rated power test results sound & vision mag

i will not pay $700 for an avr that wont do more than around 80 watts per channel. i'm hoping that is what the sr702 will do. that is around the same watts as the hk at this price point. i have listened to the integra with the same specks powering a 10000 pair of mcintosh speakers and it sounded pretty darn good. the salesman had it in 5.1 durring the listening of james talor live. with the big screen going it was almost like being there. drums seemed to be right there in the room.

anyway i do have a seperate amp i can use if needed, carver tfm15, that i am using now. i do like to know how many watts i am using in my mains (power meters) so i can leave about 20% of power in the amp for headroom.

mabey i should just get a panasonic xr70 100 watts x 5 for $300. in the mean time i will continue to search for onkyo tx sr702 test results and hope for good news.

Look for a lower powered unit that has the features that you want, along with preamp level out's. You can then run the Carver for your mains and the remaining channels for your center and surrounds. This will minimize your expenditures while taking a huge load off of the power supply of the receiver. In doing so, the available wattage to the remaining channels will increase in equal measure, allowing better performance all the way around. If & when you choose to upgrade into separate components, you won't be out nearly as much money had you went for a larger, more powerful receiver.

As a side note, i recently purchased a "mint condition" $1200 Pre / Pro / Tuner with a phono section, Dolby Digital and DTS in the box for $250 here on Agon as a gift for someone. On top of getting everything that originally came with the unit, the seller also included an upgraded universal remote control that retailed for appr $150. As such, you might want to look into something like this for now, as it will allow even better potential performance than the RX & separate 2 ch amp. The reason for this? The sagging power supply in the receiver that feeds the amplifier section may also feed all of the other circuitry within the preamp / processor. The end result would be a more stable performing Pre / Pro due to completely isolating that circuitry from the demands of any / all power amplification. Sean
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Sean, thanks for the link to s&v and the comments.
i thought about buying used but i really do want the latest thing here.
i still like the tx sr702 for the features like thx, pure audio, good remote. i don't know if it has a clipping indicator, but i am downloading the manual now. i am conserned about the power though. i want ref levels. i am hoping they have addresed the power problem. its funny that the onkyo ds555 575 575x were all rated at 70 wpc and they did 70 x 5. but some of the others were way off.

i find it hard to believe the sr501 is going to preform the same as the nr901 even though the watts x 5 are vertually the same. there has to be more to it. there are some different features and a $700 price difference. i do know the 501 has no pre-out. so it dos't even make the list.

i have mixed views on hk. i have owned one for years and had no problems. but the newer ones dont have buttons for inputs. you have to hit a button repeatedly to scroll through imputs. this is not for me. lookes like denon is similar. not shure. and cheaper hks dont have thx that i am aware of. so i would only be so happy with a 335 or whatever.

have started to look at marantz. i don't know anything about them at all.

list of features that are imporntant to me:

thx, i want a receiver that is going to take over once it is calibrated. tell me how loud it is supposed to be.

power to go to ref levels.

good 2 ch stereo

clipping indicators ( do many receivers have them and which ones? )

am i rambling yet? oh!

preamp output. i did notice that onkyo has a 100 wpc amp for $250. don't know any thing about it. but if i did use an amp wouldnt the main amp still be producing a signal wether i am using it or not. not really helping out the power supply. i have been thinking about the amp + low pass filter or some way of bi-amping. or mabey just a good 300 wpc bryston for front 2. so i can give it a full range signal.

will using a seperate affect the thx system?
will my nht 2.5i be damaged using thx? effects
are there any receivers with clipping indicators?

my speakers are nht 2.5i fronts polk rti38 center (temp) cerwin vega re30 with 12" woofers for rears. (hope to help with effects)

thanks again guys. i hope you get your amp back soon Slappy.

gmarcotte.