AV Choice and Prices

[epoc]

Hi All,

I am looking to upgrade my receiver from the older Denon model (75RMS) to either the Denon 2312 (135RMS) or Yamaha RX-V2067 (130RMS) to power my Monitor Audio BX6s (recommended 40-150 RMS).

I have auditioned the speakers on both a Denon and Yamaha amp (not the specific models as mentioned above) and am impartial as both were nice sounding to me.

Which one would you guys advise and where can I get some good prices on these, new or used?

Room size: 5 x 6 meters
Seating position: 3 meters from front speakers.
Purpose: 50/50 stereo and HT5.1 setup.
Listening levels: not deafening loud but on current amp -30 to -10

[epoc]

Or are you guys thinking this is overkill for these speakers??  If so would the Denon 1912 or Yamaha RX-V1067 be a better match?

[Spuds]

I say, if you're not going to use all the features of the bigger amps, why bother going to all that expense when the cheaper ones will do just fine and have all the features you want.

[epoc]

My theory is if I get the bigger amp that is closer matching in terms of power requirements, it'll be a better pair bringing the "most" out of the speakers.

And also I will not have to upgrade in the near future.

[Spuds]

My theory is if I get the bigger amp that is closer matching in terms of power requirements, it'll be a better pair bring the "most" out of the speakers.

And also I will not have to upgrade in the near future.

Agreed.

PS. I'm looking at a Denon 2312 myself. 

My dog dragged my other Denon and other things around the house a few weeks back. 

[epoc]

PS. I'm looking at a Denon 2312 myself. 

Are you set on the Denon or have you looked and researched other receivers?

Hmm .. that must be a big dog you have

[Craigis]

The Denon's are great amp's, have 2 of them myself.
Firstly, the Denon AVR's ratings are as follows:
1912 is 90watts into 8ohms and 125watts into 6ohms
2312 is 105watts into 8ohms and 135watts into 6ohms
3312 is 125watts into 8ohms and 165watts into 6ohms
Secondly, seem as your speakers are 8ohms, you would look at the 2312 as only having 105watts and not 135watts
The reccomended power is 40-150watts
The 1912's are around R8000, the 2312 is R13000 and the 3312 is around R16000
The real advantage of the 2312 over the 1912 is the built in upscaller for HDMI and the extra 15watts, is it worth the extra R5k, that's for you to decide 

[epoc]

2312 is 105watts into 8ohms and 135watts into 6ohms
Secondly, seem as your speakers are 8ohms, you would look at the 2312 as only having 105watts and not 135watts

Thanks Craigis .. my mistake, read the incorrect figures in my haste, 105watts @ 8ohms it is.

[Juggy]

Don't discount the Pioneer VSX range either.

The 920 comes in around 5500 or 6000 and does 8ohm at 110 and 6ohms at 125 watts.

For teh price you pay you really do get a lot of receiver as well.

[Spuds]

Are you set on the Denon or have you looked and researched other receivers?

Hmm .. that must be a big dog you have

I've always had Denon stuff. Won't be changing anytime soon.

He's not a big dog, but determination goes a long way when it comes to dragging EVERYTHING into the garden. 

[chipwelder]

If it is power you want, just pick the heaviest one you can afford with the right featureset...  ignore the ratings, they are for a cold day in hell.

No really

[Homer]

If it is power you want, just pick the heaviest one you can afford with the right featureset...  ignore the ratings, they are for a cold day in hell.

No really

+ 1

Don't READ the specs. LISTEN to the sound.

[naughty]

Pioneer is great - i have owned a few BUT in a straight shootout between the Pioneer and Denon - the Denon just does more things better than the Pioneer does - i have tried out a VSX819 and a VSX920 with my speakers and my Denon 2808 still has the drop on perceived power as well as perceived sound quality ie the Denon has a richer beefier sound and is warmer and just as clear as the Pioneer (given my set of speakers)

so actually my choice would not even be the 2312 - i would shell out the marginal bit extra for the 3312 for those speakers ..... and my reasoning is simple - the extra features that matter to me are things like the pre-outs and multi-channel inputs etc etc - the rest of it is padding - and it may look like attractive padding but its just all extra stuff which you may or may not use ie most will never use the networking features or the DLNA or the internet stuff that modern receivers are capable of doing - i personally will not use all the "made for apple" features

for me the choice depends purely on what the receivers do with the sound and in terms of that headroom is pretty important ..... trust me in 6 to 8 months time you dont want to be left feeling i should have spent R3k more and went one higher in the range cos my speakers are stopping short of greatness ..... this makes the difference between your audio being competently good and great - and im not going to say that competently good is going to satisfy me altogether - it may justify my purchases but it isnt going to give me a sense of owning the best thing i can ever have as a combination - so for me complete overkill is a compulsory requirement when it comes to amplification ...... whether i can afford it is another matter but its a philosophy that i live by whenever i can afford it

The 920 comes in around 5500 or 6000 and does 8ohm at 110 and 6ohms at 125 watts.

Juggy im a massive Pioneer fan but the VSX 1021 also claims similar figures (its newer and higher up the range than the 920 and yet i was measured at around 47 or so watts with all channels driven at 8ohm) so Pioneer dont come close to providing the power amounts their quoted specs will tell you

the reason for this is simple - it will probably easily do what they claim which is a power amount at 1khz - so at a frequency of 1000hz you will probably get that 150 watts they say with one channel driven - but make all the channels work together and it drops and then measure a flat response from 20hz to 20khz and it drops even further and then run it at a higher impedance ie 8ohms and it drops a shedload

now this is not restricted to the pioneer only - but with Pioneer the figures sink like the Titanic on its maiden voyage - so the last thing i will buy the pioneer based on, is its power ratings - i will however buy it for its decent sound quality and its abundance of features which make it a brilliant amp for the price - it has decent aesthetics as well and its only weakness is the amount of power it puts out - this still matches or beats any other receiver in its price range so the Pioneer also has value-for-money - but when building a system as i said im personally looking for overkill so for me in the choice between Pioneer and Denon its obvious which one i would chose - it does get harder at the higher end EG Denon 4311 vs Pioneer SC-LX83 - then i would probably have to toss a coin 

[Viagara]

As suggested, get the unit that sounds best to you and don't get hellbent on specs - mostly those of no value when you listen to the unit.

[Weltin]

If your current receiver has pre-outs why not just add a power amp for the fronts. That way you don't have to upgrade the whole setup everytime a new format comes out. Much cheaper too.