unusual reciever reccommendation req'd

neomagus00

Hey all,

i'm building a new a/v system for my dad, and i need some advice on the electronics side. he's chosen a TV (Sony's 50" Grand Wega SXRD™ High-Definition 1080p rear-projection TV), and needs the rest of the setup to go with it. we're limited to bookshelf speakers because the fronts and center must go inside an entertainment center with doors... floorstanding speakers are out, as there are two children and a dog that would wreak havoc on them...

what i'm looking for is a reciever that can deal with full HD signals, preferably via an HDMI or DVI output, but at least one set of component in-/outputs... no amps at this time, so it's gotta have decent power, but the flexibility of preouts would be nice for the future... now, the difficult bit is that the entertainment center is only one corner of a newly-refinished basement, and the same reciever must be able to power in some fasion four additional speakers (beyond the five for the main theatre setup)... i was thinking maybe a 7.1 channel reciever with preouts, run two of the extras off channels 6&7, and a small 2-channel amp for the other two extras... perhaps a 7.1-channel reciever that can handle two paralleled speakers per channel... i dunno...

i'm looking for something good, but not great - great will come when the kids are older and there's more extra cash in the budget (though the reciever will likely be upgraded after the speakers and dvd player, so it's gotta be good enough to last through that, too)... i know he's got it a bit backwards, putting the video first, but it should last - and be great for - a decade or more, whereas the sound can be upgraded piecemeal...

thanks for any ideas, or directions to ideas, or links to companies that have ideas ...

Willow

I was reading recently about outlaw's they would have been my choice if I hadn't scored the HK.

halo

What's your price range? Denon 3806 just off the top of my head

aaharvel

agree with peersool.

neomagus00

i actually have that open on my screen right now ... it seems quite wonderful, i especially like the auto-eq function... and unfortunately, it is the lowest-priced denon reciever that can handle HD, at a mere $1300...

i didn't specify a price limit because i truly have absolutely no idea what the above will cost; i'd like to pay less rather than more, and i'd trade some features off to do so, but it depends on the feature, and i absolutely will not sacrifice quality to save a buck, so if that denon is truly what i require, so be it - but i'd like to look at other things, too, just for fun... i don't know home brands at all, though, so i guess if you could name a few that are at the above-average-but-not-insanely-expensive level, i could take it from there...

as far as outlaw goes, the 1070 would be my choice, because it has all the features (i think) i need, and doesn't require an amp... it does, however, have DVI rather than HDMI, which begs the question of how to transfer audio... do i do optical or digital coax?

halo

If you want to forget about the HDMI / DVI connections you could go with a Harmon Kardon AVR 7300 or AVR 635

The Outlaw 1070 would also be a great choice - I'd go for digital coax over optical - optical cables are kind of "fragile".

neomagus00

what's the PQ difference going from component to DVI/HDMI? if it's very small, i'll take that advice and look for recievers without...

on to DVD/CD players, then... same as reciever, it needs to last, but only till the Bluray/HD-DVD war is over, then i'll upgrade... enhanced sound formats would be nice, but not a requirement... the TV is LCoS, if that makes a difference (i've heard buzzwords like macroblocking, and from what i can gather the TV type makes a difference)... any other considerations i need to keep in mind?

and finally - i've saved the best for last - speakers... should i keep these questions here or create a new thread?

Dennis Gardner

Sounds like a normal receiver to me. I like the Denon for your use. I have a big HK and like what it does, but the processing of the 3806 is unrivalled for the moment.

halo

neomagus00 wrote:

on to DVD/CD players, then... same as reciever, it needs to last, but only till the Bluray/HD-DVD war is over, then i'll upgrade... enhanced sound formats would be nice, but not a requirement... the TV is LCoS, if that makes a difference (i've heard buzzwords like macroblocking, and from what i can gather the TV type makes a difference)... any other considerations i need to keep in mind?

From what I've heard the Faroudja DCDi de-interlacer does not get along with DLP TV's - macrobloking

neomagus00

so... i've been looking around, and i have a couple items picked out, and i'd like your input on it all...

i've made a small list of four recievers:
HK AVR 340, $590 at amazon vs. Denon AVR-2106, $700
HK AVR 435, $1000 vs. Denon AVR-3806, $1300

which matchup i go with depends on how much my dad is willing to spend and how good of a salesman i am, basically... it could also be that i spend more on the reciever and less on the speakers (i.e. a choice from the first row results in RTi speakers, a choice from row two leads to Monitor speakers)... but the speakers will likely be upgraded within the next five years, whilst i'd rather not upgrade the reciever unless i absolutely must...

for the DVD player, it's HK DVD31, $350 vs. Denon 1920
the dvd player is not meant to be good, but rather to be a holdover till BluRay vs. HD-DVD is decided...

ideas? suggestions? abuse?

sickicw

I liked that tv until i discovered that you cant input 1080p via hdmi. In other words, when the new hd-dvd and blu-ray players come out, that tv will not be able to run them at 1080p. suggest you return the tv and go with the hp one that does support 1080p via hdmi. that or wait about 6 months for other tv makers to add support for it. I think the hdmi version the supports 1080p is hdmi 1.3.

halo

Wait for the Denon 2807 (review/info) Should be out in March.

neomagus00

sickicw - thankfully, we haven't yet purchased any components, because i wanted to make sure all the interconnections would work... looks like my caution was well worth it! btw, can component video cables carry 1080p?

okay, and i spoke to my dad, and he gave me pretty much the worst news i've ever heard - he insists that he doesn't want to spend any more than $800, worst-case scenario, on audio... on ALL the audio... and won't listen when i tell him that you don't need to be an audiophile to appreciate the benefits of real speakers... case-in-point, he's looking at this Sony HTIB, and i was looking at an Monitor bookshelf system at a minimum, plus a decent DVD player (though i think i over-spec'd this a bit for the application) and a reciever that will power him through years and years of upgrades...

so, what I think will happen is he'll go buy some TV for more than 4 grand, and skimp on this HTIB, go home, put it all together, put in LotR's Helmsdeep battle scene, turn it on - and be horribly dissappointed when the war drums sound like tin cans... then, and only then, will he be amenable to higher-end stuff (i mean, it's not like Monitor bookshelves are anything massively amazing, but the application does limit me to bookshelves and not towers)... so, what i'm trying to say is i'm a little pissed, but that i may be back in a month to gripe and get more reccommendations...

that is, unless anyone can tell me how to convince him otherwise?... perhaps a demonstration? go to circuit city, watch a big TV with **** speakers, then go to a real audio store and watch a small TV with decent speakers, and let him see/hear the difference for himself...

halo

Ask him to wait for Fry's Electronics link to run a sale on the Polk Audio R15's ($49 a pair sale price) and the matching center channel CSi25 ($69 sale price). That puts you / him at just over $216 (add shipping, if you don't have a local Fry's, and tax too). Maybe that'll leave $450 for a receiver - not much but go for a lower level H/K 240. This only leaves about $70 from the original $800 so a sub is unfortunately left out (he could buy a Dayton sub for $124 - $148 though).

If he'd be willing to spend $429 for an SVS PB-10 he'd be set for a good long time. I don't see a weak link in this set up.

Good luck with your dad. Just show him there are other choices out there.

kingsqueak

neomagus00 wrote:

so... i've been looking around, and i have a couple items picked out, and i'd like your input on it all...

i've made a small list
HK AVR 435, $1000 vs. Denon AVR-3806, $1300

Check ebay for harmanaudio.com refurbs on the 435, I got mine around $450 and they go cheaper if you are patient. Also www.jr.com I think it is has them new for $549 with free shipping from time to time. $1k for the 435 is WAY out of line if this is US dollars, you can get the 635 for quite a bit less than that.

Pablo

You can pick up the Denon refurbed for a couple bucks less (check the denon site for a link to authorized resealers of thier refurbs). My 3803 handles the HD great (through component. I really notice a difference between through the reciever or straight to the TV). If you want the power (and don't mind spending the bucks), the 5 series denon handles 2 zones of speakers out the whazoo.