Need New Receiver or seperates

[ooppalla]

Research results to this point:

Denon 3805. Hometheater loved the remote, features, etc... But the sound is on the dry side of neutral. Rats, seems like not a good match for the Biradials of the 4425s
Nad T763. Good sound quality is this units best feature, but no auto setup. Grrr
HK 7300. Daily auctions on Ebay for the unit direct through HK, 880-940 plus tax and 38 shipping. full warranties. Toroidial power supply, and tons of bells and whistles.
Anyone hear this unit pushing JBLs? Any heard powering Biradial horns?
Yamaha 2500.
Seems some very happy here. Anyone hear this unit pushing JBLs? Any heard powering Biradial horns? Sweet, Dry, other sound?

[Hamilton]

Research results to this point:

Yamaha 2500.
Seems some very happy here. Anyone hear this unit pushing JBLs? Any heard powering Biradial horns? Sweet, Dry, other sound?

I use 4430s I've had for twenty years. And with Zilch's help I'm building LE14A/2426/2342 surrounds with a 2118s/2426/2342 center, so there will be bi-radials a plenty around here.

With the 2500's parametric EQ and time delay adjustments you can get the signal as dry (straight through), or as dripping wet as you want.

[ooppalla]

"Since the Yamaha died, I am running the CD pro-player Sony DPD-D11 directly through a Mitsubishi DA-A15DC and it sounds totally different than with the receiver in-between"
Note after my ears adjusted adn I changed the levels of my twin subs: This is the cleanest sound I have heard. The detail and clarity is awesome when I go directly from CD to power amp
Re: Yamaha 2500, I am looking at a new seller on Ebay that is selling 8 of these receivers for 579 plus 38 shipping. 5814873065. I sent him an email, "are his units covered under factory warrenty?"


PS Zilch has been invaluable in his "right on" advice. My ears are so happy as a result of his help. Good listening with your surround, sounds neat.

[ooppalla]

Just bought HK 7300 today, 875 plus tax and ship $980, Ebay. Last two weeks ending prices ranged from 863-1000+ plus T/S

I decided to try to HK because of the bells, whistles and power supply, AND
If I don't like it, HK will take it back in 30 days and I just pay the to/from freight= $76 total. Past HK purchases have shown these units do NOT seem to be B products, but brand new ... just a reason to discount and not piss off retailers.

I have been tracking NAD 773 and negotiated 1200 price on used unit... But I choose the HK for above reasons and for the low cross overs from 40-200HZ, selected by speaker... as I use twin subs with my 4425s I am thinking that I may want to roll the 4425s off maybe around 45-60HZ to keep the 7300 amp happier and maybe cleaner sound.

The NAD didn't have that Flexibility, just large and small speaker selector and with the NAD I couldn't change my mind and return the unit Also the 7300 allows video feeds to be converted to component video regardless of source and has a video processor so I can play as needed... Finally if I "think" I need the NAD I can always buy it to replace the 7300 and just be out the $76. ... The NAD seems to have a great front channel amps, stereo, and lots of good stuff going for it and I have read many good things about their sound/Eng.

Anyone use a power A/C filter? Worth it? One, two or three stage?

So I will keep all informed as to how much the 7300 lives up to my hopes.
D=)

[Zilch]

AC power filters are a rip. The receiver should have built-in all that it needs....

[porschedpm]

In one of my drunken stupors once, I bought a big Tice AC filter on Audiogon. One of their top of the line models. BIII something. I think I liked it more for the meters on the front than any improvements in the sound. Admittedly, though, I bought it because I thought it would cure a 60hz hum I had coming thru my system that was driving me crazy trying to track it down. The Tice filter maybe might have made the hum 1/2 db lower. But it certainly didn't improve it enough to justify the $600+ price. The hum was still there big time. I finally figured out the hum was caused by a ground-isolation problem with my sub and cured it with a 39 cent 3-to-2 prong adapter. The hum was gone completeley. I tried my system with and without the Tice. couldn't tell enough of a difference, to me anyway, so I sold it.

Then in another drunken stupor, I bought a PS Audio Powerplant 300 Multiwave for about $650 on Audiogon. It's claim is to take the AC from the wall, convert it, then invert it back to perfect AC sinewaves. Then you could make adjustments to the sinewaves to suit your tastes. Problem was, with my old ears, I couldn't tell a difference between any of the modes. To be fair though there may actually be differences, and sometimes I thought I could hear some, but for me the differences I heard weren't enough to justify the cost. Personally, my feeling is that unless you're in an area that suffers frequent brown outs, all you really need is a good quality surge protector.

[ooppalla]

So I dropped by the Magnolia Room that is the higher end corner of just one of my local Best Buys stores (I really would love a 72" high Def Plasma, but I'll wait a few years so the price goes down hopefully by 50%+)... so I could hear receivers A/B'd. I can't comment if their switching system and signal was of equal quality, but when they compared the Denon 3805 with a $1,000++ Pioneer Elite receiver the Denon sounded more detailed and rich compared to the Elite that seemed a little course, they were played through some new infinity speakers. The salesman was surprised that I liked the Denon and commented how he felt that the Elite was more accurate ... but it is a matter of taste...

My Mitsubishi 150, twin mono-block sounds great but a little course when I run my Sony directly through it to the 4425s/14H subs. I do have the high frequency Lpads bouts .75db down from zero. I will let you know if I hear a difference with the 7300 with it's Toroidial power supply, which I should have hooked up by the weekend.

[hmolwitz]

I got an Adcom 5.1 preamp for $600 as a demo, and it sounded nice till it picked up an annoying a/c buzz in the digital section, 5 year warranty so it is off at the shop.
Running that with an Adcom 5 channel amp picked up for $100 at an estate sale.
The Outlaw gear looked good also.
I avoid Best Buy and Circuit city on general principal.
It replaced a Nakamichi 5.1 receiver that got the same buzz, but I fixed that by tightening all the screws inside the case to eliminate a ground fault.

[ooppalla]

More than I thought
First impressions on the 7300:
-Amp: Much smoother than my 25 year old Mitsubishi 150. I even turned up the L pads to flat on the 4425s. Cleaner and more detail. Not up to separates, I would guess, but a big step up in sound quality. Makes the 4425s shine...
- Its a toaster oven. Crank this baby and you can make toast, but go figure just 7x110++ watt power amps, etc.
- Bells and whistles It runs the world ... just have to read, highlight and reread 60+ pages of three column text. I think learning this baby will be my hobby for weeks and months ... maybe years. I need to study up on all the add ons you can get to run other amps, in other rooms like my back to Life Yamaha 850 for use in other rooms.
- The video processor does most of all it's work for HD ... so until I decide to pony up 4,000 for a flat screen I am happy with my CRT 36". Jost have to wait a few years for the size to go to 60" and the price to drop in half ... join the club
At this point, I think I found a keeper,
- As I listen/look at my system now... I am happy to report that what I what I learned 30+ years ago, speakers are #1 is still true. Thank you all, and especially Zilch for helping with the subs, plate amps and the 4425s and spotting all the deals out there. Much, Much thanks. GREAT speakers.

[Zilch]

Well, you're welcome, of course.

Sounds like you're set for AT LEAST six months or so....

[GordonW]

I can't comment if their switching system and signal was of equal quality, but when they compared the Denon 3805 with a $1,000++ Pioneer Elite receiver the Denon sounded more detailed and rich compared to the Elite that seemed a little course, they were played through some new infinity speakers.

Anyone who is basing their impression of Marantz from past year model units, remember... Marantz and Denon are the same company now. And Marantz is the "high end" division, of the two...

As of this current year products, the new Marantz stuff is just devastatingly good. In fact, I'm starting to recommend them over the NAD receivers, because of some very favorable experiences, in terms of sound quality, I've recently had driving a number of different speaker systems (anything from custom 12" 3-way JBL cabinets, to Tannoy Arena sub/sat systems). There's just a "speed" and "punch" to these amps, that HT receivers just don't usually have, especially at the outrageous output levels they can be run at!

Regards,
Gordon.

[Regis]

new Marantz stuff is just devastatingly good.

Model numbers would be nice! I'd like to see what's out there that's actually non-vintage, so that I may be able to check it out and possibly recommend something to the crowd that doesn't want 2 channel. Also, is this the higher-end stuff of audio stores or the C-City, B-Buy line?