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Starter Amp choice

788 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by drpstudios, May 15, 2007

drpstudios

Discussion Starter · May 15, 2007

I am having a very hard time deciding on what to get. Currently I dont have anything, and I refuse to do HTIB. I have a Component dvd player (Philips), xbox360, and a wii. Maybe in the future I will get a ps3 for the bd player are furbished harmon and a 360 hd-drive if its >= than a stand alone player.

Main point of this thread is that right now i am looking at two receivers. H/K AVR-520(7.1 by expansion, component, High Current, zone 2) and the Onkyo TX-SR604(7.1 (true), Zone 2, HDMI 2i/1o, 3Component in / 1 out). Should i worry about HDMI Switching or just buy an external? 7.1 is really a main point as i dont have a place for 2 more surround speakers.

The other thing that somewhat confuses me with both are the ohm ratings. I dont want to get the wrong type of speakers. The onkyo's specs say it goes to 3ohm??

I have been trying to do research but its a little difficult on the HK, as its out of production and there are hardly any reviews.

Thanks for any advice.

Vincent

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deneb

· #2 · May 15, 2007

Most speakers will be rated at 8 ohms, a few are 6 or even 4, but they are few and far between for home audio. Dunno if I'd run a receiver with 4 ohm speakers unless it was pretty high end, such as B&K, etc., but 6 ohm speakers should be fine with just about any receiver. This is further complicated by the fact that a speaker rated as '8 ohm', isn't 8 ohms throughout the frequency range, but rather it will have peaks and valleys in the restistance curve, you don't want a speaker that dips too low at a low frequency or it could cause your amp to run hot (shorten it's life). Most manufacturers don't publish this info however. In practice though, any speaker rated at 8 or 6 ohms shouldn't be a problem for either of the receivers you are considering.

As far as HDMI, I'd say it might not be worth the trouble unless your TV has 1080p capabilities. There are other threads dealing with HDMI here that are worth reading.

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Frayed.Knot

· #3 · May 15, 2007

I don't think you have to worry too much about ohm ratings. 8 ohms is very common for a lot of good speakers I've read about. Both receivers should handle that.

One thing to consider (especially if you like Onkyo) is the 605 (this year's replacement of the 604). It has built-in HDMI 1.3 switching 2i/1o. Nice to have if you do end up buying a ps3 or other high-definition disc player.

check out the Onkyo *05 preview thread, first post has lots of good details of the 605, which is now on the onkyo usa website.

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dsmith901

· #4 · May 15, 2007

You haven't mentioned budget, or what your aspirations are with regard to audio quality. But if you want truly excellent speakers at a very affordable price you won't do any better than Ascend Acoustics. If they are too plain jane for you consider Axiom Audio as an alternate good quality speaker. Both have a 30 day audition period I believe. If even those are too pricey for you then look at the Athena Micra 6 package - very good for a rock bottom price. Ascend also sells the H/K receiver, so you can assume their speakers work well with that receiver. H/K receivers (especially the 5 channel models) have superior amps that will drive 4 ohm speakers better than most of the competition. Plus the 520 has full preouts so you can always add separate power amps if you want.

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drpstudios

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 15, 2007

like i said i can buy a switcher for hdmi / dvi. I just need something that will be some what future proof.

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drpstudios

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 15, 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by dsmith901 /forum/post/0

You haven't mentioned budget, or what your aspirations are with regard to audio quality. But if you want truly excellent speakers at a very affordable price you won't do any better than Ascend Acoustics. If they are too plain jane for you consider Axiom Audio as an alternate good quality speaker. Both have a 30 day audition period I believe. If even those are too pricey for you then look at the Athena Micra 6 package - very good for a rock bottom price. Ascend also sells the H/K receiver, so you can assume their speakers work well with that receiver. H/K receivers (especially the 5 channel models) have superior amps that will drive 4 ohm speakers better than most of the competition. Plus the 520 has full preouts so you can always add separate power amps if you want.

I have to begin researching speakers next. Currently i am one of those people that dont know any speakers past the big consumer names (polk, infinity, klipsh?,etc).

I want to piece it together, but just as a starter system

when i move into a house then i will buy the big boy toys and i know there will be something like HDMI 2.5 or something by then.

Budget wise, might end up being a little over 1k total over time.not sure. we will see. right now though its all about the reciever. IF there is something that i want to add on i guess i will buy out another component piece

Vincent

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