Recommendations for a HT receiver around $1k used or new

zybar · « **on:** 9 Jul 2007, 03:53 pm »

I am finally getting around to getting my HT up and running.

In my previous house, I used a Denon 3805 to drive the four rear channels (no center) and my 2 channel amp to handle L/R duties.

Now that I have a pj that handles 1080i, I would like to get a receiver that can do HDMI switching and that can power the center and surround channels.

I will add an external amp to power the L/R speakers and maybe go with a 5 channel to tackle to L/C/R + one set of surrounds.

Any recommendations?

In the past, I have liked the Denon products, but I am certainly not married to any one brand.

Thanks,

George

Cacophonix · « **Reply #1 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 04:09 pm »

Onkyo 805 seems to be gathering a lot of attention on avs forum. It has tons of features, and is quite reasonable (<$900 at circuit city).

Daryl · « **Reply #2 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 04:54 pm »

Yeah there probably aren't any choices right now in the same league as the Onkyo 805.

The 805 has the new HDMI 1.3a spec which will pass all of the new audio and video formats and it's processor has the software to decode them.

Any other processor would not be compatible with all the new formats and need replacement in short order (that is if you insist upon a digital connection between source and processor and decoding within the processor like me).

You might consider also the more expensive 875 which has a high end video processor built in which can convert all your video sources to the native resolution of your display device.

This might be important since many displays which are capable of a great picture fall down when it comes to converting the source to it's native resolution because the processing power required for the video scaling is so great the manufacturer resorts to half-assed methods of scaling the input signal resulting in a poor picture with some sources and an excellent picture with others.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #3 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 04:56 pm »

George, I have the 805 and if you set it up manually and forget about the Audyssey thing, it sounds pretty decent. It was going to be temporary until I moved to the Cary C11, but the Cary still has bugs. So I am quite impressed using it as a processor into my Emotiva 7 channel amp and will keep it for the time being. Value Electronics has a great price. I went thru One Call as I did not want to wait for it via VE.

WGH · « **Reply #4 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 05:08 pm »

I set up two budget home theater systems for a couple of friends in the last year. One used a Rotel receiver and the other an NAD. Different types of rooms and different speakers so I really can't comment on sound quality, they both sounded just fine with movies...this ain't critical listening.

What I can comment on is how the remote works. The Rotel's remote is an absolutely horror, it makes no sense what-so-ever. The NAD's remote is easier to use, so I recommend finding a used NAD receiver. I have found their stuff lasts forever too. Rotel's get great reviews for their sound quality, but they did have a lot of quality control problems, don't know it that has been fixed.

Now I have been setting up and messing with stereo and 5 channel stuff forever (since the 1970's), and I swore both the Rotel and NAD arrived DOA, we read the manual, pushed buttons, stared it down, ranted and raved, jumped up and down, and nothing would make these units work right out of the box. Finally the audio gods smiled down at us, we pushed the magic key and everything works perfectly. Who designs these things anyway?

zybar · « **Reply #5 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 08:13 pm »

Right now, the top three contenders are:

Onkyo 805 (new)
Denon 4306 (used)
Sony DA5200ES (used)

Still researching...

George

hometheaterdoc · « **Reply #6 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 08:29 pm »

George,

As someone pointed out above, the new Onkyos are the first to market with receivers that have HDMI 1.3 specs and built in decoders that handle the new surround sound formats.

Denon has new models hitting distributors and dealers in the next couple weeks to ~month that also have the HDMI 1.3 and new surround sound format decoding. Might be worth hanging on a minute or two to future proof you against any purchases you make for blu-ray or HD-DVD.....

I like the Denons as well... I just put in a 4306 into a theater I installed on Saturday. The customer was very very happy with the results (and wanted it right NOW and didn't want to wait for the new units I just talked about)..... but that Onkyo is tempting for the price.... my Onkyo distributor can't get a hold of enough of them to fill all their back orders....

electricbear · « **Reply #7 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 08:58 pm »

Here is another couple of models you might want to research. Integra DTR5.8. HDMI1.3 and both new Dolby and DTS surround formats for $800. Pioneer Elite VSX91THX for $1200.
Rotel has a new receiver about to ship. It's the RSX1058 and will go for $1800.

John Casler · « **Reply #8 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 08:59 pm »

Hi George,

If you are not "unhappy" with the Denon, another possible option would be a good quality "switcher".

zybar · « **Reply #9 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 09:19 pm »

Quote from: John Casler on 9 Jul 2007, 08:59 pm

Hi George,

If you are not "unhappy" with the Denon, another possible option would be a good quality "switcher".

Good point John.

I should have been more clear in my original post...I need a new receiver. The Denon 3805 I was using in my previous house is seeing duty in the family room system now.

George

zybar · « **Reply #10 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 10:17 pm »

Can anybody comment on the 805's sonics if I don't immediately add a 2 or 5 channel amp?

Can it really drive 5-7 speakers?

I know the Denon 4306 can....

George

Ears · « **Reply #11 on:** 10 Jul 2007, 04:25 am »

HDMI 1.3 is not required to playback PCM uncompressed, DD-THD or DTS-MA.
The Onkyo 805 absolutely does not playback DTS-MA at this time because no player can pass it to the receiver.
When a player is either released with DTS-MA abilties...or a firmware upgrade to the PS3 is released...then any 1.1 and up HDMI receiver will do the trick.

Any HDMI receiver will pass these new codecs as uncompressed PCM as soon as the codecs are built into the players.
For instance...my Onkyo 604 plays 5.1 DD-THD as uncompressed PCM and 1080p...which is what it ends up as through the 805.
The PS3 as well as a most other BD players will playback DD-THD via hdmi to receivers that are hdmi 1.1 as well as 1080p.

HDMI 1.3 is a lie as far as HD audio and 1080p goes.

Don't fall for the marketing hype.

The 604 only does 5.1 channels of advanced audio and 1080P...so buy the 805 or whichever because of its ability to do 7.1 channels...not because of 1.3.

zybar · « **Reply #12 on:** 11 Jul 2007, 01:33 am »

Quote from: zybar on 9 Jul 2007, 10:17 pm

Can anybody comment on the 805's sonics if I don't immediately add a 2 or 5 channel amp?

Can it really drive 5-7 speakers?

I know the Denon 4306 can....

George

Any comments on amp quality from the 805 owners and recommenders?

George

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #13 on:** 11 Jul 2007, 12:47 pm »

Sorry George, never hooked up any speakers directly. I'd be more inclined to use the back 4 circuits than the front 3 though.

Ears · « **Reply #14 on:** 11 Jul 2007, 03:47 pm »

Quote from: zybar on 11 Jul 2007, 01:33 am

Quote from: zybar on 9 Jul 2007, 10:17 pm
Can anybody comment on the 805's sonics if I don't immediately add a 2 or 5 channel amp?

Can it really drive 5-7 speakers?

I know the De non 4306 can....

George

Any comments on amp quality from the 805 owners and re commenders?

George

AVS has a long thread on the 805 with owners of 5k receivers as well as fairly high end Pre/pros that have switched to the 805.
Perhaps you can find some direct comparisons in that long thread.

ctviggen · « **Reply #15 on:** 11 Jul 2007, 04:32 pm »

Can any of these relatively inexpensive receivers drive their full gamut of speakers? I started (way back) with a highly regarded at the time Onkyo receiver. I tried to drive my Linns (front and center) and Mirages (rears) with it, and the speakers sounded terrible. For movies, it was possibly passable, but for two channel music, it was crap. I then added a separate amp for the fronts, and that helped a ton. The center sounded much, much better after I off-loaded two channels. Now, I did have all 4 ohm speakers, so perhaps that was a problem. I used the system like that for a while, until I purchased a 5-channel Bryston for surround duties, when again I was shocked at the improvement. I then purchased my current Proceed AVP.

If you do buy one of these receivers and use it, let us know how well it does driving all the speakers. I'd be interested to see what they're like. I looked at the Onkyo on the net, and they don't say what kind of amps they're using. I wonder if they're using Class D, which might actually work for that amount of amplification.

JoshK · « **Reply #16 on:** 11 Jul 2007, 05:37 pm »

Just a quick note....I just picked up an Emotiva LPA-1 amp for $449 shipped, as they are having a sale with free shipping too. This is a very well regarded amp, especially for the price, but even beyond its price. Its a 7 channel amp (really a 6 channel amp in disguise, which is no big deal since the 6th and 7th are mono anyway).

I already own the LMC-1, which has received mixed reviews, mostly because of bugs. I haven't ran into any of the bugs the way I use it and the sound it exceptional for such an entry product.

zybar · « **Reply #17 on:** 11 Jul 2007, 05:51 pm »

Quote from: JoshK on 11 Jul 2007, 05:37 pm

Just a quick note....I just picked up an Emotiva LPA-1 amp for $449 shipped, as they are having a sale with free shipping too. This is a very well regarded amp, especially for the price, but even beyond its price. Its a 7 channel amp (really a 6 channel amp in disguise, which is no big deal since the 6th and 7th are mono anyway).

I already own the LMC-1, which has received mixed reviews, mostly because of bugs. I haven't ran into any of the bugs the way I use it and the sound it exceptional for such an entry product.

Josh,

That looks like a great deal.

I was also looking at their two channel amp: RPA-1.

It got a killer review over at Audioholics:

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/amplifiers/emotiva-rpa-1-amplifier/

George

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #18 on:** 11 Jul 2007, 06:06 pm »

Emotiva MPS is what I use George for the amp side of the audio after the Onkyo. The MPS has more wpc than the other Emotiva.

http://emotiva.com/products.html

JoshK · « **Reply #19 on:** 11 Jul 2007, 07:59 pm »

Want to blur the waters some more? Check out http://www.d-sonic.net/. This will blow your budget but some of their HT amps are super powerful and not uber expensive. Based on ICEpower which is probably a killer amp for HT use.