Onkyo and Denon
- Thread starter JT20
- Start date
Thinking of power if you have enough of it you can make a brick fly.
Nice setup. I just checked my local Kijiji. McIntosh amps selling for over 4k WOW!!!
H/K owns JBL now. So I suppose I am an H/K fan
Altec Lansing was another name.
The name I'm hearing mentioned the least in these thread (I count once or twice so far) is Denon...
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Yes, Bryston is notorious for extremely good specs, but that's why they are expensive. They also last basically forever and Bryston will service anything they've ever made at a very reasonable cost; a "refresh" if you will.
Gendarmes, cops, the fuzz, the man, the heat....
I've never heard of a lot of these names lol.
As mentioned... McIntosh, I have.
What is the sound like on these things?
What do you use for speakers?
Yes, I'm skimming the thread as I have to go into work.
I specifically mentioned Onkyo and Denon because that full Onkyo unit was SUPERB in the Connecticut home. Really really good. I think the guy was actually an Onkyo dealer or salesman.
I thought Denon was an equivalent (they are from Denmark?) so I'm slightly surprised Denon isn't getting more love, though it has been mentioned some.
We're Demons also like Premier units (anything better than Technics in terms of quality?) Sony ES came around .. I am not entirely sure but yep Sony didn't just do TV. Always an average-above average, Sony was.
Would you out Denon as an A- or B+.. Onkyo??
I thought Denon was an equivalent (they are from Denmark?) so I'm slightly surprised Denon isn't getting more love, though it has been mentioned some.
We're Demons also like Premier units (anything better than Technics in terms of quality?) Sony ES came around .. I am not entirely sure but yep Sony didn't just do TV. Always an average-above average, Sony was.
Would you out Denon as an A- or B+.. Onkyo??
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
The sound is phenomenal, which is what you get from something like a McIntosh or Bryston that can deliver insane levels of current to the most demanding loads (speakers). Think of concert-level volumes with zero distortion and a sound stage that matches: broad with things in their place like the drums coming from behind the stereo, the voice moving around you, the guitar hitting from the right then moving centre for the solo...etc.
As I mentioned earlier, the Bryston, for a stint, fed a set of Bowers & Wilkins 802's, which are a true reference monitor speaker. I moved them upstairs and now it feeds a far more sensitive set of Paradigm Monitor 11's, which don't even begin to give it a workout. It would get pretty warm feeding the very hard to drive 802's, but the Paradigms are easy to feed, so it doesn't even break a sweat.
Ultimately, I plan on getting a set of Bryston Model T speakers, which are "it" for me in terms of desirability.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
I have a Denon AVR X4200W which is my digital media source in my main system combo. It supports AirPlay, which is nice when streaming from my Mac, and handles all my HDMI sources. The only speaker it runs is the centre channel. Its pre-outs feed the Bryston 4B for the mains and the sub out feeds a SpeakerCraft power amp (that I'll be replacing) that runs my sub.
For Analog I have a PS Audio pre-amp which has an absolutely gorgeous phono stage in it, probably the best I've heard, at least for my ears, which gets fed by an Aurex (Toshiba's high-end line) direct drive turntable.
As @#18FAN touched-on, most of the names you are going to recognize aren't truly high-end. They probably top out, as I noted earlier, at mid-high at best, and that's going to depend on how one splits the categories. You can easily spend $100K on just the power and pre section of a Bryston setup for example before even looking at speakers, the same goes with McIntosh, two brands I specifically mentioned because most people who aren't audiophiles will still probably recognize them as they are somewhat notorious.
In the 90s quite honestly it would just be the major Japanese brands of the time for most average folks. Pioneer, JVC, Panasonic/Technics, Sony, etc. In audio obviously everything is relative, but I think it would be hard to go wrong with a 90s Yamaha stereo receiver of any type, and some 3 way speakers in working condition from almost any brand. On CL or FB Market, or thrift shops, you could score such a setup for under $50-60, and with an aux cable and some cut extension cords for wiring, have a blast. I've setup almost every room in my house this way for approximately this amount of money.
My living room setup is the most expensive with a Denon receiver I got in a lot of 4 receivers and 4-5 VCRs for $50, and Martin 308s in front, Polk T15s in back as a rear surround speaker, and an Acoustic Research center speaker, and a Sony subwoofer given to me for free by a neighbor. So it's about a hundred in for that setup.
My downstairs PC setup is a 90s Yamaha receiver I got for $12 at Goodwill, with some Realistic 3 way speakers I redid the woofer surrounds I got for $8 at Goodwill and $15 for the surrounds. So a whole nice setup for under $50 there.
My bedroom is my favorite, free old Pioneer? 3 way towers with custom crossover setups by me, with a Sony sub for $20 off FB, and a Nakamichi RE-10 I paid $50 for with the Martin speakers. The Nakamichi RE-10 thus far is the best receiver I've heard, about the same as my wood and silver faced Hitachi SR-903 (70s 80WPC receiver.)
There's always the possibility of better and more with audio, but I think a lot of the "BPC" era gear is passed up on when it can be a great value. People are afraid to get into audio thinking they need "the best" but I think it's more about just getting anything at this point and just having fun. No matter what you end up with using the old 90s gear you're still doing better than most of the population with AirPods and bluetooth pod speakers. There's real crap names like Sounddesign and Lennox Sound and all that, but any Japanese brand will probably be at least adequate. Even all in ones, they're better than what most people have. I found a Sharp all in one with a CD changer on the side of the road working 100%, I gave it to a friend and she liked it a lot.
People just seem to have amnesia about stereos and music. Now everyone just listens to stupid political podcasts and news all day instead of music, and that's why the world is so awful now.
My living room setup is the most expensive with a Denon receiver I got in a lot of 4 receivers and 4-5 VCRs for $50, and Martin 308s in front, Polk T15s in back as a rear surround speaker, and an Acoustic Research center speaker, and a Sony subwoofer given to me for free by a neighbor. So it's about a hundred in for that setup.
My downstairs PC setup is a 90s Yamaha receiver I got for $12 at Goodwill, with some Realistic 3 way speakers I redid the woofer surrounds I got for $8 at Goodwill and $15 for the surrounds. So a whole nice setup for under $50 there.
My bedroom is my favorite, free old Pioneer? 3 way towers with custom crossover setups by me, with a Sony sub for $20 off FB, and a Nakamichi RE-10 I paid $50 for with the Martin speakers. The Nakamichi RE-10 thus far is the best receiver I've heard, about the same as my wood and silver faced Hitachi SR-903 (70s 80WPC receiver.)
There's always the possibility of better and more with audio, but I think a lot of the "BPC" era gear is passed up on when it can be a great value. People are afraid to get into audio thinking they need "the best" but I think it's more about just getting anything at this point and just having fun. No matter what you end up with using the old 90s gear you're still doing better than most of the population with AirPods and bluetooth pod speakers. There's real crap names like Sounddesign and Lennox Sound and all that, but any Japanese brand will probably be at least adequate. Even all in ones, they're better than what most people have. I found a Sharp all in one with a CD changer on the side of the road working 100%, I gave it to a friend and she liked it a lot.
People just seem to have amnesia about stereos and music. Now everyone just listens to stupid political podcasts and news all day instead of music, and that's why the world is so awful now.
Like a live concert.
Preferably you use something that can take the wattage, which few things can.
You dont go to "11" or you fry them, but hover at 6-7 until you you just start to hear the speaker fail then dial it back a hair and stay there.
With a small amp you run out of power, with a big one you run out of speaker.
Okay so I got to ask... Are those the speakers they had at Madison Square Garden?
In 1972 I bought a Harmon Kardon Citation 11 amp and pre amp they conked out in 2006 so I gave them and the Ess Hiel amt 1 speakers to one of my hard core audiophile friends. I brought the amp and pre amp to a Mackintosh clinic and it beat the manufactures specs by quite a margin . I had a friend with some Bose 901speakers and a nice amp which I don't remember the brand but we hooked them up together and the sound was like a live rock concert sound . Powerful and hard hitting . I doubt I have ever heard more realistic rock sound.
