I just need a freakin' receiver!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was there a question in there somewhere that I missed. Or is this just a rant post?

Asking a $300 to $400 device to handle 1080p, as well as many other features is asking a lot.

The simple term you used, and your requirements are sort of at opposite ends you know.

Don't stress. I am in the same boat and cannot make a decision with all of the ambiguous information. I wanted to stay around the $300-$400 range as well. The Onkyo 605, Yamaha 661, HK 247. I think the best decision is to decide on the one you want, dig up all the information you can from various sites, and make an informed decision. I thought I knew what I was doing until I went to a high end AV store. The guy told me about the Marantz SR4002 coming out. It is about $500. That added a whole new twist to the matter. It has 3x HDMI 1.3 and HDMI 1.1.

I'm pretty sure the HK passes HDMI, it will downgrade component 1080 to 720p however, and if you're looking to stick with component, just connect it straight to your display and just connect the "coax/optical" (I presume).

Just got mine last night...it's beautiful...still waiting on my speaker wire though which should make a difference from the horrible wires I have now.

As for choosing...nobody can make that decision for you but yourself. I understand the frustration however. But several of these threads have helped out. Check out owners threads and the "Future Proofing" and "HDMI 1.3" sticky threads for the best advice.

He did offer you advice...so I'm not sure if this was intended to be sarcasm or not. But he basically told you that in your price range...as well as a lot of ours...you're going to have to make compromises. It's up to you to decide which ones.

To try to be more help here.
I'd go for 3 HDMI, so I think your Sony plan is a good one.


1080p, well HDMI in general can still be quirky no matter what. If it doesn't work with a given 1080p source, I just wouldn't sweat it and run 1080i source. The PQ difference is going to be subtle at best and most likely no difference at all.

No AVR's I am aware of will take a 1080i HDMI and output it only at 720p. The issue has to do with sources being converted / transcoded from other video connections.

Get the Yamaha 661 or 6060, they are in the price range you want.

Then don't get the Sony in my opinion...Sony is not exactly a name synonymus with sound quality. For your needs/wants the only models you should be considering is Yamaha, Onkyo and Harmon Karden...Denon is another possibility but again they are not known for their robustness.

That being said I suggest you stick with Onkyo. Very high quality, high fidelity that you will appreciate when you turn it on. Every time. The best bang for the buck for audio quality and abundant features. Stick to Onkyo, pick a model within your budget and you will be happy. Don't worry about 'fires'. Unless you take a blow torch to one you will not have any problems. In over 40 years in this hobby I have never heard of something like this happening.

You know, especially in this price range, but even in much higher end units. If you carefully compare the to HDMI transcode against what you would have gotten by keeping the video connection type to the source native output type. Nearly 100% of the time, the native video to the display has the better PQ. Just a note, I am sure you are already aware of this.

Usually it will stay at 1080i (called passthrough) but what he is saying is that the picture quality itself is best going directly to the projector and by-passing the receiver completely (other than audio of course) which is what I do as well.

No, I switch through the AVR, but do not transcode my sources. I keep them on the source native connection type.

The one connection thing from the AVR is not as good as multiple video connection types from the AVR to the display.

Sorry JID...I misunderstood what you are doing. I myself use direct connections eliminating 1 more link in the chain (one more possible problem point).

Onkyo 605 Only upconverts. No downconverting:

I'd have to see the eveidence to the contrary, but HDMI is always able to come out at the same resoultion that came in. 1080p/24 can be tricky on many AVR's still. But 1080i always comes out 1080i as far as I know.

I went with the HK because of the general consensus I kept reading about the sound quality. I would've liked to have 1.3, but in the end..it didn't actually seem like a necessity for me as it didn't seem like it would affect much at this time. SQ was much higher on the list for me. So when 1.3 becomes more of an issue I may upgrade at that point to match my tv's 1.3 capabilities.

Good luck with your decision!



I think you're correct. What may be important for some is repeater vs. passthrough. Some receivers are strictly passthrough, which do nothing to the HDMI in the sense that it can't even grab the audio ala Onkyo TX-SR505. Whereas other receivers may be repeaters, which can be broken down into further categories. Out of the repeaters they can be either, passthrough capable (but should still be able to grab audio), or processed (video dsp)...depending on the receiver you may be able to choose.

Hope that makes sense...and if someone thinks I'm mistaken, please feel free to chime in.

The Sony DG910 passes through whatever signal you're sending- so long as the original signal is HDMI. If you send a component, analog signal- it will transcode that signal to its digital equivalent- and send it via HDMI.

You can have a single HDMI to your projector, and then have your cable box, etc. connected HDMI. The receiver will not scale the signal at all. If it receives a digital picture signal (1080i, 720p, 1080p) it will spit out that same exact signal.

So if you're worried about overprocessing- don't- the 910 will just pass-through- but will transcode analog signals so you don't have to switch inputs.

One note of caution- before buying the 910, I read lots of posts and there is a known issue of loss of audio if you introduce an HDMI/DVI cable anywhere in the mix. Other receivers do not seem to have this problem. Most people with this problem have projectors which only accept DVI as their digital input. If your projector only has DVI in- I would avoid the 910.

As for audio quality- its good- not great- but compared to my Onkyo that it replaced- it was a subtle difference. I think for the price- no matter which receiver you buy- you are accepting mainstream audio quality.

with frikkin lazors?