AV Receivers

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CharlieNZ

12 posts

Geek

#74458 30-Dec-2010 19:31

Seasons Greetings and all that.

I'm looking toi get rid of the old home theatre set up and replace with an AV Receiver but am pretty 'green' on the whole Receiver thing. I like my HD TV pitcure, Myski HDi, Xbox 360, Sony PVR & I especially want very good music quality.
Any advise on Receivers and speakers would be great.
Cheers & thanks

wreck90

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#422748 30-Dec-2010 20:42

Don't get any less than 4 HDMI inputs - preferably around 6 is good.

Check up-scaling ability too.

I have the sony str-da5300es receiver, it's very good.

I've also got an Onkyo 606 in another room, it's ok, but only 4 hdmi and upscaling SD->HD is no good, sky SD looks pretty bad on the HD TV .

And, I have a set of B&W speakers, very nice sounding but they are pricey.

Check if you want 3D too.

I've heard the denon 2310 is very good.

timmmay

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#422799 30-Dec-2010 23:10

Read this thread I started not so long ago. I got a good value Onkyo + Wharfedale setup that some would scoff at but I really enjoy and runs rings around anything else i've ever had.

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=34&topicid=70369

Research the receivers carefully, some of the nicer ones (the one up from my model) does DLNA so you can stream from the PC to the receiver. That would've been handy. Some also adjust the sound based on their microphone to set the sound to match the room and speaker locations.

elldizzle

91 posts

Master Geek

#422844 31-Dec-2010 06:47

There is also the question of 5.1 or 7.1?...And pre-outs in case you want to run your fronts of a separate stereo or power amplifier... Also what other devices will you be likely to connect to it... For example after I bought my Receiver I saw ones out there with a front HDMI port that would have been ideal for my camcorder. It pays to think of everything lol...
Also what's your price range?..

timmmay

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#422867 31-Dec-2010 09:11

I didn't need 7.1, but the better receivers tend to have it. I'm happy with my Onkyo 508 or 608, I forget which one I got.

CharlieNZ

12 posts

Geek

#422869 31-Dec-2010 09:22

Thank you very much for all your comments & I'll read your thread Tim.
I'm looking to pay approx $1,500 for the receiver. I can get my hands on a pair of NAD speakers and have the Technics speakers from the current home theatre set up except that the 2 front Teac's have 2 sets of cables each, 1 for the larger bass speaker cone and 1 for the mid/high frequency speaker cones.

Cheers

timmmay

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#422874 31-Dec-2010 10:03

What does a $1500 receiver do that my $650 receiver doesn't do?

plod

272 posts

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#422901 31-Dec-2010 11:22

timmmay: What does a $1500 receiver do that my $650 receiver doesn't do?

A $1500 receiver doesn't leave any change in your pocket, a $650 one does

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Dunnersfella

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#423093 31-Dec-2010 23:34

If your speakers require bi-wiring, look to get a 7.1 amplifier and use the surrounds to bi-wire the front speakers...
Also, be aware of cheap amps with the ubiquitously cheap power supplies. They tend to leave you with a somewhat anemic sounding system for both music and movies... just think of a MASSIVE explosion in a movie where all the power is sent to the sub-woofer, and in turn, the rest of the speakers are left with next to no power...

*Generalisation alert*
Personally, I think Onkyo's tick a lot of the boxes on paper, but are lacking in power (the lower end models tend to have low quality power supplies) and if they feature auto-speaker configuration, it's the bottom end version, that only measures fewer parts of your room / speaker setup than the higher end versions.
Pioneer strike me as good amps for those who want to get tech with features / internet integration on the likes of the VSX920. Yamaha are easy to drive for the entire family... Denon off great power, but can need to be partnered with speakers that shine in the top end... Marantz are powerful, but the offerings are a little pricey.
So yeah, have a play with the remotes, take a listen to them - and go from there.

illicit

553 posts

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#423127 1-Jan-2011 08:12

Depends on the onkyo model.

The TX-SR608 are a fantastic amp

andrew027

1286 posts

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#426426 12-Jan-2011 10:05

I got the Sony STR-DA3500ES last year, and as I bought a blu-ray player and subwoofer at the same time I got 20% off the lot. It has a few quirks, but I love it, particularly musically as I listen to a lot more music than I watch movies or play games.

I wanted the 5500, but would have had to get a lot more than 20% off to fit it into my price range (or yours).

jjnz1

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#426462 12-Jan-2011 11:35

I have an Onkyo 604 paired with B&W 603S's. They sound amazing, and I install lower end ($2000>$6000) systems.
As said above, make sure you get a receiver that has ample HDMI inputs, as you will be pissed spending that much money and finding out that there is no more room to connect your new HD gadgets.

I also have a Denon DRA500 2 channel and Yamaha NS333 book shelf speakers in another room, which sound good too, but I do think they are lacking slightly in the upper frequencies. But then again that system is not worth much.

jjnz1

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#426466 12-Jan-2011 11:41

timmmay: What does a $1500 receiver do that my $650 receiver doesn't do?

If your old receiver used to retail for around $1500, then not much.
You might be missing HDMI upscale, HDMI inputs, OSD over HDMI.

But it should sound very simliar with the same speakers connected.

Jaxson

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#426478 12-Jan-2011 12:12

Yeah my comments will be as above.

Do make sure you have a reason to buy a more expensive model. Seriously you can get a great receiver for $600 - $1500 so don't give away money if you don't need to. If you really want to that's fine and I'll happily take it!

Everything these days is hdmi so make sure you have a bunch of inputs.

It's way easier/nicer to run 1 hdmi cable to your TV, but that means your receiver MUST be able to upscale/convert analogue (s-video or 'yellow' rca) inputs and output these over the digital hdmi output.

Do you think you'll use two displays at once, ie TV and Projector? This is best done with a receiver with dual hdmi outputs.

Do you want 3D

Does your room allow for you to set up 7 speakers around it?

If you are going to use existing speakers, what ohm rating are they?

I recommend a receiver with an auto setup mic to get the best out of possibly sub par speakers.

Answering these sorts of questions will really help you work out what you actually need. Some of these features you wont find on lower end units, but if you don't need them then why devote money to it etc.

Seriously, adding a more expensive and capable subwoofer can do more for home theatre wowness than a more expensive receiver, IF you are on a budget.

Then again if you are after good music then there's no escaping the quality you'll get from the known name brands for music. Try lots wherever possible. People buy speakers because the cabinets look good but that has very little impact on how they perform/what they sound like.

Good luck and have fun!