Digital receiver options

[boludaso]

Good morning to everyone.

I was an admirer of the Pany XR-55, but bought a traditional rec'r a few years ago. The pioneer 1015 that i bought does not have hdmi, and its huge and heavy. i plan on retiring it to my bedroom and am currently looking for a digital or smaller platform type rec'r.

The only thing that fits the bill that i could find are the Yamaha RX and HTR rec'rs.

Does anyone have one and what are your feelings/findings with it?

And are there any other rec'rs i should be looking at that are smaller (physically) but still give the hi-fi that i expect?

Thanks for any help/suggestions you can give.

[flyingturtle]

You could check this thread on Avsforum.
http://ww.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=417894

I also use a Panasonic XR-55 in one of my systems and I do like it. Digital receivers do have a different sound I find when compared to my Class A/B amps. When I did some searching around recently, it seemed that their weren't many choices these days since Panasonic stopped making receivers.

From that thread, there is some recent digital receiver models from Samsung (Samsung HW-C900 or HW0C700) and also from Sherwood. For the Sherwood, the Sherwood R-904N and Sherwood Netboxx has gotten some buzz and I think their are dedicated threads on Avsforum for those models. I don't have experience with any of them however.

Pioneer SC series is another option since they use Class D ICE amps and the SC-55 and 57 are fairly popular. If I had the extra dough, I'd probably look into buying one of those. It's a fairly robust receiver though so I don't know if it fits your dimension requirements. Perhaps the Samsung or Sherwood would be a better fit.

No personal experience with the Yamaha RX you mentioned.

[joez28ls1]

Just within the last 2 days I have moved from my Panny SA-XR55 powering my Sierra Towers to a Yamaha RX-A2010. Right now all I have tried is "Pure Direct" mode (2-channel & bypasses any bass management) connected via HDMI. I am very happy with the sound from the Yamaha receiver. For reference, one week ago I returned an Anthem MRX300 after trying it for a week because for 2-channel music (CDs) I much preferred the XR55. The Yamaha RX-A800 can be had for quite a good deal right now from a popular internet site and would probably sound quite similiar. Hope I've helped!

[JustaSheep]

Good morning to everyone.

I was an admirer of the Pany XR-55, but bought a traditional rec'r a few years ago. The pioneer 1015 that i bought does not have hdmi, and its huge and heavy. i plan on retiring it to my bedroom and am currently looking for a digital or smaller platform type rec'r.

The only thing that fits the bill that i could find are the Yamaha RX and HTR rec'rs.

Does anyone have one and what are your feelings/findings with it?

And are there any other rec'rs i should be looking at that are smaller (physically) but still give the hi-fi that i expect?

Thanks for any help/suggestions you can give.

Well, Onkyo is out (they are beasts). It's always seemed to me NAD amps are a little smaller than many of the others. Certainly good quality and reputation (as far as I know, that is). Maybe something like the NAD T748.

There is a thread on it over at avsforum.com for peer review and one at audioholics if you want to hear how great it is and has no faults.

[flyingturtle]

Just within the last 2 days I have moved from my Panny SA-XR55 powering my Sierra Towers to a Yamaha RX-A2010. Right now all I have tried is "Pure Direct" mode (2-channel & bypasses any bass management) connected via HDMI. I am very happy with the sound from the Yamaha receiver. For reference, one week ago I returned an Anthem MRX300 after trying it for a week because for 2-channel music (CDs) I much preferred the XR55. The Yamaha RX-A800 can be had for quite a good deal right now from a popular internet site and would probably sound quite similiar. Hope I've helped!
Interesting. So you find the RX-A2010 to have a similar sound quality to the Panasonic? I may have to listen to that model sometime. I like my old 2-channel Class A/B amps but there is something special about the XR55. It could be my imagination, but things sound clearer with that receiver, a little less muddled, perhaps at the cost of some bass, but it's a nice pleasing sound, and the I find the imaging seems to improve a tiny bit, too, at least when I tried it on the Towers. Wasn't sure if that sound was particular to that Class D amp and that Panasonic. Good to know that a recent receiver model is comparable in sound quality.

That RX model is also intriguing because it uses YPAO and can EQ a subwoofer, if it's like the previous year's RX-A2000 model. Of course you are using Pure Direct mode and don't have room-correction enabled, but it's nice to know that it's available.

To OP, you may be able to get deals on the RX-A2000, which is the older model. I read a post on AVSforum (link here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1360778)) that someone bought just it in the $600 to $700 range at Magnolia. If you have one near you, you may get lucky.

[Bsound]

Just within the last 2 days I have moved from my Panny SA-XR55 powering my Sierra Towers to a Yamaha RX-A2010. Right now all I have tried is "Pure Direct" mode (2-channel & bypasses any bass management) connected via HDMI. I am very happy with the sound from the Yamaha receiver. For reference, one week ago I returned an Anthem MRX300 after trying it for a week because for 2-channel music (CDs) I much preferred the XR55. The Yamaha RX-A800 can be had for quite a good deal right now from a popular internet site and would probably sound quite similiar. Hope I've helped!

Hey Joez - If you are willing, would be great to hear more of your experience with the RX-A2010 and the Sierra Towers. I am considering purchasing one of these bad boys for powering my Sierras, NrT's, and Towers in the future. Thanks

[joez28ls1]

Hey Joez - If you are willing, would be great to hear more of your experience with the RX-A2010 and the Sierra Towers. I am considering purchasing one of these bad boys for powering my Sierras, NrT's, and Towers in the future. Thanks

I will try to get a mini-review posted in the next few days!