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Old Flagship Vs New Mid-Level Receiver

Folks,

I currently have a B&K AVR 507 which, when I bought it, was about as good as you could get. I'm thinking about getting a new receiver to take advantage of hi-res audio formats and, most impoartantly to me, room EQ. I don't have flagship money this time around so my budget is $1000 tops. Has anyone compared my 507 or something like a Denon 5803 to a new mid-level receiver like an Onkyo 818 or anything else with Audyssey XT32? I'm also considering an Anthem MRX 300 to get ARC. Will I get an improvement is sound? So what is better? An old flagship receiver or a new mid-level one?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

On a side note, I really miss the days of high-end brick and morter stores where I could bring the equipment home :(
lpdevotee
runnin
397 posts
 
The amp section on the Onkyo or any other receiver around that price range will definitely not be the equal of the B&K, so if you have 4 ohm speakers and or a larger room, the Onkyo will show its limits before the B&K. That being said, room correction has really been a major improvement in the industry.

One suggestion a little out of your budget is the brand new Denon AVR X4000 at 1200. It has the XT32 Audyssey and better subwoofer eqing than the Onkyo 818. Hope this helps.
bo1972's avatar
bo1972
2,789 posts
 
I did a lot of research and tests with Audyssey in 2,5 years of time. I am also a Audyssey Pro installer. With XT32 I can get a superior level than what I could achieve with a much more expensive receiver without. Buy an 818 for a low price. 828 doe not have XT32. 818 in europe you can get for a low price now. i guess in the US will be the same.
audionuts
74 posts
 
I sold my Classe SSP60 and bought a Marantz AV7005 - Big mistake. In term of music reproduction, the Classe was clearly a winner.
admranger
142 posts
 
@Arcamguy: The Marantz 7005 only has Audessy XT, not XT32. Seems like all the reviews state that the XT32 is worth the difference, especially if you have more than one subwoofer. Not disputing your comments on the Marantz itself, but the OP's desire for Audessy (or ARC).
bo1972's avatar
bo1972
2,789 posts
 
The problem of Marantz is that they use cheep transformers these days. Control and timing is not that good. And second it is still a 2-dimensional brand. And yes XT32 is superior to XT. Even wenn you use Pro with XT, you still miss a lot.
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