# Narrowed choices of 1st AVR to these 3 ... Please advise me



## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

I've narrowed my choice for my first AVR to these 3, and I can still buy them new within my price range.

Yamaha RX-A740
Denon AVR-X2100
Marantz NR1605

They all have what I need - basic processing, wi-fi, room correction and a reputation for good sound.

My front three speakers are 87db 6ohm speakers, and I probably won't use rears because of space in our small townhome. I'm interested in having a center channel to hear dialogue more clearly, instead of an integrated amp because of my age. 

They all have more than enough features, including room correction, and their sound quality is very important. Is any of these a stand-out over the others?


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

Do the Yamaha it's probably got the best amp section of the three.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Just curious, what lead you to those three choices? Two of the three have different price points, two of the three are full sized while the other is half-height, one supports Atmos two do not, two are current models one is discontinued, etc. Seems like they're aimed at different target audiences. Be that as it may...

87dB 6ohm speakers are not a particularly easy load, but you shouldn't really need a powerhouse of a receiver. One suggestion would be to consider those with discreet amplifiers. That way, each channel gets it's own power.


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

The Denon & the Yammy are the 2 contenders. The Denon is able to drive a 4 & 6 ohm speaker & has 5 more watts of power as well as Audussey which I like better than YPAO. I don't see anything on the Yamaha website indicating it will drive anything other than 8 ohm speakers. Since you know yours are 6 ohms, I think that pretty much means the Denon will be your best choice.


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

I chose these 3 because they're the same price from an online retailer with great prices.


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

Tonto said:


> The Denon & the Yammy are the 2 contenders. The Denon is able to drive a 4 & 6 ohm speaker & has 5 more watts of power as well as Audussey which I like better than YPAO. I don't see anything on the Yamaha website indicating it will drive anything other than 8 ohm speakers. Since you know yours are 6 ohms, I think that pretty much means the Denon will be your best choice.


I like the Denon products, though Yamaha products sound good and Marantz is warm sounding with a nice artistic small stature. I'm no HT aficionado so looking for you guys advice on which one.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

If you have not already looked take a look at www.accessories4less.com I'm thinking you may be able to get an even better price from them and maybe an even better receiver than you first thought.


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

i didn't want to say, but that's the one that made me choose those three AVRs.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Then I also say the Denon would be the best choice


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

Thanks. I like Denon products and will be replacing a 23yr old Denon stereo receiver. 

When I read reviews from owners on Amazon there where a lot of complaints about wireless quality and freeze ups. Should I be concerned about these? Usually displeased owners are more vocal than satisfied owners.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

wireless is such a small part of the receiver, if it really is that bad there are other ways around it. Im sure it has an Ethernet connection on the back.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

tonyvdb said:


> wireless is such a small part of the receiver, if it really is that bad there are other ways around it. Im sure it has an Ethernet connection on the back.



Yep. And there are other ways to stream to the avr externally. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

Guess I'm mostly interested in these receivers surround and wi-fi features. Would be nice if they didn't have issues. Kind of gives me cold feet.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

mjcmt said:


> Guess I'm mostly interested in these receivers surround and wi-fi features. Would be nice if they didn't have issues. Kind of gives me cold feet.


If you're mostly interested in wi-fi features, and the receiver you want to buy has a history of wireless issues, than you're right to be concerned. When looking over user feedback, is that problem with older versions of this model or do current reviews reflect the same issue? If the former than perhaps Denon addressed them with a firmware update, but if it's the latter than it might be a hardware problem that can't be rectified easily.


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

It seems it may be firmware, but there was a newer version 1 year later so it makes you wonder. 

I'm interested in knowing if the Marantz w/ 50wpc for 2 speakers would do well driving only front 3 speakers in a 22x18 living/dining room open space. Or maybe the Yamaha w/ 90wpc for 2 speakers would be noticeably louder.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

mjcmt said:


> I'm interested in knowing if the Marantz w/ 50wpc for 2 speakers would do well driving only front 3 speakers in a 22x18 living/dining room open space. Or maybe the Yamaha w/ 90wpc for 2 speakers would be noticeably louder.


3 speakers or 5, it wouldn't matter for the Marantz - it uses discreet amplification.


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

The Marantz puts out less watts in 5 channel because of the small power supply. They only claim 50 wpc 20-20khz with 2 channel. I hope my 87db, 6 ohm, L-C-R speakers w/o any rears wont be too challenging for it in an 18x22 living space. I really wanted to like the Denon but it has a few bad reviews.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

To be honest, if you read enough reviews you end up finding all sorts of bad things that end up making you question buying. My Onkyo 805 had many rumors of bursting into flames, smoking and HDMI board failures. Bought one anyhow and now 8 years later its still going strong and no plans yet to replace it. 

Take reviews with a grain of salt.


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

Thanks, I was wondering about that. Seems like dissatisfied people are more vocal.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

mjcmt said:


> The Marantz puts out less watts in 5 channel because of the small power supply. They only claim 50 wpc 20-20khz with 2 channel. I hope my 87db, 6 ohm, L-C-R speakers w/o any rears wont be too challenging for it in an 18x22 living space.


Correct, a smaller chassis = smaller power. However, the amp channels are _discreet_, meaning they're independent of each other. No matter how many speakers you hook up each will have its own mini-amp driving that one channel. All the speakers are not drawing from a single "pool", they're separate. Here's a direct quote from Marantz...

_"The power amp section features discrete high current power output devices, identical on all 7 channels for precision soundstage uniformity. Rated at 50 watts per channel (20Hz~20kHz, .08%THD, 8 ohms), the NR1606 features low impedance drive capability and is compatible with 4 ohm speakers."_

That's for the NR1606, but they use the same amp section in the previous generation 1605 as well.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

mjcmt said:


> Thanks, I was wondering about that. Seems like dissatisfied people are more vocal.



That's totally true. Squeaky wheel gets the grease! I think it's good to read good and bad reviews of gear. Then decide for yourself if the potential negative effects are bigger than the positive ones. I say buy the one you're most attracted to, and see what happens. Most failures (IME) happen within the warranty period anyway. I have a slightly older onkyo like Tony. I read everything I could before I bought it and guess what. My hdmi board still failed. Sometimes things just do. They fixed it(and thousands of others out of warranty) for free. I still recommend onkyo for some people. They've made good on many failure claims and they know how to adjust and move on. I think in their case, they were in more homes than anyone else, so we heard more about them. I know you weren't asking about onkyo, but most of the big brands are solid, and you'll do fine however you go. Just thought I'd share a little more insight. It's just home theater. Go for it, get what you like and don't worry too much about it. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

*Ordered It!*

I ordered the Yamaha RX-A740 Aventage receiver and BD-S677 BluRay w/SACD universal player from A4L. Looking forward to my first new pieces of equipment since the early '70s.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Congrats on your new toys! Be sure to come back and let us know what you think of them.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Enjoy your new system :T


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

Will do. I'm psyched.
BTW do I need wi-fi to get it up an running, other than fireware updating with wifi. I researching that too, and the Netgear AC1600 smart router looks attractive to me. What do you say?


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

mjcmt said:


> Will do. I'm psyched.
> BTW do I need wi-fi to get it up an running, other than fireware updating with wifi. I researching that too, and the Netgear AC1600 smart router looks attractive to me. What do you say?


I have yet to see an AVR that mandated wi-fi to configure it, so my guess is this one won't compel you to have it either.


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

The AC1600 is great, but check your internet providers speed. No reason to get a Ferrari to drive in the Chevy parade! Most IP's limit speeds.


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

The receiver and bdp are supposed to be delivered Friday. That will be fast delivery as I ordered it on Wed AM.



Tonto said:


> The AC1600 is great, but check your internet providers speed. No reason to get a Ferrari to drive in the Chevy parade! Most IP's limit speeds.


Thanks Tonto. I justed tested the speed of my Basic Time Warner Cable service and it tested at 23.56mbps download and 2.47mpbs upload. Maybe I should get the Netgear AC1200 (r6200) wifi router instead. What do you think?


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

I think you're going to be happy with your buys! Look forward to reading your impressions!


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

I ordered the Yammie rxa740 and bds677 on Wed morning and received it on Fri morning. Fast shipping from A4L.

I upgraded software on both units to the latest available from their website using a usb thumb drive.

I've begun setting it up using their mic for a 3.0 system with the L/R speakers bi-amped (rear speakers and sub will coming later) The sound is quite boomy. I looks like the shown frequency response has big bass peak and mid-bass peak. Wonder if I should manually adjust the response so I'll have the play with it to tweak the sound, but I work today and tomorrow so it will be slow going.

Tough my center speaker are 6 ohms and L/R are 4 ohm, I tried the 6 ohm impedance setting but it looses dynamics, so switched it back to 8 ohms.

Over all sound is clearer and more dynamic than my 23 yr old Denon stereo receiver. I'm liking it.


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

*Question on tweaking YPAO settings*

Am I missing something, but is there any way to modify the YPAO measurement because it's too boomy and bass heavy for my liking? It show the frequency curve for each speaker but I can't see how to tweak the frequency.


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

I turned off various dynamic sound enhancement features and re-calibrated the Yamaha rxa740 receiver. It sounds clear, balanced and wonderful now.
Sacds and hdcds sound stunning, and you can hear a distinct improvement in audio quality as the resolution changes from cds to hdcds to sacds. The bds677 is a very revealing universal player.


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Congrads on the new toys! You don't upgrade all that often, so it's great to revel in them when you do. Enjoy! The AC1200 should be more than enough.


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

Here is a photo of my yamaha avr and bdp in 3.0 system. (I'm not sure if it will post.)


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## 3dbinCanada (Sep 13, 2012)

mjcmt said:


> Here is a photo of my yamaha avr and bdp in 3.0 system. (I'm not sure if it will post.)


Congrats on the Yammy!!  I'm a die hard Yamaha fan having the original RX-V1800 for almost 8 years now driving an entire suite of PSB spekaers which are rated 6ohms nominal into uncomfortably loud levels without strain. Because the RX-V1800 remains flawless, I bought a used RX-V1500 which must be close to 15 years old for my secondary system and it too is flawless in its operation.

One question....is that an antenna I'm seeing between your left speaker and audio stand? If so can you provide me information on the make and model and let me know how well it works compared to the antenna of the Yammy?


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

3dbinCanada said:


> One question....is that an antenna I'm seeing between your left speaker and audio stand? If so can you provide me information on the make and model and let me know how well it works compared to the antenna of the Yammy?


It's a Terk HD antenna for free over-the-air HDTV channels. Looks ugly but no cable bill either.


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

OP are you in a house or apartment?


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## mjcmt (Aug 30, 2010)

We live in a 1700sf 2-story townhome. The system is on the 1st floor on the back side of our home.


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