AVR recommendations @ around $500

[paulrlight]

Hi y'all

Firstly, thanks for all the help so far.

I need to buy a new receiver.

Speakers - Sierra 2's LCR, CBM 170SE rears and Rythmik LV12R sub.


Likes :

Network (ethernet is O.K.)
Spotify
5.1 is enough
HDMI inputs and 1 output

I think that's it.


Paul

[paulrlight]

Wow, 50 views and no replies.

Was it something I said?

Paul

[markie]

Hi Paul

You have a fairly good Denon receiver now, which has Airplay. I doesn't have Spotify. However you should be able to stream Spotify from your device (iOS or Android) to your Denon receiver, via Airplay. Have you attempted this?

Mark

[paulrlight]

Hi Paul

You have a fairly good Denon receiver now, which has Airplay. I doesn't have Spotify. However you should be able to stream Spotify from your device (iOS or Android) to your Denon receiver, via Airplay. Have you attempted this?


Mark


Airplay worked very well.

I've sold my Denon AVR 1613 along with my Energy Classic Take 5 speakers. So, I need a replacement.

Paul

[FirstReflect]

If you're looking to buy a new AV Receiver for $500 or less, I would recommend Denon myself.

You can get some rather excellent deals over at Acessories4Less.com . If you're not familiar with accessories4less, do not let the "refurbished" labels deter you in any way. A4L works directly with the manufacturers and the stock they sell comes directly from the manufacturers. There is no shady stuff or "grey market" stuff or anything like that going on. As proof of that, you get a full 1 year warranty directly from the manufacturers. No 90 day BS and no 3rd party warranty shenanigans. The units sold are occasionally an "open box", a return, or a fully refurbished unit. But they are also very often a completely brand new unit that just happens to be being cleared out of inventory by the manufacturers.

And right now, Denon is big time clearing out their E Series and Xx000 Series AV Receivers, so you can get some pretty high end models for rather amazing discounts with a high likelihood that it's literally a brand new, never-been-opened unit that simply being cleared out of inventory to make room for the new models that are just going on sale now.

So the big question is: do you want HDMI 2.0? Because if you're fine with HDMI 1.4, you can grab an AVR-X1000 or an AVR-X2000 for well under $500.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx1000/denon-avr-x1000-5.1-channel-networking-receiver-w/airplay/1.html

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx2000/denon-avr-x2000-7.1-ch-4k-ultra-hd-networking-receiver-w/airplay/1.html

The X1000 has all of the features that you listed. But the one thing I like to point out is that it does not do any sort of video conversion and it does not have any component video inputs. So if you have an older device - maybe a Wii or an original Xbox360 that didn't have an HDMI output - then getting the X2000 with its component video input and video up-conversion to HDMI would be a good idea, even though you don't need the 7 amps ;)

Personally, I think the upgrade to Audyssey Silver with MultEQ XT is worth it over the less expensive E or S Series models in Denon's lineup. And at accessories4less' prices, there's really no reason not to go for the X Series.

Now, if you DO want HDMI 2.0, then that changes things. You'll want to look at the newer S series from Denon, although you might be able to afford the new AVR-X1100. Once again, stepping up to the Xx100 Series gives you Audyssey Silver instead of Audyssey Bronze (or no Audyssey at all in the case of the lowest priced S Series model).

I've not totally familiarized myself with all the details of the new S and Xx100 Series models yet. So have a study of them over on Denon.com to make sure you get all the features you want if you go this route. The biggies are obviously HDMI 2.0 and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, though. That's what the S Series is giving you over the E Series, and that's what the Xx100 Series is giving you over the Xx000 Series.

I hope that's of some help!

- Rob H.

[markie]

What Rob said :) I too was about to recommend the Denon X2000 because it does Spotify and it's at half of its original price, at $350 at A4L
Mark

[paulrlight]

If you're looking to buy a new AV Receiver for $500 or less, I would recommend Denon myself.

You can get some rather excellent deals over at Acessories4Less.com . If you're not familiar with accessories4less, do not let the "refurbished" labels deter you in any way. A4L works directly with the manufacturers and the stock they sell comes directly from the manufacturers. There is no shady stuff or "grey market" stuff or anything like that going on. As proof of that, you get a full 1 year warranty directly from the manufacturers. No 90 day BS and no 3rd party warranty shenanigans. The units sold are occasionally an "open box", a return, or a fully refurbished unit. But they are also very often a completely brand new unit that just happens to be being cleared out of inventory by the manufacturers.

And right now, Denon is big time clearing out their E Series and Xx000 Series AV Receivers, so you can get some pretty high end models for rather amazing discounts with a high likelihood that it's literally a brand new, never-been-opened unit that simply being cleared out of inventory to make room for the new models that are just going on sale now.

So the big question is: do you want HDMI 2.0? Because if you're fine with HDMI 1.4, you can grab an AVR-X1000 or an AVR-X2000 for well under $500.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx1000/denon-avr-x1000-5.1-channel-networking-receiver-w/airplay/1.html

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx2000/denon-avr-x2000-7.1-ch-4k-ultra-hd-networking-receiver-w/airplay/1.html

The X1000 has all of the features that you listed. But the one thing I like to point out is that it does not do any sort of video conversion and it does not have any component video inputs. So if you have an older device - maybe a Wii or an original Xbox360 that didn't have an HDMI output - then getting the X2000 with its component video input and video up-conversion to HDMI would be a good idea, even though you don't need the 7 amps ;)

Personally, I think the upgrade to Audyssey Silver with MultEQ XT is worth it over the less expensive E or S Series models in Denon's lineup. And at accessories4less' prices, there's really no reason not to go for the X Series.

Now, if you DO want HDMI 2.0, then that changes things. You'll want to look at the newer S series from Denon, although you might be able to afford the new AVR-X1100. Once again, stepping up to the Xx100 Series gives you Audyssey Silver instead of Audyssey Bronze (or no Audyssey at all in the case of the lowest priced S Series model).

I've not totally familiarized myself with all the details of the new S and Xx100 Series models yet. So have a study of them over on Denon.com to make sure you get all the features you want if you go this route. The biggies are obviously HDMI 2.0 and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, though. That's what the S Series is giving you over the E Series, and that's what the Xx100 Series is giving you over the Xx000 Series.

I hope that's of some help!

- Rob H.

Thanks.

No "old" equipment here. All HDMI, cable, XBOX 360 and HTPC (built 2012). What's the difference between 1.4 and 2.0?


Paul

[FirstReflect]

HDMI 2.0 is the new standard that is capable of allowing 4K resolution at 60 fps and potentially some other new features, too, such as support for the new Rec. 2020 color gamut that is part of the UltraHD spec, higher chroma subsampling rates, and up to 32 channels of audio with up to 4 simultaneous audio streams.

In truth, though, HDMI 2.0 just allows for more data; 18 Gbps vs. the "old" 10.2 Gbps limit of version 1.4.

And it is VERY important for people to know that you do NOT need new HDMI cables. Fully licences HDMI cables only come in two "speeds": Standard or High Speed. Any fully licensed High Speed HDMI is already completely capable of passing the full HDMI 2.0 bandwidth. There is no such thing as an "HDMI 2.0 cable". And anything being marketed as such is not following the rules laid out by HDMI LLC. There is only Standard Speed or High Speed. Either can be with or without Ethernet. But there are only those two speeds when it comes to cables.

So HDMI 2.0 is strictly about the chips inside of some piece of gear. The plugs remain the same, the cables remain the same.

Do you need HDMI 2.0? Certainly not right this minute. But if and when 4K UltraHD ever takes off, then you might need it then.

HDMI 1.4 can already handle 4K resolution, but only at a maximum of 30 fps. That's sufficient for the vast majority of movies and TV shows, though, almost all of which are shot at 24 fps.

The real need for HDMI 2.0 will arrive when devices equipped with HDCP 2.2 come to market. HDCP 2.2 is the new copy protection scheme that goes hand-in-hand with future 4K content and HDMI 2.0. It's there because apparently the head honchos in Hollywood think that people copy movies by attaching some sort of recorder to the HDMI output of a player. Yes, they are that out of touch.

But their ignorance and stupidity means that law abiding citizens have to put up with yet another anti-piracy scheme that will do nothing but cause headaches for the people who obey the law while being a complete non-factor for pirates who have never copied anything via an HDMI connection anyway. Wonderful, isn't it?

Anywho, it's anyone's guess as to when a 4K disc format might arrive. And we'll have to see if the streaming and downloading services that are already delivering 4K content will be forced into limiting availability strictly to HDCP 2.2 compliant devices at some point in the future. As of right now, HDMI 1.4 is sufficient. Nothing's streaming at 60 fps yet.

So it all depends on how long you plan to keep this AV Receiver. If you think you might upgrade again in, say, 5 years or so, then I wouldn't worry about getting HDMI 2.0 right now. There are still many things being worked out when it comes to 4K, so there's a chance that even an HDMI 2.0 AV Receiver purchased today might not be compatible with some future part of the spec. HDMI 2.1 is surely not that far away ;)

But if you plan to keep this AV Receiver for 10 years or more, then you might as well be as "future proof" as you can be at this moment. There WILL come a time when you'll want some feature or other that is only available via an HDMI 2.0 connection and won't be available via HDMI 1.4. But it's certainly not right this minute.

[paulrlight]

HDMI 2.0 is the new standard that is capable of allowing 4K resolution at 60 fps and potentially some other new features, too, such as support for the new Rec. 2020 color gamut that is part of the UltraHD spec, higher chroma subsampling rates, and up to 32 channels of audio with up to 4 simultaneous audio streams.

In truth, though, HDMI 2.0 just allows for more data; 18 Gbps vs. the "old" 10.2 Gbps limit of version 1.4.

And it is VERY important for people to know that you do NOT need new HDMI cables. Fully licences HDMI cables only come in two "speeds": Standard or High Speed. Any fully licensed High Speed HDMI is already completely capable of passing the full HDMI 2.0 bandwidth. There is no such thing as an "HDMI 2.0 cable". And anything being marketed as such is not following the rules laid out by HDMI LLC. There is only Standard Speed or High Speed. Either can be with or without Ethernet. But there are only those two speeds when it comes to cables.

So HDMI 2.0 is strictly about the chips inside of some piece of gear. The plugs remain the same, the cables remain the same.

Do you need HDMI 2.0? Certainly not right this minute. But if and when 4K UltraHD ever takes off, then you might need it then.

HDMI 1.4 can already handle 4K resolution, but only at a maximum of 30 fps. That's sufficient for the vast majority of movies and TV shows, though, almost all of which are shot at 24 fps.

The real need for HDMI 2.0 will arrive when devices equipped with HDCP 2.2 come to market. HDCP 2.2 is the new copy protection scheme that goes hand-in-hand with future 4K content and HDMI 2.0. It's there because apparently the head honchos in Hollywood think that people copy movies by attaching some sort of recorder to the HDMI output of a player. Yes, they are that out of touch.

But their ignorance and stupidity means that law abiding citizens have to put up with yet another anti-piracy scheme that will do nothing but cause headaches for the people who obey the law while being a complete non-factor for pirates who have never copied anything via an HDMI connection anyway. Wonderful, isn't it?

Anywho, it's anyone's guess as to when a 4K disc format might arrive. And we'll have to see if the streaming and downloading services that are already delivering 4K content will be forced into limiting availability strictly to HDCP 2.2 compliant devices at some point in the future. As of right now, HDMI 1.4 is sufficient. Nothing's streaming at 60 fps yet.

So it all depends on how long you plan to keep this AV Receiver. If you think you might upgrade again in, say, 5 years or so, then I wouldn't worry about getting HDMI 2.0 right now. There are still many things being worked out when it comes to 4K, so there's a chance that even an HDMI 2.0 AV Receiver purchased today might not be compatible with some future part of the spec. HDMI 2.1 is surely not that far away ;)

But if you plan to keep this AV Receiver for 10 years or more, then you might as well be as "future proof" as you can be at this moment. There WILL come a time when you'll want some feature or other that is only available via an HDMI 2.0 connection and won't be available via HDMI 1.4. But it's certainly not right this minute.



Thank you.

I think that I'm happy with a 5 year product lifespan for around $500.

Any thoughts on Yamaha AVR 's

Paul

[markie]

Hi Paul

The rx-v675 is on sale for $370 (reburbished) down from $650

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrxv675bl/yamaha-rx-v675-7.2-channel-network-av-receiver-w/airplay/1.html

It doesn't have Spotify but Yamaha has provided a firmware update for supporting Spotify Connect with this particular model, so I you have a device with Spotify you can stream it to this Yamaha. Don't know what the sound quality is however compared to having Spotify right in the receiver.

Some people prefer Yamaha over Denon, others prefer the Denon. The room correction software is different, too. With the discount you can't go far wrong with either. If you prefer familiarity, the Denon would be the way to go. If you are the type who likes to mix it up you may appreciate the different approach of the Yamaha...
Choices, choices!
Good luck
Mark

[2000m2]

I'm very happy with out Denon AVR-E400. We bought it new from Amazon and it was well within your budget. Set-up was pretty straightforward, all on the TV/screen. Just don't try to use banana plugs on the Front Right speaker. Our speaker set-up is similar to yours, but our rears are the HTM's and everything sounds great. The iPhone app works really well too.

Good Luck!