Looking for a receiver for my current 2.1 setup

Hi all,

I currently have a pair of Jamo c603 bookshelves and a Hsu STF-1 sub in my apartment. I'm running them through an old stereo receiver (Kenwood Ar-404) attached to the analog audio output on my TV.

I'd like to gradually piece together a 5.1 set, but in the meantime I think I'd even benefit from an improved receiver. Any recommendations? From my research, here's what I'm looking for:

*Hoping to stay ~$300
*3D doesn't matter to me
*Self-equalizer seems important - since I'm in an apartment, I can't blare my sub, so I think it'd be useful to have it EQ'd well for lower volumes
*Upconverting is a must
*I'd much prefer to have component inputs (I have a Wii)

I'm sure I'm missing something else, but I think that covers it. So far, the AVR-1612/1712 have looked promising (though I'm not sure if the 1612 has the same calibration?). Also - the Onkyo HT-RC360 looked pretty solid.

Any other tips? I was thinking I might be able to get a previous model since 3D doesn't matter, but there's so many choices I'm getting lost.

Any help is appreciated!

Hmm, I have a WDTV Live which handles most networking things I'd imagine - has some internet radio, Netflix, media streaming, etc. Any other reason for networking?

What's the advantage of this (an older model) vs. something newer like the 1712?

It looks solid (including the price), but I read some reviews complaining about input lag. I've been doing some more reading, and I'm rethinking having upconversion...seems like it adds a lot of cost + may cause input lag. The only non-HDMI devices I have are the Wii and n64.

I know I can get Wii2HDMI, but I'm not sure about the n64. My TV has s-video input, so I know I can use that. How would audio work? I'd have to somehow connect the RCA audio from the n64 to the receiver, right?

Excuse my noob-ness: how would this connect to the TV? Obviously most of my inputs would be going into the receiver via HDMI then out to the TV via HDMI.

For the n64: this would connect to the receiver via S-Video. Is the receiver connected to the TV via analog AND digital (HDMI), then switches when applicable?

As an example, I was looking at the AVR-1712. According to Crutchfield:


If I'm understanding that correctly, I would have to connect the n64 to the receiver via s-video, then it would output to TV via composite. If this is correct, would this not cause a loss in quality?

Thanks for your help/patience!

Gotcha. Then set the tv input to S-Video and receiver input to whatever composite input I connected to?