I've had a Yamaha RX-2700 for at least 5 years, probably longer and it's showing signs of a death spiral (it started out as occasional audio dropouts which are now far more frequent-- I know it's the receiver because switching it to a different sound mode and then back restores the audio immediately).
Since I bought the RX-2700 just about everything in my A/V system has been upgraded, which now consists of a TiVo Premier XL4, PS3, Panasonic 51 inch 1080P Plasma (3d capable but we haven't used it for that... yet) and an Oppo DVD player, a CD player and DVD recorder/VCR (the last 2 are rarely if ever used). For audio, I have a Polk Audio (~5.1) sound bar and a subwoofer.
Looking at the current Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, etc models I'm not sure what features I really need nor the differences between all of the models that each offers. The only thing I'm certain of is that I need as many HDMI inputs as possible (the RX-2700 has 3 which aren't enough) and 1 on the front is essential (seems like most models have this). Also, I always thought the Yamaha on-screen interface was awful, hopefully all of the newer models have a better UI which specifically allow me to re-route any input to any destination or destinations and so forth-- one example of this, sometimes I use headphones that have optical input while using my PS3 which has HDMI output to the receiver-- so I'd like to mute the speakers but not the headphones. I'm not sure if that makes sense (but it does in my head).
Also, my Yamaha can't inlay volume +/-/mute visuals over HDMI, hopefully the newer models can (I always thought it was annoying that pressing volume buttons on my remote did not show on the TV).
If someone can point me into the right direction or recommend some models I'd appreciate it. Thanks!
Since I bought the RX-2700 just about everything in my A/V system has been upgraded, which now consists of a TiVo Premier XL4, PS3, Panasonic 51 inch 1080P Plasma (3d capable but we haven't used it for that... yet) and an Oppo DVD player, a CD player and DVD recorder/VCR (the last 2 are rarely if ever used). For audio, I have a Polk Audio (~5.1) sound bar and a subwoofer.
Looking at the current Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, etc models I'm not sure what features I really need nor the differences between all of the models that each offers. The only thing I'm certain of is that I need as many HDMI inputs as possible (the RX-2700 has 3 which aren't enough) and 1 on the front is essential (seems like most models have this). Also, I always thought the Yamaha on-screen interface was awful, hopefully all of the newer models have a better UI which specifically allow me to re-route any input to any destination or destinations and so forth-- one example of this, sometimes I use headphones that have optical input while using my PS3 which has HDMI output to the receiver-- so I'd like to mute the speakers but not the headphones. I'm not sure if that makes sense (but it does in my head).
Also, my Yamaha can't inlay volume +/-/mute visuals over HDMI, hopefully the newer models can (I always thought it was annoying that pressing volume buttons on my remote did not show on the TV).
If someone can point me into the right direction or recommend some models I'd appreciate it. Thanks!
