denon avr-2808 for 683's

[mazewing]

Greetings, just registered so...

I'm pretty new in the whole "high-end" audio world and since a few weeks i'm listening to different speakers and looking for some nice set-ups. I plan on going for a 5.1 system. Now my question is:

Will the denon avr-2808 be enought to power:
- 2x B&W 683
- 2x B&W 685 (rear)
- 1x HTM61
- 1x ASW610
Without the use of an amp for the 683's. My budget is already doubled compared to what i originally wanted to spend. And i simply don't have the money to spend €2000 on a receiver/amp

Thanks in advance

[newguy987]

Welcome to the club, I too am brand new to this. Good choice with the speakers. I have the same ones and love them. They sound very very good, compared to the crap I had before. Do you already have the Denon? What is your budget? I'd look at something different if you could. I owned a Denon and was quite disappointed with it. It lacked the power I was looking for, too many bells and whistles vs sound quality. As far as power, it's rating is 110wpc but I don't think that's all channels driven simultaneously. Can you bi amp with it(channels 6 and 7)? if you can it might be ok. But like I said there are better ones out there......Imo.

[mazewing]

thanks for the reply.

My budget will be around €3500-4000

The setup i had first in mind was:
4x B&W 685
1x HTM62
1x ASW610 (or ASW608)
Onkyo SR-705 or perhaps the SR-606

But if i want to go with the 683 speakers, i would need a far better amp then the onkyo 705 or 606. I've read a bit and it seems the Denon 3808 would be a perfect choice, but that's a bit pricey for me. So i looked up the 2808 and it's missing some features, but for the most part it's a cheaper 3808. I can get the Denon 2808 for around €750

So that would be a total of:
€1400 for the 683's
€600 for the 685's
€600 for the HTM62
€600 for the ASW610
€750 for the Denon 2808

total price of: €3950

+ price for 2 speakerstands, cables, etc.
The max I can and will spend is €4000

If I go with the 4x 685's setup i will end up with:
€1200 for 4 685's
€400 for the HTM62
€600 for the ASW610 (or €450 for the ASW608)
€400 for the Onkyo 606
I don't think it's worth the extra cash for the bigger centre (htm61 instead of htm62) or the bigger subwoofer (haven't heard the asw608 yet)

total price of: € 2600

If I can't keep the budget under €4000 i will end up with the 685 setup.
So now you know my situation

[mazewing]

ok did some more research and I think a better option would be a Marantz SR7001 (I can get it for about the same price) or pay €250 more and go for the SR7002? I can also go with the Onkyo SR876

Just say i have around €1000 to spend on the receiver.

[altanpsx]

I tried Denon 4308 with 703, htm61, 2x685, and I did not like the denon&b&W. But when I tried Onkyo 875 with them sound was perfect, you can feel in every note that you have the right and strong enougth amp., and if your consideration is movies, you may give a chance to Yamaha amp.'s they have an extraordinary movie performance, but stereo performance is bad.

[newguy987]

From what I have learnt from reading and doing my own listening. I would get the best speakers you can afford, and then build from there. The 683's are awesome speakers so I would at least stick with them. If I was in your position I would get the 683's, the htm61, and the 685's. Skip the sub-for now and use the money for a better receiver. Make sure you can bi -amp the 683's with it. The receiver is the tough part. Make sure it is somewhat future proof, ie it has pre-outs for future amplification. which would also give you the option of using it mainly as a pre/pro down the road, which a lot of guys are doing. It also depends on what you are using it mainly for. Music listening vs home theater. If you listen to a lot of music you'll want to get a receiver that can handle the job quality wise. I know a lot of people are using Rotel, and Arcam, mainly because the sound quality is that much better than denon, yamaha etc. It's not an easy choice especially with tech changing so rapidly. Hopefully some other guys can give you a hand in picking one out. I use the Arcam avr300 for my system and it works very well. They are also coming down in price due to the new release of the avr600. I've never had rotel so I can't comment on them. check out "whathifi" they have released the best of 2008. Might help in making the decision. Pick 2 or 3 that you like and listen to them-if you can. Hope this helps....

[function12]

If you are just going 5.1 and do not care for all the bells & whistles then I would look at Rotel Pre/Pro and a Rotel amp. In the long run you will be much happer. I use to have a Denon and is was good, so I thought. Till I went the Rotel way. My speakers sound so much better.
Just my 2 cents.

[mazewing]

thanks for all the replies guys!

I have limited my choice to:
- Onkyo SR876
- Marantz SR7002

I'm going to use the speakers for music and movies, but mostly for movies. So i need a receiver that is great at 5.1 output but also good at music. After reading a lot of reviews, i've come to the conclusion the 2 receivers i've summed up are the best for me (in my price range). The Onkyo is better at outputting 5.1 sound, while the Marantz is better for stereo. I will listen to them soon so i can make a decision. The 683 will be bi-wired ofcourse!

oh i've also invested some time in checking up the yamaha receivers (RX-V863) and it seems to offer much for the price it costs, but i don't know how they match up with my speaker selection. Any tips?

[hifiguymi]

I've not had great experience with Yamaha receivers and B&W speakers. The overall sound tends to be a little bright for me. I know other people that don't have that opinion at all. Trust your ears and they won't steer you wrong.

Eric

[altanpsx]

I used rx-v663 with 683, htm61, 686, 703, htm61,686, 804s, htm61, 686. Movie performance is far better then Rotel rsx-1067, Harman Kardon 355, Denon 4308, Onkyo 875. But when subject comes to stereo, yamaha is the worst one. I bought 663 for 700 usd (very good price for my country), after then I bought Roksan Kandy MKIII integrated amp+cdp for stereo. I am very happy with my setup right now. Stereo amp. gives the best when it comes to music, avr's are not good at stereo even the most expensive Rotel I had tried. I reccomend you to buy two different amp, for ht and stereo. 663 is very cheap, and you can always find a stereo amp for 683's, you can drive them nearly every stereo amp. I also strongly reccomend you to buy a standalone cdp for stereo.

And also, if budget is not important go with the Onkyo 876

[fhsun]

My speaker set up is almost identical sans the 685 rear, I'm using M-1 instead for surrounds.

683's are not particularly difficult speakers to drive so they do not "require" a lot of power, although they will benefit from it. I droved them with a 90w/channel NAD receiver, and then a 120w/ channel Rotel amp.

683's do have pretty good bass and don't need the help of ASW610 when comes to music and will even do okay without it for HT so you can do without it for the time being, but ASW610 is a nice addition for HT LFE.

[mazewing]

Tomorrow i will listen to the setup with the denon 2808 receiver. I'm also going to take a look (and listen ofcourse ) to the new 2309. It has one important feature for me: Dynamic EQ. I can't pump up the volume everytime, so this will be a great feature for me. From what i've read thus far.

[mazewing]

ordered them today :drool: will get them later this weak. Ordered 2 683's in red cherry and went with the Denon 2808.

Can't wait until i get it

[fhsun]

So what are your thoughts when you demo'd the 683's with 2808 and 2309??

Did you also hear a difference between the two AVR's?

[mazewing]

I did hear a difference when turning the volume down, but the only thing that really was different was that the bass was more "boomy" because of the Dynamic EQ. Something i can achieve for about 95% when messing with the EQ. So I went for the 2808, because it's a beter overall receiver and also looks better. Although it only has 2 hdmi connections, i don't mind because i will only be using 2.