Old Flagship Vs New Mid-Level Receiver


Folks,

I currently have a B&K AVR 507 which, when I bought it, was about as good as you could get. I'm thinking about getting a new receiver to take advantage of hi-res audio formats and, most impoartantly to me, room EQ. I don't have flagship money this time around so my budget is $1000 tops. Has anyone compared my 507 or something like a Denon 5803 to a new mid-level receiver like an Onkyo 818 or anything else with Audyssey XT32? I'm also considering an Anthem MRX 300 to get ARC. Will I get an improvement is sound? So what is better? An old flagship receiver or a new mid-level one?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

On a side note, I really miss the days of high-end brick and morter stores where I could bring the equipment home :(
lpdevotee
Wow what loaded questions. Let me offer some food for thought.

1) room correction absolutely makes a difference. ARC is fantastic. Especially at frequencies below 200 the difference is remarkable. ARC is better than the default Audyssey and you get before and after graphs. The pro version of Audyssey gives you e wry thing ARC does out of the box.

2) as it stands today, getting a non HDMI unit is a tough sell. You lose so much without HDMI--including lossless codecs and room correction and bass management. A few units (like the anthem) will do those on top of an analog signal but ultimately why?

3) if you only have analog sources then getting an older, higher end unit makes sense. But if that's not the case I would personally get a modern unit with HDMI and room correction and newer DACS.

If you are budget strapped then get an Integra or comparable Onkyo or a Marantz or Denon from Accessories. You can save as much as 70% sometimes. I completely second that assessment. Also check your local HiFi dealer if they have any demos. Those are between 20-50 percent off.
I'm unfamiliar with your B&K, but I have compared my xt32 equipped Onkyo prepro to my old Theta prepro and IMHO there are two answers to your question, depending on your set-up.

1). If you use subwoofers, the odds are good that the xt32 (or equivalent like ARC) unit will sound MUCH better. It's always possible that in any given room you may be able to get the smooth FR in the bass and seamless integration of DRC software with careful placement and skillfull set-up, but I've never been able to get close. In my view, the DRC equipped modern unit probably wins in a runaway.

2). If you're not using subs, then it's a different story, and I'd hesitate to make a generalization.

Marty
if your focus is on tv/movies, i guess i'd opt for a current mainstream avr for the reasons above stated (arc, hdmi, modern codecs, etc). for unembellished music listening, however, the b&k is on another level--i always regretted selling mine
I'm looking on the Accessories4less site right now....and there's a Marantz SR7005 receiver for $890. I own one, and for the past two years it's been wonderful.....very musical; this would be quite the buy. Can't recommend it enough...and second the opinions of those who say try out that website. (I'm not connected with it in any way...checking it out for the first time tonight myself.)
Jeff
The amp section on the Onkyo or any other receiver around that price range will definitely not be the equal of the B&K, so if you have 4 ohm speakers and or a larger room, the Onkyo will show its limits before the B&K. That being said, room correction has really been a major improvement in the industry.

One suggestion a little out of your budget is the brand new Denon AVR X4000 at 1200. It has the XT32 Audyssey and better subwoofer eqing than the Onkyo 818. Hope this helps.