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Need suggestions replacing my receiver

Hi all.
My family living room (20 x 24) is also where I have my A/V equipment. Right now I have the following:
Onkyo TX-NR906
500 GB Playstation 3
Sony 300 Disc Changer
Focal Chorus 826V towers
Focal Chorus CC 800 V Center
Paradigm SA-30 V.3's for the sides and rears
55" Samsung LED TV.

I have never been overly impressed with the Onkyo TX-NR906. I use this setup for probably 60% movies and watching television and 40% music. Music sounds good but not dynamic, movies are good but not really like being in a theatre. I feel like the setup should be more dynamic and louder. I do listen to it at high volume levels from time to time.
Last week the HDMI inputs stopped working, I have googled the issue and I could actually have it fixed locally. I am considering buying a new receiver, or seperates. I really don't want to spend over 2000.00. What do you guys suggest?
128x128real57vetteguy
6 responses Add your response
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
For 2 large, I'd be looking at separates. Get a nice preprocessor - Sherbourn, Marantz, Arcam, etc. and mate it up to a high-quality power amp.

An example: Right now, Sherbourn has a *smokin'* deal on their PT-7030 preprocessor and their PA-7150 amp - buy the prepro and get the amp for free(!!). Total cost is $1799. And for that you get a very capable, fully balanced preprocessor mated to a balanced 7-channel, 150 watts/ch. power amp. Both pieces come with a 5 year warranty and a 30 day in-home trial. I also think that this setup has a very classy, understated look to it.

Check it out:
http://www.sherbourn.com/products/pt-7030-and-free-pa-7-150

-RW-
tonyangel
309 posts
 
Check out the Emotiva gear. It has a reputation for being a good bang for the buck and they are running a sale right now. I believe that you can get into separates for under your stated budget.
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truemaineiac's avatar
truemaineiac
249 posts
 
I agree with the subwoofer comment above. I recently got the top model Denon receiver for my HT, the 4520 and it works very well and I am happy with my purchase. There a couple of dealers that have good prices on new units. I have come to believe that if you really want both music and HT you should have either separate systems (which is what I ended up doing) or go with a 2 channel integrated with a HT pass through that you can use in conjunction with a HT receiver.
yahoochaz
67 posts
 
In the past few months I got rid of my Denon receiver and replaced it with the Marantz AV7005 and MM7055. Based on a recent price reduction on the 7005, this may be close enough to your budget. I didn't know what I was missing and don't think I'll ever go back to a receiver. Haven't heard the Emo but can't imagine that it does a better job on sound than Marantz. I also added a sub, which I found on a close-out deal. I run a separate 2 ch for music and agree with the previous comment on that. Cheers and good luck.
vicdamone
850 posts
 
The HDMI failure is huge and may not be worth the repair cost.

It seems your main sonic complaint is dynamics. After you decide whether to go with separates or a new receiver my first thought would be to ad a subwoofer. A sub would take a great deal of load off a receiver.

I too have a separate two channel and I find the fidelity from my 7.1 Pioneer class D receiver, Triangle Comets, sub setup, quite entertaining. Compared to my previous Integra A/B receiver the switching amps do not congests at high volumes.
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