Unfortunately I only have two choices to replace my late integrated Marantz 63: Onkyo Stereo Receiver TX-8511 or Onkyo AV Receiver SR-TX502 . One of them - recommended by you , I hope - will be used with my Mirage 490i speakers ( bi-wired), Pioneer DVD DV 578A-S ( music & movies)and Monster's cables/connectors .
Considering my set above , what would be the best choice to listen mostly to jazz and classical music ?
I tend to lean towards the 8511, but make sure that it has a subwoofer preout. The 502 has the advantage of expandability, if you ever decide to do surround in the future.
Why only those two choices, BTW? Neither one is very good for music listening, especially fine music like jazz and classical. If you can, look into the H/K 3480 and the Marantz 4320.
If I were buying a music-only receiver today, I'd go all-digital with the JVC RX-F10 for just $230 shipped from amazon.com---I heard it at a friend's house and it had amazing clarity, detail and openness.
> P.S. : I was not thinking about future surround usage just want a little of pure stereo musicality.
In that case you would probably be much better off with the 8511---a receiver dedicated to stereo sound is bound to have better results than one which tries to do both HT and music...there's only so much room in the box, I'm sure that the 502 has to cut some corners to squeeze in all the extra channels and HT features.
Just curious, what country are you living in? Is the problem bad security and likely theft at the post office, or the Internet dealer being unwilling to ship it there? If it's the second you might want to do a pricegrabber.com search and check a couple of different places. The 8511 goes for just $300 here (hifi.com and jandr.com to name a few).
Country is Brazil . The Law doesn't permit that we , for example , use Amazon to purchase electronics , computers etc - nor could I import Christopher Lee his hk 3480 ( the tax and bureaucracy would be terrible ).
I forgot to mention that I could buy also buy here AVs like Yamaha RXV-450 for the same price of Onkyo or the Sony STR-DE897 for a little less . I can be wrong , but I think that these Yamaha and Sony AV models would be an inferior * stereo * option , aren't they ?
Yes , Edster922 , " the women especially " . I decided for the TX-8511 and I'm afraid I'll have to abuse of your patience again .
Onkyo TX-8511 has spring clips for the speakers' cables connection and I use Monsters' cables bi-wired .
A friend suggested me two solutions :
1) Single Connections using the A+B Speakers option settings which , he said , will gives me a bi-wired connection .
2) To use a sharp knife to carefully "thinner " the contact points of the cables allowing me to do a normal bi-wiring ( this way cables would fit the small clips ).
Are these just two dumb "solutions" or should one of them work ?
Yikes, I didn't know that a $300 receiver like 8511 would have bloody_ spring clips! That's very disappointing.
I'd recommend buying speaker pins, which are designed for spring clips and not bi-wiring. If you can't find speaker pins in Brazil, then I'm afraid you'll have to do #2 or simply buy smaller 16 gauge cable. I am a cable skeptic myself.
Bi-amping is said to make a difference, but bi-wiring not. You can find lots of stuff online as to why bi-wiring is considered a very dubious practice.
For instance go to the "Speakers" section of this forum and click on the thread entitled "Top 10 Audio Lies"---it debunks both bi-wiring and fancy cables.
Interesting article and very interesting thread's posts also . In my case I have to say that I've tested before my speakers with single wiring but bi-wiring sounds better - perhaps it's just a question of poor design quality of my speakers' jumpers .
So I think I'll try the solution # 2 .
I just don't know if I would have a better result if I do use a custom handmade knife with damascus steel and ivory handle
A nice week end to you all
P.S.: Great place this Forum here. A shame that I discovered it just this week .
I just bought the TX-SR 502, since it had good reviews and was at a fairly low price. the receiver has 440 watts of power and my speakers (JBL Northridge E 100's )seem to not sound good at all. It sounds very distorted. Is this because i have to little wattage on my receiver or to much. I dont have much experience in home theater and would love it if you guys could give me a tip.thanks
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