Need a good home theater receiver...

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theenforcer1

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Hey guys-

I need a good home theater receiver that has HDMI inputs and is decent. Just got a blu ray player, and would like to have a nice hookup. I already have speakers from an old setup.

Thanks!
 
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We're going to need more info than that. Define "good". What's your budget?

Personally I've got a Denon 3808-CI that is nice, but it's well out of most people's range. How old are the speakers you're hooking up to it?
 
There are a lot of things to consider here. Do you need decoding for HD audio, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD? How many HDMI inputs do you want? Your Blu-Ray player ought to handle standard DVD upscaling, but some receivers (even low-end models) can do that, as well. So, would you want it to be able to upscale video?

Engadget has a decent (though slightly aged) write-up talking about what you'd need regarding the audio:

http://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/22/how-to-actually-use-dolby-truehd-and-dts-hd/

If your player can do its own audio decoding and put out 7.1 channels of audio over analog cables, then you might want to see if you can find a model that has 7.1 channels of analog audio in.

I'd say make those decisions first, and it will be easier to shop within a given price range. It's awfully hard to find a fully featured receiver for under $200, but prices are always going down.

I picked up the Denon 3808-CI, too, and I'm pretty happy with it, but you won't find that for under $200. :D
 
I also have a denon in my living room(happy as well) but I recently picked up an Insignia receiver(NS-R5101HD) for my bedroom and it sounds pretty good for a "low end brand" receiver. I hooked it up to PS3 and played transformers 2(DTS master HD) and the dark knight (DolbyDigital True HD) on blu ray and all I can say is wow. Retail is 279.99 but I managed to pick it up a few weeks ago for 165 & change in store had it for 179.99 but online store had it for 165 and I used a 10% coupon to take care of the tax. It's 199.99 this week @ least on their site it is.
 
Just picked up an onkyo tx-sr607 for $377 from newegg. MSRP is $599 and average internet price is in the mid to high 400s. It is a bit above what you said you wanted to spend, but it was the second highest rated mid-end receiver by cnet and a really good deal. It has 5 or 6 hdmi inputs and decodes all of the most recent audio formats including Dolby Digital IIz, so it should prove to be fairly future-proof.
 
[quote name='mattfoley7']I also have a denon in my living room(happy as well) but I recently picked up an Insignia receiver(NS-R5101HD) for my bedroom and it sounds pretty good for a "low end brand" receiver. I hooked it up to PS3 and played transformers 2(DTS master HD) and the dark knight (DolbyDigital True HD) on blu ray and all I can say is wow. Retail is 279.99 but I managed to pick it up a few weeks ago for 165 & change in store had it for 179.99 but online store had it for 165 and I used a 10% coupon to take care of the tax. It's 199.99 this week @ least on their site it is.[/QUOTE]

What site?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882105283

How is that receiver?
 
My bad I forgot to mention what store but it was Best Buy. IMO I would stay away from sony receivers. The one that you posted w/ the link above does not have/support/decode DTS master HD nor Dolby Digital true HD and if you're going to hook it up to a PS3/blu ray player believe me you'll want to hear to it's full potential.
 
[quote name='mattfoley7']My bad I forgot to mention what store but it was Best Buy. IMO I would stay away from sony receivers. The one that you posted w/ the link above does not have/support/decode DTS master HD nor Dolby Digital true HD and if you're going to hook it up to a PS3/blu ray player believe me you'll want to hear to it's full potential.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the advice!

Any other recommendations? You seem to know your stuff. I will be using it mostly for Blu-Ray/NFL Sunday Ticket.
 
[quote name='ian1418']Just picked up an onkyo tx-sr607 for $377 from newegg. MSRP is $599 and average internet price is in the mid to high 400s. It is a bit above what you said you wanted to spend, but it was the second highest rated mid-end receiver by cnet and a really good deal. It has 5 or 6 hdmi inputs and decodes all of the most recent audio formats including Dolby Digital IIz, so it should prove to be fairly future-proof.[/QUOTE]

I picked this same receiver up during amazon's wacky Thanksgivings week sales, they had it for about $350 and the ipod/iphone dock was free if you bought them together. So far I am loving it. It is over what you stated, but I'm very glad I spent more and got it instead of the 507 that was $100 cheaper at the time.
 
Onkyo is an excellent brand for midrange amps, I bought one like 7 years ago it's only 5.1 DTS/DD has OPTIC audios, the auto sensing for audio mixing is dead on, no HDMI :whistle2:( but was rated at consistent wattage and not peak, it still blows away many current amps, I was able to blow cerwins with it or rather wreck havoc on cerwins foam/rubber surround for like 8 years, My neighbors two houses down can hear my Danzig and Slayer playing crystal clear. Onkyo have a good coverage of cheap theater in a box all the way up to build your own theater more expensive amps.. Make sure you pick up true HDMI audio decoding I have seen many amps almost just act as a switch and don't pull the audio for decoding and push the video to the display which defeats the purpose....
 
I looked at that Onkyo tx-sr607 you guys have mentioned and it looks pretty good. I am considering getting it to upgrade over my 10 year old Sony amp. I have some Infinity speakers (L, C, R, and two rear surrounds) and an Infinity 12" sub (dont remember the watts on its amp) I want to hook up to the Onkyo. For 7.2, I need to get two additional surrounds right?

*edit - after doing more research, there are people debating which is better, the Onkyo TX-SR607 or the Pioneer VSX 1019. Many report they couldnt be happier with the Pioneer. But it costs a little more than the Onkyo. Cant make up my mind..........................
 
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[quote name='addicted2games']I looked at that Onkyo tx-sr607 you guys have mentioned and it looks pretty good. I am considering getting it to upgrade over my 10 year old Sony amp. I have some Infinity speakers (L, C, R, and two rear surrounds) and an Infinity 12" sub (dont remember the watts on its amp) I want to hook up to the Onkyo. For 7.2, I need to get two additional surrounds right?

*edit - after doing more research, there are people debating which is better, the Onkyo TX-SR607 or the Pioneer VSX 1019. Many report they couldnt be happier with the Pioneer. But it costs a little more than the Onkyo. Cant make up my mind..........................[/QUOTE]

I have a Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH and love it (a little more costly than the Pioneer you listed). I couldn't be happier.
 
I have to put in another note for the Onkyo 607. I have its much bigger older brother, the 876, and it's an amazing receiver. I had been looking at the 607 before I decided I wanted the extra power the 876 had.
 
Well I am redoing my surround sound and ordered the Polk Audio PSW505 12-inch powered subwoofer. I am still debating which receiver to get. It either the Onkyo or the Pioneer mentioned above.
 
[quote name='addicted2games']Well I am redoing my surround sound and ordered the Polk Audio PSW505 12-inch powered subwoofer. I am still debating which receiver to get. It either the Onkyo or the Pioneer mentioned above.[/QUOTE]


One thing I found out about the 607 after I bought it is that you can run a 5.1 system with the front speakers bi-amped if they are capable of running that way - main front hookups and the extra 7.1 surround hookups are used. I don't remember ever reading that when I was researching it. I'm not currently running mine bi-amped because I'm out of speaker wire, but once I get off my lazy ass and buy more I will. My speakers are the AVHTB set from Fluance, no sub. The Onkyo 607 will vibrate my couch with these. My living room is fairly small though, 13x13. I just ordered a refurbished ASW-8 sub from The Speaker Company and am looking forward to that addition. I don't have any experience with the Pioneer, but I LOVE the 607 so far.
 
[quote name='Allnatural']No mention of DTS-HDMA decoding. Lots of titles are using DTS these days.[/QUOTE]If the BR player can decode it and bitstream it over to the receiver, you shouldn't need to worry about DTS-HD decoding.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']If the BR player can decode it and bitstream it over to the receiver, you shouldn't need to worry about DTS-HD decoding.[/QUOTE]
True, but given his receiver budget I'm assuming he's using an entry-level player.
 
Well, I finally ordered all my components. I ordered:

Onkyo TX-SR607 7.2 channel Receiver
Polk Audio PSW505 12" Powered Subwoofer
Klipsch Synergy Quintet III front/left/surround satellites/center


I am going to eventually order two more Klipsch satellites to get 7.1 surround sound.

All this for $839 total shipped from three different sellers on Amazon. I cant wait!
 
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