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Thinking about a Denon refurb AV receiver
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Sep 21, 2022 16:49:22   #
planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs
 
Just saw another article advocating replacing speakers before receiver, because the receivers change technology fairly rapidly...problem is the set I want to get (dreaming of?) is $3k on sale :) That's like most of what I paid for my 2-week trip to France in June that I'd saved up a long time for - but if I don't have a receiver that can do 7.1 or better I won't be able to experience how good my Blu-rays and 4k UHD discs can be. I'll probably just go ahead and get the receiver. The money I save on the refurb can go into a cookie jar for new speakers.

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Sep 21, 2022 17:01:45   #
lbrande
 
planepics wrote:
Just saw another article advocating replacing speakers before receiver, because the receivers change technology fairly rapidly...problem is the set I want to get (dreaming of?) is $3k on sale :) That's like most of what I paid for my 2-week trip to France in June that I'd saved up a long time for - but if I don't have a receiver that can do 7.1 or better I won't be able to experience how good my Blu-rays and 4k UHD discs can be. I'll probably just go ahead and get the receiver. The money I save on the refurb can go into a cookie jar for new speakers.
Just saw another article advocating replacing spea... (show quote)


Be careful about what you read regarding HT items. The opinions are as wildly differing and varied as other arguments. I still use my Heil AMT1B (1977) speakers and they sound better than my regular HT speakers when listening to violin concertos. Update your source first, then worry about speakers. You'll notice a difference regardless.

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Sep 21, 2022 17:09:52   #
planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs
 
I've never heard of HT...I was thinking about Klipsch

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Sep 21, 2022 17:32:32   #
lbrande
 
planepics wrote:
I've never heard of HT...I was thinking about Klipsch


HT = Home Theater, sorry I didn't explain.

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Sep 21, 2022 17:38:31   #
planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs
 
Me, too...I should have guessed, though.

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Sep 21, 2022 17:43:55   #
lbrande
 
planepics wrote:
Me, too...I should have guessed, though.


If you are looking for speakers, please make sure that you actually listen to them with your own source material. As you recall, each manufacturer of speakers and AVR's can color the sound you hear and some may not be as pleasant to your ears.

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Sep 21, 2022 18:55:53   #
planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs
 
lbrande wrote:
If you are looking for speakers, please make sure that you actually listen to them with your own source material. As you recall, each manufacturer of speakers and AVR's can color the sound you hear and some may not be as pleasant to your ears.


When I bought my current set of speakers (Polk RM-10(?) 5.1 set) I was in a listening space at an electronics store somewhere where I used to live and was comparing them with Bose - don't remember the model - watching the scene in "The Terminator" where he's coming out of the bar and putting on the sunglasses toward the beginning of the movie. At that time I personally thought the Bose had a bit to much tweeter punch for my taste and went with the slightly less-expensive Polk. Of course no room wherever I lived has the acoustics of a HT demo studio. I'd consider getting the refurb AVR-X2700H, but it's out of stock and an extra $400 and too powerful for my current speakers (100W max).

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Sep 21, 2022 19:39:58   #
lbrande
 
planepics wrote:
When I bought my current set of speakers (Polk RM-10(?) 5.1 set) I was in a listening space at an electronics store somewhere where I used to live and was comparing them with Bose - don't remember the model - watching the scene in "The Terminator" where he's coming out of the bar and putting on the sunglasses toward the beginning of the movie. At that time I personally thought the Bose had a bit to much tweeter punch for my taste and went with the slightly less-expensive Polk. Of course no room wherever I lived has the acoustics of a HT demo studio. I'd consider getting the refurb AVR-X2700H, but it's out of stock and an extra $400 and too powerful for my current speakers (100W max).
When I bought my current set of speakers (Polk RM-... (show quote)


If you keep the volume at "normal" levels, the 100W max shouldn't be an issue. It does, however, allow for peak transients to occur without any distortion/clipping of the sound. To my ear, when I was looking in 1986,, the Polks sounded "muddy" to me. I ended up with the Magnapan MG1A which have a sweet sound to them This was before home theater. Later on, I was able to obtain Legacy Audio Whispers and Marquis, and matching rears. Now I need to add 2 surrounds for 7.1. It just never ends.



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Sep 21, 2022 20:39:29   #
planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs
 
If I used my mom's inheritance for fun stuff instead of something mundane like retirement funds and the future down payment on a house I could have a nice set-up like yours. I might however take a trip to Antarctica at some point...it was the only continent she'd never been to, but as a travel agent she'd been to over 80 countries (lost count long ago). Tomorrow will be 4 months since her passing at 90 yrs 3 months to the day. As I school bus monitor working 4 hrs /ay 9 mo/yr I need to watch my expenses. Your speakers tower alone look like they cost a year's salary!

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Sep 21, 2022 21:54:59   #
ClarkJohnson Loc: Fort Myers, FL and Cohasset, MA
 
As noted above, if a piece of electronics doesn’t fail immediately, it should last for a very longtime. Those with «  golden ears » might claim that aging will do something (good or bad) to the sound, but they probably would not be using something as commonplace as Denon in the first place.

Speakers are an entirely different issue, and age can definitely affect the sound. Listening required for high end models.

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Sep 22, 2022 10:02:31   #
planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs
 
I just took the plunge (sort-of) and put my name on the waitlist for a refurbished AVR-X3700H for $999, the next one upgraded from the one I was originally going to get (the 2700H, which is their entry-level X series line-up). it's $400 more, but it's a 9.2 channel vs 7.2 (more options), has more oomph per channel and is about the same price for a Phillips receiver I got years ago - the front LCD panel took a crap and I couldn't get it repaired. I figured with the advances in electronics it's not a bad deal. When it comes to upgrading my speakers, I'll definitely go to a showroom. I figure the unit should be pretty much future-proof.

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Sep 22, 2022 10:09:10   #
lbrande
 
planepics wrote:
I just took the plunge (sort-of) and put my name on the waitlist for a refurbished AVR-X3700H for $999, the next one upgraded from the one I was originally going to get (the 2700H, which is their entry-level X series line-up). it's $400 more, but it's a 9.2 channel vs 7.2 (more options), has more oomph per channel and is about the same price for a Phillips receiver I got years ago - the front LCD panel took a crap and I couldn't get it repaired. I figured with the advances in electronics it's not a bad deal. When it comes to upgrading my speakers, I'll definitely go to a showroom. I figure the unit should be pretty much future-proof.
I just took the plunge (sort-of) and put my name o... (show quote)


That's a good choice. You'll be happy for years.
Check out AVSforum.com. You'll find some good discussions about Denon.

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Sep 22, 2022 11:07:37   #
planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs
 
lbrande wrote:
That's a good choice. You'll be happy for years.
Check out AVSforum.com. You'll find some good discussions about Denon.


Thanks. I'll check it out. I chatted with Denon...no idea how long it will be until I get a receiver or if it will have the updated HDMI inputs mentioned in a video. I don't have any game boxes (unlike my nieces and nephews) but if I end up getting a unit that the serial number ends in 70k or above it has the issue already fixed - since March of last year.

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Sep 22, 2022 11:31:41   #
lbrande
 
planepics wrote:
Thanks. I'll check it out. I chatted with Denon...no idea how long it will be until I get a receiver or if it will have the updated HDMI inputs mentioned in a video. I don't have any game boxes (unlike my nieces and nephews) but if I end up getting a unit that the serial number ends in 70k or above it has the issue already fixed - since March of last year.


Usually, with a refurbished unit the company will update to the current configuration.

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Sep 22, 2022 12:41:03   #
planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs
 
Quick question - I was just reading an article about the AVR-X3700H and it mentioned listening to a movie at "reference volume" and noting that the chassis was only warm at the end. What does reference volume mean? 1/2 way to full? A numerical value you have to measure?

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