Manyak

Its time to upgrade my living room. I've got an excellent stereo system, but that's just the thing - it's still only a stereo. I just ordered an HDTV (finally!) so now I need a receiver that can take all the newer inputs, and some surround speakers to go along with it.

For the receiver, what I'm going to connect is:
- Cable Box (optical, S/PDIF, or HDMI)
- HTPC (optical or HDMI)
- Either PS3 or Xbox360 (not sure yet)
- A/V switcher with some older systems (RCA)
- And of course, it needs an RCA out for the front speakers' amplifier

I'm starting with $500 to buy a nice receiver/amp and some dinky surround speakers. The fronts and sub are already taken care of, and the center channel can go through the TV for now. Then later down the line I'll upgrade the rear and center speakers to good ones.

And I don't think I need to say this, but sound quality > anything else.

+rep where it's deserved, as always

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rduffy123

I would spend most of it on a nice receiver, gonna be cutting it close on that budget if you want high quality on both.

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Manyak

Exactly the plan. I'm talking about like, $20 rear speakers for the time being.

I just need to know what receiver to get.

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ZeosPantera

Home theaters is what I do. The budget is almost irrelevant in most cases. What is important is the room. Can you post a layout or describe the room your doing this in?

For a $500 budget you can get either a bottom of the line 7.1 or a decent 5.1. I am a HUGE fan of Denon. They just sound better then all the yamaha, pioneer, or harmon's I've used. Unfortunately your request for a pre-out for the front L/R may not happen at this price point. Here is an TX-SR707 http://www.lemondenumerique.com/wp-c...nnectiques.jpg which has all the preouts you could want. But the cheapest I can find it is $603 http://www.compuplus.com/i-ONKYO-72-...-1113641~.html

The two Receivers I can show you under $500 both do not have L/R preouts.

http://hdtvdreams.com/denon-avr-790-...90-avr790.aspx

http://www.sourceoneaudio.com/index....D&ProdID=15928

However these are the newest in the lineup and perhaps an older Receiver that has come down in price can assist you.

Like this Harmon for ~475 has all the preouts
http://www.google.com/products/catal...45&sa=button#p

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/7093/hk254rpwl9.jpg


My next bit of advice I can't scream across the tubes loud enough for everyone to hear. NEVER EVER USE THE SPEAKERS IN A FLATSCREEN.... FOR ANYTHING!!

In my opinion all televisions should come as monitors. Just a huge screen with no audio decoding or playback at all. I haven't heard one set that an 8 year old set of dell branded altec lansing crappy desktop speakers couldn't best!

I would NEVER, EVER recommend even turning the volume up on your TV, forget about using them as a center. The center is the most important channel in a modern surround sound setup. I would almost recommend you use your excellent stereo setup as a mono twin center as it will do more good!

Manyak

So the speakers on TVs these days are really that bad, huh? Well I guess that makes sense, with how "thin, light, and eco-friendly" they like to make them.

Anyway, my living room is something like this:


The floor is covered with a giant rug (and is tile underneath, and solid concrete underneath that), and the windows have really light curtains on them. And as you can imagine, the most important seats in the room are the ones directly across from the TV.

7.1 isn't really necessary though, sound quality is way more important than two extra channels. And it's fine if it's a little bit over $500. It's not a strict budget, just a ballpark figure.

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ZeosPantera

Yeah, I cant wait to hear what some of the new LED backlit 3/4" thick TV's sound like.

Some issues I can pull from that space is that since your going to be all the way against the back wall rears will really be just above your head. Which isn't SO bad but not optimal.

The doorway is a door or just an opening? And what are the actual dimensions of the room including ceiling height?

Yeah the 7.1 with no room behind you is irrelevant. I would move those L/R's you have to the corners on a slight inward angle (better imaging) and put the sub between the tv and the left speaker that way it puts a more equal distance from anyone in the room.

What are the speakers you have and are planning to use in the front? It's best to try and match the Mid's+highs with a future center if possible. Also, what type/brand/power amplifier do you want to use to power the L/R's? If your budget was higher (much) you could just get a surround preamp and use any amp's you want. Balanced outputs and a 24bit Crystal DAC on all 8 channels.. A dream I hope to someday fulfill. << Cool!

KruperTrooper

I have a Technics 5.1 Receiver. Sadly Panasonic discontinued that. But my dad paid around $450 for it. Another $600 for JBL studio series speakers and about $250 for a KLH sub. I love playing COD and Halo 3 on it, crystal clear sound, booming explosions vibrate my ass. And watching movies with it makes me feel like I am in an IMAX theater, but without the crying babies, seats with gum on the bottom, and overpriced popcorn.

Point I'm trying to make is that don't stick to one company. While the Technics receiver was amazing, their speakers were mediocre. Experiment around if you can. If you can't then start joining forums and reading reviews.

Although Zeos sounds like he knows what he is talking about. With that I second his opinion on the Denon Receiver.

Hoodcom

I use a Pioneer Elite VSX-90TXV in my system, got it a couple years ago for $650, and it has all the pre-amp outs. I use a power amp on my fronts.

Now Your speakers will be one of the most important things in the whole system. I've learned a great deal about this, too. Quality of speakers can be the most important. Super cheap speakers may make you disappointed.

But I have heard good things about Denon and Onkyo.

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gorb

for a nice cheap receiver look at the pioneer vsx 919...it's $400, so maybe you can just get a pair of bookshelf speakers for now and use em as your mains and then get some decent speakers later.

Matt*S.

I would look into the Yamaha Receivers. Audioholics usually runs some pretty solid deals on them. My personal experience has been with the RX-V465 and it has been a very positive one. Had a bit of an issue and Yamaha replaced it in a very timely fashion. I'm unsure if it does video scaling as I didn't have a need for it.

Another thing to think about is Onkyo in this price range. I've had some experience with the TX-SR606 and from I understand the 607 is just an updated version. Here is a link to a site that I've purchased a bunch from. They have it refurbished so if that bothers you then it's a no go. At least with this you have almost $200 to put towards speakers. The onkyo does upscale to 1080i. Just listened to the video at the link.

Both of the suggested receivers decodes the HD audio formats. If I were building a new system, I'd go with something that could.

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