Do All AV Recievers Produce The Same Sound?

Question

I'm looking to buy a quality reciever ($900 -$1200 range) I read somewhere,maybe it was here,that all other things being equal (speakers,DVD player,same movie/CD disc,etc.) that different recievers will put out a different sound? Is this true? If so, which have the most accurate sound reproduction?

Answer 1

Not all A/V receivers may put out the same sound.

This depends on what kind of amplification the receiver uses, how the amp, preamp, and decoding circuits are designed, the quality of the parts used, and so on.

Denon and Sony ES may tend to sound more neutral while Onkyo and Yamaha might be on the warmer side.  But these are all subjective evaluations and also assume that the speakers themselves are neutral when they aren't in the real world.

Basically, for the price range specified, you should check out receivers made by Yamaha, Marantz, Denon, Onkyo, Sony ES (not to be confused with regular Sony), Pioneer ELITE (not to be confused with regular Pioneer, or Harman/Kardon.

These companies make excellent mass-produced receivers.  As to what sounds best, try them out and find one that has the features and power you need for the lowest price that matches up well with the speakers you will be using with it.

Some examples:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?...

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Onkyo-7-1...

http://www.tweeter.com/product/STRDA3300...

http://www.tweeter.com/product/VSX91TXH....

Answer 2

The good receivers will all do the same thing, and that is do nothing to the sound but decode, amplify the sound and do nothing  to change or color the sound.

All speakers are not the same, since they are the only sound reproducing in the home theater electronics chain, it stands to reason that it is the speakers that will change how music or movie sound not the source, DVD/CD, receiver, or even the wiring system.