[sysfail]

Hello, I am kind of new to passive speakers and receivers so I need some help.
 
I am thinking of getting a pair of these speakers http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Monitor-AM7022-A-Floorstanding/dp/B0002Z2420 (Polk Audio Monitor 70).
 
I know I will also need a receiver to play music through them. So there are two receivers I am looking at the moment (trying to keep it no more than $250 for a receiver).
 
1. http://www.amazon.com/Sony-STRDH130-Channel-Stereo-Receiver/dp/B006U1VH2S (Sony STRDH130)
 
OR
 
2. http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-1513-Channel-Through-Receiver/dp/B007R8U5VM (Denon AVR1513)
 
First off, I am only going to use the receiver for those pair of speakers only for music, so two channels only. A 5.1, 7.1, or 2 channel receiver does not matter to me as long as it supports those two floorstanding speakers.
 
The Denon has 550w with 110w per channel @ 6ohm and 75w per channel @ 8ohm.
 
The Sony has 270w with 135w per channel @ 8ohm.
 
So wouldn't the Sony be better since it has more watts per channel to power the speakers (75w vs 135w @ 8ohm)? That is what I thought at first but I talked to some employees at Best Buy about receivers and they said the Denon is way better than the Sony's even if I was only using two speakers. They said the Denon would deliver much more power for the speakers, the Sony's simply will not be enough juice.
 
Now I am really confused which receiver is best to get for those pair of Polk Audio speakers.
 
Hope someone who understands all of these things can explain it to me and tell me which one I should get and why.
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hello, I am kind of new to passive speakers and receivers so I need some help.
I am thinking of getting a pair of these speakers http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Monitor-AM7022-A-Floorstanding/dp/B0002Z2420 (Polk Audio Monitor 70).
I know I will also need a receiver to play music through them. So there are two receivers I am looking at the moment (trying to keep it no more than $250 for a receiver).
1. http://www.amazon.com/Sony-STRDH130-Channel-Stereo-Receiver/dp/B006U1VH2S (Sony STRDH130)
OR
2. http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-1513-Channel-Through-Receiver/dp/B007R8U5VM (Denon AVR1513)
First off, I am only going to use the receiver for those pair of speakers only for music, so two channels only. A 5.1, 7.1, or 2 channel receiver does not matter to me as long as it supports those two floorstanding speakers.
The Denon has 550w with 110w per channel @ 6ohm and 75w per channel @ 8ohm.
The Sony has 270w with 135w per channel @ 8ohm.
So wouldn't the Sony be better since it has more watts per channel to power the speakers (75w vs 135w @ 8ohm)? That is what I thought at first but I talked to some employees at Best Buy about receivers and they said the Denon is way better than the Sony's even if I was only using two speakers. They said the Denon would deliver much more power for the speakers, the Sony's simply will not be enough juice.
Now I am really confused which receiver is best to get for those pair of Polk Audio speakers.
Hope someone who understands all of these things can explain it to me and tell me which one I should get and why.

Personally I would take Denon over a Sony. Sony's regular audio receivers have never been that highly rated, just decent.
(where as Sony's ES audio is well though of, but costs a lot more).
Watts is not the best way to rate a receiver, I've heard amps is more important them watts.
Amps X Voltage = Watts, so Sony can just add more voltage (useless voltage?) to get a high watts number.
You can also check your local Craiglist for used receivers, a 2 or 3 year old receiver should give you more value for the money.
I would take a used Denon receiver over a used Sony receiver
 
The Polk Audo Monitor 70s are cheaper at Newegg.
 
Also the websites AVforum and AVSforum are better site to ask about receivers and speakers.

 

[Chawanwit]

Definitely the Denon AV receiver. I own a older model Denon AV receiver and use it with a 5 speaker system with a sub woofer. It is amazing although I prefer my marantz system a little more. Companies like Denon and marantz are very good at Producing av receiver and related products. They are like sennhiser, grado, Breyer headphone brand. Sony are like Logitech of headphone. They seem good with many features however that cannot compete with Denon because Denon is specialize in AV receiver and related stuff while Sony is not. Look at the lcd tv for example. Over price and cannot compete with Other brand like Samsung.

 

[Doc-holliday]

Check out this one for 300. It used dual burr brown dac chips that are second to the top of ti's list.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002C73WR2/ref=sr_1_cc_1_olp?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1348937902&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=onkyo+5vl&condition=used

It is stereo and has manual control knobs for bass and trebble etc. it is their "audiophile grade" line of components.

It als apparently doubles as an outstanding headphone amp. I found out about it on this thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/621917/onkyo-a-5vl-a-game-changer

I was also lucky enough to get a pair of polk rti6 speakers from newegg when polk replaced them with the rti a1. If u can find those they sound terrific and i chose them over the monitor 30 after trying both. The 1" silk tweeter in the rti sounded better imo.

Oh yea and it will run those polks REALLY nicely.

 

[sysfail]

Thanks for the replies! Now I know to go for the Denon. Now I am taking a look at the Denon avr-1712 (http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-1712-Surround-Receiver-Black/dp/B004ZP72MU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348963306&sr=8-1&keywords=denon+1712) that I can probably get for about $50 more than the Denon avr-1513 (http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-1513-Channel-Through-Receiver/dp/B007R8U5VM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1348963377&sr=1-1&keywords=denon+1513).
 
In terms of power output for the speakers I want, is it a big upgrade from the 1513 to the 1712? Or is there barley any difference based solely on power output? I do not really care for the extra features and what not because that is not my main concern. I just want to be able to get the best bang for the buck power for the speakers to sound decent at moderate listening levels.
 
Thanks for the help!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks for the replies! Now I know to go for the Denon. Now I am taking a look at the Denon avr-1712 (http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-1712-Surround-Receiver-Black/dp/B004ZP72MU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348963306&sr=8-1&keywords=denon+1712) that I can probably get for about $50 more than the Denon avr-1513 (http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-1513-Channel-Through-Receiver/dp/B007R8U5VM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1348963377&sr=1-1&keywords=denon+1513).
 
In terms of power output for the speakers I want, is it a big upgrade from the 1513 to the 1712? Or is there barley any difference based solely on power output? I do not really care for the extra features and what not because that is not my main concern. I just want to be able to get the best bang for the buck power for the speakers to sound decent at moderate listening levels.

As the Denon AVR-1513 is designed to power 5 speakers at the same time and your only using two, I doubt you will have "power" issue.

 

[cel4145]

I agree with PurpleAngel. The difference in wattage between the 1712 and the 1513 will probably be negligible. You typically have to double the wattage to increase volume output by 3db. It takes a 10db increase for us to perceive it as twice the volume. 
 
However, I would get the 1712. The reason to get the 1712 over the 1513 is because of Audyssey MultiEQ XT room correction software. Using the included microphone, you let the receiver take measurements in your room and it will set channel levels, delays, and phasing (if needed), and it will apply EQ filters to each speaker to help flatten the in-room response at your primary listening position. MultiEQ XT will often noticeably improve the SQ; the 1513 doesn't have any room correction software. It's definitely worth $50. 
 
Also, if you ever decide to add a sub, you will rerun Audyssey again and it will EQ the sub, too. Subs really need EQ help in most rooms. 
 
Meanwhile, unless you are set on ordering through Amazon, Newegg has the Monitor70s for $179 each shipped through tomorrow. That would make up the difference between the 1712 and the 1513. 

 

[sysfail]

I see. So the Audyssey software will automatically calibrate itself to adapt to my room basically? Because if I had to manually do it, I'd have no clue what to do, and I'd probably make things worse, but if it can automatically do everything for me to help produce the best sound quality for my room, then that is pretty awesome and I'd spend the extra $50 for it.
 
Thanks for recommending Newegg for the speakers, $180 is a great price! I read that it has been down to $150 before for each speaker. I wonder if that would happen anytime soon. Don't know if I should wait to save another $60 or get it now...

 
EDIT: Also, can I use the Audyssey software right on the receiver display? Or does it have to be plugged into a TV/Monitor to be able to access and setup that feature? Thanks.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I see. So the Audyssey software will automatically calibrate itself to adapt to my room basically? Because if I had to manually do it, I'd have no clue what to do, and I'd probably make things worse, but if it can automatically do everything for me to help produce the best sound quality for my room, then that is pretty awesome and I'd spend the extra $50 for it.
 
Thanks for recommending Newegg for the speakers, $180 is a great price! I read that it has been down to $150 before for each speaker. I wonder if that would happen anytime soon. Don't know if I should wait to save another $60 or get it now...

This site usually list speaker on sale.
http://www.techbargains.com/

 

[sysfail]

Quote:

This site usually list speaker on sale.
http://www.techbargains.com/

 
I'll check it out, thanks!

 

[cel4145]

Yes. Audyssey will do it's best to calibrate to your listening position. You use the microphone to let Audyssey take readings from multiple positions around your listening position: 
 
http://www.audyssey.com/audio-technology/multeq/how-to
 
I have an older Denon, and I can run Audyssey off the receiver display. But it's not that easy to follow if you have never done it before. 

 

[sysfail]

Quote:

Yes. Audyssey will do it's best to calibrate to your listening position. You use the microphone to let Audyssey take readings from multiple positions around your listening position: 
 
http://www.audyssey.com/audio-technology/multeq/how-to
 
I have an older Denon, and I can run Audyssey off the receiver display. But it's not that easy to follow if you have never done it before. 

 
Cool, thanks for the help! One more thing, I found that the Denon AVR 1612 also has Audyssey too, and it's about $70 cheaper compared to the 1712. I should get that one instead? Trying to save as much as possible, already going over my budget by getting the monitor 70s rather than the monitor 60s.

 

[cel4145]

Quote:

 
Cool, thanks for the help! One more thing, I found that the Denon AVR 1612 also has Audyssey too, and it's about $70 cheaper compared to the 1712. I should get that one instead? Trying to save as much as possible, already going over my budget by getting the monitor 70s rather than the monitor 60s.

 
The 1612 has MultiEQ instead of MultiEQ XT. MultiEQ XT has better EQ filter resolution. The SQ improvement would be a little better, but regular MultiEQ is no slouch. So go with the 1612 and stay in your budget 

 

[sysfail]

Quote:

 
The 1612 has MultiEQ instead of MultiEQ XT. MultiEQ XT has better EQ filter resolution. The SQ improvement would be a little better, but regular MultiEQ is no slouch. So go with the 1612 and stay in your budget 

 
Awesome, thanks a lot for your help!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Awesome, thanks a lot for your help!

Polk Audio RTI8 towers, on sale at Frys for $188 each, plus shipping.
http://www.frys.com/product/6895286?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG