Just Bought A New Av Receiver - At A Steal!

[ozpowell]

So happy about this, just had to tell someone . Absolutely nothing to do with hb, but we all love our toys, right?

I've been looking at replacing my old AV amp/receiver for some time and the model I was lusting after was RRP $1400 (link). I had seen it around on ebay and JB HiFi etc for around the $1000 mark, but I still couldn't bring myself to do it at that price (my old one still works pretty well - just the IR reveiver seems to be busted). Even reconditioned models were around the $800 mark on ebay.... I'd pay that for a new one, but not recon.

Anyway, recently I heard that Onkyo were releasing a new model superceding this one (TX-SR606). Not too different - bit more power and an extra HDMI port. So I thought I'd just pay JB another visit to see if they were interested in running out some of their old stock. Walked into the store and saw the 605 still at $994 and thought there would be no way they'd come down to my price range. As I was leaving the AV section, the sales guy mentioned they were keen to get rid of the old model. So I asked what their best price would be. He told me that their cost price was $760 and he'd do it at that. <Michael starts getting excited> I thought I'd push just a little harder and said that if he'd do it for $700, I'd take one right now. After talking with his manager for 5 minutes he agreed!

I'm now the proud owner of a fantastic brand-new silver Onkyo TX-SR606 which I got for a whopping 50% off RRP!!!!!

Cheers,
Michael.

 

[lucas]

So happy about this, just had to tell someone . Absolutely nothing to do with hb, but we all love our toys, right?

I've been looking at replacing my old AV amp/receiver for some time and the model I was lusting after was RRP $1400 (link). I had seen it around on ebay and JB HiFi etc for around the $1000 mark, but I still couldn't bring myself to do it at that price (my old one still works pretty well - just the IR reveiver seems to be busted). Even reconditioned models were around the $800 mark on ebay.... I'd pay that for a new one, but not recon.

Anyway, recently I heard that Onkyo were releasing a new model superceding this one (TX-SR606). Not too different - bit more power and an extra HDMI port. So I thought I'd just pay JB another visit to see if they were interested in running out some of their old stock. Walked into the store and saw the 605 still at $994 and thought there would be no way they'd come down to my price range. As I was leaving the AV section, the sales guy mentioned they were keen to get rid of the old model. So I asked what their best price would be. He told me that their cost price was $760 and he'd do it at that. <Michael starts getting excited> I thought I'd push just a little harder and said that if he'd do it for $700, I'd take one right now. After talking with his manager for 5 minutes he agreed!

I'm now the proud owner of a fantastic brand-new silver Onkyo TX-SR606 which I got for a whopping 50% off RRP!!!!!

Cheers,
Michael.

Ha! I had a very similar weekend and picked up it's little brother, the TX-SR575 for $440. hooray for clearance pricing

 

[Ross]

Nice work guys :super:

cheers ross

 

[pokolbinguy]

Just noticed this thread after google searching the Onkyo TXSR606....now I'm jealous...but atleast I know what they are really worth

 

[komodo]

If only some of these recievers had decent power ratings. Unfortunatly most AV recievers (and yes including the likes of yamaha, onkyo, marantz etc) only produce ~70% of their rated power into a static load (and I'd suggest even less into a dynamic load with impedance rise at lower frequencies). I'm looking to pro audio amps (im a power junkie and bass head at heart - I used to do a lot of large format work) and using a basic reciever as a preamp and source switching.
At the moment I'm building a set of large book shelf speakers with a Vifa M18WO-09-08 6.5" and Vifa XT-25TG-30-04 with full solen components on the x-over. These are to mate to a Boston G5 12" sub and passive radiator powered by a 1000watt plate amp. I'm more a 2.1 stereo kid (although 3.1 and even mono are appealing prospects as well - another topic entirely) than a 5.1 theatre buff.

That said I'll probably be happy with just a basic AV reciever powering some satelites as anything is better than my current nothing LOL. It just peeves me that most of these things are over rated - or worse some cheaper bands even state consumption power rather than output power.

Are you using true 7.1?
Are you able to bridge channels for mains for more power?

Have you had your existing reciever looked at? if its just an IR reciever it could be a cheap and easy fix? or possibly a remote fault? no fluros in the area (inc. CCFL)?


Edit : DAMN just looked at the original post date ! DOH!

 

[MarkBastard]

I remember I think it was Onkyo, used to do a really nice stereo amp. No LED display or other crap, just big knobs to turn. Haven't seen it for a while but I ended up just getting the cheap dick smith one, and it works well enough.

 

[Peteoz77]

I am still 100% sold on my vintage Adcom GFA5500 that I purchased new in USA back in 1991. I had a pair of thermistors start blowing shortly after I firred it up here in AUS, but had a mate build a power delay circuit and install it, and it had been performing flawlessly for 10 years since then. It was driving a pair of Klipsch Forte2 speakers, but I sold those and hooked up a pair of Jamo 128's for a few years. I am now in the process of building a set of Klipschhorns, which I have all of the parts for, but need to build boxes.

http://www.adcom.com/prod/shopdisplayprodu...=1152&sid=3

 

[komodo]

Pete look into having a local cabinet maker cut your materials using CNC. Makes the WORLD of difference.
Also if painting (which is the "current" look) get them laminated to the edges then primed and painted. You dont get the gap issue this way

 

[Peteoz77]

Yep, there are a LOT of pieces and cut at all sorts of funky angles inside these monsters. Won't paint them though, they need to look original. These speakers are still made today and sell for for a LOT of money. Not sure how much they are now, but back when I bought the components, the new speakers were over $17K AUS

 

[kirem]

I built my own speakers using Jordan JX92S fullrange drivers and a MLTL design.

I had the MDF cut at a cabinet makers using a "point to point" machine. The cabinet maker got so into it he assembled them for me.

Tassie oak over MDF. They sound wonderful, plenty of new listening experiences from old albums.

 

[PostModern]

I remember I think it was Onkyo, used to do a really nice stereo amp. No LED display or other crap, just big knobs to turn. Haven't seen it for a while but I ended up just getting the cheap dick smith one, and it works well enough.

Maybe you're thinking of NAD? I still have my three small dial, big volume knob NAD 3225PE from 1991. What a smooth, musical amp it still is.

 

[komodo]

I built my own speakers using Jordan JX92S fullrange drivers and a MLTL design.

I had the MDF cut at a cabinet makers using a "point to point" machine. The cabinet maker got so into it he assembled them for me.

Tassie oak over MDF. They sound wonderful, plenty of new listening experiences from old albums.

Man not too many people know the science behind TL speakers. Was this your own design or one sourced?

Maybe you're thinking of NAD? I still have my three small dial, big volume knob NAD 3225PE from 1991. What a smooth, musical amp it still is.

Mmmm NAD - Tasty. Onkyo - meh I'd rather yamaha.

As for your Klipschorns. I know the speakers well. Whilst not my cup of tea I can apprecate the design and efficiency of them (theoretical maximum SPL of 121dB @ 1mtr before environmental gains - plus im a massive wave guide fan). I undestand why you would want to build them to suit their original era. How ever I think I would still be tempted to go gloss black on the throte and use a nice veneer on the external surfaces.

Im actually in the process of redesigning a set of kef kit 3's for dad (the kef kit 3's were based on the kef concerto 1's). Its interesting that the B139 is almost a spec for spec match with the vifa M26WO...

 

[kirem]

Man not too many people know the science behind TL speakers. Was this your own design or one sourced?

Sourced design. In a past career I worked as an RF tech, I would have thought that TL theory is pretty fundamental stuff for anyone wanting to get into speaker design. There are so many software tools nowdays, for this sort of thing, that all the hard work has already been done.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I have 2 sets of B&W bookshelf speakers...the 601's for clarity are nearly unbeatable...listening to Jazz or Pink Floyd is pure majik.....but you need some power behind them...they sound crap with small power amps...


One day I will build a valve amp with KT88's from scratch, as I already have the proper high silicon transfromer cores

Yamaha are my preffered Amps for the daily grind


Kirem...I to was an RF tech......Motorola R2000 was the best test set, but the Marconi's where pretty tuff in the field

Rhode & swartz where to exy

 

[Doogiechap]

I picked up some B&W speakers off Freecycle a few months back
Woo Hoo !! 27 years old but in excellent working order
My NAD Amp drives some JV30 Jaycar/ Vifa Kits in the house and I have a discreet component power amp driving the B&W's in the shed

 

[komodo]

Sourced design. In a past career I worked as an RF tech, I would have thought that TL theory is pretty fundamental stuff for anyone wanting to get into speaker design. There are so many software tools nowdays, for this sort of thing, that all the hard work has already been done.

Not really - Transmission line speakers are almost a black art. Most of the good designs are almost stumbled across. Because the Theile/Small paremeters have little effect on TL designs its hard to calculate what effects the actual driver will have on the transmission line. We know the theory behind TL lines and quater waves - what we dont fully understand is how they are affected by - and affect the TS specs.

Remembering that calculated speaker design has really only been around since the 70's when the brittish were the front runners in loud speaker design (remember the Kef LS3/5a BBC monitors) after the publishing of the Australian Neville Theile's papers in the mid 60's.
Actually loudspeaker design in some ways has gone back to guess and cut type design - only done with aid from programs. Baffle gains are almost ignored - particularly in the sat and sub systems with amplitude output preffered over "nice" +/- 1.5dB response

With many solid state amplifiers capable of 80+ watts @ 8 ohm speaker design has been given a back seat with engineers concentrating on amplifier power, equalisation and "effects" being concentrated on and about the only real development as far as speaker cabinet design is concerned is cosmetic. Obviously this is painting a picture with a broad brush but when you see the likes of Focal/JMLab and Kef bringing out systems like the sib and cub and the "egg" you know we went wrong somewhere (from a "pureists" POV - obviously there are ecconomic reasons behind their decisions to produce such systems - and there is no doubting that the JMLab Sib and Cub system sounds miles better than your $399 pioneer DVD and 5.1 special from the local JB hifi).

Also when looking into TL line designs there are also areas such as the design of the throte on tapers designs - partictularly on flaired tapers which there is very little information on and even less thats credible.

So no, I would have to say that I dissagree on your comments that TL designs are fairly fundimental stuff.
They do how ever give a really good "english" sound when they work and I guess thats why we all have a "need" to build a transmission line at some point in our speaker building "career".

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

One day...when the kids are big, and I am rich

 

[pokolbinguy]

I dont suppose anyone knows much about the Onkyo TX-SR605....I might be able to get my hands on one second hand at a good price...if I can bargain the right price that is...any idea how much they are worth? (under $500 SH?)

Other wise I am contemplating the following:

- Sony 3400ES - $900
- Onkyo 606 - $998
- Yamaha 1800 - $990

Only real down fall I can see with the 605 is it only has 2 HDMI inputs.

 

[Jase71]

While on the topic of audio, can anyone suggest where/how I might get some new cones fitted on a pair of vintage "Acoustic Research" AR-4x speaker cabs, and what sort of price I would be looking at ? I would like to maintain the vintage crossovers if that's practical, but want to get these baby's singing to replace the very average twin-speaker towers that I'm presently running.

This is strictly for audio, to clarify. We don't live in an AV household, don't have a television or DVD player set up (nor do we plan to), but are big fans of vibes. My current living area amplifier is a 90's Denon PMA-880R (which contains a shielded toriodal transformer) that I picked up a couple of years ago because, well, because I just don't like the way many modern multi-purpose amplifiers handle audio frequencies in the range of music I like to listen to. The amp is coupled to a broadcast quality CD deck and the MP3 audio (when I dont want to put an album on) runs through a home-recording-studio box that makes compressed music sound just that little bit sweeter.

Anyway, so I would like to get the Acoustic Research cabinets rolling in a few months, and wonder if there are any reputable suggestions for suppliers (I used to be handy with an iron) or rebuilders.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

eeewww compression :icon_vomit: