Hello,
Recently, my X1600H broke down. As a trial, I got a DRA 900H to see what the real difference would be when used for music in stereo mode. Initially, the difference seemed more like "placebo," but over the last three days, I spent more time with it, and suddenly, the X1600H started bothering me and feeling insufficient in terms of sound. I suppose there's no point in going into too much detail about it.
The bottom line is that due to both the sound and the defect, the X1600H will be leaving my home, and I need a replacement. I originally didn’t plan on using more channels and hoped I might keep the 900H if it impressed me. However, lately, I’ve been thinking about expanding to rear, center, and maybe a subwoofer within a year (I’ll figure that out later). So I’d like an AVR that can handle stereo on at least the same level as the 900H, and I’m curious about opinions.
I found some measurements of the older 800H, which should be very similar to the 900H, and they didn’t look particularly promising:
www.audiosciencereview.com
According to the measurements, models like the X3600H/X3700H, and likely the X3800H, seem to perform better than the 800H. However, I’m worried that I might be interpreting these graphs incorrectly, and it’s not that straightforward. If that’s the case, I could go for one of them (probably the 3800H), or I also quite like the look of the Marantz Cinema 60, perhaps the Cinema 50 if there’s a noticeable difference.
Can it really be simplified like this, or would I need to pay significantly more for a receiver that meets these criteria?
Thanks!
Recently, my X1600H broke down. As a trial, I got a DRA 900H to see what the real difference would be when used for music in stereo mode. Initially, the difference seemed more like "placebo," but over the last three days, I spent more time with it, and suddenly, the X1600H started bothering me and feeling insufficient in terms of sound. I suppose there's no point in going into too much detail about it.
The bottom line is that due to both the sound and the defect, the X1600H will be leaving my home, and I need a replacement. I originally didn’t plan on using more channels and hoped I might keep the 900H if it impressed me. However, lately, I’ve been thinking about expanding to rear, center, and maybe a subwoofer within a year (I’ll figure that out later). So I’d like an AVR that can handle stereo on at least the same level as the 900H, and I’m curious about opinions.
I found some measurements of the older 800H, which should be very similar to the 900H, and they didn’t look particularly promising:
Denon DRA-800H Review (Stereo Receiver)
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Denon DRA-800H Stereo AV Receiver. It was kindly purchased used by a member and drop shipped to me. It costs new US $599 from Amazon including Prime shipping. The front looks like any multi-channel receiver: Then you look in the back and...
www.audiosciencereview.com
According to the measurements, models like the X3600H/X3700H, and likely the X3800H, seem to perform better than the 800H. However, I’m worried that I might be interpreting these graphs incorrectly, and it’s not that straightforward. If that’s the case, I could go for one of them (probably the 3800H), or I also quite like the look of the Marantz Cinema 60, perhaps the Cinema 50 if there’s a noticeable difference.
Can it really be simplified like this, or would I need to pay significantly more for a receiver that meets these criteria?
Thanks!
