124 wrote:
ScottW wrote:

124 wrote:
George M. Middius wrote:

Bill Riel said:

One thing that I noticed: on the specs they list THD at 0.2% - I fully
confess my ignorance of such things, but is that possibly audible? The
only reason I bring it up is that, for example, the Denon receiver I own
(2106) has somewhat similar specs (lower power though and not THX), but
they list THD at 0.08%
Would these still largely sound the same below clipping?

Whatever you do, don't audition it before buying it. That would spoil the
surprise.

Bad advice. Bill should audition it before buying. He can then
examine the layout of the controls and buttons on the receiver and the
remote. Are they logically laid out? Are they clearly labelled? Are
they easy to use?

--124

That won't get it done.
I suggest you download and carefully read the manual. Is it clear and
does it make sense? Go the store and see if you can step through the
setup menu and program input selection (optical or digital etc).
Make sure the speaker setup selection is clear. Are you gonna use a
sub and use the receiver bass control? Check that out.

My Pioneer manual is ok... I looked at a Yamaha and it was IMO,
better. Others I've seen are awful. One thing to note as well... the
written manual that came with mine was a 3"x5" 60 page booklet with 6pt
type. Reading that thing in anything other than direct bright light
was impossible. You'll be glad to download something you zoom to
normal size.

Good advice. And I agree with you that nothing beats a proper
audition. At the very least, if one is unhappy with a product, one
should be aware of the return policy before buying. Makes much more
sense than worrying excessively about sound quality. These days,
things like THD, frequency response, and signal-to-noise ratio are
probably acceptable even in a $200 US receiver from brands like Sony,
Panasonic, Pioneer, Yamaha, JVC, and--the nightmare of every
subjectivist--the infamous Kenwood. I would add that if one has 4 ohm
speakers and intends to listen loudly for many hours at a stretch, one
may want to know if the receiver can handle 4 ohm speakers.

Definitely, though I think most will these days. The only other thing
I noticed
was the more features and channels the things have... the hotter they
run.
If you plan to put it into a cabinet.. be aware of the heat output.
I only wanted a 5.1 system and they're getting harder to find but
my little no features Pioneer works great and was noticeably cooler
than their
larger models. Stuffing a big 7.1 unit into a cabinet
and cooking it is asking for trouble.

ScottW