sound. The new Denons are mentioned but not tested yet.
They also played "1812", and mentioned excellent wide and deep stereo.
Voices were outstandingly well done.
The Marantz was descibed with words like "poison" and "spiting" compared to Onkyo.
The text is interesting because Onkyo 805 have both more impact, more attack for modern music and explosions, and also more harmonic and fine detail for voice and classical.
It is very seldom I read such a review.
But other of the new Onkyos like 875 have also gotten outstanding reviews.
The weak point of these HT recievers is the small powersupply, if all channels play loud at the same time.
So my plan is to use the pre out and my big amps for left and right. Then the HT reciever will work much better driving only center, and the weaker side and rear signals.
Your room looks special. 8x8x8? I once heard a big cubic room, and it sounded very good, in spite of the simple minded claims against it.
My nearest dealer for the 705 is within walking distance and I don't think I will be taxing it very hard: I bought my first pair of B&W LM-1s, and even my 300b SET amp (7 watt) drives them effortlessly.
I was leaning toward Marantz or Denon but will probably go for the Onkyo based on your recommendation. Of course I will listen first even though it is kind of hard to gauge with other speakers, cables, source ect.
Thanks again for taking the time to thoughly answer my questions.
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
