Need help picking a receiver for my Polk setup

syedtaj

First off -- great community - learnt a lot of things here...

This would be my first home theater system I have built. Complete noob in the area. I have the Samsung 51D490 3D Plasma TV - bought its just last week. On researching home theater systems decided I do not want wires running all over the place - and purchased the following configuration for now, more than enough for my use.

2 Polk Audio Monitor II 60
Polk Audio PSW10 Subwoofer

Only on arrival of these things, I realized I need a receiver to connect them, and it is not possible to connect them directly to the TV. What a n00b. Sigh!! Receivers were not in my budget, and thus trying to keep the cost down - I have found a very good used Onkyo-TX-SR308 for just 112 in Amazon. It has everything I need. I am just not sure of the output -

65 Watts per Channel at 8 Ohms. Would that be enough to power my speaker setup.

I also plan to add the Center channel next month.

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR308-5-1-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B003BEDQQM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1310161294&sr=1-1

Then there is the - http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-520-K-Home-Theater-Receiver/dp/B0039XQKXQ/ref=pd_cp_e_2

Does the Onkyo suffice though the Pioneer promises 110 watt / channel?

Finally I am hoping the sound quality of this setup would be better than Sony CT150 Soundbar or any soundbar for that matter. Do you agree? Otherwise I would rather return these units and just get a soundbar.

Any help to get me started would be hugely appreciated. Any other budget receivers that are good in the market?

Almadacr

Check out this thread on Electronics

mdaudioguy

^^^ Agreed! - You can usually find a pretty good deal on an AVR with good power AND pre-outs here: http://stores.ebay.com/Harman-Audio
Be patient - they add new stuff all the time.

Welcome to Club Polk!

syedtaj

nice! learning new things everyday! did my research on what the pre-outs are. If I understand correctly they are used to add an external amplifier to reduce the load on the receiver? In any case I dont think I would require such a powerful system. I am looking for a budget entry level receiver.

The 308's are no longer available, and after researching a little bit have moved up the ladder by one model. Anything more is stretching the budget. 250, is may range, cannot go beyond that.

I am struggling to decide between Onkyo 508 and Denon 1611. Not too much particular about 509 - USB and networking can be added by my blu ray player.

I like the 508 for the price. And they run at 80 watts per channel [8 ohms]. Denon 1611 outputs 75 watts. I am not sure if that is any significant difference. Denon however provides MultiEQ whereas 508 offers only 2EQ.

After reading a lot I am hearing that MultiEQ offers a much better experience than 2EQ cause of better filters and addition of Sub EQ.

So is it a fair assessment to opt for a Denon 1611 vs Onkyo 508? How is the sound quality in comparison to both these models? I have also heard handshaking issues on 508. The only reason I am confused is Denon is a little more pricey. And if MultiEQ is not such a big deal, I would rather go with 508, than spend the additional 50$.

John K.

Syed, it's clear that your receiver budget is under $200, and a very good bargain at the moment in that range is the factory refurbished Denon 790 from eCost here for about $179. My experience and that of others has been that factory refurbished units should be at least as reliable as brand-new ones, and are available at a considerable saving.

To address two issues that you mention, yes, MultEQ is worth paying for since it equalizes the sub and those very low frequencies are typically the ones where a room needs correction the most. As to "sound quality" this shouldn't be an issue with any competently-designed modern receivers in good operating condition, certainly including both Denon and Onkyo. They amplify transparently up to(and usually a bit beyond)their designed power limits and add no audible coloration to the sound.

syedtaj

Thanks John - that looks like a great deal! But does it support 3D. Else I would have to look for Denon 1611 currently sold in Amazon.

Since MultiEQ is supposed to be awesome, I taking Onkyo 508 / 509 off the list.

How is Pioneer's advanced MCACC compared to MultiEQ. I am looking at used Pioneer 1020.

drummer86

Keiko is right. Don't assume that you don't need power. My monitor 60's were begging for more power when I got them and I had a receiver similar to what you're looking into. You goofed a little buying the speakers without realizing what you needed. Welcome to the club! :biggrin:

As mentioned above, save your pennies and wait for a receiver with enough juice to power your speakers. Otherwise they will sound... well... underpowered. Imagine you just bought killer looking sports car but it has the engine from my '97 Corolla under the hood. Even if you don't ever plan on driving it fast, you're probably still going to hate it.

Ok, maybe that was a little exaggerated. We just don't want to see you spend hard-earned money on something and regret it in the near future. Save for a while and get a receiver you'll be happy with for a long time.

byfthalone

first buy was a Denon AVR-791...I love the unit but so wished I had the pre-outs so I could expand in the hopefully not to distant future

BWilberg266

If you're thinking Denon, Mac Mall has the refurbished 1911 on sale for $288 which is a steal! I ran Monitor 70's, a CS20, and two TSI-200 for surrounds off it and it performed wonderfully.

http://www.macmall.com/p/Denon-Consumer-Electronics/product~dpno~8811571~pdp.gidibbj