Аudio/Video receivers (AVRs) are the one-box workhorses of multichannel audio. Although premium separate controllers and amplifiers typically offer the hottest features, decoding chipsets, and refinements, AVRs face the daunting task of incorporating these go-fast-goodies in a single, compact chassis. Cases in point: The four AVRs in this survey arrived with most of the significant multichannel decoding formats, at least six channels of amplification, component-video inputs, and enough unique features to make even some current “separates” turned red-face with embarrassment. They cover a wide price spectrum and are appealing in distinctive ways, to suit different needs.
Yamaha RX-V640
Denon AVR-2803
Marantz SR7300SE
Harman Kardon AVR 7200
Yamaha RX-V640
Don’t be fooled—at a mere $499 Yamaha’s RX-V640 is no stripped-down, underpowered econo-box. With six channels of 85W power, 96kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog converters for every channel, and component-video inputs, the V640 would have been state-of-the-art just a few short years ago. Also included are composite/S-video conversion to component video, and assignable digital and component-video inputs and outputs. Yamaha’s proprietary 32-bit Cinema DSP makes a variety of digital-signal-processing enhancement modes available for use with Dolby Digital- and DTS-encoded sources, as well as with analog-derived source material. Bass management, however, is rudimentary, with low-frequency signals crossed-over at a relatively high 90Hz, in keeping with the smaller, higher sensitivity speakers Yamaha recommends for use with the RX-V640. A nice touch is the Center EQ—five bands of equalization that allow you to create a unique frequency curve to improve dialogue articulation or to match the tonality of your center channel with that of your L/R front channels. The no-nonsense remote control and vivid front-panel display almost make up for the RX-V640’s lack of an OSD, but navigating the speaker set-up program requires patience and practice. Sonically, the Yamaha tended toward a cool, dry character—not overly sweet or romantic through the middle ranges, but articulate with a forward-leaning soundstage. Its sound was a bit rounded at the frequency extremes and somewhat desaturated in harmonic color. Still, low bass—of the kick drum/electric bass variety—was tight and authoritative, even if it didn’t plumb the deepest subterranean reaches. This is an AVR that needs a reasonably sensitive speaker system to sound its dynamic best. It was extremely comfortable driving the 91dB-sensitive Focal-JMlab Cobalt S speaker system (see full review in this issue). In stereo mode the Yamaha midrange orientation emphasized liveliness, which suited Bill Cunliffe’s easygoing piano style and energetic rhythm backup combo during “Waltz for Debby” [Live At Bernies; Groove Note SACD]. To the Yamaha’s credit, the music never sounded strident or glacial when Cunliffe attacked the keyboard’s upper octaves, yet some of the micro-dynamics and precision of his improvisation seemed unresolved, as if there were a treble ceiling over the performance sealing it off from fully taking wing. On Mary Gauthier’s “Sugar Cane” [Filth and Fire; Signature Sounds], the RX-V640 handily reproduced details like the crunch and crackle of the snare and the drive of a close-miked harmonica. The drum fills that pan hard left to right also had first-rate dimensionality, if not persuasive depth. On Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” [So; Geffen SACD], the pulsing bass of the chorus was impressively defined, and its pitch was distinct. Both female and male vocals were highly listenable, although during Martina McBride’s “Concrete Angel” [Greatest Hits; RCA] occasional exaggerated sibilance on certain vocal transients veiled an otherwise crisp and succinct presentation. On orchestral music, the Yamaha demonstrated some very respectable image stability. Lateral soundstaging could have benefited from a bit more elbowroom in the string sections, but the overall impression was one of openness, if not ultra-transparency. At concert levels, a full symphony orchestra showed that the Yamaha was a bit limited dynamically. For instance, Turina’s “La Procesion” [Cincinnati, Lopez-Cobos; Telarc SACD] didn’t quite explode to life during crescendos. The Yamaha found its comfort zone reproducing movie soundtracks and letting a subwoofer handle the low frequencies. In 5.1-channel mode, it was articulate with dialogue and demonstrated a compelling dimensionality that it couldn’t quite muster on traditional two-channel sources. On films, it performed well outside of its weight-class, reproducing the layered sonic complexities of blockbuster soundtracks like Lord of the Rings or Gladiator. Its Center EQ was invaluable for making sense of the “fick,” er, thick Cockney accents in Gangster #1, a brutal, vertiginous descent into the inferno of British gangland hell. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Yamaha RX-V640 will not make the short list for many audiophiles, but its performance-to-value ratio should secure it a strong foothold among cinephiles.
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Full-featured starter AVR
Six channels
Effective Center EQ |
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Tricky set-up menu
Cool, lean treble; iffy soundstage
Limited bass management |
Denon AVR-2803
Picking up where Denon’s AVR-1803 (a Best Buy in Issue 48) left off, the 90Wpc AVR-2803 raises the ante with seven channels of amplification, added power, DTS 96/24 decoding, and HD-ready 100MHz-bandwidth component-video inputs. It employs 96k/24-bit D/A converters and has fully assignable digital and video inputs. Bass management expands with an additional pair of crossover filters at 40Hz and 60Hz. The Denon includes a Direct mode that bypasses tone controls. Denon imparts an inviting, even premium feel to the AVR-2803’s controls, such as the 0.5dB gradations on the volume knob. The brightly colored buttons on the remote control seem garish at first but make intuitive sense. The remote may not be lighted, but commonly used buttons fall easily to hand. The Denon’s overall sonic character leaned slightly to the cooler side of neutral. It had a forward presentation but maintained enough dimensionality to suggest a genuine soundstage. The velvety silences during “Original People” [Gently; DMP Records SACD], a piece for piano, trumpet, string bass, and percussion, hinted at a transparency that placed the Denon in the company of more expensive AVRs. Low frequencies were ample in extension, and only under the heavy pressure of extreme sound-pressure levels evinced a lack of damping and a diminution of punch. Still, the bass pulses that accompany the chorus during Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” were intense enough to get Shamu’s attention. On a glowing orchestral piece like “Iberia” [Music of Turina and Debussy; Telarc SACD], the Denon was cohesive across the entire soundstage. Though well served at rational listening levels, dynamics lost their subtler gradations when the brass section raised the rafters at the end of the piece. At these moments the stage would also narrow slightly and grow shallower. Imaging stability and instrumental placement were precise. Transient speed and detailing on high cymbals and percussion were very smooth and relatively grain-free. The steely, transient precision and micro-definition of the triangle/percussion ornamentation that course through “Mercy Street” indicated just how distortion-free the AVR-2803 was. Although a rich sense of overtone structure didn’t quite show in the decay of these instruments, the Denon’s strong bloodline was on display. This AVR retrieved lower-level information with the tenacity of a yellow Lab, permitting greater insights into nearly every recording. An example: The piano on Martina McBride’s “Concrete Angel” sits back in the mix to the left of centerstage, near a finger-picked acoustic guitar. The AVR-2803 reproduced subtle dynamic distinctions and soundboard information about both instruments, where other amps sounded flat and imprecise. The evenness of the Denon’s tonal spectrum coupled to its pinpoint imaging served it well on one of the most immersive and submersive 5.1 channel discs to date, Blue Crush. This is as close as this reviewer is likely to get to the raging torrent inside a fifteen-foot Hawaiian pipeline. The waves are almost symphonic in their complexity, an unforgiving life force that will flap the pant legs of your Tommy Bahama’s. And this is the beauty of the AVR-2803. Its appeal is rooted in the way it seamlessly bridges the gap between audiophile musicality and home-theater bravado.
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Solid sonics and dynamics
Transparency
Easy setup |
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No front panel A/V inputs
Bass definition could improve |
Marantz SR 7300SE
Marantz describes the SR7300OSE (Original Special Edition) as the “supercharged” version of its stock SR7300. While the OSE’s power increase is modest, Marantz has outfitted it with “audiophile grade” internals like a more robust power supply, a copper-plated chassis with double bottom plate, and improved shielding and wiring. It’s also the only AVR in this survey with gold-plated RCA input/output jacks. The quality and chassis rigidity of the OSE version is evident; it’s worth flipping the Marantz over just to catch a glimpse of the elegant copper baseplate. The package also features HDCD decoding and DTS 96/24 processing; 192k/24-bit output DACs are standard on all SR7300’s. Video-circuitry bypass and Source Direct (Marantz’s tone control/bass management bypass) have also been carried over from the stock version. The Marantz on-screen menu system is well organized and intuitive. Bass management offers crossover frequencies at 80, 100, and 120Hz. And there are Bass Mix settings for distributing low frequencies and LFE information between Large speakers and the subwoofer. The remote control is unlighted and not the delight that the RC3200 touchscreen remote was with the Marantz SR8200 (reviewed in Issue 43). Marantz should know better than to position black buttons against a black background without some internal light source.
Sonically the 7300OSE had an effortless, darkish tonality with little treble edginess or acerbity. Even on recordings that exhibited some peaky behavior during louder passages (Martina McBride’s “Concrete Angel” again comes to mind), the SR7300 softened the peaks without sacrificing the details. Its bass reproduction was defined yet relaxed. It effectively communicated reverberant subtleties without substituting bloat for genuine extension. Its transparency and resolution of inner details conveyed significantly more of the acoustic. The delicacy of the hyper-fast piano trills and the rustling of brushes on a snare had an immediacy that suggested a live event rather than a recorded one [e.g., Mary Stallings’ “Sunday Kind of Love,” Live at the Village Vanguard; MaxxJazz]. The SR7300OSE also had a speed and liveliness that made it stand out in this survey. The complex exchange of percussion and triangle during “Mercy Street” was less veiled than it is through typical AVRs. The Marantz convincingly conveyed the textures of sound—a tactile dimension, such as what one would experience if sound could be run through one’s hands like an exquisite fabric.
An excellent 5.1 soundtrack like the newly remastered The Right Stuff is a panoply of complex immersive layering. The sonic atmosphere is as essential to persuasively telling this story as is the visual element. The Marantz reproduced in full-bodied fashion the wind-blown grit in the air of the high desert above Edwards Air Force Base, with Bill Conti’s soaring score pacing Chuck Yeager’s X-1 as it ripped through the upper atmosphere. Coupled with the clarity of dialogue exchanges between Yeager and Ridley—“Put the spurs to her, son”—the SR7300OSE made short work of the surround-sound barrier.
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Reach, audiophile/videophile sonics
Superior build quality |
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Hard-to-use remote control
Only six channels |
Harman Kardon AVR 7200
Its futuristic black front-panel design and striking display make the AVR 7200 one of the lookers in the AVR universe. The HK is a seven-channel 100W heavyweight with the set-up flexibility of a yoga master. Beyond the expected surround formats it offers Harman’s exclusive Logic 7 decoding (which can produce surround-sound from 2-channel sources), and HDCD- and MP3-decoding (from computers or digital audio players). Its input setup stores speaker configurations, delays, crossover settings, and surround modes for each input in non-volatile memory. Output DACs are 192k/24-bit converters courtesy of Cirrus Logic. The front panel houses co-ax and optical inputs and outputs, and A/V connections that can be switched to outputs at the user’s discretion—very convenient for doing a quick dub onto a portable recorder. The AVR 7200 has Zone 2 distribution for audio and a fully featured Zone 2 remote is supplied. The back panel’s RJ-45 jack adds the option for A-Bus powered operation. Unique to this survey, the AVR 7200 was equipped with an IEC socket for optional power cords and cleverly color-coded, heavy-duty speaker terminals and color-coded RCA jacks for preamp-outs and 7.1-channel inputs. The very cool EzSet remote control with LCD display has an integrated sound-pressure level (SPL) meter which measures and calibrates speaker output from the listening position. This stylish remote was brightly lit, and on-LCD-screen information was clear and easy to follow. The tiniest buttons on the remote control, however, were too easy to mis-hit, particularly the critical Light and OSD buttons near the bottom. The AVR 7200 has one of the more sophisticated bass-management systems available today. It employs a triple crossover system whereby individual crossover settings (between 40 and 200Hz, in 20Hz increments) can be assigned to fine-tune each speaker grouping, i.e. L/R, center front, and surrounds. Even the eight-channel direct inputs are four-way configurable. Selecting 6 or 8 channel Direct creates an analog bypass, while 6/8-channel DVD-Audio converts the analog signal to digital for use with bass management. The downside of all this sophistication is that something as basic as a one-touch trim control didn’t even make it onto the remote. The AVR 7200 was a near effortless performer with a rich midrange emphasis and weighty bass that gave it a darker, slightly laidback character. It had a forgiving treble and a clean, softer sibilance range, which made it non-fatiguing on vocals in any range. Transient details sometimes sounded a bit generic in impact, and this might have contributed to the relaxed sense of pace and liveliness. Dynamically it performed at its best in the mid and lower octaves. Case in point was Metallica’s “All Within My Hands” [St. Anger; Elektra], which convinced me that the HK had the dynamic reserves to power all but the most inefficient loudspeaker systems. And during Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes,” the AVR 7200 put on a low-frequency clinic, reproducing plunging bass lines that rippled the contours of my listening room like Magic Fingers in a Motel 6. One of its greatest strengths was the complexity of its soundstage reproduction. It imparted an eerie sense of dimensionality and layering rarely matched by other AVRs. On “Mercy Street,” there is a swirl of intermingling soundscapes that move specter-like behind the main instrumentation. Like various colored dyes dispersing in water, collapsing into and consuming each other, these sonic colors were fascinating to hear reproduced with such clarity. There’s a short sequence from an early scene in The Right Stuff where, as part of a military funeral, a quartet of jets perform the ritual fly-over, with a single jet peeling off from the other three in farewell. In this sequence the jets fly diagonally from the front channels to the rear. There was a sensation that I was about to be lifted off the couch and dragged along in the jet’s contrails as they roared overhead. It was about as convincing a demonstration of envelopment as I’ve experienced in my listening room from any AVR. The AVR 7200 might be too feature-rich for basic installations, but I wouldn’t begrudge anyone for buying it just for its sound.
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Innovative connectivity/A-Bus technology
Dynamic reserves
Triple crossover flexibility |
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Small buttons on remote
Complicated navigation |
4-Gone Conclusion
There’s a familiar adage germane to this survey: “Better know what you want because you might just get it.” And it applies here. The Harman Kardon, for example is a feature-driven blast, yet it may be more than you’ll need. You might be better off opting for a higher-output subwoofer or a more dynamic center channel. Then again it’s important to look beyond the here and now and consider the most “future-proof” product you can afford. Yamaha’s RX-V640—in concert with efficient speakers—goes the distance. With its pleasant sonics and abundance of features it’s a lot for a little. The capable Denon AVR-2803 offers more sonic extension and seven-channel precision. Its OSD and concise remote control make it the easiest to use. The Marantz SR7300OSE is elegant and well built and equipped, but needs a comparably high-quality speaker system to exploit its audiophile credentials. Superior sonically to the stock SR7300, the OSE’s lack of a seventh channel makes it harder to justify the extra cost. The Harman Kardon AVR 7200 is fitted out with enough innovation and connectivity to make it the hub of a family’s entertainment center. It’s probably overkill for a basic 5.1-channel setup, but it’s well worth considering when planning to add or refresh a media room.
Источник: htttp://www.theperfectvision.com/newsletter/tpv50/avr_survey.html
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