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Dave Herrera October 22nd 04 02:53 AM

AV Receiver
 
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as determined by
some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are nothing
more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe how they
did their test of receivers



L Alpert October 22nd 04 04:15 AM

Dave Herrera wrote:
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as
determined by some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that
most "test" are nothing more than a listening test. Even Consumer
Reports doesn't describe how they did their test of receivers


Let your ears be your guide. Quantative analysis is not as good a qualative
in this case.

Marantz, Pioneer and quite a few others all make good quality equipment. Go
to a showroom and listen to various ones with the same set of speakers.



Lucas Tam October 22nd 04 06:21 AM

"Dave Herrera" wrote in
:

What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as determined
by some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are
nothing more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't
describe how they did their test of receivers


Check out http://www.avsforum.com

You can get some good advice there.

--
Lucas Tam )
Please delete "REMOVE" from the e-mail address when replying.
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/coolspot18/

SndSysLtd October 22nd 04 02:16 PM

What is the best av receiver for under $1,000?

The new RX V2500 from Yamaha is worth a try.

normanstrong October 22nd 04 05:01 PM


"Dave Herrera" wrote in message
...
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as

determined by
some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are

nothing
more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe

how they
did their test of receivers.


CR may not have described how they did the tests, but they certainly
did them. I would be surprised if you could tell the difference in
sound quality between any 2 receivers. My advice is to follow CR
recommendations, unless there is some definite reason not to.

Norm Strong



MES October 22nd 04 06:09 PM

You have to include the Denon AVR3805 in your search.
"Dave Herrera" wrote in message
...
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as determined by
some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are

nothing
more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe how

they
did their test of receivers






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John Carrier October 23rd 04 12:18 AM

I can recommend Denon from personal experience. Excellent and flexible
designs with a lot of value, features and solid sound at their price points.
Onkyo and Yamaha get excellent reviews as well.

The one feature I'd consider essential, but won't show up for a quite while
at this level, is full video upconversion with the latest digital video
inputs and outputs. I think you'll eventually want to have 3 digital video
inputs switched to a single output: HD DVD, HD DVR and HDTV (satellite,
cable or off-air).

R / John

"Dave Herrera" wrote in message
...
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as determined by
some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are
nothing
more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe how
they
did their test of receivers





October 23rd 04 08:46 AM

What is the best car? the best set of speakers? The best woman?
There are about a zillion receivers under a grand, and there is no
scientific "test" to determine the best.
Some might have great amp, but ergonomically suck, or an exelent dsp.
The reason for all of the variety is that everybody has different taste.
Some people like a sucky sony because its cheap. Some might like the famous
rolled off highs of a Denon, thinking its smooth. Mayby you like NAD, with
its chicken **** grey plastic faceplate and exelent amps
Or the Harmon Kardon with its cheap made in china ambiance and great amps
powered by a power supply that has the lifespan of a fruitfly.
It really just boils down to what you want, really
Some like blondes, I myself like brunettes
Picking a good receiver is your responsibility, you wont be able to point to
some objective "test" and say "its their fault" when your new pride and joy
catches fire and burns down the neigborhood.
Make a decision
"Dave Herrera" wrote in message
...
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as determined by
some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are

nothing
more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe how

they
did their test of receivers





d a v e October 24th 04 06:43 AM

Some people like a sucky sony because its cheap. Some might like the
famous
rolled off highs of a Denon, thinking its smooth. Mayby you like NAD, with
its chicken **** grey plastic faceplate and exelent amps
Or the Harmon Kardon with its cheap made in china ambiance and great amps
powered by a power supply that has the lifespan of a fruitfly.


great descriptions !
could you describe marantz and rotel for me?

thanks !



Jeff October 24th 04 03:56 PM

"Dave Herrera" wrote in message ...
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as determined by
some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are nothing
more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe how they
did their test of receivers


Why are you replying to a thread that's 5 YEARS OLD? TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!

N October 25th 04 08:18 PM

"normanstrong" wrote in message news:[email protected]_s53...
"Dave Herrera" wrote in message
...
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as

determined by
some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are

nothing
more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe

how they
did their test of receivers.


CR may not have described how they did the tests, but they certainly
did them. I would be surprised if you could tell the difference in
sound quality between any 2 receivers. My advice is to follow CR
recommendations, unless there is some definite reason not to.


OK by me. I'll add that I suggest that the OP only try the gear
locally and buy locally, to make sure he gets a receiver that's easy
for him to use. Modern HT receivers have so many features, settings,
and capabilities that it's important to get a receiver that's easy to
use. A receiver that's hard or tricky to use will eventually see
little use.

The OP might also consider receivers from the same brand as other gear
he owns. Same-brand gear can often have brand-specific linking
features that will make the gear work together in a convenient way.
For example, inserting a DVD in the DVD player and pressing Play can
cause the receiver to power up automatically and go to the receiver's
correct settings. Check the manuals of the gear for these features.

Norm Strong


N October 25th 04 08:20 PM

(Jeff) wrote in message om...
"Dave Herrera" wrote in message ...
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as determined by
some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are nothing
more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe how they
did their test of receivers


Why are you replying to a thread that's 5 YEARS OLD? TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!


Dave's post is dated 21-Oct-04. Checking Google, I see another post
with the same title from 1999, so maybe that's what you're looking at.

UnionPac2004 October 26th 04 12:47 AM

(N) wrote:

(Jeff) wrote in message
. com...
"Dave Herrera" wrote in message

...
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as determined by
some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are

nothing
more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe how

they
did their test of receivers


Why are you replying to a thread that's 5 YEARS OLD? TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!


Dave's post is dated 21-Oct-04. Checking Google, I see another post
with the same title from 1999, so maybe that's what you're looking at.


Perhaps you're right. I saw it as the 4th post in that particular thread on
Google Groups, dating back to 1999. But now that I see it HERE, it comes up as
the first post in an apparently new thread. My bad. Sorry Dave!



November 12th 04 09:29 PM


"N" wrote in message
om...
"normanstrong" wrote in message

news:[email protected]_s53...
"Dave Herrera" wrote in message
...
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as

determined by
some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are

nothing
more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe

how they
did their test of receivers.


They never do, which is as good a reason to be leery of them as anything
else. These guys are great with toaster ovens and steam irons, anything more
complicated than a blow dryer and they are in over their head, not to
mention their obvious bias

CR may not have described how they did the tests, but they certainly
did them. I would be surprised if you could tell the difference in
sound quality between any 2 receivers. My advice is to follow CR
recommendations, unless there is some definite reason not to.


OK by me. I'll add that I suggest that the OP only try the gear
locally and buy locally, to make sure he gets a receiver that's easy
for him to use. Modern HT receivers have so many features, settings,
and capabilities that it's important to get a receiver that's easy to
use. A receiver that's hard or tricky to use will eventually see
little use.

The OP might also consider receivers from the same brand as other gear
he owns. Same-brand gear can often have brand-specific linking
features that will make the gear work together in a convenient way.
For example, inserting a DVD in the DVD player and pressing Play can
cause the receiver to power up automatically and go to the receiver's
correct settings. Check the manuals of the gear for these features.

Norm Strong




N November 15th 04 04:52 AM

wrote in message ...
"N" wrote in message
om...
"normanstrong" wrote in message

news:[email protected]_s53...
"Dave Herrera" wrote in message
...
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as

determined by
some scientific test, at least in part.


If you're referring to Consumer Reports' tests, as published in the
December issue, they didn't test for the above. They reviewed some
receivers in the $200 to $800 range, liked the $800 Onkyo the best,
but recommended a $300 Panasonic that scored almost as well.

Seems that most "test" are

nothing
more than a listening test.


Depends on the magazine. Among the consumer AV mags, Sound & Vision
does extensive tests.

I sometimes read the UK magazine "What HiFi?," which reviews a huge
amount of gear and does so often in comparisons (which I like), but
doesn't really test the gear (which bothers me). It's entirely
subjective. This year, they reviewed equipment racks and commented on
their sound quality! Weird.

Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe

how they
did their test of receivers.


The magazine doesn't have the room to describe every detail of their
tests. The audience of the magazine is general, typical consumers, not
the sort of people who want to review the testing process or get into
a lot of detail.

They never do, which is as good a reason to be leery of them as anything
else. These guys are great with toaster ovens and steam irons, anything more
complicated than a blow dryer and they are in over their head,


The testing the magazine does is pretty sophisticated (I believe they
have an anechoic chamber for speaker tests, for example; even many of
the audio magazines done't have those, BTW), they just don't dwell on
that in the magazine, because most typical readers want to read
results, not so much about the testing process, IMHO. Anyone who wants
more info about the testing process can always contact Consumers'
Union and the CR folks, I assume.

(snip)

CR may not have described how they did the tests, but they certainly
did them. I would be surprised if you could tell the difference in
sound quality between any 2 receivers. My advice is to follow CR
recommendations, unless there is some definite reason not to.


Agree. At the very least, it's a good place to start, because CR tests
gear in groups, and I think most consumers want to look at and compare
gear in groups. Sound & Vision does this sometimes also:

www.soundandvisionmag.com

I haven't checked the above web site, but I know in recent months S&V
did a comparison test of (three?) AV receivers that might be useful to
a shopper.

What would I do if I were shopping for a receiver? Unless I was loyal
to a particular brand, I'd probably look at the December SR and the
last year of S&V to get some ideas, then I'd go to my local stores.
Receivers are so complex now that the user interface and ergonomics
are very important to me, perhaps more than what goes on inside the
receivers. If a receiver's not easy to use, I won't use it. Been
there, done that.

I'd also look at whether a receiver will be easy to use with other
gear, which is something that gets scant attention from reviewers,
which can lead to consumers with a hodgepodge of gear, where each
piece of hardware requires its own remote, unless all functions can be
consolidated to a universal remote. Another way to get that sort of
simplicity of operation is to get a one-brand system from makers such
as JVC or Sony that offer linking that keeps all the hardware in
synch.

(snip)

N November 15th 04 04:56 AM

(UnionPac2004) wrote in message ...
(N) wrote:

(Jeff) wrote in message
. com...
"Dave Herrera" wrote in message

...
What is the best av receiver for under $1,000? The best as determined by
some scientific test, at least in part. Seems that most "test" are

nothing
more than a listening test. Even Consumer Reports doesn't describe how

they
did their test of receivers

Why are you replying to a thread that's 5 YEARS OLD? TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!


Dave's post is dated 21-Oct-04. Checking Google, I see another post
with the same title from 1999, so maybe that's what you're looking at.


Perhaps you're right. I saw it as the 4th post in that particular thread on
Google Groups, dating back to 1999. But now that I see it HERE, it comes up as
the first post in an apparently new thread. My bad. Sorry Dave!


It's kinda interesting how things on the internet can be viewed
different ways, with each reader thinking they're seeing the one
correct view. For example, in this thread, which when viewed in
Google, could be easily misinterpreted to be a thread that started in
1999. In this case, the confusion is caused by the 1999 and the 2004
threads both being started by posts with identical titles in the same
newsgroup.

N November 16th 04 02:47 AM

(N) wrote in message . com...
wrote in message ...
"N" wrote in message
om...
"normanstrong" wrote in message

news:[email protected]_s53...
"Dave Herrera" wrote in message
...


(snip)

What would I do if I were shopping for a receiver? Unless I was loyal
to a particular brand, I'd probably look at the December SR


Oops, meant to say "December CR," as in Consumer Reports.

(snip)


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