Couple Questions about Recievers and Speakers

[theriddler07sms]

Ive been reading a few threads and have emailed Dave a few times. I have figured out I will be ordering Sierra 2's and a Horizon center and eventually rotating the 2's to surround and picking up RAAL Towers.

I was set on the SVS subs but recently heard some things about the rythmic subs so will check on those as well.

My budget for reciever is $1000 and am looking for one that can handle 2 subs, towers, center, surrounds, and possibly ceiling in the future.

My main listening is probably 80% movies, 10% gaming, 10% music. I have heard music listening will increase with better systems.

I have recently heard of Accessories4less and was checking on there and they seem to have some great deals. Some 65% off regular price. I was set on a denon x3200w but I can pick up and Integra 70.4 or Denon x6200w for right at $1000. Is it worth bumping up to these higher end recievers if I will never go beyond a 7 speaker system? I figured the speaker portion of my search would be harder but the reciever is killing me haha.

My room I have not measured yet. Its about 15x15 with a small hallway leading to my bedroom. ceilings are 7'. Seating is about 13 feet from where the tv will be

This is a rental right now and will hopefully be buying a house in a few years. (market sucks right now).

Lastly, is there anyone in the North or South Dakota area with ascend speakers? I would love to hear them in person but might not be an option for myself.

Also, what speaker/sub wire is recommended? That is another area that is very shady for me.

[sludgeogre]

I ordered my processor from Accessories 4 Less and I'm super happy with it. Great way to save some money for sure. I think it is worth it to get a nicer receiver at a refurbished price. You get double the value or more for your money. I don't think you'll be disappointed with whatever budget you can use on there. If you don't plan on going with Atmos then certainly get the best 7.1 receiver that you can. Don't worry about having 2 sub outputs as 99% of receivers that have two sub outputs are just splitting the sub output to two jacks. Only Dirac and a couple of other room correction systems are even capable of correcting multiple sub channels, and even then most Dirac installations sum the bass to one channel. It really is better that way anyway, from everything I have read.

So, as for the x3200w vs the x6200w, the only thing you're getting is more codecs and atmos type stuff. You get a slight bit more power, but not much. If you really don't plan on ever going with atmos, then certainly just stick with the x3200w and save yourself some money.

I have two Rythmik F12 subs and I absolutely love them. Everything else sounds bloated by comparison, but I haven't heard SVS subs. The servo technology really makes them insanely accurate and powerful at the same time.

Finally, as for cables, don't get suckered into spending a bunch of money, but don't go cheap with Monoprice or something else that might break or not make the connection at all. I bought all of my cables from Blue Jeans Cable and I'm really happy. Very straight forward and really well built. The ultrasonic welding they use to terminate their cables is the best connection you can possibly get, and the locking banana plugs couldn't possibly be any better of a connector either. Great prices and made in Seattle as well. www.bluejeanscable.com

[theriddler07sms]

So, as for the x3200w vs the x6200w, the only thing you're getting is more codecs and atmos type stuff. You get a slight bit more power, but not much. If you really don't plan on ever going with atmos, then certainly just stick with the x3200w and save yourself some money.

A4L doesnt have the 3200w for sale but they do have a 4200w. If there isnt much difference in power I can save a couple hundred bucks going with a the 4200 over the 6200.

So even though the recievers show 7.1 you can have a 7.4 system by just splitting the subs?

I have no intentions on going atmos for the next few years, and by than I can upgrade my reciever to handle it.

[sludgeogre]

A4L doesnt have the 3200w for sale but they do have a 4200w. If there isnt much difference in power I can save a couple hundred bucks going with a the 4200 over the 6200.

So even though the recievers show 7.1 you can have a 7.4 system by just splitting the subs?

I have no intentions on going atmos for the next few years, and by than I can upgrade my reciever to handle it.

Gotcha, yeah I would definitely go with the 4200w if that suits your needs.

Yes, you can split the sub output to a bunch of subs, but the better way is to do a "master/slave" chain. Rythmik subs have that as an option on their amps. There is an input from one sub, and an output for the next one. Seriously limits the amount of cabling you need to use. This method was apparently pioneered at clubs because they need a whole ton of subwoofers to fill those huge rooms with deep bass for that terrible EDM.

[theriddler07sms]

how are the integra recievers compared to the denon? Both are similar priced on A4L but the integra has a steeper discount.

[sludgeogre]

how are the integra recievers compared to the denon? Both are similar priced on A4L but the integra has a steeper discount.

They're in the same league. Both will make you really happy. Buy whichever one has the feature set that appeals to you the most, don't worry about which has the deeper discount, they'll sound pretty similar.

[justthinking]

Do you have Fry's or Video Only near where you live?

Fry's last week has brand new x4200w on sale for $899 and Video Only has it for $959 and they said they will match Fry's price if it went on sale again

While accessories4less usually has good price on refurbished units, since x4200w is now starting to be on clearance sale from multiple sources, I would rather get brand new units with 3 yrs warranty...

[sludgeogre]

Do you have Fry's or Video Only near where you live?

Fry's last week has brand new x4200w on sale for $899 and Video Only has it for $959 and they said they will match Fry's price if it went on sale again

While accessories4less usually has good price on refurbished units, since x4200w is now starting to be on clearance sale from multiple sources, I would rather get brand new units with 3 yrs warranty...

I have lived near a Fry's in Oregon and Las Vegas. Both of them were terrible and I regularly got defective parts from them, so I stopped buying from them a long time ago. They also got caught selling counterfeit RAM and CPU's so that was a big red flag.

I've had stellar luck with refurbished gear, as you're getting a unit that has gone through the QC process twice, and the second time is usually all hands on by a tech, so I like the peace of mind that I get from that. Also, Accessories 4 Less has a one year warranty, so if there's any problem with it when you get it, they'll take care of you. I don't get much extra peace of mind from an extended warranty, since they usually try to think of any reason they can to not do the repairs under warranty (depending on the company you're dealing with). I get that some people like a longer warranty and brand new stuff, but I've never really cared either way.

Again it's all up to you depending on the features that you want. Since you're not going for all of the new fancy codecs, you probably don't need the latest and greatest receiver. So yeah, refurbished or new, it's all up to you and your wallet.

[justthinking]

I have lived near a Fry's in Oregon and Las Vegas. Both of them were terrible and I regularly got defective parts from them, so I stopped buying from them a long time ago. They also got caught selling counterfeit RAM and CPU's so that was a big red flag.

The only reason to go for refurbished unit is price, if price is the same between brand new and refurbished units, I am sure 99% of us will choose brand new unit

Also, brand new units brought from authorized dealer has 2 or 3 years manufacturer's warranty (depend on models) while refurbished units typically only has 1 year warranty from the seller (this is true for receivers from all manufacturers such as Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Pioneer & etc)

In the case of x4200w, since Fry's is an authorized dealer, you get 3 years warranty from Denon

I am not saying OP should buy from Fry's, I just want to make him aware that 2015's receivers are now starting to be on clearance sale and it maybe worth while to look around and find one from an authorized dealer due to longer and better warranty

Also, if you use a good credit card like amex or discover card, you will get an extra year of warranty from your credit card company

[sludgeogre]

The only reason to go for refurbished unit is price, if price is the same between brand new and refurbished units, I am sure 99% of us will choose brand new unit

Also, brand new units brought from authorized dealer has 2 or 3 years manufacturer's warranty (depend on models) while refurbished units typically only has 1 year warranty from the seller (this is true for receivers from all manufacturers such as Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Pioneer & etc)

In the case of x4200w, since Fry's is an authorized dealer, you get 3 years warranty from Denon

I am not saying OP should buy from Fry's, I just want to make him aware that 2015's receivers are now starting to be on clearance sale and it maybe worth while to look around and find one from an authorized dealer due to longer and better warranty

Also, if you use a good credit card like amex or discover card, you will get an extra year of warranty from your credit card company

All valid points. I surely would never buy refurbished if they were the same price, regardless of QC. I got my Marantz AV7701 for 700 bucks, and it was over 1600 originally. Super happy with that, even with a one year warranty.