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Please help me choose a $300 - $400 receiver.

2407 Views 29 Replies 14 Participants Last post by samsurd2, Jan 15, 2008

BantamSLK

Discussion Starter · Jan 13, 2008

Hey all,

I originally came here looking for HTiB suggestions, but after being dissuaded away from that, I am going to be putting together my own setup. I have a 42" 1080p TV, HD cable box (component or HDMI), and PS3 (HDMI). I don't plan on adding too many other devices, so I do not need a whole ton of additional connections, I would much rather spend the money on "future-proofing" this receiver as much as possible. I have narrowed it down to about 8, but I really am having a hard time going much further, as a lot of the features are frankly confusing me. I spend about 95% of my time on PS3 (between gaming and Blu Ray), so that is my main concern here. Here are the options that I have been looking at:

Sony

STR-DG710

STR-DG810

Onkyo

TX-SR605

TX-SR575

TX-SR505

HK

AVR-247

Pioneer

VSX-917V-K

VSX-1017TXV-K

Can anyone help me further narrow it down? The less I spend on the receiver, the more I can spend on my speakers, so while obviously (for example) the 605 is better than the 505, if you think the 505 can fit my needs please let me know.

Thanks in advance for any help that you can provide!

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samsurd2

· #2 · Jan 13, 2008

Of those 8 AVRs, only the Sony DG710, DG810, Onkyo 605 and HK247 handle audio received via HDMI. The others require separate audio connections from sources to the AVR.

Of those 4 AVRs, the Sony DG810, Onkyo 605 and HK247 handle high def audio (PCM) decoded in an HD-DVD/Bluray player audio and received via HDMI.

Of those 3 AVRs, only the 605 will decode a high def audio bitstream received via HDMI from an HD-DVD/Bluray player.

BantamSLK

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 14, 2008

Thanks for the response!

If I hook up the PS3 to the Receiver through Optical audio, will I lose sound quality? I don't mind the extra wire, just want to keep the sound quality as high as possible. You mentioned that the 605 will decode audio bitstream, while the DG810 and HK247 only do PCM, is there an advantage to using bitstream?

I previously had an Onkyo receiver, and loved it, so that is certainly high on my list, just want to keep all my options open before I make a final decision.

llep64

· #4 · Jan 14, 2008

marants sr4001

moshock

· #5 · Jan 14, 2008

I would go with the Onkyo TX-SR605. It's one of the greatest bang-for-your-buck futureproof receivers on the market today. Connect your PS3 to it via HDMI, and you'll get the maximum video/audio settings available, assuming you configure your PS3 and receiver correctly.

hurleyjj

· #6 · Jan 14, 2008

Looking at the pictures of the back of the Onkyo TX-SR605 unit on Amazon.com it appears the speaker inputs are RCA (is that right or am I blind) ??

I want to be able to connect my 5 speaker setup I currently have (and 2 more I plan to buy) that are hard wired with speaker cable into terminals on the back of my Denon receiver now. So are there terminals on the back of this TX-SR605 ??

reybie

· #7 · Jan 14, 2008

Those are not RCA inputs. Download the PDF manual and you can see it better or just Google for some 605 images.

BantamSLK

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jan 14, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by hurleyjj /forum/post/12804747

Looking at the pictures of the back of the Onkyo TX-SR605 unit on Amazon.com it appears the speaker inputs are RCA (is that right or am I blind) ??

I want to be able to connect my 5 speaker setup I currently have (and 2 more I plan to buy) that are hard wired with speaker cable into terminals on the back of my Denon receiver now. So are there terminals on the back of this TX-SR605 ??

If you look at this picture ( http://www.gspr.com/onkyo/images/txsr605_rear_300.jpg ) you can see the speaker terminals in the middle right hand side. You would be all set with the 605.

hurleyjj

· #9 · Jan 14, 2008

Why does every website that has user reviews for that Onkyo receiver have a lot of people who report major issues with it? A lot of users state it overheats, the 2nd HDMI input doesn't work right, the unit shuts off all the time in the middle of movies, etc. etc.

I've read a lot of stories like this from people who've purchased it. It makes me really believe I may regret buying an Onkyo receiver.

My current Denon I've had for over 5 years without issues. I love the fact that it's been ultra-reliable like that. I certainly don't want to spend $400-500+ on a new receiver if it's going to have lots of issues.

my65ffrcobra

· #10 · Jan 14, 2008

I too am a little leary of the reported 605 issues, With the sony, is the end effect the same if the HD DVD or Blu ray player decodes (since most do) or is there an advantage to the amp doing the decoding? For instance if you are using a PS3 for blu ray is the onkyo going to decode the dts hd ma or whatever its called and sound better?

facesnorth

· #11 · Jan 14, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by my65ffrcobra /forum/post/12810589

I too am a little leary of the reported 605 issues, With the sony, is the end effect the same if the HD DVD or Blu ray player decodes (since most do) or is there an advantage to the amp doing the decoding? For instance if you are using a PS3 for blu ray is the onkyo going to decode the dts hd ma or whatever its called and sound better?

You will not be able to get DTS HD-MA with your PS3 either through PCM or bitstream. At this point, the PS3 is not capable of either.

I too am looking for an AVR in this range (more like $3-350) for a friend. I am dealing with the same questions. However, he is not dead set on needing to get the lossless formats, he simply wants the best bang for his buck. His room is about 400 square feet, and he is using some older Bose speakers for the time being. He may upgrade these in the future. He will mostly watch HDTV and some Blu Ray and DVD movies. He has a Mitsubishi WD-57732 DLP TV, and is open to either sending the video straight to the TV, or into the AVR. He does not necessarily need HDMI inputs which opens up a lot of options. We are struggling now with the question of whether to plan on sending optical/coaxial into the AVR or multi-channel analog RCA cables. If we can get an AVR in the $3-350 price range with multi-channel inputs, we will likely send multi-channel from the BD player to the AVR, and optical from the cable box. That represents all of his devices, so it is a fairly simple setup. HDMI from the BD player would go straight to the Mits TV 1080p HDMI input, and the same with the cable box. Would anyone be kind enough to add AVR suggestions to give him his best options here? I add it to this thread because it is similar (though not identical) to the OP's request. He is upgrading from a Denon AVR-486 which died, but that he was happy with.

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samsurd2

· #12 · Jan 14, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by BantamSLK /forum/post/12803513

If I hook up the PS3 to the Receiver through Optical audio, will I lose sound quality? I don't mind the extra wire, just want to keep the sound quality as high as possible.

You'll lose the ability to receive high def audio in PCM format from your PS3 when its playing a Bluray disc. Digital audio cables (optical and coax) will handle legacy audio (DD/DTS 5.1) just fine but they don't have enough bandwidth to accomodate high def audio.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BantamSLK /forum/post/12803513

You mentioned that the 605 will decode audio bitstream, while the DG810 and HK247 only do PCM, is there an advantage to using bitstream?

No and, since you've got a PS3, it doesn't matter because the PS3 can't send DD True HD or DTS-MA bitstreams anyway.

samsurd2

· #13 · Jan 14, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by moshock /forum/post/12804320

I would go with the Onkyo TX-SR605. It's one of the greatest bang-for-your-buck futureproof receivers on the market today. Connect your PS3 to it via HDMI, and you'll get the maximum video/audio settings available, assuming you configure your PS3 and receiver correctly.

Since the PS3 can't send high def bitstreams (only high def audio decoded to PCM), any receiver with HDMI 1.1 or higher that properly handles multichannel PCM via HDMI will work fine.

facesnorth

· #14 · Jan 14, 2008

bump

BantamSLK

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jan 15, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by samsurd2 /forum/post/12811349

No and, since you've got a PS3, it doesn't matter because the PS3 can't send DD True HD or DTS-MA bitstreams anyway.

Hmmm, so it's narrowed down to the 605, HK247, and DG810. SO much easier then when I first started!

I know you mentioned that the 605 did bitstream (which isn't hugely important to me as you pointed out), have a preference out of the last three?

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samsurd2

· #16 · Jan 15, 2008

facesnorth, the Yamaha RX-V661 is definitely worth consideration.

BantamSLK

Discussion Starter · #17 · Jan 15, 2008

Hmmm, and I can find the 810 for about $125 cheaper than the 605...

bart122580

· #18 · Jan 15, 2008

cool topic, helped me narrow down some choices too

.

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samsurd2

· #19 · Jan 15, 2008

2

Quote:
Originally Posted by BantamSLK /forum/post/12814684

Hmmm, so it's narrowed down to the 605, HK247, and DG810. SO much easier then when I first started!

I know you mentioned that the 605 did bitstream (which isn't hugely important to me as you pointed out), have a preference out of the last three?

Not specifically but here's some gratuitous advice which BTW is at odds with one of your stated objectives - to wit "...I would much rather spend the money on "future-proofing" this receiver as much as possible."

I would get the least expensive receiver that provided the features that were important to me TODAY and put the $$ I didn't spend on the AVR toward getting the best speakers and sub possible. IMO (and others may rain down a **** storm of disagreement

), at a given price (particularly toward the lower end of the scale) the difference in sound from one AVR to the next can hardly be discerned by the majority. OTOH, the difference between good speakers and those that are not seems to be less open to debate AND that "goodness" seems (with some exceptions like Bose) to be directly related to price. Also, speaker technology seems to me to be a non-volatile item whereas AVR technology can pretty much be counted upon to change which IMO means a "future proof" AVR is marketing BS. Like I said, JMO.

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jchiu640

· #20 · Jan 15, 2008

I just bought the Marantz sr4001 today for $350 + shipping (total=$371)

It has HDMI 1.1 (not 1.3 like the Onkyo 605) but based on all of the Onkyo problems Ive read (overheating, popping noises, lip synch issues, blah blah blah), I decided to go with a lower end well respected brand.

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