Need Help Picking Receiver for TSI330

reigny

I have auditioned speakers in Best Buy and think i like the TSI330. I didn't hear much difference between them and the TSI400, & liked them better than the Klipsch VF-35 which gave me a headache for the rest of the day. Price, not the issue, but i just like the sound out of the cheapest speakers!

I've joined forums and have researched for 2 weeks, and am extremely confused on what receiver to purchase.

All I want is a more exciting tv/movie viewing experience and great sound quality when listening to music. With that being said:

I think i've decided on the Polk tsi300 tower speakers, and Polk CS10 center speaker (will get surround at some point), a 47" HDTV hooked to Directv. I'd like to hook up an ipod and dvd player. The room is approx 13'x15'. I need to spend under $500 and simplicity is very important.

I auditioned all speakers at Best Buy with a $995 receiver and they were incredible. Then he switched to a $325 receiver.....not good at all. I didn't realize the receiver made that much difference, unless it was hooked up wrong.

He suggested the Harman Kardon AVR254 (did not get to hear it). However after reading reviews i'm finding out it's quite buggy and you have to update it right out of the box - sort of a turn off.

This is what was recommended to me. I may be leaning towards the Yamaha, however it only has 2 HDMI inputs....but do i need more? I don't need to be blasted out of the house, but i do want great quality.

Please help.

Pioneer Elite 01
Marantz SR5002
Onkyo TX-SR706
Yamaha RX-V663

wutadumsn23

Since you are already sold on the 300's, which btw are very similar to the old Monitor 50's and that being said they are not very power hungry and fairly easy to power. AVR's do make a pretty sizeable difference in overall sound quality, mostly because of their power output per channel. The more power you have going to a speaker and the closer you get it to it's "happy point" the better they will sound. The 300's operating range is 20-150W per channel at 8 ohms, which pretty much any AVR would be able to power them. Powering the speakers isn't an issue since they will technically operate at 20W, but of course will sound like garbage compared to an AVR that is pushing 100-150W at them. That being said I personally have Monitor 70's which are pretty much the same speaker as the TSi 500's and I power them with an Onkyo TX SR806, which according to the manufacturer's specs puts out 130W per channel (but realistically speaking is more like 100W or so at best with a 5.1 setup) Most AVR's power output is slightly inflated but for the most part they are pretty close in most cases. Are you planning on running a 5.1 or 7.1 system? I saw you are also planning on purchasing the CS10 as your center, are you also planning on buying a sub? With the 300's you won't get much of bass output from them so if you are going to use it for movies and such I would recommend getting a sub atleast for a 3.1 and add surrounds as your budget allows. Ideal surrounds for your setup would be either the TSi 100's or the TSi 200's. Personally I would recommend the 200's for your surrounds. Also you may consider the CS20 as your center since 70% of the overall sound, esp. dialog for movies comes out of the center channel. The CS20 many be overkill for the TSi300's but I don't have first hand experience with them, so this is just a thought. With adding an HDTV I would recommend an AVR that has atleast 3-4 HDMI inputs, you may not need them now, but I am always adding stuff to my system and you would be surprised how quickly they get used up. If you plan on adding a Blu-Ray player to the mix that will def. have to be hooked up via HDMI, if you get HD service from Direct TV you have the option of hooking that up to your AVR as well, as is the case with your DVD player if you get an upconverting one that will also need to be hooked up via HDMI to get the best results. I would personally recommend the Onkyo TX SR706 mostly because I am a big Onkyo fan, but all of the AVR's you listed would have no problem powering your 300's, it also has pre-outs for adding an external amp later if you upgrade your speakers and need more power to them or if you just want to get more power to the 300's. The external amp and pre-outs isn't a necessity, just looking down the road a bit on that one, I know many people have bought an AVR without pre-outs and have regretted it later, and you can purchase an Ipod dock for around $100 that will hook up to your Onkyo and allow you to use it on screen with your tv. If not you can just hook up an Ipod dock you have now to the 706 via audio cables but you won't have the onscreen control that you would with the other dock. All of this depends on your budget and what type of system you are looking to build. Give us some more info on what you are looking for in your system and hopefully we can give you some good options. Oh and welcome to Club Polk.

cnh

Got to go with the above.

A Harman Kardon or an Onkyo would be a good match for TSI-300s. And W23 is right...more power sounds better with the Onkyo as well. I have a set of 300s that I've run on two Onkyos, the 605 and an 805 and the 805 pushes them better though the 605 is not bad. You have more bass response, fuller more powerful sound with the 805.

But it's possible you liked the Yamaha 863 which is probably the amp you listened to, no? That tends to be a bit bright for TSIs (at least to me).

You might also want to consider the Pioneer Elites 05/07...a bit pricier but worth it...some are discounted.

Also make sure your amp has pre-outs so you can upgrade to a power amp because I've also run the TSIs on a 200 X 2 channel power amp and you'd be surprised what they sound like on that. A fairly cheap speaker reaches its PEAK performance level. Lots of people don't hear a difference in 300 and 400 series mostly because demo rooms/spaces suck. They suck so much that people don't hear a difference between 300s and 500s...and there definitely is one there!

cnh

dorokusai

The TSi series is easy to drive, no worries. I'd choose what fits your bill.

motomech

You already have the best value/sound/appearence speakers, and the mid-range Onkyo's are the equivlent in receivers.
Just pick what level hook-ups/features you need because they all will drive the Tsi series with authority.
2X the "bang for the buck".

DanAckerman

I have the TSI400's and a CS10 connected to a Denon 688 and I'm quite happy with the sound. NewEgg has been running some great deals on the weekends on the TSi line. I had been looking at buying the TSi 300's, but then NewEgg had the 400's for the same price. I can hear a good solid difference between the speakers, so I was very happy to do the upgrade at no extra cost. I had also been looking at the Onkyo 606, however they are running almost $100 more than they were 4 months ago and there is a new version due to be released in the next couple of months. So if you are looking at the Onkyo, do a bit of research and bide your time and you can probably get a deal on them during closeout.

cnh

Welcome to CP guys.

DanA is right; a number of online stores are taking pre-orders on the Onkyo 607 already...so those 606s should be tanking a bit soon.

cnh