Sony, Yamaha, Pioneer, Onkyo. Whats the BEST.?

Question

I need a 5.1 Home Theatre Receiver, and I wanted to know what brand would be my best bet.
I'm gonna primarly use it for music, and a little movie time.
I have the subwoofer, 2 main speakers, and 2 surround sound speakers, and center.
I would rather just be told a brand, and i'll make the model choice...
So, like what would be the best...
Thanks...

Answer 1

Hi.Let's start at the beginning. The greatest compromise in a Receiver is the use of a single power supply for all three sections (the Pre-Amp/Processor,.Tuner,and Power Amplifiers. )The Pre-Amp is the heart of the system. The needs of the Power Amps.degrades the Pre-Amp.The result is receivers are not as smooth,.effortless,open, and full sounding as separate components. So,if your main priority is music, you will have to accept the compromises to the sound.
It is not easy picking one Receiver which is the best. They are all pretty similar in their price ranges. I do not own a Receiver ,so i can't advise which one you should buy.Some people say Yamaha has a ''soft" sound, while Onkyo has a more "dynamic " sound. You should really listen to them with one of your favourite CDs and pick the one that sounds best to you. You are the only person who knows.what sound you prefer. If you go by someones recommendation you may be disappointed, even though they mean well.

Answer 2

To the third poster - BOSE is total crap. To the question asker - if you were to pick between those four you'd have very little reasons to prefer one over the other. Of the four, if you're picking their higher models (Onkyo TX-SR875, TX-SR905, Denon 4308CI and 5308CI, Pioneer Elite 92 and 94TX and Yamaha RX-V3800) then the only thing I'd mention is if you have an SACD player with DSD output, the Pioneer does NOT convert DSD to analog directly. All the other models do. The Denon 4308CI tested the best with Sound and Vision for analog noise levels, which is usually a good indicator of how well the components are. If you have a $5,000 budget I'd go with either the Yamaha RX-Z11 or the Denon 5308CI. If your budget is closer to $500 I'd go with the Onkyo TX-SR606. If you have a budget between $1,000 to $1,500 then the Onkyo TX-SR905 or 906, Pioneer Elite VSX-94TX and Yamaha RX-V3800 should be in your sights. Take some of your favourite CD's or music and go to your local dealer and audition - that's always best. If you're ordering blind, you've picked four brands that won't disappoint no matter which one you choose.

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Sony, Yamaha, Pioneer, Onkyo. Whats the BEST.?
I need a 5.1 Home Theatre Receiver, and I wanted to know what brand would be my best bet.
I'm gonna primarly use it for music, and a little movie time.
I have the subwoofer, 2 main speakers, and 2 surround sound speakers, and center.
I would rather just be told a brand, and i'll make the...

Answer 4

You can't go wrong with Yamaha, Denon or Pioneer Elite.

The mid to top tier models offer the great sound for any configuration. They provide the lowest interference rating which means less static hissing when you power your speakers.

If you pair these up with some B&W,Mirage,Klipsch..etc, you would have some awesome sound.

Here are a few models of receivers that is good to great:
Yamaha RX-Z11
Yamaha RX-V2700
Denon AVR-4308CI
Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi

Here are some other good brands:
McIntosh
Marantz
Integra
Lexicon


GL.

Answer 5

Best Yamaha Receiver

Answer 6

Yamaha and Denon are neck and neck in my opinion. I own 3 Yamaha receivers and one has survived 2 runs at college and all three still work. I would be happy to have a Denon in my rack because of the reputation.

The Sony ES series of receivers is actually quite good. But Sony makes a lot of so-so receivers which is why it does not have as much respect as it should have.

Answer 7

Denon - top of the line (once you spend over $1,000)
Harmon Kardon - tremendous power supply
Onkyo - not too bad
Yamaha - weak amplifier section
Sony - all around junk
Pioneer - dead last

Answer 8

it all depends on how much you are willing to spend
right now the Onkyo TX-SR805 at about $750.00 is in my opinion the best receiver under $1K
in the $300-$500 range anything but the sony would be OK
i would drop sony and add Denon to the list

Answer 9

in order of personal preference. 1 best to 4 worse.

1 yamaha
2 onkyo
3 pioneer
4 sony.
but..............
also have a look at marantz and denon-both damn good peices of kit that will make you feel you spent your hard-earned wisely.

Answer 10

Pioneer and Onkyo.

Never have problems with them!!