SAMSUNG HW-C500 vs harman/kardon AVR 1600 vs ?

LesH

I have some Monitor 70s and a CS-20 that I use for a 3.0 setup at the moment. I am looking to get my first HDTV and move this setup to the living room and slowly add a PSW505 and maybe some monitor 40s or 50s in the near future.

Since this will be my first HDTV, I will probably stick to having getting a simple BlueRay or DVD player and also using my HTPC. (Currently, the HTPC does not even have HDMI outs. Old System.)

I am more of a music listener but have gotten more into movies and tv in the past few years. So I am looking for an entry level AVR that will really power these speakers best for music and also perform adequately between my HTPC and maybe a secondary player.

If it is any worth, I have been really looking at the LG 47LE5400 or similar TV.

If I can find a Denon, Onkyo or Yamaha or other model harman/kardon that will sound much better than these two, let me know. I want to be sending the speakers a good strong signal, but it does not have to be the best AVR out there since I will not be running 7.2, great signals from the HTPC, etc.

Any thoughts?

(Oh, I look new to the forms but I just could not get back into my old account. )

nguyendot

How much are you wanting to spend? I'd stay clear of the Samsung receivers. Unless those are digital amps (they are not), the 12lb weight of their receivers scare me.

LesH

It's the current NewEgg price point of $229 that simply makes the samsung amp look appealing right now. It's not like I am trying to find the best and cheapest entry level AVR at the moment, I simply see it as something that I want decent power and sound out of now and I would upgrade sooner rather than later.

I'm not trying to spend $1,000-$1,500 on an amp right now, but the closer and closer I get to the $600-$800 ranges, I think to myself, "why wait, get something better now."

nguyendot

Order the Onkyo NR807 then for $429 from accessories4less.

If u want to get cheap, they have a RC230 for like $129...
hdmi with lossless

tonyb

Probably the 2 features you should be looking at right now are HDMI inputs and 5.1 pre-outs. The pre outs will let you add an amp later down the road if you need more power. Without it,your stuck to what the AVR has to offer. The monitor series of speakers is very easy to drive,any halfway decent receiver will drive them but keep in mind the more channels you run off a budget receiver,the less power it puts out. Say in 2 channel, you might get 100 watts per channel,but in surround mode say 5.1, you may only get 70 watts per channel, and if you ever want to move up the speaker chain, you'll most likely need more power, thus the importance of the 5.1 pre-outs. Look at the Pioneer 1120 as a good start. Also if coin is tight,buy used,you'll get a better bang for your buck.

LesH

Yea, I don't think I can find a decent AVR on the super cheap that has pre-amp outs. And I realize that HDMI is the new thing when hooking to the new TVs, but I am more interested in powering the speakers.

There is a high chance that I am going to hook up an HTPC directly to the TV and sound directly to the AVR for a while.

Even if I was going to watch NetFlix or something directly on the TV, wouldn't the sound be going from the TV to the AVR via an optical connection?

I realize that in the future I want an AVR with preamp outs and HDMI connections to run everything through the AVR and really worry about what kind of pass-through and signal up-conversion the AVR will handle for me.

I don't think I am to that point yet. Please tell me if I am wrong and any new HDTV is going to look horrible unless I send signals from a PC (or anything else I may have running) to the TV.

nguyendot

A lot of sources will give good video. Bluray, digital cable hd, satellite hd, and OTA hd are all good sources...

HTPC is actually the most likely to give you lackluster performance if not configured correctly.

tonyb

nguyendot wrote: »

A lot of sources will give good video. Bluray, digital cable hd, satellite hd, and OTA hd are all good sources...

HTPC is actually the most likely to give you lackluster performance if not configured correctly.

Agreed. Most equipment these days require an HDMI connection to utilize it to it's potential. Sure, you can use an optical cable from TV to AVR, but that will only give you standard Dolby digital. If you want the new HD surround formats, like those available on blu-ray, Hdmi is the way to go because Optical won't carry it.
Our idea of decent power differs. In most minds around here, decent power and a 200 buck avr don't belong in the same sentence. What you will find and eventually get aggravated with, is buying a receiver with out dated connections and then getting pissed when you can't get your newer stuff to work with it. Save your coin and wait, stuff comes up used all the time. I picked up a pioneer elite receiver here myself for 3 bills. Something will pop for ya,just keep checking the local craigslist,or here in our FS section. Audiogon is also a good site to search.