# Best avr me?



## Tyredman (Dec 17, 2011)

Will receive the last of my speakers this week and it's time to make a decision on which receiver to get.

My dedicated theater room is 20.5x17 
Primarily for movies but some music
Speakers are Emptek
1 E56cib center
4 E55wib surrounds
2 e55tib towers
Would like to keep it around $1000 or less - more about value than anything else
Apple airplay would be nice
3d is a waste for me
4k is great
2nd zone don't have much use unless I am biamping the fronts

Onkyo tx-nr1009 9.2 ships for about $1018 and seems a solid choice,
Are there better options?


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
If you could provide a budget of what you feel comfortable spending, it would allow us to help you.
Cheers,
JJ


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## Tyredman (Dec 17, 2011)

Sorry - Edited my original post 
Typing on a pad not so good!


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## game514 (Jul 24, 2012)

I'm no expert but in that range is a marantz 7005 a demon 3312 n 4413 and multiple pioneer amps


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Tyredman said:


> Will receive the last of my speakers this week and it's time to make a decision on which receiver to get.
> 
> My dedicated theater room is 20.5x17
> Primarily for movies but some music
> ...


Hello,
The 1009 did fantastic when Bench Tested by Home Theater Magazine. That being said, Accessories4less has some really nice deals on both Denon and Marantz. Something like the AVR-3312CI would fit into your budget and also give you Airplay Support. The Pioneer Elite SC-55 is just a smidge above your budget at Amazon and also provides Airplay Support. The Marantz AV7005 is also excellent and is fairly close too.

If thinking Onkyo, the new TX-NR818 offers Audyssey MultEQ XT32 which is astonishing for the price. Prior, this was only offered on $2000 MSRP AVR's on up. While it does not offer the SubEQ HT feature that had been offered on all XT32 AVR/SSP's I know of, that only matters if using dual subwoofers and you still benefit from 32 times the Filtering Power.
Cheers,
JJ


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## game514 (Jul 24, 2012)

I'm still in the search as well. I keep researching an it's probably doing me more bad then good because I can't make a decision.

I want the 4311 for the dual sub eq but I am going to have my system calibrated by a professional so I'm not sure if I should go that way.

Most are saying for my 4ohm Martin Logan motion speakers I need some good power. Like a pioneer sc65 or higher to push them without any worries.

I wish I could actually do a test and see if I could tell the difference in a 800 dollar avr and a 1500 avr because I don't need all the different zones


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## Tyredman (Dec 17, 2011)

I thinks it's hard to wrong with any of these choices really. The Denon avr 3312 seems to drive a hard bargain at 599 shipped to your door. With the savings you could go out and buy an oppo bdp93 :devil:


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

game514 said:


> I'm still in the search as well. I keep researching an it's probably doing me more bad then good because I can't make a decision.
> 
> I want the 4311 for the dual sub eq but I am going to have my system calibrated by a professional so I'm not sure if I should go that way.
> 
> ...


Hello,
ML Motions are relatively benign loads compared to Electrostatic Martin Logan's. The Oskar Heil based Motion Tweeter is not that cruel of a load for a quality AVR and in truth AVR's where certainly figured in when the Motions were brought to market. Also, by using dual subwoofers, you are taking a great deal of the load off the AVR provided you set an 80hz Crossover for all channels. This is what THX and many others recommend and it is also the XO I have personally used for many years.

As for a Professional Calibration, SubEQ HT and the ability to utilize Audyssey Pro will only help to get the absolute most out of your HT in respect to the 4311. Also, you might be able to demo a few AVR's depending on where you live in respect to HT Retailers. Some do let you do exactly that. While a CC Deposit is required, you are not charged unless they are not returned. In addition, BB/Magnolia does offer a 30 Day Return Policy so you could also do that as well.
Cheers,
JJ


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## game514 (Jul 24, 2012)

Thanks jungle jack.

Do you think I need that much power like a 4311 or can I go with something lower like a pioneer vsx or something of that matter?


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

game514 said:


> I'm still in the search as well. I keep researching an it's probably doing me more bad then good because I can't make a decision.
> 
> I want the 4311 for the dual sub eq but I am going to have my system calibrated by a professional so I'm not sure if I should go that way.
> 
> ...


If by professionally calibrated you mean Audyssey Pro, then that narrows your choices. The Denon 4311 is Pro ready. I have last year's anniversary edition of the 4311 and bought Audyssey Pro in January. It does make quite a bit of difference, but how much depends on your speakers, the room, what acoustic room treatments you have or plan to have. If you mean video calibration, then this, of course, does not apply. 

I would suggest going for Audyssey XT32 if your budget allows. It offers much better correction for the sub channel. The 4311 also allows going up to 11.2 channels by adding front wide and front height channels. I added that to my system a few months ago and the effect can be very, very nice - depending on the source material.

There are many great AVRs on the market; kinda hard to go wrong. I prefer Denon, but that's me. One thing to consider is how many HDMI inputs the AVR has - believe me, you will run out as your system grows. And almost every external HDMI switch I have tried has had some type of issue. Then, consider if you need 3D. The extra soundfield processing modes (hall, arena, etc.) sound fake to most folks and are of little use.

Others mentioned Accessories 4 Less. I bought a Denon 3312 from them about a month ago and it came in perfect condition. Good way to save some $s. Also, checkout weekend specials from Newegg; once in a while, Amazon gold box or daily deals will have AVRs, but not often.

As for your speakers, a 4 ohm load will be a challenge for almost all AVRs if you plan to play the system loud. Most receivers don't have the power supply to effectively drive less than 6 ohms. You should get an AVR that has preamp outputs - both the Denon 3312 and 4311 do; I am sure that other brands do as well. Then you can add external amps - Emotivas are great sounding amps at very reasonable prices.

One thing to check out if you have DirecTV: when I was shopping for my Denon last year, folks on dbstalk.com reported audio dropouts with some of the Onkyos, including the Integra pre/pro. That concerned me, since I use DirecTV HD DVRs. But, that may have been fixed by now with a firmware upgrade.


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## game514 (Jul 24, 2012)

Lots of good info there.

I mean professionally calibrate by someone not the audyssy. 

The Thing is now why by a huge avr if I still need some emotiva preamps?

I only need 4 hdmi Inputs since this room is only for movies and gaming.

So many choices and so hard to make


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
After reading several Professional Reviews of the Motion 12 along with other Motions in a 5.1 Package, I will say again that they are not as hard to drive as many might expect. In this Review:http://www.goodsound.com/index.php?...speakers&catid=56:equipment-reviews&Itemid=37, the Reviewer used a 50 Watt NAD Amplifier and in Sound & Vision Magazine's Review also made no special note about the difficulty in driving them. Moreover, they are 92db Efficient and again when used with Subwoofers is going to take an even bigger load off the AVR.

And HJ did a great job of further communicating what I was attempting to say in respect to the virtues of having an Audyssey Pro AVR/SSP when using a Custom Installer. As I am writing this, I see you are not having a CI do Audyssey Pro. Regardless, XT32/SubEQ HT is utterly brilliant.
Cheers,
JJ


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

game514 said:


> Lots of good info there.
> 
> I mean professionally calibrate by someone not the audyssy.
> 
> ...


Believe me - one day you will need more than 4 HDMI inputs. I say go with 6-7.


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## game514 (Jul 24, 2012)

No I could have a custom installer calibrate it but if I was going to take that route would it be smart to go with a 3312 and save the money


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

game514 said:


> No I could have a custom installer calibrate it but if I was going to take that route would it be smart to go with a 3312 and save the money


Hello,
CI or not, the 4311's XT32 and SubEQ HT are simply superior. Regardless of whether it is Professionally Calibrated or not. Audyssey Pro is quite expensive with just the License costing an Installer $150 and that does not include the price of the Pro Kit replete with a true Microphone, Tripod, and other things. The big advantage to Pro is that you get a huge number more Calibration Points get the best SQ. That being said, I would far rather have an acoustically sound room without than a less than ideal room with it. However, I have been quite impressed with what it can do and have a few friends who have gotten the entire Pro Kit to tweak to their hearts delight and are quite happy.
Cheers,
JJ


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## game514 (Jul 24, 2012)

I'm thinking that the 3313 is the avr for me with a emotiva 3 way.I just dont thinkthe 4411 could beat the output of that amp


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## cdguy (Sep 5, 2012)

A friend of mine has the e55tib towers {pretty impressive for the price}, Im not positive about his surrounds but he also has the same center as you. He started off using the receiver from his old system {I want to say it was a yamaha V573, I remember it was rated 80 per channel} and it wasn't nearly enough for the front sound stage... I brought over one of my UPA-500's and an ipod and it still didnt seem to be all there but it was 100 percent better than the 80x7 the yamaha was putting out... 
Long story short, he ended doing the 30 day test with an Emotiva UMC1 $500, UPA-200 $350{drives the towers} and a UPA-500 $400 for the center and surrounds... We hooked it up on a Saturday and by Monday there was No Way you could get him to send it back...
It sounds rite... I want to say the towers sens. is 88db but they seemed to need some decent power to get loud... I have heard it a bunch of times to date and it is very detailed and loud with movies. When hes driving the 2 towers with the upa-200 the music will drive you out of the house.... 

So for $1250 shipped, I think you will be much happier, plus you get the 40% of XMC1 coupon that you can hold onto and sell for 200-300 when they are released!!! I seen one sell for $200 the other day and its not even out yet, I know I am buying an XMC the day they come out... 

If you dont like the umc1 I seen a marantz av7005 for $1000 at Audioholics {open box sale}... Then buy the xpa-3 and a upa500 that would be nice but cost a lot more...


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## pharoah (Jul 21, 2012)

in the 1000$ range id get an anthem MRX 300.


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