Receiver recommendation


I have been out of the 'upgrade' fever for almost a decade now. Main reason is family is now longer myself - it has grown wife, kids, parents (who are also now my kids :) )... career has grown so not so much time left as in past.

This also means my knowledge about HT is outdated. Hence need help.

Essentially I have simplified my HT setups - from a two room setups having Von Schweikert,Dyn Audios, Cal Audio Labs, Lexicon, tubes, headphone setups (AKG, Stax etc) ... it has been a Denon receiver 3808ci with Von Schweikert 5.1 setup in family room.

In near future I am looking to buy a 4K and 3D TV. I believe my Denon 3808ci is not equipped for either. Looking for recommendations to do a balanced (maybe a little bit more tilted towards music) use in HT. Even 5.1 would be ok given that it is going to be in the family room. Budget ok upto $1500 street price.
harrygoldsmith
I concur with the above about avrs quickly getting out of date. The question is, can one be satisfied with being out of date. The sound quality of a system doesn't go down simply because a new codec or system comes out. However, new tech that the old avr can't deal with, like 3D or 4K becomes an issue.

I've recently updated my 6 yr old Onkyo avr. The good news is that avrs can be heavily discounted. I'm back in the Denon fold, every fall when they release new models, the old ones eventually go on sale. The Denon 4520 listed for 2500, but now can be had for 1100 brand new in box. It's a little more than i wanted to pay, but the audio quality with the new room correction is quite impressive.
I presume that you have already perused the other current thread floating out there re: AV receivers and their frequent failure rate

Seems like Onkyo dubiously leads the parade so far for customer dissatisfaction from frequent early problems and its well-documented continuing HDMI failure rates spanning many years and many models including the current ones.

Buyer beware.
Yes, Onkyo has had some recent problems with HDMI failures. But I will say my TX-NR809 has been perfect for 2.5 years now and sounds great to me for an A/V receiver. Their current TX-NR1030 even has balanced outputs for the front L/R channel pre-outs. Of course, it has wi-fi, bluetooth, Dolby Atmos, internet radio, and all the other goodies as well.

The 1030 is probably what I would get if/when I need to upgrade in order to get into 4K compatibility.
I would go Marantz, Denon, or Pioneer. I believe the mid-high models are Atmos upgradable, but I wouldn't worry about Atmos. Just make sure it has 4k passthrough in case you get a new 4k tv.
I just got a Denon X3100W.....love it. Easy to set up, does everything but shine your shoes.....and does it well.