Which midrange AVR to buy? Yamaha/Onkyo/Denon/Marantz/Pioneer/Sony

mach9

mach9

Das Layzeemeister
Skilled
For all the audiophiles out here.. shoot your recommendations for an AVR please. Don't need over the top stuff or absolutely cutting edge, but a good all-rounder would do just fine. They will be paired with some fairly old but tight and pristine Wharfdale and Pioneer speakers from the good old early 90's.

I actually need to pick up 3 AVR's - 1 for personal use and the other 2 for my extended family.

Budget: Ideally I would want to keep the cost for each below 60k

Must haves:
1. A good amp
2. Support for most codecs
3. Clarity
4. Shouldn't cost a bomb
5. Wireless connectivity = wifi+bluetooth
6. Apple/Android support + streaming radio would be nice to have.
7. Definitely must have after sales / service support in India!

if any come with a good DVD/Blueray option built in - that would be a +

Also for some reason, these units don't seem to be easily available in most major retail outlets - more like I need to hunt down specific shops or single brand outlets for each of these ... any recommendations on where in Mumbai I can get them, would really be great!

thanks in advance!
 
mach9 said:
For all the audiophiles out here.. shoot your recommendations for an AVR please. Don't need over the top stuff or absolutely cutting edge, but a good all-rounder would do just fine. They will be paired with some fairly old but tight and pristine Wharfdale and Pioneer speakers from the good old early 90's.

I actually need to pick up 3 AVR's - 1 for personal use and the other 2 for my extended family.

Budget: Ideally I would want to keep the cost for each below 60k

Must haves:
1. A good amp
2. Support for most codecs
3. Clarity
4. Shouldn't cost a bomb
5. Wireless connectivity = wifi+bluetooth
6. Apple/Android support + streaming radio would be nice to have.
7. Definitely must have after sales / service support in India!

if any come with a good DVD/Blueray option built in - that would be a +

Also for some reason, these units don't seem to be easily available in most major retail outlets - more like I need to hunt down specific shops or single brand outlets for each of these ... any recommendations on where in Mumbai I can get them, would really be great!

thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Hi,

There are few shops which do have multiple brand AVR. Below few list:
1) ProFX - Worli
2) Cinebels - Bandra
3) MZ Audio - Bandra

If you prefer online then www.hifimart.com is good place.
 
Cool. Thanks. Will take a look.

If you have any suggestions on the brand or models let me know. Thanks
 
My views based only individual points as below -

1. A good amp --> Look out for your speaker wattage ratings and shortlist which AVR would be suitable for it, best way take those with you to audition. Consedering you are buying 3 AVRs most showrooms will welcome you for auditions. Apart from compatibility, do consider your future upgrades now itself, this would mean speaker, sub-woofer upgrades etc.

2. Support for most codecs --> For this you should consider having additional Blu Ray player or media player, the inbuilt USB ports on AVRs are like gimmicks and hikes its its prices unnecessary. Don`t see AVRs supporting newer codes too!

3. Clarity --> Has to be auditioned, tastes varies person to person. Buy what pleases your ears, sometimes they cost less than something noisy!

4. Shouldn't cost a bomb --> You got pretty good budget of 60K per AVR, should visit hi-fi vision forum / hi-fi mart for more options.

5. Wireless connectivity = wifi+bluetooth --> Gimmick ! Consider getting Blu ray / media player / chrome cast / Fire stick

6. Apple/Android support + streaming radio would be nice to have. --> With things from point 5, you wont need these tbh.

7. Definitely must have after sales / service support in India! --> This is important point and should have more weightage during your purchase. Consider buying from Reliance digital etc who provide additional warranty at reasonable price, for AVRs 3 years least warranty is must.

Good luck!
 
Vagabond said:
My views based only individual points as below -

1. A good amp --> Look out for your speaker wattage ratings and shortlist which AVR would be suitable for it, best way take those with you to audition. Consedering you are buying 3 AVRs most showrooms will welcome you for auditions. Apart from compatibility, do consider your future upgrades now itself, this would mean speaker, sub-woofer upgrades etc.

2. Support for most codecs --> For this you should consider having additional Blu Ray player or media player, the inbuilt USB ports on AVRs are like gimmicks and hikes its its prices unnecessary. Don`t see AVRs supporting newer codes too!

3. Clarity --> Has to be auditioned, tastes varies person to person. Buy what pleases your ears, sometimes they cost less than something noisy!

4. Shouldn't cost a bomb --> You got pretty good budget of 60K per AVR, should visit hi-fi vision forum / hi-fi mart for more options.

5. Wireless connectivity = wifi+bluetooth --> Gimmick ! Consider getting Blu ray / media player / chrome cast / Fire stick

6. Apple/Android support + streaming radio would be nice to have. --> With things from point 5, you wont need these tbh.

7. Definitely must have after sales / service support in India! --> This is important point and should have more weightage during your purchase. Consider buying from Reliance digital etc who provide additional warranty at reasonable price, for AVRs 3 years least warranty is must.

Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks for taking the time to write that. Appreciate it. So the best approach is to pick an AVR purely on performance and sound preference. I guess all the secondary devices will then need to be connected to it and handle the media interactions.

Any recommendations on particular models you've experienced or brands?
 
mach9 said:
Thanks for taking the time to write that. Appreciate it. So the best approach is to pick an AVR purely on performance and sound preference. I guess all the secondary devices will then need to be connected to it and handle the media interactions.

Any recommendations on particular models you've experienced or brands?
Click to expand...

I haven`t seen much of recent AVRs but had brought Yamaha Yht 299 two years earlier at 35K from Reliance Digital with 3 years warranty. Its speakers aren`t great but the AVR is enough to upgrade with speakers, thats on list.

That model I think is discontinued and newer one like 2910 is in market. You can just refer to its AVR instead of buying with speakers.

I had 2 HTiB tried at home till date - Onkyo was good for music where as current Yamaha is good for movies. Decide your uses and go for audition.

As mentioned earlier I would recommend Yamaha, Denon over others considering their failure rates.
 
Rockfella said:
What's the latest favorite HTIB here? I am finally thinking of going for it.
Click to expand...
Will it depends now.. the way I see it is that the final solution works for you depending on whether you need audio only or video plus audio.

Some even choose a mini itx with a high spec Mobo and Sound Card to achieve the experience you want to achieve
 
mach9 said:
Will it depends now.. the way I see it is that the final solution works for you depending on whether you need audio only or video plus audio.

Some even choose a mini itx with a high spec Mobo and Sound Card to achieve the experience you want to achieve
Click to expand...
Need it for movies only maybe 5% music sometimes. Thx man.
 
I would suggest getting the Marantz NR1509 & adding a Swara Power Amp to it. That way you would get the best of both worlds. Decent Room EQ , good list of features and the power to drive big speakers.

Or if you want keeping things simple- get the SR5013.
 
delhiboy1 said:
I would suggest getting the Marantz NR1509 & adding a Swara Power Amp to it. That way you would get the best of both worlds. Decent Room EQ , good list of features and the power to drive big speakers.

Or if you want keeping things simple- get the SR5013.
Click to expand...

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This is overkill for me. I need : 5.1/DTS HD MA/Dolby True HD (No Atmos). Around 100 W per channel. No wifi/multiple HDMI inputs any jazzy feature. This will be for movies only.
 
Denon X2400H ( Discontinued series) / X1600 H ( Newest series) / X2600H (Upgraded series of X2400H) are good options from Denon under 60k.
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@Rockfella Patrao what is your budget. There are lot of options out in the market. A good midrange setup is a Yamaha/Denon receiver and Polk-TL1600 5.1 setup
 
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