Onkyo tx-nr808 or Denon AVR-3311

[tony0898]

I am wanting to upgrade my ageing Cambridge Audio 540r to one of the above. I still like the sound of my Camridge, especially with stereo playback. I am just wanting to find out whether going to the expense of either of the above i would have the same quality or as its a newer machine with newer technology it will sound better. I would be running it with Mordaunt Short MS914's for fronts, MS304 Centre and MS302 for rears. Are these speakers any good or would buying either of the mentioned Denon or Onkyo be a waste with these speakers.

Hope someone can help

 

[grdunn123]

Hi Tony, I would think that both receivers you have mentioned wil be too good for the speakers you have at present.If you intend keeping the speakers then you could go with something like the Yamaha RX-V667 or the Onky 608

 

[tony0898]

Thanks for the response, i had thought of upgrading to the B&W 685 home theatre kit. If this was the case which of the receivers would be a good all rounder for home cinema and good stereo playback/sound. Im such a novice at this.

 

[grdunn123]

If you upgrade to the B&W's then either of the amps will work well, also maybe consider the Yamah RXV 1067 or 2067 or one of the Pioneers

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

Tony0898,

Your centre and rear speakers will not do justice to either amps, IMO.

I had the Mordaunt Short Premier speaker package and they really are only suitable for a small room or bedroom. They struggled to cope even with a Sony STR-DG820 at high volumes.

Your floorstanders are fine but you really need to consider the 905 as your centre and a pair of 904's or 902's at least for the rears, although if you have the space, I would recommend the 903 Bi-polar surrounds. These will integrate much more cohesively with your 914's, IMO.

Also, if you are still using the MS308 subwoofer, that is going to be inadequte as well. At least a MS309 or better.

There are many used deals for these on E-Bay if you want to stick with your MS floorstanders. Alternatively, you might want to consider a new speaker package if it is not financially viable.

I would also pick the Onkyo TX-NR808 to match the MS speakers - they match well in sonic terms.

Ronald

 

[Anonymous]

Tony,

You can get the TX-NR1008 9.2 AV Amp for £864:00 from Hughes Direct, £899:99 and use discount code return4 at the checkout for the extra £36:00 off. Currently they are out of stock but it would be worth ordering to get it at this price, which is less than the TX-NR808 in most stores!

Alternatively you can source it from one of their stores or get someone to price match it; hifix for instance.

I bought the last one just before Christmas and it is an awesome beast, just shopping around for speakers at the mo. Obviously that amp would drive and sound better with more expensive speakers but it will be fine with those you have until you can upgrade them at a later date.

Check it out and grab one whilst you can, it is an awesome amp and retails at £1300:00!

Regards

Baz

 

[tony0898]

Thanks for giving me the heads up on that, will definately give that some serious consideration.

Concerned with the speaker issue now.