Best A.V receiver brand?

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Tamagotchi

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Consider the likes of these manufacturers, and tell me which do you think makes the best A.V receivers in the sub R15000 market? I'm not talking stupid ,ridiculous, pricey AVR's, neither L.G Samsung , Philips or Sony bracket.

:confused:

Marantz
Harmann/Kardon
Yamaha
NAD
Denon
Rotel
Cambridge Audio

Ad a few more of the same calibre if you want and tell me which is best?

Thanks.
 
From having read numerous threads on forums all over the web, I can only surmise that not everyone finds the same configurations appealing. In that type of bracket I would narrow my choices down to 2 or 3, and then only buy from a spot that would be willing to swap the system AFTER I've got it set up in my own lounge...

From the list, I would lean towards NAD and Marantz, though.
 
From personal experience Marantz. But rather go and listen to the receiver hooked up to your choice of DVD or BD player since you are the one that has to live with the receiver.
 
Onkyro I heard is quite cheap for the features it offers and the quality.
 
One name you missed in your list is Onkyo, and you can't totally exclude Sony either.

But there really aren't any reasons not to consider any of those brands. All of them are well respected in the industry. The Rotel, Harman Kardon, Cambridge, Marantz and NAD receivers are often lagging a bit technology wise. In other words they are often later to offer HDMI and the newest cutting edge. HD audio codecs. Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha and Sony are mostly first to incorpate new technologies.

Some regard the former list as having better audio quality, but then they are more expensive too.

I would say you need to make a list of features you need (eg 3 HMDI ports, HD audio codecs, upscaling etc.). Then check which of recievers in your price bracket tick those boxes. You can the google those models for reviews and you will also quickly pick up if there are any particular problems with specific one.

Then comes the important part - Go and demo them and decide for yourself.
 
don't discount the premium Sony AVRs - and you can find some of them for really good prices - like the STR-DA5300ES or STR-DA3300ES

I bought the 3300 a couple of months ago. Looked at all the big names, but this one had just the right set of features, and an incredibly good price too.
 
If stereo perfomance is of importance to you (for music), then it is a good idea to choose a manufacturer that also makes good stereo amps. Typically their AV amps also have reasonable stereo performance.

I have a Marantz and I am very happy with it.

Arcam also make great amps and av receivers.
 
I've had Yamaha, Onkyo and Marantz.

I'd rate the Onkyo as the nicest of the three in terms of features, build quality and sound. The only let down is it sounds like some cheap Japanese brand to many people ;)
 
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Yeah, sorry, forgot about Onkyo. You're right it does sound cheap, but I know they're good.
Arcam I believe is in a bit of a different price bracket, am I right?

I also agree with most of you guys on the Marantz, I've known them for years and they've always had a great rep , just don't know about the AV side.

Why do so many shops push the Yamaha tho?

NAD, I know makes great stereo amps, good quality and not too expensive.
 
Been using a Marantz quite a while now and it is an awesome piece of kit.

Stay away from the Marantz dvd players tho, I have had mine in 4 times and everytime it fails again.... not cool when you paid R4000 for it. PS3/PS2 have never given problems under more intensive use :/
 
Does anyone use a receiver for MKV files with DTS. I am in the market for a receiver that can decode DTS for my MKV files. Any recommendations for max price of R7 000.
 
ZuBS_ said:
Does anyone use a receiver for MKV files with DTS. I am in the market for a receiver that can decode DTS for my MKV files. Any recommendations for max price of R7 000.
Click to expand...

I'm using my Yamaha amp for this although it doesn't have HDMI inputs, via my WDTV media player and PC - works well, and the setup is:
- WDTV/PC has HDMI to the LCD
- WDTV/PC has optical (toslink) audio to the Yamaha amp

The sound is brilliant!
 
Anyone know where I can get the ONKYO 607 receiver??
 
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