Best 5.1 channel reciever for $1000

Orderless

New or used. For me I have no use of the 7.1 receivers are moving torwards.

If any of you had 1000 to spend on a receiver, new or used, 5.1 channel what would you get?

auto_pilot

www.outlawaudio.com

They have some smoking deals going on right now...

Ricardo

Will you use it as pre/pro with an amp or will you drive speakers with the receiver? What speakers? Do you want HDMI switching?

Too many options out there.

Orderless

It should be used to power the speakers.

Rico its not about what I want, its what you would want that I am interested in. What would you buy to power a 5.1 setup for 1k.

I know many of you know much better than I. I am just starting a system that I expect to keep until.......well I am not sure. The speakers I personally will power with this are rti10s, csi5, fxi3s.

Lowell_M

This combo would be sweet for $1k

H/K AVR-245
http://cgi.ebay.com/Harman-Kardon-AVR-245-5-1-7-1-Home-Theater-receiver_W0QQitemZ150176127231QQihZ005QQcategoryZ14981QQcmdZViewItem

ADCOM 5 channel amp
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56789

Ricardo

Well, what I want might be totally different than what you want or need or whatever you want to call it. When I buy my next receiver it will need to have HDMI switching for my DVD and Xbox 360, and maybe HD TV. Maybe you don't have a need for HDMI because you just watch TV and your TV has one HDMI input that's enough for you.

On the power side, you need some beefy receiver to feed those RTi10's over 100 WPC from one of the "real" specs brands (Denon, HK, Outlaw, NAD, etc).

If I had around $1,000 and was in a hurry to buy something, I would probably get this one:

http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3526.asp

Orderless

Pefect, now I have questions.

First for Rico, the HDMI? My TV is hd and has two or three hmdi inputs. I dont understand this feature ina receiver. I have seen it in magazines and read about it but I still just dont understand what its purpose is. If you could explain in lamens terms that would be wonderful.

a-matt - how come a 7.1 channel receiver with power hooked up with a 5 channel amp? (I know its probably a stupid question, ok it is but I dont know much about seperates).

Thanks in advance for you two helping smack the ignorance out of me.

Lowell_M

Orderless wrote: »

Pefect, now I have questions.

First for Rico, the HDMI? My TV is hd and has two or three hmdi inputs. I dont understand this feature ina receiver. I have seen it in magazines and read about it but I still just dont understand what its purpose is. If you could explain in lamens terms that would be wonderful.

a-matt - how come a 7.1 channel receiver with power hooked up with a 5 channel amp? (I know its probably a stupid question, ok it is but I dont know much about seperates).

Thanks in advance for you two helping smack the ignorance out of me.

Don't worry about asking questions, that's what this place is all about...

I can't answer for the HDMI and am not sure if the H/K that I gave you the link for does HDMI switching. I have an older TV without HDMI so I didn't worry about it.

Regarding the 5ch vs 7ch... You'll have a hard time finding a good receiver that doesn't do up to 7 ch. It just depends on how you set it up. My recommendation is based on my own experience only because it has treated me very well. I originally bought an AVR-635 refurbished which has a little more power than the 245. I was planning on running my system simply off the receiver and I have it set up for 5 channel surround. Then, I was introduced to the world of separate amplification and bought a 2 channel ADCOM amp. It blew my mind. So, my AVR powers the center and rear channels and then I use the pre-out connections on the back of the AVR to go to the amp, which powers the L anr R speakers.

In the case of what I recommended to you, the AVR won't be powering anything. You would connect the Pre-Out connections from the AVR to the inputs on the amplifier. That ADCOM is a huge bargain at the $600 that Ben has it listed at. Very solid power that would make your RTi10's sing.

In my opinion at these prices... H/K processing + Adcom power = awesome sounding HT

Ricardo

Orderless wrote: »

First for Rico (It's Ricardo, or Ric, or Rick, but not Rico ), the HDMI? My TV is hd and has two or three hmdi inputs. I dont understand this feature ina receiver. I have seen it in magazines and read about it but I still just dont understand what its purpose is. If you could explain in lamens terms that would be wonderful.

Thanks in advance for you two helping smack the ignorance out of me.

Having the HDMI switching on the receiver gives you the benefit of getting Audio through this conenction, and letting the receiver "switch" the right output to the TV based on what you select (DVD, Game Console, HD TV, etc). You could also connect your HDMI components directly to the TV, but then you would still need to hook up the audio into the receiver, and also you would need to change the TV input each time you switch from TV to DVD to Game or whatever.

BAD ASP

Before going to separates I used the Denon 5700 for several years. I bought it after a lot of research and auditions. It was the best available (IMO) at the time for the money. With 140 watts per channel it has enough grunt to power big hungry speakers. I ran it with polk 1.2 tls and thoroughly enjoyed the sound. From everything I have read and heard this receiver still receives high marks. I watch the auctions and I don't see them too often but it can be found for 500 -- 1000 bucks.
It also has pre / pro so it can be used as a processor later if you choose.

Willow

Ricardo wrote: »

Having the HDMI switching on the receiver gives you the benefit of getting Audio through this conenction, and letting the receiver "switch" the right output to the TV based on what you select (DVD, Game Console, HD TV, etc). You could also connect your HDMI components directly to the TV, but then you would still need to hook up the audio into the receiver, and also you would need to change the TV input each time you switch from TV to DVD to Game or whatever.

Or you can buy a decent uni remote which will do the switching for you!

Ricardo

True

Willow

But what ever you do buy a good AVR with Preouts. say a Denon in the FM for a great price and then buy a good 3champ or 3 monos.

cfrizz

Welcome Orderless.

The reason everyone prefers separate amplification is because it provides true power to your speakers. Almost no receiver can do that. Basically take those 110wpc & split it 7 ways. That comes out to 15 or so wpc, NOT 110.

If you get a 100wpc amplifier, you are truly getting 100wpc. The more power you can purchase the better. No one yet on here who has gotten a 200wpc amplifier has said that is hasn't made a huge difference.

Orderless wrote: »

a-matt - how come a 7.1 channel receiver with power hooked up with a 5 channel amp? (I know its probably a stupid question, ok it is but I dont know much about seperates).

Thanks in advance for you two helping smack the ignorance out of me.

Orderless

I appreciate all the input guys.

I think it makes sense for me to make sure the receiver I purchase has the pre-amp function should I come across a sweet deal or happen to come across some extra cash to make a permanent improvement without having to redo the whole thing.

I still dont understand the switching feature of the HDMI. I am very confused about that. If there is a link to a article more in depth about it maybe that would help. I have googled it and I can seem to find anything that makes it clear to me. Maybe I am making more of it that it is, maybe its really simple and I am just thinking its doing something that isnt a big deal?