Okay here's the situation.
Three years ago I acquired a nice HT-in-a-box setup with a Yamaha receiver paired with 6 speakers for a modest home theater setup. It cost me about $500 at the time.
Two years ago I finally saved enough to buy a Toshiba DVD Player to go with this receiver. Unfortunately the receiver didn't have Dolby Digital/DTS onboard so I had to get a DVD player with an onboard Dolby Digital Decoder. No biggie, sounded fine to me and I was happy.
Then one year ago my roommate buys a newer Yamaha HT setup with Dolby Digital/DTS on the receiver paired with a Sony DVD player. Needless to say his setup blows mine out of the water. The difference in clarity between onboard decoding and receiver decoding is astounding. But I don't wanna upgrade since I've already put some cash into my existing system.
Fast forward to the present. Due to a freak power accident, my DVD player gets fried since it isn't behind a surge protector. Now the question arises. What do I do?
Here's my choices as I see them:
1) Buy a new DVD player with onboard dolby digital/dts decoding .
2) Buy a new receiver with built in decoding and buy an Xbox with its DVD capabilities when its released.
Keep in mind I'm a poor college student so option will have to wait quite some time (at least 2 months).
If I decide to go with option 2, I need some recommendations on a good receiver. I know there are those who think anything less than a $3000 Marantz/McIntosh system isn't worth it. But like I said, I'm not an audiophile, but I like good stuff. Here's some basic requirements I have
1) I won't accept anything less than Yamaha (this means no Sony, no Pioneer, no Kenwood). I know these brands can beat Yamaha but the price at which they do so is not within my range.
2) The main brands I'm looking at are Yamaha, Harmon Kardon, Denon
D), and the like.
Whew, okay there is my lengthy post....fire away anandtechers
Three years ago I acquired a nice HT-in-a-box setup with a Yamaha receiver paired with 6 speakers for a modest home theater setup. It cost me about $500 at the time.
Two years ago I finally saved enough to buy a Toshiba DVD Player to go with this receiver. Unfortunately the receiver didn't have Dolby Digital/DTS onboard so I had to get a DVD player with an onboard Dolby Digital Decoder. No biggie, sounded fine to me and I was happy.
Then one year ago my roommate buys a newer Yamaha HT setup with Dolby Digital/DTS on the receiver paired with a Sony DVD player. Needless to say his setup blows mine out of the water. The difference in clarity between onboard decoding and receiver decoding is astounding. But I don't wanna upgrade since I've already put some cash into my existing system.
Fast forward to the present. Due to a freak power accident, my DVD player gets fried since it isn't behind a surge protector. Now the question arises. What do I do?
Here's my choices as I see them:
1) Buy a new DVD player with onboard dolby digital/dts decoding .
2) Buy a new receiver with built in decoding and buy an Xbox with its DVD capabilities when its released.
Keep in mind I'm a poor college student so option will have to wait quite some time (at least 2 months).
If I decide to go with option 2, I need some recommendations on a good receiver. I know there are those who think anything less than a $3000 Marantz/McIntosh system isn't worth it. But like I said, I'm not an audiophile, but I like good stuff. Here's some basic requirements I have
1) I won't accept anything less than Yamaha (this means no Sony, no Pioneer, no Kenwood). I know these brands can beat Yamaha but the price at which they do so is not within my range.
2) The main brands I'm looking at are Yamaha, Harmon Kardon, Denon
D), and the like.Whew, okay there is my lengthy post....fire away anandtechers
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