You want a serious dwelling house dramatic art . One that will rattle the window , and insure movie night is always at your house . But you do n’t want to expend more than $ 600 on the thing that ties it together . Cuz you ’re smart .
You ’ve have the big screen flavorless panel , you ’ve thrown that cheap HTIB system in the garbage , and you ’ve picked out anawesome speaker system . You just need one more component to tie it all together : a surround receiver with enough muscle for Aliens vs. Transformers , and enough larboard to handle your Blu - irradiation player , Xbox and/or PS3 , and all of the other black corner in your living way .
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Spending $ 500 to $ 600 will get you a telephone receiver that will use a microphone to heed to itself , configure and match up to seven speakers and a subwoofer . It will switch between at least four HDMI sources and a lot more analog machine , and beam everything off to the video upconverted to HD resolution through a undivided HDMI cablegram . The feature article set of competing models are so standardized that it can be tough to enjoin them apart , so I called in the four good in this price kitchen stove — from Denon , Onkyo , Pioneer and Yamaha — to help you make your decision . As it turns out , the determination was easygoing .
A side note , before we continue : None of the tested receivers — and no receiving system presently shipping — have the HDMI 1.4 want to pass 3D video sign to a 3D television set . If three-D is a must - have feature for you , you ’ll have to stay tuned , as all of the major electronics makers announce and eventually transport their 2010 modeling . But a fresh harvest of models may actually intend better stack on the receivers reviewed here , and do n’t forget , even if you ’re a prominent enough spender to get a first - gen three-D TV , you could always route video directly from 3D Blu - electron beam player to 3D television receiver , using the receiving system for audio alone .
I tested each exemplar in my 7.1 channel theater — a $ 5300 Mirage OM invention system which has the purpose great power to highlight minute difference in phone between amplifiers . This also gave me the prospect to test each framework ’s two - channel music and multi - channel film soundtrack execution against my character reference Pioneer Elite 49TXi — Pioneer ’s $ 4500 flagship from 2005 — a yard measure to oblige up so as to see how far mid - priced receivers have come since then .
In addition to sonic prowess , I also judged each fashion model in the areas of design and build quality , ease of consumption , and telecasting conversion / grading power . Here are the full results of my trial run :
The Onkyo , with superior profound character and a concourse of HDMI input , put up a very knotty fight against the Pioneer . But finally the Pioneer ’s form - leading user user interface , superb auto calibration scheme and build - in USB and iPod / iPhone support give it the winnings .
Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K: First Place
At first I was n’t sold . The Pioneer ’s music performance without EQ engaged was disappointingly ho-hum and flat . Switching on EQ really kick the amp into life , though , bringing detail and scaffolding into right focus . I found that the nonremittal bend was overemphasizing the upper midrange and threefold , but as luck would have it the 9 - band EQ is exploiter configurable , and with a few adjustments I was capable to dial in a nicely balanced auditory sensation that was fairly close to my computer address , save for a persistent hokey colouration in the mids and senior high . The Pioneer includes a engineering telephone “ Advanced Sound Retriever ” which claims to restitute compressed music file to near certificate of deposit character . ( It may not storm you that the others also feature similar power . ) To test this , I dilute an iPod Touch with data track encode at restrained bitrates . ASR decidedly did its caper , as every track I tried go importantly more lifelike and gratifying with ASR engage . I connected the iPod to my more expensive reference system with a mini - jack cable television and feel it still had the edge , but ASR made the difference of opinion between $ 4500 receiver and $ 500 receiver considerably smaller .
Movie audio public presentation with EQ was very well , with realistic portraying of the cannons in Master and Commander and the brake drum chronological sequence in House of Flying Daggers . Analog video scaling from my DVE tryout disc was decent , though the Pioneer struggled a bit in the jaggies test .
The VSX-1019AH - K is $ 100 less than the poser that it replaced , and it appears that Pioneer was able-bodied to hit the $ 499 price point by chopping out 10 lbs . of great power provision and much of the multi - channel parallel connectivity . From bench test that I ’ve run across , being the shortest and lightest of the radical has not affected the Pioneer ’s power to vie in footing of horsepower . While it can no longer serve as a surroundings preamp — the Yamaha is the only one of this group that can — the Pioneer ’s user user interface is just in a unlike class than the competition at this level . merge that with the forward thinking built - in USB and iPhone connectivity , and you ’ve got a success .
Onkyo TX-SR607: Second Place
The Onkyo loses in the looks department with its blocky styling and ancient pallid green display , but give it some music to play and things rick around rather quickly . Without EQ engaged , the Onkyo grow the secure , most filmy sound of the grouping , with naturalistic soundstaging and natural timbre that was surprisingly close to my reference . Switching on EQ mostly made everything fathom unnaturally frontward and aggressive , so I leave it off for the majority of my medicine listening . Onkyo ’s “ Music Optimizer ” with the iPod just about equaled my reference , which shows just how effectual this engineering is .
The Onkyo also did very well with movie audio , though without EQ the bottom end was not quite as potent and impactful as the Pioneer in the cannon and drum sequences . Only five bands are available in the EQ , but this was enough to amend the freshwater bass reception for action sequence without throwing off the quietus of the range . I prove several movie in both the Onkyo - exclusive Dolby Pro - Logic IIz “ height speakers ” manner and with my speakers in their even back environs configuration . ( The Onkyo is not a 9.1 receiving system , so your alternative is either one or the other . ) I favor the standard shape , as I mostly could n’t tell whether the superlative speakers were even on . A few weather condition effects perhaps sound somewhat more naturalistic , but I certainly would n’t go to the trouble of permanently mounting and wiring extra speakers high on the front wall for a act of rain or winding .
The Onkyo firmly embraces digital audio and video with a total of six HDMI remark , and completely ignore multi - channel analog connectivity . Analog picture grading was by far the weakest of the group , with misfortunate solvent in DVE ’s resolution , jaggies , and 2:3 pull - down test . The front panel HDMI input is great , but the Onkyo really require a USB port and a full GUI to put it over the top .
Denon AVR-1910: Third Place
The Denon ’s functioning with music was solid , besting the Pioneer but not quite equal the Onkyo . Without EQ its sound was a bit leaner than the Onkyo ’s and more or less juiceless , with mids lacking a bit in body and warmth . As with the Onkyo , the nonpayment EQ curve just pump everything up without any finesse . The Denon offers nine band of EQ to encounter with , and by apply much more modest alteration than the default curve , I was able to attain a sound close to the Onkyo ’s un - EQed performance . As with the Pioneer and Onkyo , Denon ’s “ Compressed Audio Restorer ” significantly improve its performance with the iPod , though not enough to best the Onkyo or my reference .
Movie performance let the Denon down a bit . The cannons in Master and Commander had a distinct lack of impingement compare with the Pioneer , even with EQ engaged , and the Flying Daggers drum chronological succession sounded a turn flat , particularly when I turn off the subwoofer and let the main TV channel run full range . thing picked up for the Denon with analog picture scaling , where it aced all of my DVE trial .
The Denon was the most fashionable of the group , but the plastic front panel and controls did not have the precision and quality feel of the others . The front panel display was also the diminished and hard to say from across the room . The Denon ’s biggest problem though is that it just does n’t seem to have changed much compared to its predecessor , the AVR-1909 . One more HDMI input and one less component picture input seem to be the extent of the major changes . The user user interface is functional , but still reckon 15 long time sure-enough . With the Pioneer now extend a full GUI at the $ 500 level , Denon call for to do the same .
Yamaha RX-V765: Fourth Place
Music from the Yamaha fathom much like Denon without EQ . It titled quite a bit towards the lean and ironic side , with forward and slightly grainy highs that became tire at higher bulk levels . Two EQ curves are available , and the “ born ” breaking ball was capable to tame some of the inordinate cleverness . I also tried aline the 7 - band EQ , but I was never capable to get the Yamaha to sound as ripe as the Onkyo or Denon .
Yamaha ’s “ Compressed Music Enhancer ” bring exchangeable improvement from the iPod as the other recipient , but could n’t overcome the Yamaha ’s implicit in weaknesses with euphony . It did perform one trick that the others ca n’t : I was able to pullulate Last FM from my Nokia via the Bluetooth dock .
The Yamaha fared better with movies . It delivered a realistic amount of puncher to the carom and drum sequences , though I still favour the Onkyo ’s more neutral tonal balance . Analog video scaling carrying out was average , with poor final result in the jaggies and 2:3 pull - down tests .
The Yamaha partake nearly all of its chassis element with the $ 900 RX - V1065 , and due to that its build calibre is a considerable notch above the rest of the group . It looks and feels like a $ 900 receiver , which is why it ’s such a shame that the terrible UI completely lets it down . Setting up the Yamaha was aggravating ; partly due to the un - assignable input , the badly designed remote control and the cryptic way that Yamaha labels most routine , but mostly due to the UI . The four “ Scene modes ” are an attack to reduplicate the Activities single-valued function of a Harmony remote control , but they do n’t really work in practice session . Unless all of your component part are made by Yamaha and support the Scene control ability , pressing a Scene button can do small more than tack the receiver to an input and select a good modal value , which the others can do just as easily with their own source buttons . In the end you ’re go to terminate up using a universal remote anyway , make the Scene abilities completely unneeded . The optional Bluetooth streaming financial support is great for many people who use their cellphone as an audio source , but the Yamaha is just too much of an incomplete merchandise to urge .
And Now For Something Completely Different…
The Onkyo produces astonishingly nice stereo sound for a mid - price receiver , but what if stereo is all you are interested in ? What if you do n’t need HDMI switching , or Dolby Pro - Logic IIz , or Audyssey equalization , or any of the other poppycock crammed in to a innovative liquidator ? Can you do well for $ 500 ? Indeed you could , with something called an integrated amplifier .
incorporate amplifiers are a stereophonic preamp and amplifier compound into one ingredient , and they volunteer maximal sound quality for the dollar as they basically only have one function . The NAD C-326BEE and Cambridge Azur 550A integrated amps both cost around $ 500 , and both will outstrip any of these receiver in stereo . Since there ’s no indigence to worry about having the latest sound mode or HDMI version figure , you could stretch your buck even further by look on the secondhand market . A range of $ 500 to $ 700 can bribe a Musical Fidelity , Primare or Arcam on audio trading sites like Audiogon that will be capable to gainsay $ 2500 AV receivers in stereophonic mode . Add a second deal distich of bookshelf speaker from PSB or Monitor Audio — or maybe even a pair of Magnepan 1.6s if you ’re feeling adventuresome — and you ’ve got truly gamey - end sound for around $ 1500 .
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