Entry level AV receiver - need advice

[jvs]

Hello everyone,

My first post! Planning for an entry level AV receiver that's well under my budget of INR 25k (can't stretch beyond that).
I am having a Kenwood legacy HiFi system, planning to sell it off. I have very basic requirements, as my living room wont allow me for a full fledged HT setup.
I will be initially hooking up front speaker with my kenwood 3 way speakers that is stereo mode and add up sussround speakers or sub woofers later. My listening are 50:50 between songs and movies, though inclined towards music than movies.
Few models I found interesting are:
1. Marantz NR1504 (dont mind the fact that its obsolete abroad).
2. Yamaha HTR-3067 (VX 37x?)
3. Denon AVRX540BT
Please help me in suggesting if any other model fit into the budget. Need help in the SQ, durability of these products, not to forget the support. I prefer model with LAN / WiFi (WiFi models are going above my budget though

 

[dr_rocket]

If you don't need HDCP 2.2 (for original blurays or amazon prime) then HTR 3067 does the job quite well. If Marantz 1504 supports HDCP 2.2 then it's better.

Wifi should not be a deal breaker as a chromecast device at 3k will make it wifi streaming capable.

 

[efernand1]

Hello everyone,

My first post! Planning for an entry level AV receiver that's well under my budget of INR 25k (can't stretch beyond that).
I am having a Kenwood legacy HiFi system, planning to sell it off. I have very basic requirements, as my living room wont allow me for a full fledged HT setup.
I will be initially hooking up front speaker with my kenwood 3 way speakers that is stereo mode and add up sussround speakers or sub woofers later. My listening are 50:50 between songs and movies, though inclined towards music than movies.
Few models I found interesting are:
1. Marantz NR1504 (dont mind the fact that its obsolete abroad).
2. Yamaha HTR-3067 (VX 37x?)
3. Denon AVRX540BT
Please help me in suggesting if any other model fit into the budget. Need help in the SQ, durability of these products, not to forget the support. I prefer model with LAN / WiFi (WiFi models are going above my budget though

Check this.....

https://www.reliancedigital.in/av-receivers/c/S101817

Audition and decide.....

 

[indy70]

Marantz 1504 seems a great choice out of the lot. I see it to be 25k from the above link. Check hifimart, I think I saw 1506 model for 33K

 

[efernand1]

The 1508 is for 34k on Hifimart.....1509 has been received by a FM when he placed the order.

 

[jvs]

Thanks all for your valuable suggestions. Any owners out there on the listed models to give a feedback on user expeience?

If you don't need HDCP 2.2 (for original blurays or amazon prime) then HTR 3067 does the job quite well. If Marantz 1504 supports HDCP 2.2 then it's better.

Wifi should not be a deal breaker as a chromecast device at 3k will make it wifi streaming capable.

Thanks.
WiFi is not a deal breaker for me: a) option of chromecast b) LAN is there with 1504

Check this.....

https://www.reliancedigital.in/av-receivers/c/S101817

Audition and decide.....

Yes that was one trigger for the av receiver hunt . The Sony one listed is not there anymore (may be wrongly quoted).

Marantz 1504 seems a great choice out of the lot. I see it to be 25k from the above link. Check hifimart, I think I saw 1506 model for 33K

1506 is out of my budget

The 1508 is for 34k on Hifimart.....1509 has been received by a FM when he placed the order.

Both are out of my budget.

 

[dr_rocket]

I have been using htr 3067 for 1.5 years. Fully satisfied. I don't need hdcp 2.2, have attached Chromecast, and more than 5.1 not possible in my setup. However, I have invested more in speakers and sub so that helps the sound quality

 

[gurinderjit]

Marantz 1504 is available for 25200 on reliancedigital and
Denon X Series AVR-X540BT 5.2 is available for 25790 on Amazon
which one is better option ??

 

[jvs]

Marantz 1504 is available for 25200 on reliancedigital and
Denon X Series AVR-X540BT 5.2 is available for 25790 on Amazon
which one is better option ??

I guess Marantz is better for music.
Spec wise Denon is better, for eg got bluetooth etc

 

[jvs]

Came across fabulous offer for Sony STR-DH550. How's the unit?

 

[elangoas]

Came across fabulous offer for Sony STR-DH550. How's the unit?

Sony AVR owners on the forum is very less compared to the other brands.. Should be equally good as other entry-level offerings.. Would be a good one to grab for the listed price in Reliance..

 

[rsk11584]

whenever the members speak of entry level receivers, do they just mention the setup cost or a full fledged home theatre. currently even i am in confused state of mind regarding purchasing a home theatre or sound bar. Yamaha 107/108 sound bar or hometheatre 1810/1840 ( av receiver type with speakers) may be suitable for me. but in my mind there is a mental block as to what can be the huge price difference between f&d, logitech and other chinese brands offering 5.1 HT @less than 5k and Yamaha and like offering soundbar / multimedia speakers for 20k. It is like comparing maruti to merc, but just my curiosity. Also sony rt3 and rt40 look very good and come in the mid range for me balancing sound output, home theatre 5.1 and price and company reliability. Some members here mentioned difficulty with getting service for their niche brands.

 

[sachin5526]

pioneer VSX-330

 

[sachin5526]

Marantz NR1504 beast option

 

[sachin5526]

Marantz NR1508

 

[elangoas]

whenever the members speak of entry level receivers, do they just mention the setup cost or a full fledged home theatre.

Depending on the budget quoted on any thread, members help the user with aval choices accordingly..

but in my mind there is a mental block as to what can be the huge price difference between f&d, logitech and other chinese brands offering 5.1 HT @less than 5k and Yamaha and like offering soundbar / multimedia speakers for 20k. It is like comparing maruti to merc, but just my curiosity.

5.1 systems less than 5K are the multimedia speakers, which are meant for near field listening, near a PC (or) laptop, trying to recreate the movie experience at a cost.. Most 5.1 systems produce 5 watts of power (or) slightly more..

The much expensive speakers are capable of higher Sound Pressure Level, almost recreating a theater experience..

currently even i am in confused state of mind regarding purchasing a home theatre or sound bar. Yamaha 107/108 sound bar or hometheatre 1810/1840 ( av receiver type with speakers) may be suitable for me.

If you quote your maximum budget, members would suggest you options to consider.. What is your maximum budget & room size?..

 

[ajuvignesh]

whenever the members speak of entry level receivers, do they just mention the setup cost or a full fledged home theatre. currently even i am in confused state of mind regarding purchasing a home theatre or sound bar. Yamaha 107/108 sound bar or hometheatre 1810/1840 ( av receiver type with speakers) may be suitable for me. but in my mind there is a mental block as to what can be the huge price difference between f&d, logitech and other chinese brands offering 5.1 HT @less than 5k and Yamaha and like offering soundbar / multimedia speakers for 20k. It is like comparing maruti to merc, but just my curiosity. Also sony rt3 and rt40 look very good and come in the mid range for me balancing sound output, home theatre 5.1 and price and company reliability. Some members here mentioned difficulty with getting service for their niche brands.

They are just a speaker package with a basic six channel amp. You need to give six analogue inputs to get 5.1 surround sound. It works only if the media players like bluray players has those analog outputs. However, proper home theater receivers have much more to it. To start with, they have decoders from DTS, dolby etc. Yamaha needs to pay dolby, dts to use their decoder. You will use hdmi, spdif to give input to the receiver. Then comes the DAC- digital to analogue converter. The Chinese systems' DAC is mostly unknown and of cheaper quality wheres Yamaha and high end receivers use a high quality DACs from burr brown, cirrus logic, Texas Instruments etc. Those comes at a hefty price tag. In addition to it, receivers like Yamaha has high power good quality amps. For example, Sony's IV 300 is advertised as 1000W power. Those are just peak power and a wrong way to calculate output. What matters is Rms. Those sonys might have about 200W or 300W Rms in total or something, if I'm not wrong, and half of it would be used by the subwoofer. Where's Yamaha receivers have a lot, something like 60W Rms per channel- at the least. Subwoofers have their own amps. Speaking about the amps, the amps in Sony's have about 30% distortion - bad for music at high volumes. Yamaha have far less- about 1% and will not be more than 10%, if I'm not wrong. The Sonys work at 3 ohms per channel wheres receivers like Yamahas mostly use 6 ohms or 8 ohms. The receivers have many more functionality and thus such a high price tag. The hdmi enabled hometheater system from sonys, Samsungs costs more than 10k and often misses some functionality or other.

 

[rsk11584]

They are just a speaker package with a basic six channel amp. You need to give six analogue inputs to get 5.1 surround sound. It works only if the media players like bluray players has those analog outputs. However, proper home theater receivers have much more to it. To start with, they have decoders from DTS, dolby etc. Yamaha needs to pay dolby, dts to use their decoder. You will use hdmi, spdif to give input to the receiver. Then comes the DAC- digital to analogue converter. The Chinese systems' DAC is mostly unknown and of cheaper quality wheres Yamaha and high end receivers use a high quality DACs from burr brown, cirrus logic, Texas Instruments etc. Those comes at a hefty price tag. In addition to it, receivers like Yamaha has high power good quality amps. For example, Sony's IV 300 is advertised as 1000W power. Those are just peak power and a wrong way to calculate output. What matters is Rms. Those sonys might have about 200W or 300W Rms in total or something, if I'm not wrong, and half of it would be used by the subwoofer. Where's Yamaha receivers have a lot, something like 60W Rms per channel- at the least. Subwoofers have their own amps. Speaking about the amps, the amps in Sony's have about 30% distortion - bad for music at high volumes. Yamaha have far less- about 1% and will not be more than 10%, if I'm not wrong. The Sonys work at 3 ohms per channel wheres receivers like Yamahas mostly use 6 ohms or 8 ohms. The receivers have many more functionality and thus such a high price tag. The hdmi enabled hometheater system from sonys, Samsungs costs more than 10k and often misses some functionality or other.

Thanks for your inputs. I have a doubt should the receiver and TV both support Dolby DTS Output or either of one?

Because i bought a new TV LG TV - Model No. 43LJ525T https://www.lg.com/in/tvs/lg-43LJ525T which has only 20Watts sound output Ultimate in Sound "Powerful Sound". 20 W powerful sound with Dolby digital plus and DTS support and on back of the TV it is mentioned that "Manufactured under License from Dolby Laboratories" unfortunately my TV has only headphone out port marked as HP Out Port, no HDMI ARC or Optical Out port. So my question is that to get surround sound from my TV should the music system / home theatre should also have Dolby DTS or the TV will send the 5.1 signals to the music system?

 

[rsk11584]

Depending on the budget quoted on any thread, members help the user with aval choices accordingly..



5.1 systems less than 5K are the multimedia speakers, which are meant for near field listening, near a PC (or) laptop, trying to recreate the movie experience at a cost.. Most 5.1 systems produce 5 watts of power (or) slightly more..

The much expensive speakers are capable of higher Sound Pressure Level, almost recreating a theater experience..



If you quote your maximum budget, members would suggest you options to consider.. What is your maximum budget & room size?..

Setup Image: home theatre

https://imgur.com/a/epJeLhi

room size is 15 x 10 feet
bought a new TV LG TV - Model No. 43LJ525T https://www.lg.com/in/tvs/lg-43LJ525T which has only 20Watts sound output Ultimate in Sound "Powerful Sound". 20 W powerful sound with Dolby digital plus and DTS support and on back of the TV it is mentioned that "Manufactured under License from Dolby Laboratories" unfortunately my TV has only headphone out port marked as HP Out Port, no HDMI ARC or Optical Out port. So my question is that to get surround sound from my TV should the music system / home theatre should also have Dolby DTS or the TV will send the 5.1 signals to the music system? My motive is watching movies with sound effects and i find the sony ht rt3 or ht rt40 as suitable to my requirement. Wireless rear speakers are too costly.

Also considered the Yamaha YAS 107 or 108 but they didnt have demo piece at reliance digital, they had demo piece but it didnt work. I am not happy with the way the showroom guys are doing demo of the soundbars, they just play a song at full volume and that is piercing my ear, making me move farther from such shops and making me feel the equipment is worse. Only in some showrooms i took remote and adjusted vol to 50-60% . Also the showroom guys dont seem to have any knowledge about the product, literally sad to see such state of affairs.

 

[elangoas]

unfortunately my TV has only headphone out port marked as HP Out Port, no HDMI ARC or Optical Out port.

Ok.. If it is most recent model, then one of the HDMI inputs would be labelled as ARC.. Just watch it closely, beside the port..

So my question is that to get surround sound from my TV should the music system / home theatre should also have Dolby DTS or the TV will send the 5.1 signals to the music system? My motive is watching movies with sound effects

Your TV has has the Dolby & DTS decoders built in.. Since there are no digital output options, you wouldn't be able to get 5.1 output from the TV..

But, you can add a simple Android TV Box from amazon.in for 3K.. This will allow you to play all the digital files from pendrive / External HD.. Most of these Android TV box have optical out.. So connecting to AVR / soundabr can be good option here..

I am not happy with the way the showroom guys are doing demo of the soundbars, they just play a song at full volume and that is piercing my ear, making me move farther from such shops and making me feel the equipment is worse.

What is your budget for a soundbar (or) a capable 5.1 entertainment system ?..