Recommend a home theater receiver?

[timsclips]

I am getting ready to upgrade to a new tv and was going to go whole hog and install home theater receiver and speakers. I spent my time in stereo stores back in the 70's and early 80's and much has changed. The brands are still familiar but with manufacture's names being bought out and production of just about everything moved to China I am not sure the respect that I once gave say Yamaha is still deserved.
Anyone want to make a suggestion?

 

[i8ntskeered]

I am getting ready to upgrade to a new tv and was going to go whole hog and install home theater receiver and speakers. I spent my time in stereo stores back in the 70's and early 80's and much has changed. The brands are still familiar but with manufacture's names being bought out and production of just about everything moved to China I am not sure the respect that I once gave say Yamaha is still deserved.
Anyone want to make a suggestion?

It's too bad they don't make anything that sounds as good and warm as the old Macintosh amps.

 

[DC_MPA]

Yamaha's Aventage series are fantastic, very user friendly and quality driven products.

 

[Slim1023]

Onkyo.

 

[Havok305]

Wow, this is a tough one. You will get tons of responses. I would make a list of your requirements and go from there.

What speakers? Will you require a pre/pro?
How many video inputs?
How many video outputs?
Multi Room?
Wifi or network?
Airplay?
Bluetooth?
Type of room calibration?

I currently have a Pioneer Elite, KEF speakers and an Outlaw sub. I like Onkyo and Denon as well.

You should probably check out avsforum.com. Wealth of knowledge over there.

 

[OldAF]

You should probably check out avsforum.com. Wealth of knowledge over there.

Good advice.

I currently have an older Marantz, JBL speakers and a HSU sub.
A lot depends on your needs and what you are willing to spend. My advice? Don't neglect or cheap out on the sub. There is no substitute for the sound level and floor shaking when an aircraft flies over or a T-rex roars... trust me.

 

[shavefreak]

I think the Denon line is a great value for an average user. The number of devices in or total HDMI inputs is key, Cable, DVD, still use a VCR? internet or ipod input? Video game?.

Add what you need and might need in the future

You of course want HDMI pass through and also will get 3d pass through with a new unit. Pass through means for example the Receiver will have one video output to your television capable of 1080p or less. 1080p is blue ray, the highest quality. Your video game, DVD, or Cable box will have HDMI outputs going into the HDMI inputs of the receiver and then the one output to the TV.

My theater is run with a mid range Denon and two 12" powered subs. Going blu ray with a long distance hdmi cable can be a real issue. The distance and more important the bends and degree of bends in an hdmi cable can cause issues when sending 1080p, which is only in issue with blu-ray. If your receiver is under the tv it is no problem, long runs up and down walls can be and an expensive special hdmi cable is needed.

I am getting ready to upgrade to a new tv and was going to go whole hog and install home theater receiver and speakers. I spent my time in stereo stores back in the 70's and early 80's and much has changed. The brands are still familiar but with manufacture's names being bought out and production of just about everything moved to China I am not sure the respect that I once gave say Yamaha is still deserved.
Anyone want to make a suggestion?

 

[Jawaburger]

I am getting ready to upgrade to a new tv and was going to go whole hog and install home theater receiver and speakers. I spent my time in stereo stores back in the 70's and early 80's and much has changed. The brands are still familiar but with manufacture's names being bought out and production of just about everything moved to China I am not sure the respect that I once gave say Yamaha is still deserved.
Anyone want to make a suggestion?

As another poster already pointed out, we would really need to know what your budget is before we can recommend a home theater receiver. I also live in east central Illinois, Champaign to be exact. If you live near there let me know. I can point out some stores that you may not be aware of. Champaign has several home audio stores besides Best Buy.

When you budget for you home theater you will need to make allowances for your receiver, speakers and the often forgotten cables, including speaker cable, HDMI cables and interconnects. Will you need a blu-ray player? Will you be re-using your old speakers for surrounds? Will you want 5-channel surround or 7-channel?

I am a huge home theater buff and I have a lot of experience with different manufacturers. I have worked in sales and installation of home theaters as well. Knowledge of your budget will make choosing certain items over others a lot easier. Some people only want to spend $500-$1,000, while others will have $10,000-$20,000 or considerably more for their budget.

If you let me know some specifics about what you need/want or what you think you need/want, I will be happy to recommend some specific products and why I think they will work for you.

 

[blary54]

Need a price range so I can recommend specific models but: Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer and Yamaha all make good receivers.

 

[timsclips]

I am keeping it modest, thinking of spending no more than $1200 beyond the television for receiver and speakers. I already have a dvd player and I would like to be able to be able to channel my XP media center thru the receiver by wireless. I am not sure if this is built into some models or if I am going to have to get creative.

 

[Havok305]

How many speakers? You planning on a sub? How big is your room (dimensions)?

 

[shavefreak]

A 5.1 or 7.1 is your next call depending on room shape and layout. Looking like 5.1 with your budget

5 .1 ='s 5 speakers and the 1 is the sub. left,right. center, surround R, surround L and sub I like the Denon 875W for a 5.1

7.1 adds two rear speakers on the back wall I like the Denon 1295 for a 7.1

There is on average a $200-$300 difference for 5.1 to 7.1. in a receiver and speakers are really personal but I would look hard at a good center speaker and a nice sub cut your corners on the rears and put the rest on your right and left. Take a look at Fluance speakers on line, they are a really good value.

Your windows computer needs to have an HDMI video card output to go to the receiver.

 

[ReAndyMator]

Going blu ray with a long distance hdmi cable can be a real issue. The distance and more important the bends and degree of bends in an hdmi cable can cause issues when sending 1080p, which is only in issue with blu-ray.

Presumably the ones get stuck on the tight bends, whereas the zeros just slide on through?

 

[Jawaburger]

I am keeping it modest, thinking of spending no more than $1200 beyond the television for receiver and speakers. I already have a dvd player and I would like to be able to be able to channel my XP media center thru the receiver by wireless. I am not sure if this is built into some models or if I am going to have to get creative.

Shavefreak has already pointed out a couple of good receivers and also pointed out that your budget may not allow for the full 5-7 speakers plus subwoofer, so you may need to start with just your front left and right speakers along with a good receiver.

I will recommend the Marantz NR1403 reciever, which is a 5 channel surround receiver with 6 HDMI inputs and discreet amplification on all 5 channels. The cost is ~$400.00. If you want the ability to connect to your wireless router you will probably need to spend a little more on the receiver (perhaps another $200-$300). I also second the Onkyo recommendations that a couple of other posters have mentioned, although I don't have a specific model number in mind.

Speakers are a little harder to recommend as they all sound a little different, or a lot, and the enjoyment of sound is very subjective. You will always find a few people that love one speaker and at least that many people that hate the way it sounds. That being said, Cambridge Audio makes a series of speakers called Minx that are a satellite/subwoofer system that are similar to your home-theater-in-a-box look, but actually have a good sound. You should be able to get the front left, right, center and a small sub for $800. Also, due to there diminutive size, they are often pleasing to your significant other, who may hate large speakers. Focal has some decent budget friendly speakers that are in that price range as well, but they do cost more than the Minx, so you may have to forgo the sub till later if you go with a more capable speaker. I

Also, don't forget to budget for your speaker cable and HDMI cables, etc. Speaker cable can be had pretty inexpensively. You will be fine with some 12 gauge speaker wire from Home Depot or Lowes where they sell it by the foot. You can also find spools of 50' or 100' pretty cheaply. HDMI cables, unless you have a long run or are going through walls, can also be had pretty cheap. Amazon sells their own brand. Just don't get Monster brand as they are rediculously over priced. If you feel like spending a lot of money on HDMI, try Audio Quest. You should be able to get all the cabling you need for under $50 quite easily. There are certainly speaker cables and HDMI and other interconnects that cost much more, but with your "beginners" system they would be a waste of money.

Please feel free to ask any questions or concerns about anything that I have posted.

 

[shavefreak]

It is about gauge and quality of the cable. When doing projectors with long distances and down the wall bends passed from the source to the receiver to the projector/tv a standard 50-100 foot hdmi and even powered hdmi cables will have dropouts when playing a blu-ray. Blue Jeans Cable company in the US makes HDMI cables to solve these problems. The cable is almost the size of a gas station pump hose, huge.

Presumably the ones get stuck on the tight bends, whereas the zeros just slide on through?[/COLOR]

 

[timsclips]

My living room is quite small, about the size of regular bedroom. house is not that big. I went with a Vizio 39" LED television that I bought at the local Walmart. (I just did not like the thought of driving 50 miles to Champaign and having to go back if I needed to return it. Same fear of having to try to deal with returns if bought online.) I picked up a blueray player with built in wifi so it can replace both my old dvd and the roku I was streaming netflix thru. I ordered a Denon AVR-1513 online, it was a steal at $140 shipped for a refurbished item with a factory year warranty. A pair of Polk Audio 35B monitor speakers are on the way. If needed I can always add a subwoofer or center speaker if the sound is lacking. I do wish Advent was still around, made great reasonably priced speakers in the 70's and 80's.

 

[VULPES]

Hi,

I spent twenty five years in the AV business and the only advice I would give you is this. Go and find your nearest specialist retailer, take a plan of your room with photographs as well. Tell them your budget, and what your expectations are. If they are good, they will tell you if your budget is realistic or not and come up with a system to suit your room. The only correct solution is the one that is right for you. Enjoy the process.

 

[shavefreak]

Well a 39 makes it a media room until you can go bigger but a sub is an absolute must, one of the most important compenents, you will never get the impact of a movie without it. A 10" might be all you need or a killer deal on a 12 but you need a sub for sure.

My living room is quite small, about the size of regular bedroom. house is not that big. I went with a Vizio 39" LED television that I bought at the local Walmart. (I just did not like the thought of driving 50 miles to Champaign and having to go back if I needed to return it. Same fear of having to try to deal with returns if bought online.) I picked up a blueray player with built in wifi so it can replace both my old dvd and the roku I was streaming netflix thru. I ordered a Denon AVR-1513 online, it was a steal at $140 shipped for a refurbished item with a factory year warranty. A pair of Polk Audio 35B monitor speakers are on the way. If needed I can always add a subwoofer or center speaker if the sound is lacking. I do wish Advent was still around, made great reasonably priced speakers in the 70's and 80's.

 

[cb91710]

I'm currently on my 3rd rx in 13 years. First was an RCA that was a part of a complete 5.1 package when I bought my first DVD player.

It died after about 6 years... seemed like it was tripping the thermal limiter but it wasn't running hot. It would run for a while and shut down, wouldn't come back up for an hour or so.
I replaced it with a 5.1 Onkyo. I really liked it, but it did not do upscaling, so I knew I would need to either upgrade or redesign my routing when I upgraded the TV in the future.

After maybe another 6 years, it decided that it was going to get finicky on accepting commands from the remote. Some days it would work, some days it wouldn't. My buddy bought a higher end model Onkyo same time I bought mine (he wanted dual-zone support for his patio speakers), and a little before mine started giving problems his also died. He lost audio output, said that it was a "known problem" on the forums as was my remote issue.

I replaced the Onkyo with a new Sony STR-DH720. It's a 7.1, and so far I am very happy with it.
I'm still running the old (really old) Sony 4:3 rear-screen projection (only does 1080i, had 3 component inputs but only input 5 supports better than 480), so I'm running the DTV and BluRay paralleling both the component and HDMI into the receiver, and component to the TV.
The HDMI is only functioning as audio right now, since the receiver only has one optical audio input.

I'm probably going to upgrade the TV to a 55" panel next spring. Also on the books is to upgrade the old RCA speakers. I've got a couple of nice compact Polks running as front, and the old RCAs are handling front surround and rear. I had to go to a powered sub when I removed the original RCA receiver (it had a speaker-level sub out).


Anyways, the Sony 720 was only $329 at Crutchfield. It's discontinued, but the DN840, DN1040, and DA1800ES range from $450 to $700 and have Apple Airplay built in.
The 1040 and 1800 also upscale to HDMI from Component and Composite (important to me because I have a 1st gen Wii).
All three are 7.2 systems (2 sub channels).

 

[Jawaburger]

. . . a sub is an absolute must, one of the most important components, you will never get the impact of a movie without it. A 10" might be all you need or a killer deal on a 12 but you need a sub for sure.

I agree that a good sub will make a world of difference in movie viewing. One of my favorite subs for a small room is the REL T5. It is a small sub, but it does deliver that bass. They retail for $699, which is a bargain in my book.