Ant

Right ,

Home cinema geeks, i need your help.

I've narrowed it down to 3

Onkyo TX-NR525
Onkyo 616
Sony STR-DN1030

upgrading from an onkyo receiver , i know 616 is an older model but its now dropped in the price range of the other two.


whats your advice ?

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

I just recently I saw a THX model for £260 on the Hotdeals website. If your getting a new one you may as well make sure its THX even if you don't use it.


This one is better than the ones above as it does 4k upscaling and is 7.2


http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/tsp-...sounds-1678594

Ant

is the 515 a thx model?

the 616 is £249 and thx, wouldnt that be the better choice?
http://www.richersounds.com/product/...ky-txnr616-blk

just me

iTrader: (3)

Whats your max budget and what speakers will you be using?

jods

Arcam AVR and Bowers Wilkins speakers (XT Range). Can't go wrong with that kit.

jods

£5K for the speakers and £3k for the full Arcam kit including DVD player

Dingdongler

I don't understand. Are you saying that Ant has that kit? Or are you advicing him to buy that even though he is asking about buying an AVR?





Btw, what's a DVD player?

Ant

I have some mission floor standers not top range but ok for what I need

yabbadoo4

iTrader: (8)

the 616 looks a good buy. streaming from network attached storage is a great feature if computer and amp are in different rooms, also internet radio and 4k upscaling although looks like it will be a while for that content to start coming through. all these amps have similar features but the most important thing is if you like the sound. id try and get a listen to the ones your considering and see which one sounds best to your ears. some av amps are very musical if it will be playing music as much as movies. depends what the main use will be.

just me

iTrader: (3)

I had an avr600, p7 power amp, b&w cm9's, two bk monoliths, sold it all to buy stuff for the car

jods

You clearly are a person of the highest calibre. Not many people can truly appreciate the quality of that kit.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

If its a pissing contest I have Kef reference fronts, a Kef 200c centre and custom Gale speakers for the rest all running thru an Onkyo tx-nr809 amp



Ant, I checked the specs of those amps on Richer sounds 1st and it said they were only 5.1 and nothing about THX.

Dingdongler

Oh well since you asked...

I have Monitor Audio flagship platinum 300 speakers and matching centre, Onkyo SC PR5507 processor, three separate Quad 909 poweramps and a Lyngdorf SDA2175 amp to run the processor.

For music I use the same speakers but an Audio Research LS17 preamp, Quad CDP2 and a Whest phono preamp when using my highly modified Technics SL1210.

I do love music!

Ant

this is blurb on the 616

it has been awarded THX Select2 Plus Certification, meaning it meets exacting standards set by the Lucas Film studios - that's highly impressive given the price.



is thx select not thx ? the 616 is 7.2 also the sony is ,


the onkyo 525 just 5.2

just me

iTrader: (3)

I really badly wanted those speakers!!!

The quad amps are great!

But bought my car instead, will get back into hifi when my car is finished

just me

iTrader: (3)

qouted the wrong post!!

Anyway, I would go for the 7.2 option as you will be able to bi-amp the fronts. As far as the thx certification, I have found it doesnt really make a difference, heard plenty of avr's that dont have it and sound stunning.

I would base my choice on sound quality first.

Dingdongler

Thanks for your kind comments, the speakers are one of my prized possesions!

And completely agree with you about the THX certification. Just because one avr has it doesn't mean it would definitely sound better than one that doesn't.

yabbadoo4

iTrader: (8)

your ears are the judge fella. the bells and whistles depend on if you need them or not.

SRSport

Certainly at the lower end of the AV spectrum I would in fact look to avoid THX as obtaining the licence is expensive.

Would you rather spend £500 on an AVR that has £500 components and your ears to tell you they are good or £500 on an AVR that has £400 spent on components and £100 on Mr Lucas doing it on your behalf?

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

The THX cert audio will only come into its own when watching a blueray that is THX as apart from that it won't make any difference. I'm all about the films so would rather not miss the extra audio when watching a film

Dingdongler

No, not necessarily. Read SRSport's post above, he has hit the nail on the head.

just me

iTrader: (3)

when I still had all my av/hifi kit, I had regular access to the pioneer lx90, which was thx ultra 2 plus certified, still chose the arcam which wasnt.

Ant

great lets move it here where it wont get seen.......

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

I recently got a YAMAHA RXV673 as a product replacement from Richer Sounds. Far superior sound quality to my old sony 2400es. Has 7.2 also as well as networking options etc

http://www.richersounds.com/product/...ama-rxv673-blk

scoobyverysoon

iTrader: (1)

I used to have the Onkyo 609 which was great but had a random ARC problem richer sounds upgraded me to a 616 which has been spot on does everything you need it plus has even more HDMI imputs and duel outputs to recommended

Littleted

I use pioneer which have been great, their new ones have spotify built in..... Worth a look

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

You need to go and find somewhere to actually listen to them, only you can tell if you like the way they sound.

Take Ding's setup for example... no amount of modification could ever make a Technics 1210 or whatever it is sound good to my ears, but that's just me. Give me a Linn or Michell turntable over that thing any day.... but that is all just personal preference hence why you need to listen to them

Littleted

Ant Onkoyo are good, and for your price bracket i doubt there will be much in the specs

I did find this which is good for the money, does 4k upscaling also which is a nice to have for when you do buy that new TV
http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-12449-onk...upscaling.aspx

One thing to bare in mind, Pioneer use Air Studios from this Model up VSX-423-K
The worst thing about Home cinema is getting the levels and equalization right, no matter how good you think you are they just are never right, Wife nagging, Too much gun shots, or i cant hear what there saying.

The Air studio option on the Pioneer does it all for you, i setup my speakers where i want them, i then place a Microphone in the centre of the room or where i,ll be sitting, press a few button the the remote and leave the room, it takes 15min to sample sound distance height and there perfect when complete.

IO do think onkoya may have something like this.

But i had a mate who bought lots of meridian kit, ( this ****s expensive 12k for a dvd player ) Sevenoaks came to set it up and they did the same as what airplay do, but manually. The guy even said Pioneers Airplay was the best way to get the best sound but unfortunately for him the 21k meridian AV amp didnt do it LOL.

Just an idea anyway.

Pioneer actually have them in the highend car stereos now, i did it in mine when i got the 930BT, i do think other vendors may have this now, my amps over 10 years old but still going strong, just missing HDMI

Ant

My onkyo had a set up mic and that's 5 years old so new ones must.
I find though they struggle with sub levels so have to manually adjust it

Thanks for the tips , think I'm swaying for the 616 only reason for the sony was AirPlay

Littleted

Did you have a sep sub Ant ? if your Amp does LFE and has a designated Phono for it, then the amp will cater for it, if you had to biwire it into the two fronts or another way, then they sometimes struggle as its Pinging the same outputs twice