Home Theatre purchase :)

[Viggen]

Well.... I went to a local stereo store last week to see if they had any used Bryston amps laying around to power my main speakers & they suggested instead of doing that to buy a new receiver.  I told him what I had & he suggested a integra DHC 9.8 which is last years model but he claimed it is the best unit for under $5,000!!  So I did some research on a few forums & sure enough he was right.... yesterday I purchased the pre-pro to run my HT setup.  He gave me $500 off retail since it was last years model & he stated it wasn't worth it for me to spend the $1,000 more on the replacement Integra DHC 9.9 so yesterday I made the purchase. 

Unfortunantly it's going to be a while before it's setup completely (probably 2-3 months+) but we are trying it out at my girlfriends house for now.... at least I hope to hook it up at her house this weekend sometime.

I will convert every video signal to 1080 & I can adj the crossover point on every speaker.  It also has the audyssey (sp) pro sysytem for setting up the proper surround setting.  I set a microphone at a few locations in my room & it will automatically setup the system for the proper delay & all that stuff.  They told me depending on how geeky I am with this stuff.... I could spend hours playing with the settings attempting to get the best sound.  The people I purchased it from said they use these pre-pro's even on their $100,000 theatre systems...... 

I wanted to stick with Denon since my receiver has been trouble free for 16yrs.  However since they do not make a surround processor I wasn't sure I wanted one of their receivers.  I was planning on getting the AVR-4308 but this Integra pre-pro does a LOT more then anything Denon has & it cost me about half of what the 4308 does. 

 

[JoeAyers]

That must be what it's like when non fish people read these forums cause i don't understand any of what you just said. Sounds awesome though 

[ohioreef]

I know just enough about what he's talking about to hurt myself!!

[Viggen]

LOL.... when I was trying to read up on the pre-pro (preamp/processor no built in amplifier) I was quite confused & still do not know all the abbreviations that people use.  But from what I read.... it does everything a digital processor can do & for a fraction of what others go for

This summer when I finally get the new tank up & running I can show my home theatre as well.  I hope to host a club meeting where again people can come to a house of a member of a reef club but does not own a reef tank    

[jungliztkruger]

ive got a really nice set of psb speakers (full surround)   and a have been using a garbage amp until income taxes come around or i stop spending money on saltwater.....  you can guess which will come first. im torn between the yamaha and the denons.  seeing as you have alot of experience with denon, what nice things do you have to say about them?

[lazylivin]

Viggen I can appreciate your purchase. Was in Home and Car Audio, Video and Security Installation business for 10 years. Would love to come see and listen when you get it done. I will bring the popcorn!

[Viggen]

Yamaha & Denon are very close in quality but if you search the forums you will see that the majority of people put Denon ahead of all the other receivers mostly due to the chips they use for processing which are suppose to be superior.  My girlfriend is a yamaha person due to her husband prefering their products, she wasn't to excited on trying a different brand which pretty much is a fancy Onkyo which I have never been much of a fan let alone owned.  But the reviews made me give it a try......   

My denon I purchased back in 1992 or 1993 when I sold electronics in Columbus.  It was their best receiver at the time & retailed for $1700 ish.... however Denon had it on sale via employee purchase so instead of costing me normally about $1000, $560 is all it cost me.  It's been 100% reliable & has never let me down.  Probably throw it in the garage now with my old main speakers....

Depending on what you are willing to spend I would definantly suggest looking at the Integra receivers.  They have a few versions & depending on your budget it might we worth your while.  I went to Hanson Audio which is in Oakwood, possibly give them a try. 

Morris sells Denon as well as Audio Etc & FWIW Circut city sells their sub $1,000 receivers & since they are going out of business they might be willing to deal. 

Amp wise.... any idea what you are looking for?  I have been tossing the idea around, selling my adcom & yamaha amps

fish first though

Lazy.... just no butter... I am allergic to it ...

[UDJustin]

  My girlfriend is a yamaha person due to her husband prefering their products,

I take it you mean x husband lol

[Viggen]

I take it you mean x husband lol

yea... habbit I guess.....

I call my x-wife..... my x since we got a divorce

For my girlfriend.... I still call him her husband since he died from cancer 2 january's ago... he was only 37

 

[jungliztkruger]

thanks for your input. the guys at the local shop where i bought my speakers gave me a smokin deal and have a developed some rapport with me. the receiver i had my eyes in was a denon that had dual amps, one for each zone. it was about the 700 range. they want me to buy the yamaha though and i do trust em. my dad has used onkyo for about 20 years and still does. he stands by it but i wanted something different. i have a carver rack amp that would be pretty nice to use but only has 2 channels so ill leave it on my peavys.

im somewhat of a turntablist/dj from my party days of youth so i know a little but for home audio ive never heard of the receiver not have the amp as well. i think ill do some more research.

[Viggen]

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?bhome&1230698486

that is a short thread talking about yamaha, denon & marantz..... I would suggest joining the audiogon forum & post what you are looking at.  It's a great site for info!!!

I have always thought the less stuff the better SQ.  For me my system we will all have a seperate amp to power all speakers thus the receivers power will not be used.  I thought it was pointless to buy a surround receiver with 7 amps inside of it that would never get used. Unfortunantly Denon & Yamaha never made the pre-pro's....... Denon is owned by the same company that runs Marantz & they supposidley have a really nice pre-pro, however it's $3K    Two channel processors also offer the best SQ due to not having as much electronic stuff inside of it. 

Definantly check out Audiogon & also do a search for home theatre shack.  LOTS of great info on those sites!!!!

[Viggen]

thanks for your input. the guys at the local shop where i bought my speakers gave me a smokin deal and have a developed some rapport with me. the receiver i had my eyes in was a denon that had dual amps, one for each zone. it was about the 700 range. they want me to buy the yamaha though and i do trust em. my dad has used onkyo for about 20 years and still does. he stands by it but i wanted something different. i have a carver rack amp that would be pretty nice to use but only has 2 channels so ill leave it on my peavys.

im somewhat of a turntablist/dj from my party days of youth so i know a little but for home audio ive never heard of the receiver not have the amp as well. i think ill do some more research.

FYI - on audiogon there is a thread about the best sub $1,000 receiver, this is what one guy suggested but it's $200 more then the $700 range you are looking at.  This is a copy of a post....


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The Denon 2809CI can be picked up at Sixth Ave Electronics (6ave.com) for $900 shipped. Its listed at $1199 but this coupon code gives you 25% off: AFLAUD25. I don't know why but it works for current model receivers including Denon and Yamaha.....

I did a bit of research and narrowed my choice down to the 2809CI for these reasons:
7.1 (or 5.1 with a 2nd zone)
4 HDMI 1.3a inputs
Audyssey MultEQ XT for room calibration
115 wpc
1080p upscaling (but only for analog inputs, not HDMI)
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Most state the audyssey EQ is a must for HT setup!  Not sure if the yami's have it or not.....