Help me choose an AV receiver

[Gauravdp]

Hello

My current setup (Pune, bought from Ooberpad / Hifimart)
(1) Yamaha N 803 Network Stereo Amplifier
(2) Elac Debut 2 6.2 Floorstanders
(3) Elac Debut Subwoofer (1 Nos)
(4) Marantz CD 6007 CD player.
I have observed that the sound of the above setup is anaemic when connected to a TV. Would like to have a better movie experience when I watch movies streamed on OTTs. Also, music on Spotify, CDs, ripped CDs on USB. I consume music more often than movies.

I am thinking of getting an AV receiver to cater to a 3.2 setup - that is, install another subwoofer along with a centre channel (my current living room doesn't support rear speakers). I think it would need to be able to deliver 130-140 Watts / Channel at 6 Ohms to be able to drive my existing floorstanders. Now, the question is which AV receiver to buy - it needs to be able to stream from music sources as well, which my current Yamaha Amplifier is able to do. The choices are between Denon and Yamaha. I am not sure about the availability and serviceability of Onkyo receivers, given that the company went bankrupt recently. Now, for me, reliability is very important - I had a bad experience recently when the Marantz CD player I bought this year malfunctioned from the very first day and I had to have it repaired. Heard that Yamaha AVRs have great service, Denon not so much.

My questions to you knowledgeable folks are
(1) With my needs as stated above, which AV receiver would you recommend? I would like to keep things within 70-75 K at most.
(2) Your personal experience about Yamaha / Denon receivers? Marantz is too expensive for me.
(3) And what about Onkyo? Anyone been using Onkyo products bought recently?

 

[mbhangui]

How is the TV connected to your Yamaha AVR. Is it through HDMI ARC or are you using the optical out? I get very good sound with my age old Yamaha RX-V667 (2010) connected to firestick and HDMI ARC connected to my TV on the HDMI. Decoder is mostly Dolby Digital Plus. Subwoofer is connected to the LFE port on the AVR. It sound much better than my son's brand new LG C3 connected using optical out.

Does your current AVR have pre-outs? I have experimented by connecting the cheap TPA 3255 chip amps (Aiyima A07, Fosi ZA3) and those sub Rs 10000 chinese blow out costlier amps out of the water. They are so good that my son has taken them to improve the sound of his LG C3.

 

[efernand1]

(1) With my needs as stated above, which AV receiver would you recommend? I would like to keep things within 70-75 K at most.

This may work for you. After running Audyssey setup, you can manually increase the levels for each speaker and also source volume to get max performance

Marantz NR1510 AV Receiver

The Marantz NR1510 is an Ultra-Slim 5.2ch AV Receiver with Online Music Streaming and all connectivity options for most wireless products.

hifimart.com

The NR1510 has pre outs to add a power amp if required.

Another option is to buy a preowned AVR which would be easily available over OLX or FaceBook Market Place.

(2) Your personal experience about Yamaha / Denon receivers? Marantz is too expensive for me.

I would personally look at the Yamaha Aventage series but thats me. There is the V series which is cheaper. Check with Mr Anil (Hifimart @HiFiVision) who can possibly recommend a good avr and good deal.

(3) And what about Onkyo? Anyone been using Onkyo products bought recently?

From what I heard most have steered away from Onkyo but some have given good reviews about the RZ50 AVR which has Dirac Live. Audition and decide.

 

[caspian1985]

Hello

My current setup (Pune, bought from Ooberpad / Hifimart)
(1) Yamaha N 803 Network Stereo Amplifier
(2) Elac Debut 2 6.2 Floorstanders
(3) Elac Debut Subwoofer (1 Nos)
(4) Marantz CD 6007 CD player.
I have observed that the sound of the above setup is anaemic when connected to a TV. Would like to have a better movie experience when I watch movies streamed on OTTs. Also, music on Spotify, CDs, ripped CDs on USB. I consume music more often than movies.

I am thinking of getting an AV receiver to cater to a 3.2 setup - that is, install another subwoofer along with a centre channel (my current living room doesn't support rear speakers). I think it would need to be able to deliver 130-140 Watts / Channel at 6 Ohms to be able to drive my existing floorstanders. Now, the question is which AV receiver to buy - it needs to be able to stream from music sources as well, which my current Yamaha Amplifier is able to do. The choices are between Denon and Yamaha. I am not sure about the availability and serviceability of Onkyo receivers, given that the company went bankrupt recently. Now, for me, reliability is very important - I had a bad experience recently when the Marantz CD player I bought this year malfunctioned from the very first day and I had to have it repaired. Heard that Yamaha AVRs have great service, Denon not so much.

My questions to you knowledgeable folks are
(1) With my needs as stated above, which AV receiver would you recommend? I would like to keep things within 70-75 K at most.
(2) Your personal experience about Yamaha / Denon receivers? Marantz is too expensive for me.
(3) And what about Onkyo? Anyone been using Onkyo products bought recently?

I can answer (3) - Onkyo was bought by Premium Audio Company, the company that owns Kliosch and all Onkyo, Pioneer, and Integra AVRs are manufactured and serviced by Premium Audio. The India distributor for all three is Cinebels - I bought an LX-505 in 2022 from Mumbai and have been very happy. Dirac was a game changer. It blew a fuse and Cinebels Mumbai repaired it within a day. They take care of Onkyo and Integra service too.
In Onkyo streaming at 75k you would get the NR-5100 8K AVR probably. The other option you have is to buy a powerful non-WiFi 5-channel like Onkyo SR-393 and add a separate streamer

 

[Phani24]

Hello

My current setup (Pune, bought from Ooberpad / Hifimart)
(1) Yamaha N 803 Network Stereo Amplifier
(2) Elac Debut 2 6.2 Floorstanders
(3) Elac Debut Subwoofer (1 Nos)
(4) Marantz CD 6007 CD player.
I have observed that the sound of the above setup is anaemic when connected to a TV. Would like to have a better movie experience when I watch movies streamed on OTTs. Also, music on Spotify, CDs, ripped CDs on USB. I consume music more often than movies.

I am thinking of getting an AV receiver to cater to a 3.2 setup - that is, install another subwoofer along with a centre channel (my current living room doesn't support rear speakers). I think it would need to be able to deliver 130-140 Watts / Channel at 6 Ohms to be able to drive my existing floorstanders. Now, the question is which AV receiver to buy - it needs to be able to stream from music sources as well, which my current Yamaha Amplifier is able to do. The choices are between Denon and Yamaha. I am not sure about the availability and serviceability of Onkyo receivers, given that the company went bankrupt recently. Now, for me, reliability is very important - I had a bad experience recently when the Marantz CD player I bought this year malfunctioned from the very first day and I had to have it repaired. Heard that Yamaha AVRs have great service, Denon not so much.

My questions to you knowledgeable folks are
(1) With my needs as stated above, which AV receiver would you recommend? I would like to keep things within 70-75 K at most.
(2) Your personal experience about Yamaha / Denon receivers? Marantz is too expensive for me.
(3) And what about Onkyo? Anyone been using Onkyo products bought recently?

People are using onkyo products. They have 18 months warrenty. You will find good avrs in your budget in Onkyo and pioneer also.
In Denon Denon 2800 fits your budger. 125 watts at 6 ohms 2 channel driven
Explore all options.

Onkyo 7100 and 696
And pioneer 303 etc.

 

[delhite2]

Hello

My current setup (Pune, bought from Ooberpad / Hifimart)
(1) Yamaha N 803 Network Stereo Amplifier
(2) Elac Debut 2 6.2 Floorstanders
(3) Elac Debut Subwoofer (1 Nos)
(4) Marantz CD 6007 CD player.
I have observed that the sound of the above setup is anaemic when connected to a TV. Would like to have a better movie experience when I watch movies streamed on OTTs. Also, music on Spotify, CDs, ripped CDs on USB. I consume music more often than movies.

I am thinking of getting an AV receiver to cater to a 3.2 setup - that is, install another subwoofer along with a centre channel (my current living room doesn't support rear speakers). I think it would need to be able to deliver 130-140 Watts / Channel at 6 Ohms to be able to drive my existing floorstanders. Now, the question is which AV receiver to buy - it needs to be able to stream from music sources as well, which my current Yamaha Amplifier is able to do. The choices are between Denon and Yamaha. I am not sure about the availability and serviceability of Onkyo receivers, given that the company went bankrupt recently. Now, for me, reliability is very important - I had a bad experience recently when the Marantz CD player I bought this year malfunctioned from the very first day and I had to have it repaired. Heard that Yamaha AVRs have great service, Denon not so much.

My questions to you knowledgeable folks are
(1) With my needs as stated above, which AV receiver would you recommend? I would like to keep things within 70-75 K at most.
(2) Your personal experience about Yamaha / Denon receivers? Marantz is too expensive for me.
(3) And what about Onkyo? Anyone been using Onkyo products bought recently?

If you believe adding center channel will boost things with a day night difference then you would be wrong.

However you can still add the AVR to get better decoding, since in the case of your current Stereo Reciever I am sure it lacks decoding of surround formats and is inturn mostly fed with PCM signal (having said that, what exactly do you mean by Anemic output?)

But again I will reiterate center channel is overrated and unless is EQUALLY (or more) capable to the LEFT/Right channels, your dialogues will suffer. Having a phantom center is better than having a lower spec center.

So you can concentrate only on buying a new more capable AVR for now, and skip the center.

Or if you are still keen, try and demo a center with AVR before spending on it.

 

[Gauravdp]

How is the TV connected to your Yamaha AVR. Is it through HDMI ARC or are you using the optical out? I get very good sound with my age old Yamaha RX-V667 (2010) connected to firestick and HDMI ARC connected to my TV on the HDMI. Decoder is mostly Dolby Digital Plus. Subwoofer is connected to the LFE port on the AVR. It sound much better than my son's brand new LG C3 connected using optical out.

Does your current AVR have pre-outs? I have experimented by connecting the cheap TPA 3255 chip amps (Aiyima A07, Fosi ZA3) and those sub Rs 10000 chinese blow out costlier amps out of the water. They are so good that my son has taken them to improve the sound of his LG C3.

Thanks for your input. Well, I checked yesterday and the sound was through optical out.

Having said that, I do need to buy an AV receiver as I plan to add another subwoofer - which the current amplifier, good as it is, won't support.

 

[rwnano]

Hello

My current setup (Pune, bought from Ooberpad / Hifimart)
(1) Yamaha N 803 Network Stereo Amplifier
(2) Elac Debut 2 6.2 Floorstanders
(3) Elac Debut Subwoofer (1 Nos)
(4) Marantz CD 6007 CD player.
I have observed that the sound of the above setup is anaemic when connected to a TV. Would like to have a better movie experience when I watch movies streamed on OTTs. Also, music on Spotify, CDs, ripped CDs on USB. I consume music more often than movies.

I am thinking of getting an AV receiver to cater to a 3.2 setup - that is, install another subwoofer along with a centre channel (my current living room doesn't support rear speakers). I think it would need to be able to deliver 130-140 Watts / Channel at 6 Ohms to be able to drive my existing floorstanders. Now, the question is which AV receiver to buy - it needs to be able to stream from music sources as well, which my current Yamaha Amplifier is able to do. The choices are between Denon and Yamaha. I am not sure about the availability and serviceability of Onkyo receivers, given that the company went bankrupt recently. Now, for me, reliability is very important - I had a bad experience recently when the Marantz CD player I bought this year malfunctioned from the very first day and I had to have it repaired. Heard that Yamaha AVRs have great service, Denon not so much.

My questions to you knowledgeable folks are
(1) With my needs as stated above, which AV receiver would you recommend? I would like to keep things within 70-75 K at most.
(2) Your personal experience about Yamaha / Denon receivers? Marantz is too expensive for me.
(3) And what about Onkyo? Anyone been using Onkyo products bought recently?

Buy an old Harman kardon AVR amplifier please. Good powerful sound. Early mid 2000s is best