Receivers

Selecting a (Receiver) or (Pre-Pro and Amp)

When looking at the next link in your setup, there are a couple of ways of going at it. You could go with a Pre Processor (Pre-Pro) and an Amplifier, or you can go with a Receiver. Start by setting your your budget and then your feature requirements:

Inputs: HDMI, Digital, Analog, Phono etc
Outputs: Speakers, Subs, Zones, Pre-outs, etc
Power per channel/THD, e.g. “125 Watts (.05%THD)”
Connectivity: Ethernet, WiFi, USB, Bluetooth, AirPlay, HD and/or Internet Radio etc,
Audio options: Room correction (Audessey), Dynamic Volume and EQ
Discrete vs integrated power circuit

I would strongly recommend that you do some reading. There are many forum threads comparing and talking about receivers. Always keep in mind “not everything you read online is true”. Be smart, talk to knowledgable people and make your own decision.

My choices:

My desire was to go with a Pre-Pro and an Amp, just to try something different, as my previous setups were all just receivers. After reading multiple product reviews, I narrowed my choices to Outlaw and Emotiva XPA for an Amp. I had no such luck finding a Pre-Pro that had all the features I was looking for, within the price I was willing to pay.

So I redirected my search to mid-range receivers. Denon/Marantz kept coming up as the top contenders in this range. Incidentally Denon and Marantz currently are owned by the same entity (D&M Holdings). After some final reading, I bought the Denon AVR X4000. This formed the basis for my first home theater. Fast forward a few years, I sold my Oknyo and my Yamaha and replaced them (naturally) with another Denon. This time I bought the AVR X6200W.

I have to say, I am very impressed by Denon, and they have been holding up well to my use (of course I don’t abuse them).

I do dream of getting a Tube Amp or some kind of Hybrid Tube Amp at some point, not any time soon though. Whole different price range though 🙂

Denon (AVR X4000 shown)

Denon has done a really good job of streamlining the installation and making it easy for even the novice user. They definitely deserve a 5 out of 5 score for this. I have included some pictures below.

They also have a pretty nice app that you can use on the iPhone which allows you to control the receiver. I would definitely recommend this as an add on. Internet radio availability on this device, is actually turning out to be a nice thing. Pandora is my choices for playing internet radio. The Denon’s do support apple airplay for music, which is very useful too.