Receivers for the Soundbar50/42 and PSW400

AZWildcat

This is my first post on the forum. I'm kind of a novice when it comes to audio. I purchased a SoundBarSDA IHT but I didn't like the fact that at certain levels (which weren't very high) the sound bar would cut out and the sub woofer would be the only thing working. I did some searching and realized other people had the same problem and I returned it.
Anyway, I've been researching the sound bars because my house isn't pre-wired for surround sound. I've decided that I want either the sound bar 50 or 42 and a PSW400, depending on how much i want to spend. Since I had cheap desktop speakers powering my home audio before I never needed a receiver. Does anybody have any suggestions for a receiver for around $300? I know that they can get very expensive but i would like to keep the receiver price around there. For this setup should i get a receiver capable of 7.1 or 5.1?
Any advice would be appreciated.

RuSsMaN

You want the SurroundBar 50 over the 42, in my experience, it does the 'surround' better, and more believable. The DSW400 will compliment fine in a small to medium sized room. The 50 is looking for a 5.1 receiver, and the options at an entry level pricepoint are plenty.

Just a couple of places to get you started, check out Harmanaudio.com for deals on refurb HK's. Check out accessories4less.com for deals on Marantz and Onkyo. Audioadvisor.com has some Cambridge Audio reveivers on sale right now too.

Welcome to the board, and thanks for choosing Polk Audio!

Cheers,
Russ

TECHNOKID

Welcome to CP AZWildcat, I personnally own the 42 in and am very pleased with it however, the 50 in does perform better so depending on your budget both are good bars.

As far as the receiver goes, you can go either used or previous year in order to get more for your money. HK receivers seemed to be favored around here, I personnally own a Yamaha HTR-6080 and am very pleased with this receiver.

As far as the subwoofer, you might want to put this on hold for now since the SB 50 will provide you with some bass and after a good listening you can then make a sound decision on what you need (in the mean time, you can focus your money on a better receiver). If you feel you need a subwoofer and if budget allows you, you might want to consider the PSWi225 as it is wireless.

Now, you should give us a clue about your use for the system:
Music?? Games?? or Home Theater?? What's the % for each? as there are a multitude of options. Do you own (bluray or hddvd player, upscaler) or rent (cable) any HD at this point? Yet there is very few titles in 7.1 therefore I would concentrate on AVR with pre-out ratter then spending on 7.1. If you are mainly a gamer, a good option is the new Polk monitor which will provide with decent full range while the speaker is already amplified saving you money on amplification and subwoofer.

Cheers!
TK

AZWildcat

It will be for games and blu-ray. I'd say that blu-rays will take up about 65% of what I'll be using it for. I have a PS3 so its the best of both worlds. I doubt I will listen to music on it (i have headphones that do the job for that).
If the SB50 already has good enough bass reproduction I may hold off on the sub woofer. I'm assuming that the DSW400 will be a better sub woofer than what was offered on the SurroundbarSDA IHT so if i do go with the sub woofer option I'll just stick with that.
Thanks for the advice on the receivers, i will be looking at those websites.

I did some looking around what do you guys think of this receiver? http://www.usa.denon.com/productdetails/4865.asp

TECHNOKID

AZWildcat wrote: »

It will be for games and blu-ray. I'd say that blu-rays will take up about 65% of what I'll be using it for. I have a PS3 so its the best of both worlds. I doubt I will listen to music on it (i have headphones that do the job for that).
If the SB50 already has good enough bass reproduction I may hold off on the sub woofer. I'm assuming that the DSW400 will be a better sub woofer than what was offered on the SurroundbarSDA IHT so if i do go with the sub woofer option I'll just stick with that.
Thanks for the advice on the receivers, i will be looking at those websites.

Since you are mainly a gamer, if you find you are lacking a bit on the bass side, maybe add the Hitmaster instead of a subwoofer (you'd have to makr sure that you have pre-outs from a receiver). The HM could also be used for portable sound for gaming system since you can plug in straight from the PS3.

http://www.polkaudio.com/gaming/

Cheers!
TK

AZWildcat

Would either of you guys recommend this receiver. It's right around my price range and I heard Denon has a good track record for audio equipment. http://www.usa.denon.com/productdetails/4865.asp

TECHNOKID

Why don't you consider this one and save any extra money for the sub or Hitmaster (if you eventually figure that you need it): http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101683