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where should i go for help looking for a new receiver?

1332 Views 17 Replies 5 Participants Last post by uschxc, Jan 23, 2008

uschxc

Discussion Starter · Jan 22, 2008

i've read the futureproof post above which was really informative. however i'm pretty new to the game and have a couple questions but am really needing some good honest advice.

if this is the place, then i suppose i'd like a level 6 receiver as referred to in the future proof post, would like to be in the area of $1000, and a major name isn't important to me as long as its quality. 3-4 hdmi inputs.

can anyone point me in the right direction?

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

uschxc

Discussion Starter · #2 · Jan 22, 2008

bump

mastermaybe

· #3 · Jan 22, 2008

you have numerous options in that price range including: sony 3300ES (or 4300 if you look hard enough), the onkyo 805, the Denon 2308 (or the 2808 if you get a deal), the yamaha 1800, and a pioneer, whose model # escapes me at the moment.

All will offer 3 or more 1.3 hdmi's (the denon may have only 2) and 7 channel output.

All have their strengths and weaknesses, so its best to decide what is most important to you and lean towards the unit that supplies the most of those items. In this range however, you are almost certain to be happy with your final result as they all include a fantastic amount of quality/technology at this price point.

good luck,

james

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griz_fan

· #4 · Jan 22, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by mastermaybe /forum/post/12896007

you have numerous options in that price range including: sony 3300ES (or 4300 if you look hard enough), the onkyo 805, the Denon 2308 (or the 2808 if you get a deal), the yamaha 1800, and a pioneer, whose model # escapes me at the moment.

All will offer 3 or more 1.3 hdmi's (the denon may have only 2) and 7 channel output.

All have their strengths and weaknesses, so its best to decide what is most important to you and lean towards the unit that supplies the most of those items. In this range however, you are almost certain to be happy with your final result as they all include a fantastic amount of quality/technology at this price point.

good luck,

james

There you go... instant shortlist. Now, time for the original poster to put some more data into the equation. What speakers do you have? What will you be listening too? Is video processing important or not? That way, you can match up the strengths/weaknesses of these options against your priorities.

uschxc

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 22, 2008

mostly i'll be watching movies or playing games. i listen to music sometimes through my home stereo but the majority is movies.

i have a Klipsch Promedia 5.1 system who's amp/sub is going bad, generating a lot of noise. the speakers themselves are still in good condition so i was hoping to use those with my future receiver and go out and buy a new sub, velodyne or something.

denon, yamaha, and onkyo are all brands i'm comfortable with. all in all not a huge sony corp. fan but i do like a lot of their products.

i'm not sure what options i would have available to me as far as video processing, could you elaborate more on that? in addition, do receivers in this price range typically come with level trimming?

griz_fan

· #6 · Jan 22, 2008

I'm a big advocate of keeping your speakers and receiver proportionate to each other. IMHO, a $1K receiver would be way too much for that speaker set. I prefer to spend money on speakers 1st, then your receiver. Good speakers can help a low-end receiver a lot more than a good receiver can help low-end speakers. Not to bash your speakers, but aren't these PC speakers and not home theater speakers? Just something to consider.

Regarding what I meant by video processing. Many receivers these days will not only handle audio and video switching, but will also de-interlace and up-scale lower resolution inputs to an HD resolution for output over HDMI, for example. So, a Wii or standard-def cable box could benefit from this. But, some receivers do a better job than others, so that would factor into your decision process.

uschxc

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 22, 2008

would it attempt to upscale say a normal tv broadcast to HD if it wasn't already? that would be pretty cool, but not a deciding factor.

yes, they are pc speakers and have a reasonable job over the years. i would prefer to buy some quality speakers, but what am i going to hook them up to?

but seriously the speakers still work fine is the built in amp in the sub that is going bad, so buying a receiver that could last me a while and be a good component to build my system around seemed ideal to me.

$1000 isn't a set in stone amount i want to pay, but more of my ceiling. 7.1 would be nice but my current setup won't benefit from it, so thats a future call. my biggest concerns are level trimming, enough hdmi inputs, and a quality build. video upscaling i'd say would be the only real option i think i'd heavily consider, but then again not too sure what my options are

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the wiz kid

· #8 · Jan 22, 2008

I have a Marantz sr-8200 im selling brand new, for 750.00 plus shipping, the receiver itself is upgradeable, it has touch screen remote and retailed for over 1700. new. i also have a yamaha rx-v992 which retailed for 1000.00 but im letting go for 200.00 due to the fact i just have nothing but the receiver.

uschxc

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 22, 2008

not sure what those are or how they apply to my situation

griz_fan

· #10 · Jan 22, 2008

Well, you could always check out something like this:
http://www.shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?...il=1&ext_war=0

uschxc

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 23, 2008

thats an option i might consider. i thought about something else, is there some way to connect receivers these days to my computer network? idunno if its possible but i'd love to have my stereo by my audio source for my laptop wireless but i'm not sure if thats possible yet.

would yo umind giving me a brief difference between he onkyo's mentioned above and the one that comes in that system?

interpol

· #12 · Jan 23, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by uschxc /forum/post/12900068

thats an option i might consider. i thought about something else, is there some way to connect receivers these days to my computer network? idunno if its possible but i'd love to have my stereo by my audio source for my laptop wireless but i'm not sure if thats possible yet.

Some receivers like the Yamaha RX-V3800 have ethernet ports built into them to connect to a network and access/play music on a NAS over via internet radio, but I don't think there are any that are available for less than $1000.

griz_fan

· #13 · Jan 23, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by uschxc /forum/post/12900068

thats an option i might consider. i thought about something else, is there some way to connect receivers these days to my computer network? idunno if its possible but i'd love to have my stereo by my audio source for my laptop wireless but i'm not sure if thats possible yet.

would yo umind giving me a brief difference between he onkyo's mentioned above and the one that comes in that system?

If memory serves, the receiver that comes with that system is the 605, the same model I have. For the price, its a very impressive contender, and brings a LOT of features to the table, including HDMI 1.3 support and the ability to decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA sent over HDMI. it only has 2 HDMI in, though. But, quite a few people have simply resorted to HDMI switches to overcome this. The Onkyo 805 (and several other receiver options mentioned earlier) are certainly steps up from the 605, but I would put some thought and budget towards the speakers, too.

For streaming you audio files from your PC to your receiver, there are a variety of wireless music bridges that stream content from your PC to your AV system. you could find one built into your receiver, but I think a stand-alone would be a much better option. Heck, there's the Apple TV

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uschxc

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jan 23, 2008

how do u control them?

interpol

· #15 · Jan 23, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by uschxc /forum/post/12902628

how do u control them?

Usually with an IR remote control. Song/navigation information is displayed on your TV screen.

uschxc

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jan 23, 2008

it would be great if i could somehow wirelessly connect my laptop to my receiver so my laptop's sounds are played through my receiver so i don't even have to mess with it. just click play on the laptop, but i'm not sure how feasible that is

interpol

· #17 · Jan 23, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by uschxc /forum/post/12904829

it would be great if i could somehow wirelessly connect my laptop to my receiver so my laptop's sounds are played through my receiver so i don't even have to mess with it. just click play on the laptop, but i'm not sure how feasible that is

You can't do it that way, but you CAN designate your laptop as a server on the network. All control would be through the receiver.

uschxc

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jan 23, 2008

yea i could hook the receiver up to a wireless switch... how does the receiver read the music? do you have to have a proprietary piece of software to connect with the receiver or can you designate a folder and it reads the subfolders?

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