TX-NR818 Packed up need a new one

[canada1977]

Hey boys and girls, long time, its actually been so long, I had to start a new account.

Anyway, I bought a TX-NR818 when they first came out from frank harvy hifi hifix and its packed up, I do not want another onkyo unless they have release something truly speacial at a cheap price as I have had nothing but problems with this one. First a national recall due to the HDMI board, and now spending £900.00 when this came out, and like 4 years later its dead. If I spend 900.00 on a amp I expect it to last longer than 4 years, not a happy chappy. I have changed the fuses, and still nothing.

Anyway, I need a amp which can run my GX300 MA Golds, but I dont have another £900.00 to spend.

Any deals kicking about for powerful amps for cheap? Been out of the hifi forums so unsure whats hot and not right now. Im running a 5.1 with a svs sub,

Or is there a place in cardiff where I can take it and they can let me know whats wrong with it, for a free quote? I did not buy it in cardiff so cannot return it to dave at hifix

Thanks all.

AKA CANADA16

 

[bigboss]

David doesn't work for Frank Harvey Hi Fi any more.

You've got some very fine speakers there who will benefit from decent amplification. What's your budget?

 

[jjbomber]

Or is there a place in cardiff where I can take it and they can let me know whats wrong with it, for a free quote?

AKA CANADA16

Richer Sounds.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

What's your budget and what are your expectations?

The 818, despite Onkyo's issues at the time, was at the top end of that series.

If music is your main thing you might be best going for a modest 5.1 receiver plus a half decent "proper stereo" amp, rather than a high end receiver.

 

[canada1977]

Hi all, shame about dave, hope he is off to bigger and better things.

I dont really listen to music at home, mainly movies. I could maybe come up with £1000.00 but looking online, cant really see a lot which is a power house as far running my gold speakers to do them justice.

I always felt the onkyo didnt have enough headroom to run them properly, it seemed like they always had more to give with a better amp, but can never afford £2000.00 for a high end av amp.

Im taking it to a place in swansea which onkyo recomended, but I cant see this being cheap to fix.

 

[Leeps]

In a way, it's a good time to look at a replacement. As the whole 4K, HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2 thing was rolled out by most AV receivers last year, already there are some very respectable discounts on last year's models. The usual suspects would include Denon X4200W/X6200W, Marantz SR6010/SR7010, Pioneer SC-LX59/SC-LX79/SC-LX89 and Yamaha RX-A1050/RX-A2050, all of which have been replaced with 2016/2017 tweaks that mainly revolve around multi-room streaming, so the older models listed above are now well discounted. Maybe look at ex-demo or clearance to save even more.

I personally found when I ran my MA Gold GX50's that they were a little lacking in excitement and needed some welly to get them going, so you could always purchase the AV receiver itself now, then when funds permit look at a decent 2-channel power amplifier to run from your AV receiver's pre-outs to power the GX300's. Speakers of that ilk really could do with some oomph.

 

[canada1977]

In a way, it's a good time to look at a replacement. As the whole 4K, HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2 thing was rolled out by most AV receivers last year, already there are some very respectable discounts on last year's models. The usual suspects would include Denon X4200W/X6200W, Marantz SR6010/SR7010, Pioneer SC-LX59/SC-LX79/SC-LX89 and Yamaha RX-A1050/RX-A2050, all of which have been replaced with 2016/2017 tweaks that mainly revolve around multi-room streaming, so the older models listed above are now well discounted. Maybe look at ex-demo or clearance to save even more.

I personally found when I ran my MA Gold GX50's that they were a little lacking in excitement and needed some welly to get them going, so you could always purchase the AV receiver itself now, then when funds permit look at a decent 2-channel power amplifier to run from your AV receiver's pre-outs to power the GX300's. Speakers of that ilk really could do with some oomph.

The pioneers are great, I had a sc-lx model years ago, but they are a lot of money for what you get. Out of all the top ones, which would run the Golds very well and dont have any major known issues? What would you buy? Sorry been away for years, so unsure what to buy

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

I'd look for a Marantz 5010 (500 quid brand new on Amazon UK) then look for a decent stereo power amp as suggested. Power ams tend to be pretty robust, so buying one used isn't such an issue.

The Marantz 5010 has pre-amp outputs for the front channels, which a lot of lower end receivers don't ( the Onkyo 646 and 656 onlyhave Zone 2 pre-outs, for example).

I have the Marantz 7010 and I'm very happy with it for AV, and I was recommended to buy the Marantz as being more musical than Onkyo or Yamaha offerings.

 

[canada1977]

I cant see the Marantz for 500.00 only from a Third Party seller who has no reputation, and has just launched. Also seems a heck of a lot cheaper than other people, seems dodgy.

Like the idea of the stereo amp, but is it possible to run the centre on them as well ?

 

[bigboss]

I cant see the Marantz for 500.00 only from a Third Party seller who has no reputation, and has just launched. Also seems a heck of a lot cheaper than other people, seems dodgy.

Like the idea of the stereo amp, but is it possible to run the centre on them as well ?

 

No, it's not possible to run the centre via stereo amp. Check out Marantz SR7011 (or 7010 if you can find one significantly cheaper) if you want to go pure AV route.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Didn't check the seller, just eyeballed the price, sorry. The other price looks a bit steep considering retaliers were selling off the 7010 at about nine hundred quid a couple of weeks ago. I'd shop around. Here in the US, the 5010 is going for $700 to $800 new.

As for the centre channel - to run three channels, you'll need a three channel power amp (or two two-channels amps with one channel unused), but, yes, you can run all three off the pre-amp outputs of the 5010. In fact, if you had a mind to, you could run all seven through one or more power amps. The main advantage, apart from more oomph from a more powerful amp, of curse, of running the fronts through an external power amp is that these usually do the most work, so taking that strain off the receiver's power supply tends to open up more dynamicism (is that a proper word?) and headroom for the other channels.

If you use an integrated amp, you can connect the AV receiver's pre-amp outputs to the AV direct or Aux channel inputs on the amp, and also bypass the receiver entirely for your CD player, gramophone, etc.

 

[Leeps]

In a way, it's a good time to look at a replacement. As the whole 4K, HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2 thing was rolled out by most AV receivers last year, already there are some very respectable discounts on last year's models. The usual suspects would include Denon X4200W/X6200W, Marantz SR6010/SR7010, Pioneer SC-LX59/SC-LX79/SC-LX89 and Yamaha RX-A1050/RX-A2050, all of which have been replaced with 2016/2017 tweaks that mainly revolve around multi-room streaming, so the older models listed above are now well discounted. Maybe look at ex-demo or clearance to save even more.

I personally found when I ran my MA Gold GX50's that they were a little lacking in excitement and needed some welly to get them going, so you could always purchase the AV receiver itself now, then when funds permit look at a decent 2-channel power amplifier to run from your AV receiver's pre-outs to power the GX300's. Speakers of that ilk really could do with some oomph.

The pioneers are great, I had a sc-lx model years ago, but they are a lot of money for what you get. Out of all the top ones, which would run the Golds very well and dont have any major known issues? What would you buy? Sorry been away for years, so unsure what to buy

Hmmm, tricky one that. There were two issues I had with the Golds. I felt at time it was like the musicians were playing in the next room instead of being in the room with me, or parts of movies that I'd remembered being really dynamic and engaging were a little lacklustre and plain. So for that reason I would have veered towards the Yamaha or Pioneers to pepp things up a bit. BUT, I also felt that at times they could be pushed into a little sibilance, so to avoid that, I'd veer towards the Denon or Marantz. So the needs of the Golds are a little contradictory.

So if I were in your situation I'd go to a store that stocked some ex-demo/clearance last year's models and ask them whether you could either home demo, or at least purchase your favoured receiver based on an in-store demo with the option to return and swap if it didn't match the Golds when you got it home. In terms of out-right clout (without adding a separate power amp), I think the Yamahas have the beefiest power supplies, so I'd probably start looking there.

I normally wouldn't be quite so picky, but I do think the Golds are particularly amp-fussy so need a little more care than usual to get the amp/speaker pairing right. As far as adding a power amp later, I have heard that the Cambridge 851A integrated matches the Golds very well. It is an integrated amp, but you can name inputs and set channel levels for each input, so can effectively turn it into a power amp for AV duties. There are a few used examples around nowadays, but might be over-budget at the moment. Perhaps worth noting for further down the line.

 

[canada1977]

WOW Thanks Leeps, gives me lots to think about, so the yammy or the 7011 have the most power in the 1000.00 range, and best fitted to the Golds?

If I am going to spend 1000.00 I want my golds to shine, I dont think I picked well with the Onkyo, they just seemed like you said, sound was in the next room, not in front of me, blowing my mind.

 

[Leeps]

WOW Thanks Leeps, gives me lots to think about, so the yammy or the 7011 have the most power in the 1000.00 range, and best fitted to the Golds?

If I am going to spend 1000.00 I want my golds to shine, I dont think I picked well with the Onkyo, they just seemed like you said, sound was in the next room, not in front of me, blowing my mind.

In fairness to your Onkyo, you could have been hearing the speakers' characteristics there more than the AV amp. Considering your disappointment with the Onkyo, all the more reason to demo this time before splashing the cash.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

WOW Thanks Leeps, gives me lots to think about, so the yammy or the 7011 have the most power in the 1000.00 range, and best fitted to the Golds?

If I am going to spend 1000.00 I want my golds to shine, I dont think I picked well with the Onkyo, they just seemed like you said, sound was in the next room, not in front of me, blowing my mind.

In fairness to your Onkyo, you could have been hearing the speakers' characteristics there more than the AV amp. Considering your disappointment with the Onkyo, all the more reason to demo this time before splashing the cash.

And to think about a decent hifi amp and a modest receiver with pre-amp outs for the fronts (at least), rather than an expensive receiver just for 5.1. ;-)