Is there much difference in Quality of Parts, True Power, Life Expectancy etc between the Cheaper 5.1-7.1 AV receivers - Pioneer, Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo?
Opinions will wildly vary on that topic, and honestly the fanboism on AV receivers is always high. It’s one of those things.
Your question though, is about the quality of parts, which makes me think your concern is mostly about longevity? I’ll point out that with the cheaper receivers, unless you’re really looking for an extreme bargain, longevity is not usually an issue, it’s usually about obsolescence. (for example even on the lower side of those brands, the warranties on receivers tends to be 5-10 years which is unheard of in the consumer electronics world)
Barring of course, some very common problem with receivers (especially on the cheaper side) is that the volume control knobs tend to stop working, or other things along that line. Fixing the pot on a receiver in some cases is pretty easy.
Your question though about “true power” between them…I can attest there is definitely some disparity there. Wattage is a fact on a shelf tag for the lower end stuff, and it’s not uncommon for brands to misrepresent how good the receiver is. Also, even if the measurement is legit, higher wattage doesn’t mean better. You also seriously might not even NEED super powerful wattage, that will ultimately depend on your listening preferences, the room, and the efficiency of your speakers. (More efficient speakers need less power to make sound or to expose audio defects)
Personally, my opinion has always been that if you’re looking for a cheaper receiver, such as one that costs less than $500, knock another $100-150 off your budget for the receiver and buy an even cheaper one.
And if you live in a big city, you might be able to get a better unit used. If you’re careful, and know what to look for, you can find some great deals. There’s a million rich idiots who used to shop at big box audio stores or online who get duped because they made the mistake of walking into a bose store.
Friend of mine picked up a Marantz SR5012 for $225 a few months ago. He’ll probably be using that for a decade.
Watching some repair videos on YouTube , some had issues just being crappy solder jobs and for repair just resoldered half the solder joints and it fixed it. Other videos he’s replacing blown moffset chips/amps whatever you call it and says it’s cheap junk that they could’ve spent $.50-$1 more per chip/whatever and built a better unit - don’t remember the brand. I figure they are all basically the same cheap guts but maybe 1 is slightly better.?
Another fellars repair video says the unit brand X was made in Tawain or Vietnam and that the soldering and few things were better but parts were about the same as a brand Y made in China - don’t remember which brands was what- but it was Pioneer or Yamaha or Denon or Onkyo
Both these guys said if buying cheaper stuff- to Buy Refurbished as many times the problems are Crappy soldering and that Refurbed Stuff gets a thorough look over and resoldering so Less chance of bad soldering vs mass produced New units.?
For example - 12:00-15:00 Mark…
or this :
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Thinking about Refurb Yamaha RX-A670
I have experience with entry-to-mid-level units from Pioneer, Onkyo, Denon, and Yamaha, although to lesser extent on Yamaha. My dad bought a Pioneer 6.1 channel receiver circa 2001 for ~$500 and used it happily until about 2015 or 2016 when an amp channel finally gave out. He’s since moved onto a 7.2 channel Yamaha and has raved about it for 2ish years. I have an entry level 6.1 channel Pioneer that’s been going strong since 2006. I also have an entry level Onkyo 7.2 channel I bought around 2010. It’s HDMI output failed after 2-2.5 years, and the buttons on its remote control started failing shortly thereafter. As far as I can tell, the HDMI inputs, processor, and amplifiers are all still fully functional. It currently does stereo duty on my desktop. Onkyo irked me because the unit was 6 weeks out of warranty and they only offered me a 15% discount off MSRP on a refurbished unit from their then current model line. I replaced that Onkyo in my main system with a mid-tier Denon in 2013. In 2015 its HDMI board failed but was under warranty. Denon fixed it free of charge. It’s still going strong and I love it’s sound. @Doommantia is correct that obsolescence is the bigger problem than quality or longevity. All these units made/make good to very good sound for many years but all have also been passed by by the march of technology; no 4K, Atmos, DTS:X, built in wifi, etc. Hope this helps.
I just love that prices of these go down like cellphones when there’s a new one, so hundreds of used AVRs are for sale on eBay for like 100$…
For a DAC + AMP + headphone amp?! Wow.