Home Theater Receiver Advice

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Home Theater Receiver Advice - HDMI Upscaling?

saanz

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#39576 17-Aug-2009 13:32

Hi, I am wanting to purchase a home theater receiver for a basic system and would like some recommendations of what to go for in my price range. Ideally I don't want to be spending more than $1000... I currently have front and rear speakers (KEF Floor Standing), a 42" LCD with HDMI, a laptop with HDMI out and Blu-ray drive, CD player and tuner but nothing to drive it. Who offers the best prices in NZ and which brands should I look at?

Some thoughts on whether the receiver would be best with HDMI upscaling would be good too :)

Thanks!

saanz

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#248157 18-Aug-2009 13:44

Anyone have any experience with a Yamaha rx-v463? How well do they handle audio in from an HDMI source?

samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#248357 18-Aug-2009 21:14

Best prices? Probably jbhifi but it's always best to look around.

For $1000 good brands are Onkyo, Yamaha, Denon and Pioneer, just make sure it's got enough inputs/outputs for anything you're planning for in the future, a well chosen amp should almost never need upgrading/replacing.

As for the sound quality of them, read some reviews, talk to a salesperson (the guys at paul money seem to be the most knowledgable in my experience) but most importantly ask them to show you how well it does, after all it's your ears that are going to be listening to it.

Desktop: i7 920, GTX 275, asus P6T, antec 1200, 6gb ram, 1tb spinpoint f1, 1tb spinpoint f3, Logitech Z2300, Zero DAC, Shure SRH440
Laptop: Toshiba satellite, T5300, Go 7300
Home Theatre: 32" loewe CRT, Harmon kardon amp, dvd player, image 418 speakers, rega planar 25 turntable :)

marmel

1924 posts

Uber Geek

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#248362 18-Aug-2009 21:31

I just purchased an Onkyo TX-SR577 and I'm very happy with it. I got it for $800 from Harvey Norman.

It does hdmi switching, 1080p pass through, decodes the latest sound formats etc. Has 4 hdmi inputs as well.

I previously had a high end Pioneer with cost me $3000 about 4 years ago and this Onkyo amp walks rings around it with surround sound even with basic decoding like Dolby Pro Logic II.

marmel

1924 posts

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#248363 18-Aug-2009 21:31

burtz

168 posts

Master Geek

#248532 19-Aug-2009 09:53

Try the Eastern Hifi outlet in Mount Wellington, they had some good refurbished Onkyos awhile back...

saanz

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#248557 19-Aug-2009 10:43

I am looking at a Yamaha RX-V436 for $500 with HDMI pass through. After reading reviews it seems to put out decent sound and do everything I want.

I guess speaker cables are the next worry.... Can anyone put it in simply what to look for in speaker cable? I don't particularly want to spend more than the cost of a receiver on 2 meters of copper.

Basekid

70 posts

Master Geek

#248575 19-Aug-2009 11:36

saanz: I am looking at a Yamaha RX-V436 for $500 with HDMI pass through. After reading reviews it seems to put out decent sound and do everything I want.

I guess speaker cables are the next worry.... Can anyone put it in simply what to look for in speaker cable? I don't particularly want to spend more than the cost of a receiver on 2 meters of copper.

Just make sure you don't get monstercable.

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saanz

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#248610 19-Aug-2009 12:19

Haha but the guy at Harvey Norman said my system won't be as good without them. Looks like some
14g wire will do the trick.

Can't believe they try to sell a meter of HDMI cable for $500. They must carry some high quality ones and zeros to justify that money. Makes me cringe when people say "the guy threw in the monster cable for a good price with my tv..."

So any old copper, provided it is thick enough, will do the job?

bazzer

3438 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#248614 19-Aug-2009 12:32

Depends who you ask, but if you're asking then the answer is probably :) You probably don't even need 14g, depending on distance. I used this (http://www.dynamix.co.nz/index.html?do=viewproduct&code=CA-1450-4&ID=1730209) stuff for my outdoor, surround and zone 2 speakers. It seems to do the trick. I did buy more expensive cable for my front speakers but I probably wouldn't have bothered in hindsight.

saanz

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#248619 19-Aug-2009 12:50

Thanks for the link, I will go for something like that. Id imagine with my system a couple of metres of jug cord will suffice.