Which Receivers Would I Buy?

Do it even matter!?!

The year is 1997 and a war's on. I don't mean the war in Afghanistan..... I mean the one in Japan! This is known as the war of the super-receivers. By this time in audio history, the Japanese owned the market. Not that there aren't others. Americans and British are still a factor in the speaker world as well as mid to high-end. However, as far the the bulk....and by that, I mean the "BULK" of the market was concerned, the major Japanese manufacturers completely held it in a death-grip. At this point, they were out to prove a point. And that point was that they could build equipment that was  comparable to the high-end in sonic capability. 

Oh, it gets better..... Not only did they decide they could create comparable sonics, but they could do it all in one piece..... leading to the creation of the Super-Receiver! If you'll ignore the connectors on the back of this Denon AVR-5803, the inside pretty much looks like it's from a high-end amp. It's not a Denon thing; they all pretty much looked like this..... Yamaha DSP-A1, Pioneer Elite VSX-49 Tx/Txi, Integra DTR-9.1/9.1U and of course Sony ES....

There's perhaps no more obsessive company than Sony, but they were/are pretty much all like this... focused, and purpose driven. They sold for between $3500 and 5000, but I'm not certain that any of them made money on these models, but that wasn't the point. This went on for a number of years but by the middle of the next decade, it was over (maybe I'll write about what came after some time). So, what does this mean to "frugal" among us (like me), for which $3500-5000 in year 1997 dollars is a LOT of money.

......well, like I said last time: electronics hold no value. That's versus not having value. These devices in a functioning state hold a lot of value. Most of them had 7 (or more) channels of power conservatively spec'd at between 135 and 170 watts RMS. Plus they all have pre-outs if you don't think that's enough power, or if some of those channels fail. They all have a bewildering array of features ranging from multi-room control to automatic microphone adjusted surround set up. Wi-Fi? Bluetooth? USB? Smartphone App? Uhhh....no, none of those things. Probably not HDMI switching either. But the sound of them!!! And the build quality!!!

And quite often, they originally came with remotes like these that can be programmed to control virtually anything. They can all be purchased on eBay for between $100 and $300 on any day. If you're a patient sort, I'd wait for one that's sold "for local pickup only" that's close to your location. Why? It'll save you $50 or more in shipping, the wear and tear of shipping, and most importantly, limit your competition. 

Why do this? The sound for one. These things sound amazing (make sure it's in good condition). And if you've ever owned anything that's "top-of-the-line" (even used), it's a bit of a revelation. I've owned, sold or used a number of these devices. The only thing I can compare it to was the years that I owned a 1988 BMW M5. It was the only series of these that were hand-built at the Motorsport facility on Preussenstrasse in Munich. There's no good way to describe it. Does the fact that there were NO options for that car tell you anything? When I sold it, a guy flew to Lubbock, Texas from Seattle for it.....

 

A New Receiver For A Friend

I received (pa-dum), an email from an old friend (old as in having been friends a long time vs. age) yesterday after a misadventure involving the "Spam" folder. Apparently, his long-faithful Pioneer VSX-3800 receiver is struggling with some rather serious ailments and it's time to consider a replacement. He's look around a little at the typical big-box outfits and ended up with more questions than answers. So he shot me an email....and here we are.

The time was the 90s. For those who don't remember or weren't born at that time, let me do a quick refresher to clarify some concepts. At that time, I could still be thought of in this age range. In fact, I had my 40th birthday in Chicago where this friend was in attendance. I was still very much in the home audio/theater game. In fact, when I we moved back to Texas two years later, I worked part-time in an audio store. What I can tell you about those years in an audio equipment sense is that they may have been the last of the really good years for Japanese manufacturers before they had to move production over seas and endure "quality control" issues, along with loss of profit etc. By the mid-2000s, that time was gone and home audio that wasn't "high end" was basically a commodity.

From the late-60s till about 10 years ago, you could call those 40 years the golden age of Japanese home audio. With few exception (we all know who they are), the brand didn't matter. A person could go with Pioneer, Sony, Kenwood, Onkyo, Denon, Harman/Karden, Technics, Yamaha, or any number of other manufacturers and they'd be fine. What happened 10 years ago? We enter the age where the "big box" stores like Best Buy took over the market. The gear became commoditized. What does that mean? When some product is first introduced, brand often does matter because certain companies have patented (proprietary) technologies which did in fact made them either better, or different... often both. As a product gains maturity, patents run out, competitors get things figured out, but more specifically, the consumer becomes jaded and focuses on the "next big thing". In a market of commoditized product, only, pricing is important. Feel free to go back and peruse your fundamental economics textbook. Therefore, brands ranging from Sony to Nakamichi... basically, anyone willing to get in bed with Best Buy or Circuit City at that time fell prey to the world of building cheaper and cheaper gear to have higher sales numbers. Eventually, it devalue the brand and we are where we are in 2017!

Today, we're in a dicotimus world. One can go "high-end" with Krell, Martin-Logan etc., or buy what used to be called "mid-fi" from the big box stores. Today's mid-fi isn't what it used to be. It's built in China or some 3rd world country and sold on features programmed into the micro-processor. These boxes aren't something you want to open up and examine the transformers, heatsinks or capacitors! It may still say Pioneer, but pick it up. The difference will be apparent immediately. If you're looking for something to amplify your iTunes, then you're in luck. If you're looking to actually listen to music from a CD or maybe a record, then you're in trouble. You might think; I could just pick up an old receiver or Pre-Amp/Amp combo in good shape and call it a day.... but what if you're like most people and would like to do some home theater as well? Do you really want to have two different systems?

This is what I would do. Well.... it's what I have done, come to think of it. IMHO, the mid to higher end of any line of receivers from the mid-90s to the mid-2000s are collectively the item that solves most problems. They have all the features anyone would ever want, tend to be conservatively rated in the 100 watts per channel range regardless of the number of channels. Mine has 6, some have 7, others have 5. The brand isn't that relevant, although, the "Lexus" lines of the various companies tend to be a bit better built and thus came with longer warranties. That'd be Elite for Pioneer, Integra for Onkyo, and ES for Sony. Some companies such as Denon and Yamaha didn't participate in that marketing strategy and their products are just as good. Be careful though; many had a special line with a different model numbering system used especially for the big box stores. Stay well away from those items. Unless you pick up one that's been abused, they tend to stay in good shape, like my Integra DTR6.3. As an added bonus, they also tend to come with universal or programmable remotes as well. A "dirty little secret"? They like all electronics don't hold their value worth a darn. I bought mine for about $125 and it originally sold for about $750. The image above is a Pioneer Elite VSX-49 TX. My store sold these and they sounded fantastic! They MSRP? A cool $4500!!! What have I seen them sell for on eBay? $91 in working condition. So, lets say that I have $300 to work with and can walk into a Best Buy and pick up what they have for that amount, or hold out for a pristine VSX-49 TX for $200 or so plus shipping? What do you think? I might just do a follow-up on what some great deals might be floating around out there.