Receiver-related questions/recommendations for Arx speakers

[gtpsuper24]

That IMO is overkill for a bedroom system. Lot of money for a receiver you'll never take advantage of. Go to accessories 4 less .com and check out the Denon and Onkyo refurbs. The Onkyo 1009 has Audessey Multi XT 32, which is really good and does a great job eqing the subwoofer.

[Aus10]

I prefer to stay away from Onkyo... I thought it might be overkill but i will be moving to a bigger room in a bit... I thought about the 300 with a external amp since its 1K instead of 1.5K but i have looked at Denon and heard the CS sucks, i had bad luck with Pioneer with my current 1121K. So iv been looking at Anthem and intergra. (sp?) onkyos get hot and they dont have CS. I just wish that if you spend that much they would be more helpful... They may not be that bad just from what i have read....

Im sure the people that have bad luck post more then good luck so theres that too

[gtpsuper24]

Interga is made by Onkyo and the newer Onkyo 709,809,1009.. ect don't have the heat problems like older past models. IMO your just wasting money, no automatic EQ is going to overcome that room and you don't need external amps in such a small bedroom. Even a cheap lower powered receiver isn't going to struggle to get loud in that room.

What problems are you having with your Pioneer? Didn't you just get it a few months ago, if I remember correctly?

[Aus10]

I didn't know that Intergra was made by Onkyo... Anyways the first two 1121s I got wouldn't output sound at all. I called Pioneer the guy tryed to help, they told me to drive somewhere that worked on them. Since I got it from Newegg while it was on sale they thank god they paid shipping and replaced them. I later found out that the Hdmi cable that i just got from AT&T didn't work. Thats what was causing the problems and the guy from Pioneer never brought it up so I was a little dissapointed with that. Anyways my current one works well. I can't say anything is wrong with it. I wish it Eqed the subs but overall its pretty good. I have ran my A1s up to -5 before, it was stupid loud but handled it well the A1s sounded great IMO too. My only thought for wanting to upgrade was that It would help Eq my room better. Some people say upgrade some say don't, I was just thinking about it and figured I would ask. A lot say that Anthems sound better then Yamaha, Pio, Onkyo ec. So that was in my mind too.... A lot on the Avsforum say that the cost so much w/o features because the audio and the Arc is so much better.

This is a quote from Avs

Anthem focuses on sound quality and great amplification so if Airplay is important to you then your decision will be easy however I go for quality sound so music from a server and BD movies are my priority and ARC makes a big difference in focusing the sound, widening the sound stage increasing the dynamic range. I tested mine against a Denon 4310 and the MRX was the clear winner.

What I can say is that Anthem has built into their receivers great amplification, better than the competition, solid build quality and the best room correction at that price and beyond. I came from Denon, Yamaha and Pioneer as have many on this thread and their comments speak for themselves as to which sounds better, Audyssey or ARC. All three models are of the same quality but differ in the features and amplification. I would go with an MRX 500 for the best bang for the buck. It can drive speakers of all sorts of efficiency without clipping. You should read the many online reviews to corroborate what I have said. Hope this helps.

Then i have some people say things like this...

No experience with Anthem at all and the Integra only uses Audyssey MultEQ XT, rather than the more advanced MultEQ XT32 in the 4311CI which can EQ dual subs .... 4311CI hands down.

[Miwo]

Call me ignorant... but do all these new receivers with fancy EQ technologies truly warrant the extra cost?

I've always been a firm believer that as long as you are not clipping due to a LACK of power, an Esoteric thousand dollar power source is not going to make or break an audio system. Meaning... an amp is not going to make my bad speakers or bad setup sound good.... and a bad amp is not going to make good speakers sound bad. The 1/3 rule works, and is realistic IMO. I really question why I sometimes see reviewers using Esoteric amps while auditioning budget speakers. I have seen many people pair up entry level receivers and still have phenomenal sounding setups. I have gotten by for years EQing my mulichannel setups using nothing but a dB meter. IMO.... I honestly think that as long as your amp is not blatantly clipping at the volume levels its listening to, it should be fine.

All I can really say is that its easy to fall into the hype of online marketing and forum reviews. At the end of the day, it is your money and how you use it is up to you. Just saying that I've been there, and it sucks when you buy something expensive with no tangible gain in improvement. I guess thats the biggest downside of this hobby

I can tell you that on my Acculine 4ohms, typically receivers with higher power reserves made the bass sounding less anemic. Thats not saying much though, because bass was one of the biggest complaints of the original Acculines when listening at low volume levels.

I've ran Arx though a bunch of power sources.... Denon AVR-788, HK430 Twin Amp from the 70s, Virtue Audio One.2 T-Amp,..no complaints on any. Keep in mind I don't blast volume levels, typically stay under 90dB.

Just my .02c, excuse my ignorance

[Aus10]

I definitely see what your saying. I'm very new with audio, so I do fall for all the marketing. I honestly love the sound of my 1121K in 2.1 with the A1s. I honestly have never heard anything better so I'm happy with them. When people say this is better or this has better sound and ec I'm thinking well awsome! I don't have a valid need for myself to upgrade my current receiver... Maybe with all 7 speakers at high volumes it might struggle but I don't know and I don't usually crank it. I'm usually above the -20s. Anyways when you read and everyone else tells you that this is better I thought I should upgrade... When I really think about it I'm happy with my current sound and my receiver does everything I want it too...

I like this forum a lot becuz everyone is honest and real with people everyone's not saying "get this it's better and cost 2K"... Damn marketing is always tempting people :P

[gtpsuper24]

Very hard to tell the difference in receivers. Receivers shouldn't sound bright or warm like some people discribe them. Don't expect the highs to be more "airy" or the bass to be "tigher" going with a high end receiver. Don't put too much faith in those auto EQs, its room dependant on whether they help or not. If you want a sub EQ the Anti Mode 8033 is really good and some have said its very close to Audessey XT32, the Anti Mode can do multiple subwoofers too and its much cheaper than purchasing a new receiver for not reason.

[Bandg]

I have a 5.1 system being powered by a Marantz SR 5400 90w/ch Avr that has pre outs and serves my current needs.. When I add the A5's for the R&L should I be looking to add a 2 or 3 ch amp? The room is ~12x14 and my wife thinks it is already too loud. Just trying to plan ahead. A4less has a refurb Marantz 140w/ch 2 ch that would work or perhaps Emotiva 3 ch. TIA, Bradley

[gtpsuper24]

Your current Marantz should work just fine. As long as the receiver doesn't clip you'll see no benefit in extra power. The only reason why you would want to upgrade is more options, 7.1 or higher surround sound, and any various options like Audessy, HD Radio, ect... Not just more power.

[Bandg]

Thanks for the info. I am looking forward to the speaker upgrade. Can't wait. Regards, Bradley