New hd receivers

[admin_exported]

Does anyone know when the new offerings from yamaha,denon,sony,pioneer will be around to chalenge the onky 606.

Has anyone seen any photos, previews or product details available yet?

 

[Anonymous]

I would be very interested to see if you get any replies from the WHF team on this.... I posted something very similar a couple of weeks back and got one terse reply from Claire. And whenever I've posted anything asking for any alternatives to the unassailable Onk, I've been greeted by a ground-shaking silence.
If any one was at all conspiracy theory-based then they might just think that any criticism (implied or otherwise) of the Brikyo stable is simply ignored and allowed fall so far down the forum it's essentially dead.....
There will be a small test in the mag next month, apparently. I suspect that will pre-date most of the autumn receiver releases, I suspect. Are you a betting man, Matt? Wanna predict the winner?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Ah, the conspiracy theorists.....

Well there's a five-star Yamaha DSP-Z11 review that went live this week - in-depth and full of praise for the new Yamaha flagship.

And yes, there is a test - by no means small - of the Onkyo 606 vs the new Denon and Yamaha competitors in our next issue, out July 24th (two weeks today). Results may surprise.

Oh, and we've got Sony in with its new receivers this afternoon - we hope to get a review up of at least one of the new HD models within a week. Pioneers to follow.

 

[Anonymous]

That's excellent news, Clare! Can't wait.
Yes, top end's all well and good but the real battlefield is in the sub £500 market where the 605/606 has had a clear run for too long. That's not Onk's fault - they saw a hole in the market, have exploited it cleverly, making sure that the Press had all the co-operation they needed. The resultant reviews, ratings and articles were their marketing. They're patently no fools, although I do wish their design team would produce something remotely attractive.....
It's their competition who need a slap on the wrists. They screwed up, big time. Too high prices. Too few HDMIs. No 1080p upscaling. NO HD audio. Inferior UK specs. Arrogance and stupidity.
So, I'm very interested to hear about the Sony. Especially the STR-DA2400ES, which exists on Play at an attractive £399, but not on the Sony site! Indeed, the only amp on the site that decodes HD formats is their top end unit. Hmmmmm..... There's confusion about features and price-points in general, so it'll be great to get all that cleared up!

 

[Andrew Everard]

Congrats, Casca - that's probably the most spectacular volte face I've seen in ages.

Ever thought of a career in politics?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Casca:That's excellent news, Clare! Can't wait.
Yes, top end's all well and good but the real battlefield is in the sub £500 market where the 605/606 has had a clear run for too long. That's not Onk's fault - they saw a hole in the market, have exploited it cleverly, making sure that the Press had all the co-operation they needed. The resultant reviews, ratings and articles were their marketing. They're patently no fools, although I do wish their design team would produce something remotely attractive.....
It's their competition who need a slap on the wrists. They screwed up, big time. Too high prices. Too few HDMIs. No 1080p upscaling. NO HD audio. Inferior UK specs. Arrogance and stupidity.
So, I'm very interested to hear about the Sony. Especially the STR-DA2400ES, which exists on Play at an attractive £399, but not on the Sony site! Indeed, the only amp on the site that decodes HD formats is their top end unit. Hmmmmm..... There's confusion about features and price-points in general, so it'll be great to get all that cleared up!

The big problem with the Sony stuff is the model number/spec differences between US, European and UK models. We'll get the answers this afternoon, and post a clarifying story. Oh, and we tried to buy the model on Play.com, but when you go through the process it's out of stock....

 

[Anonymous]

20 years at the BBC, Andrew. That's a career in politics....
No change in POV, though. My last post on the same subject did only get one brief reply from Clare, and the level of coverage Onk get (Behind the scenes, for starters) is substantial. No review on the Pioneer VSXLX 60, either, for example.
Now, this all is probably to do with the Onk-sters being on the ball and seeing the amount of free advertorial they can get by co-operating, but you can see why it all can seem a little Onk, Onk, Onk, I'm sure. That's why I really am glad you're doing the test in the next issue. And if, as Clare says, we're in for a "surprise", then any conspiracy theorists will have to reassess their position!!!
I'd also love to see you haul Sony over the coals, if as I expect, the UK spec of the 2500 is as low as I fear.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Please note that the 'behind the scenes' was written over a year ago, before Onkyo even started picking up good reviews for its 06 series, and was an attempt to explain to readers where the company was coming from, as it was virtually unknown in the home cinema mass-market at the time.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree absolutely, Andrew. But it only vanished off the top of the list (and I assume the site) when you did the relaunch. That's a long time.....

 

[Clare Newsome]

But it was on the top of the list because it was the story most readers were reading/read - we can hardly be responsible for that!

 

[Andrew Everard]

Absolutely so - the 'list' was an automatically generated one, counting the number of views. FWIW the Onkyo 'behind the scenes' has had over 10,000 views, more than twice as many as the next most popular, which is - ummmm - last year's 'Onkyo AV receiver range offers upscaling and full HD audio from just £400' news story!

 

[Anonymous]

Guys, guys..... I absolutely agree. It WAS a great news story and you certainly can't be held responsible for how the inner workings of your site make things look.
I am looking forward hugely to the new test and just hoping that Clare's 'surprise' may just be an even better news story.
I guess what irritates me the most is simply that the wider market is not picking up the baton here, and they so easily could. Yes, I can buy the VLX-60 for £600 and most people say it's a good piece of kit (is it?) but the cheaper AX-563 doesn't have the inputs or the upscaling. Why not? The Sony looks a killer, but I suspect it simply doesn't exist for this market. Why not?
You are the guys who are in the best position to pressure the manufacturers and explain to us mere mortals why they are doing (or rather NOT doing) this. I suspect it's nothing more than greed and a short-sighted attempt to protect a dwindling market share, but it makes no sense in the current financial climate.
What about an element of campaigning here? How can the smaller Onks manage to pack it all in and the bigger guys not even come close at that price point? Let's be honest, they're the ones who actually should have the economy of scale going on. Why not get a statement (or at least a non-denial denial) from all the major av receiver guys explaining their strategy in the sub £500 market? It might make an interesting feature. If (a BIG "if") they play ball.

 

[Clare Newsome]

I've got lots of lovely manufacturer comments on the subject that even if they weren't off the record (which they are) wouldn't get passed the decency filter on this site!

Meanwhile, on the record, more receiver info from Sony here.

 

[Hems]

Which denon model is due to be reviewed?

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:

I've got lots of lovely manufacturer comments on the subject that even if they weren't off the record (which they are) wouldn't get passed the decency filter on this site!

Meanwhile, on the record, more receiver info from Sony here.

Clare how do you mean the manufacturers comments wouldnt get past the site decency filter, do they have strong, irate and offensive views on the the sub £500 av receiver market?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Hems:Which denon model is due to be reviewed?

See here.http://whathifi.com/forums/t/94337.aspx.

 

[Andrew Everard]

matt444_2000:Clare how do you mean the manufacturers comments wouldnt get past the site decency filter, do they have strong, irate and offensive views on the the sub £500 av receiver market?

I think strongly-articulated more or less covers it.

 

[Hems]

Do you know when you will be reviewing the denon 2309, 2809?

thanks

 

[Clare Newsome]

As soon as they're available from Denon - as we wrote here, the AVR-2309 is due in shops in August (so we should get that next) and the AVR-2809 in September (we'll get that ahead of judging this year's Awards).