7.1 reciever recomendations
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Future proof, eh? You're looking for the "AVR Holy Grail".
I don't know what level 6 is. Is it some sort of rating standard? If so, who's doing the rating?
What's your current set up? What are your sources? What display are you using?
Those answers would be helpful to make a recommendation.
I don't know what level 6 is. Is it some sort of rating standard? If so, who's doing the rating?
What's your current set up? What are your sources? What display are you using?
Those answers would be helpful to make a recommendation.
level 6 I am getting from the "explination of a future proof reciever" post on here.Don't know if it matters or not.Right now I have a 5.1 surround running a wii,and 1080p upconversion dvd player.Display is a Sony Bravia KDF-50E3000.
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Sony receivers that are not from their ES line are not very good--they are consumer grade, Wal-Mart garbage.
Their ES line receivers are excellent. Of course, you pay more for them, but they run nice and cool, have plenty of power, decent interfaces and look very nice. Plus, since they're also Sony, they'll interface with your tv. The Sony ES line doesn't receive enough attention in this forum, imo.
Their ES line receivers are excellent. Of course, you pay more for them, but they run nice and cool, have plenty of power, decent interfaces and look very nice. Plus, since they're also Sony, they'll interface with your tv. The Sony ES line doesn't receive enough attention in this forum, imo.
What's your budget? Your going to have to spend a pretty penny for "future-proofing", much more than the price of a Sony 720. I've been researching the past couple weeks and just ordered a Denon 1909. For me it came down to the Denon 1909 and the Pioneer 1018ah-k.
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OK....let's just throw out the whole "level 6 thing" as I think whatever kind of rating it is, it's irrelevant. Nothing's future proof. No one can predict the future (particularly for the AV industry).
So let's deal with what's current now. That is, the current state 0f the art. That is, 1080p resolution, HD audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD and TDS MA HD), and HDMI connectivity.
Your Sony is a very nice HD TV. You've already got an upconverting DVD player. I've got a Wii, too. Best you can hope for is to hook it up via component connections. It's not going to be HD quality, but as good as you'll get.
5.1 set up. I'd like to know the speakers you're running, though.
Also it would be helpful to know the size of your room...whether you have high ceilings, lots of hard, uncovered surfaces (walls, floors)?
And finally, what your budget is.
That way we can narrow down your choices.
OK....let's just throw out the whole "level 6 thing" as I think whatever kind of rating it is, it's irrelevant. Nothing's future proof. No one can predict the future (particularly for the AV industry).
So let's deal with what's current now. That is, the current state 0f the art. That is, 1080p resolution, HD audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD and TDS MA HD), and HDMI connectivity.
Your Sony is a very nice HD TV. You've already got an upconverting DVD player. I've got a Wii, too. Best you can hope for is to hook it up via component connections. It's not going to be HD quality, but as good as you'll get.
5.1 set up. I'd like to know the speakers you're running, though.
Also it would be helpful to know the size of your room...whether you have high ceilings, lots of hard, uncovered surfaces (walls, floors)?
And finally, what your budget is.
That way we can narrow down your choices.
ok I have 5.1 right now but I am upgrading to 7.1 and thats the kind of reciever I want.Given that I'll probably upgrade my speakers later on right now I'm concentrating on the reciever.I live in a 2 bedroom apartment right now but am moving into a house so living room space is going to increase.Probably 18' by 18' guessing.budget is 300-600 dollars.
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OK....that post is about 2-3 years old, though.
18'X18' room. I'll assume relatively efficient speakers?
$300-$600 budget...
-Pioneer VSX-1018AH-K...good power. Rock solid operation and reliability...should be able to purchase on sale for well under $600
-Marantz SR 5003....great audio quality. Good operation and reliability. I wouldn't hesitate getting one of these "refurbs"..... http://www.accessories4less.com/make...eceiver/1.html
-Denon 2308....nice AVR...good features....on sale at BB.... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1177717702185
Another one from BB that people really like.... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1201913281190
Personally, I've had Onkyo. It was woeful. Some have had decent luck with them. I can't recommend them, though.
Can't go wrong with any of the above, though.
OK....that post is about 2-3 years old, though.
18'X18' room. I'll assume relatively efficient speakers?
$300-$600 budget...
-Pioneer VSX-1018AH-K...good power. Rock solid operation and reliability...should be able to purchase on sale for well under $600
-Marantz SR 5003....great audio quality. Good operation and reliability. I wouldn't hesitate getting one of these "refurbs"..... http://www.accessories4less.com/make...eceiver/1.html
-Denon 2308....nice AVR...good features....on sale at BB.... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1177717702185
Another one from BB that people really like.... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1201913281190
Personally, I've had Onkyo. It was woeful. Some have had decent luck with them. I can't recommend them, though.
Can't go wrong with any of the above, though.
future-proof is a fairytale. My dad was told his old Kenwood he got in college was the best there was because it was QUADRAPHONIC! And had AM Stereo... So, yeah, future-proof is in the eye of the beholder.
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On the cheap, the pioneer 1018 is the bang-for-the-buck, as is the onkyo 606. Obviously it goes up from there. Stay away from sony, absolute garbage... unless you're looking at the ES line, which has it's own problems, but less of them. Denon, onkyo, pioneer, marantz for receivers. If you want to really future-proof yourself as much as possible, you'd start looking at seperates right now. Starting out small, nice little pre/pro, a few multi channel amps, some monoblocks. That way you can customize the sound the way you want to hear it from every angle.
I'm growing into the seperates category now after 10 years, using a pioneer 1017 as the pre/pro and a bunch of seperate amps i got from a college redoing an auditorium for my 7.1 setup. It was night and day between using the internal amp vs. the external, more powerful, cleaner sound. Sounded even warmer to me too. I'm far from audiophile, but a little bit above "i want loud boomy sound".
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On the cheap, the pioneer 1018 is the bang-for-the-buck, as is the onkyo 606. Obviously it goes up from there. Stay away from sony, absolute garbage... unless you're looking at the ES line, which has it's own problems, but less of them. Denon, onkyo, pioneer, marantz for receivers. If you want to really future-proof yourself as much as possible, you'd start looking at seperates right now. Starting out small, nice little pre/pro, a few multi channel amps, some monoblocks. That way you can customize the sound the way you want to hear it from every angle.
I'm growing into the seperates category now after 10 years, using a pioneer 1017 as the pre/pro and a bunch of seperate amps i got from a college redoing an auditorium for my 7.1 setup. It was night and day between using the internal amp vs. the external, more powerful, cleaner sound. Sounded even warmer to me too. I'm far from audiophile, but a little bit above "i want loud boomy sound".
if youre looking to futureproof as much as possible go to brands that have been most futre proof in past and are good about fw updates--i think denoln is future oriented and ok about fw. marantz not as much...despite quality sony seems to see into the future--i have an es cd recorder that reads ms3 files with full function--bought before mp3 was even well known! also dont need any fw updates even for old br players for current br's...like everone else does. hhmmmm coincidence?
Here's what I'm looking for in a receiver. First, I'm an old guy, so I don't have a bunch of video games or anything like that. I have an HD cable box and the Sony S550 blu-ray player and probably that's all I'll ever need, at least at 'top' sound quality.
It seems to me that these days HT receivers are focusing on the video processing capability, but I'd just as soon bypass that and run my two measly HDMI cables straight to the TV, which leaves me the S550 analog for true HD sound from the blu-ray and optical from the cable box--which is as good as cable is going to be anyhow.
I don't care about the cable clutter because it's only two components, and I have a Harmony so I don't need the receiver as a 'hub'.
So what I'm looking for is a receiver that puts the premium on sound, not video. I'll trade off HDMI ports and video upscaling, etc, for more, cleaner power, as long as it has HD analog inputs for my blu-ray.
For example, for the price of teh 606, is there some other HT option that gives away the ports and video stuff in exchange for more power and better audio?
I feel like I'm looking for 2006's best HT receiver almost! Is that it? If I don't care about HDMI and video processing can't I get something great for 5.1 or 7.1 HT sound at rockbottom price these days?
It seems to me that these days HT receivers are focusing on the video processing capability, but I'd just as soon bypass that and run my two measly HDMI cables straight to the TV, which leaves me the S550 analog for true HD sound from the blu-ray and optical from the cable box--which is as good as cable is going to be anyhow.
I don't care about the cable clutter because it's only two components, and I have a Harmony so I don't need the receiver as a 'hub'.
So what I'm looking for is a receiver that puts the premium on sound, not video. I'll trade off HDMI ports and video upscaling, etc, for more, cleaner power, as long as it has HD analog inputs for my blu-ray.
For example, for the price of teh 606, is there some other HT option that gives away the ports and video stuff in exchange for more power and better audio?
I feel like I'm looking for 2006's best HT receiver almost! Is that it? If I don't care about HDMI and video processing can't I get something great for 5.1 or 7.1 HT sound at rockbottom price these days?
A future proof receiver should have preamp outputs for all channels.If you want to run large,inefficient power hungry speakers sometime down the road you can add an external amp to drive them.It should be good looking so future-wife won't ***** about it.
In the $600 price range I'd say the Marantz 5003.They even have an external hdmi switch that integrates seamlessly.If you can go just a little higher the 6003 is even better.
Andy
In the $600 price range I'd say the Marantz 5003.They even have an external hdmi switch that integrates seamlessly.If you can go just a little higher the 6003 is even better.
Andy
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