Request: High-End (or maybe Mid-Range) Receiver

O

Omatsei

CAGiversary!
I'm looking to buy a new receiver, and I can't decide on which on (or which brand) to get. My spending limit is about $1700. Here are the features I absolutely need:

Minimum of 3 HDMI inputs (for a PS3, DirecTV box, and probably a 360 Elite at some point, and all inputs must do 1080p)
Minimum of 2 digital optical inputs (for a premium 360 right now)
Minimum of 3 component inputs (PS2, Wii)
Must process Dolby True HD and DTS-HD sound
Must have an iPod option, not necessarily included
Must do up-converting of all video sources to HDMI, 1080p
Must support 7.1 sound (obviously it wouldn't support Dolby True HD and DTS-HD if it didn't)
Ideally would allow renaming of the inputs, and would have a nice GUI so my wife could understand what the hell it's doing

A couple of the receivers I've been eyeing are the Sony STR-DA5300ES, the Onkyo TX-NR905 (it's not an option since it's too expensive, but I was considering it), and the Denon AVR-3808CI. I'd like as many features as possible, but I'm also looking for high quality features rather than checkboxes on a list (like the PS3 technically does support online play, but if you've ever played on Xbox Live, you know that's not a fair comparison to Sony). Any input would be appreciated.
 
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I'm not a big fan of Sony receivers. IMO, Denon and Onkyo are higher build quality and sound quality. The Onkyo has better upscaling abilities, but I'm a big fan of Denon's sound quality. Denon also has Audessey. Personally, I feel that upscaling is overrated. Why? Because even the best upscaled image isn't even close to true HD resolutions. Your best bet is to do some research on the AVS forums. The members there are much more knowledgeable about mid and high end electronics.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=90

As for decoding Dolby TrueHD and DTS MA, there is no benefit to the receiver doing it. All of the players will decode and send PCM to your receiver for identical sound. Not to mention that there are only a handful of players that will send Dolby TrueHD and DTS MA as bitstream and they are all the top of the line units.

I'm bought a 3808ci today if that tells you anything of my opinion.
 
After exhausting all the options and spending the last 2 days doing nothing but researching all the options, I ended up also going with the Denon AVR-3808ci. It's available for $1150 from Amazon, and with the features, it's just too good to pass up. The Onkyo is $350 more, and the Sony was $200 more than that. For the extra 2 HDMI ports the Sony offered, or the upscaing chip the Onkyo had (that I probably wouldn't use much, if at all), the Denon was the best option.
 
[quote name='Omatsei']After exhausting all the options and spending the last 2 days doing nothing but researching all the options, I ended up also going with the Denon AVR-3808ci. It's available for $1150 from Amazon, and with the features, it's just too good to pass up. The Onkyo is $350 more, and the Sony was $200 more than that. For the extra 2 HDMI ports the Sony offered, or the upscaing chip the Onkyo had (that I probably wouldn't use much, if at all), the Denon was the best option.[/quote]

Is that from Amazon themselves? I'm very interested in that particular receiver. $1150 is a steal.
 
If you go to Amazon and search for it, click the "14 New & Used", or whatever the number is. The seller is an authorized reseller that uses Amazon as their web presence. There's actually 3 places with similar pricing... I just chose the one with almost 2000 user ratings and a 91% average (some place called "goldenit").
 
Just an update... I ordered the Denon from Amazon (see above) on Tuesday night, and it arrived today. I haven't had a chance to hook it up yet, but it looks like everything's there, and it didn't seem like it was refurbed or anything. I'll update this thread again once I get it hooked up and am satisfied that it actually works (I have no reason to think it won't, except that it was more than $400 cheaper than MSRP).
 
[quote name='Omatsei']Just an update... I ordered the Denon from Amazon (see above) on Tuesday night, and it arrived today. I haven't had a chance to hook it up yet, but it looks like everything's there, and it didn't seem like it was refurbed or anything. I'll update this thread again once I get it hooked up and am satisfied that it actually works (I have no reason to think it won't, except that it was more than $400 cheaper than MSRP).[/quote]

Was there one specific vendor there on Amazon?

I've found the 2808 over at 6ave for 798, but I'd much rather have the 3808 if it was a few hundred more.
 
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