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"The problem with quotes from the internet is that many of them are just made up."
-Abraham Lincoln
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You purchase the best pre-amp you can get from an AVR besting anything from Denon and Marantz by a country mile. If you look at Yamaha's preamp specs, you will notice that performs better, quiet with far less distortion then some of the big boutique brands. Congrats on your purchase.
You will also see AVR specs, on paper, besting some of the most expensive amps on the market. Therefore, we can conclude we are all good with Yamaha receivers and forgo the price of Levinson, Pass etc., or, specs aren't worth the time they take to publish because they mean nothing.
The same principles apply to home theater that apply to any other component, you don't buy a stereo receiver to act as preamp for a 2-channel system and expect it to out perform a same priced stand alone preamp. It doesn't work like that, and it doesn't for home theater.
I can understand people not having the budget, or, desire, to go high end on HT, that's, their, decision, and they have to live with it, but, what I never understand on these forums is why the people who have made said decisions feel they have to rage a negative campaign against high end because of their choice. Because, you, decided what is best for, you, has no baring on whether others might enjoy something better. I see this mentality all over the forums and not just with HT.
if you want analog inputs for like a tuner or TT, just add a simple two channel pre with HT bypass. That could also save you the shelf space of a separate CD or DVD player.
You will also have the flexibility of upgrading just the two channel preamp when the bug bites.
AB.
I think it doesn't have the absolute latest but for sure 5.1 and DTS.
Wishing to update components in our dedicated theater room late last year, I did extensive online research looking for an AV preamp. I set my spending limit at about $2,000. After looking at the usual suspects from Marantz, Emotiva, Outlaw, and Onkyo/Integra, I ended up purchasing a leftover (2013 model) Yamaha Aventage RX-A2020 receiver, which has preouts for all channels. Crutchfield reduced the price from $1,700 msrp to $1,000.
I have no idea what the power amp section sounds like, but the preamp section is very smooth, clean, and detailed. It is neutral to slightly warm and completely nonfatiguing. The video section passes through Blu-ray with absolutely no loss in picture quality (viewed from a final-generation Panasonic 65" plasma). Also, it is very well built.
For the front left and right channels it is presently driving a Quad 909 power amp. Initially the Yamaha was used with the system's usual amplifier, an Adcom GFA-5503 MOSFET three-channel amp, which will be reinserted at a later time. I'm having some fun using the Quad, which gets very little use since I disassembled a secondary two-channel system that utilized a Quad 99 preamp and the 909 amp.
Note that my comments above are relative to other AV preamps, which, in my opinion, do not compare well sonically to really good high-end two-channel preamps.
Checking Yamaha's just-introduced 2015 models, their lowest-priced Aventage receiver with full multichannel preouts is the RX-A840, which retails at $900 (Crutchfield has it for $850 with free shipping). A little searching might find you a leftover 2014 model, such as the RX-A2030, at a big discount. Also, Accessories4less.com has a few refurbished Yamaha Aventage receivers.
~!
The Mind has No Firewall~ U.S. Army War College.
The Emotiva UMC-200, Outlaw Model 975, Nuforce AVP-18 are available and appear to share a similar platform. The Marantz AV-7701 is at the top of your price range and the older AV-7005 is commonly available used for less than $1000. My experience is that the Emotiva and Marantz units sound good and operate fairly well. The Outlaw and Nuforce should be similar; however, I've not experienced either in the flesh.
My son has the Emotiva UMC-200 and it is quite good, and their 5 channel amp as well. He had an Onkyo traditional receiver with separate pre-outputs before the Emotiva and the Emo was a jump up in quality and usability.
Don't own one (not into HT) but Emotiva has a good reputation.
Since DD n DTS all use standardized chips, meaning a$500 receiver uses essentially the same chipsets as many mega buck processors, why not buy a cheaper receiver w 5.1 outputs ( or 7.1+ as the case may be)?
Just my opinion YMMV
But I haven't found one in that price range that has 5.1 pre outs. Usually just stereo out until you get into the $899 and up range.
"The problem with quotes from the internet is that many of them are just made up."
-Abraham Lincoln
hadn't checked recently and you're right. a couple of years ago everyone had six channels outs.....But honesty, for HT, I would rather run a receivers and leave my stereo separate. I like switching convenience, the rear channels are of negligible needs except for special effects, and the key is the front two channels. I do not run a center channel, as I get very good imaging even without it.
of course YMMV
My installer used my old system (Roksan integrated Kandy III) to run my old sources such as TT and cassette, all feeding off it's pre amp out to one of the Aux in my Denon AVR.
The Denon supplies the power to LF, RF, LR and RR, with a wall speaker center. When I am listening to music, switch to 2 ch. Works well but not perfectly. Denon has sub in coax.
Am I doing this wrong?
Not sure why he has those sources going into the Roksan opposed directly into the Denon. The Roksan preamp section may be some better but going into the AUX it still goes through the Denon preamp. So I'd take the Roksan out of the loop to simplify things.
To the original question the Marantz 7701 is a good performer at a good price. Preamps are not just chips, any one who thinks a receiver is as good as a dedicated preamp, even for HT, must still hold to all CDP's sound the same. A HT preamp still benefits from better analog circuits and dedicated power supply amongst other places of upgrade. Just as lower distortion and noise, better definition, better frequency response etc. benefits music it also can HT, if you care to go that far. A quality HT preamp can provide better steering of sound effects, dynamics and transients to movie soundtracks, to name a few benefits, clearer dialog. I've had A/V processors from Arcam, Primare and Marantz, I've never regret spending the extra money nor have I ever thought a receiver was just as good, just not so. However, I do understand the limits of a person's budget and priorities. Then there's also the consideration of how much to invest in a piece that will surely be outdated in some way down the road. Some really expensive preamps have platforms that can be upgraded with firmware or even actual boards when features become available but unfortunately I don't know of any in the $1500 price or even double.
probably was trying to get phono amp in circuit.
I have other preamps also. Eventually, will upgrade. This works for now, but I did not have energy to play around when he set it up.
Yes pre-out of the AVR into your stereo amp for front speakers use receiver just for centre & rear speakers
Edits: 08/20/14
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