Please help with picking a receiver

[lllDapperDanlll]

I recently picked up 2 of these towers http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882290270

And this sub http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882290286

I am really lost when it comes to audio stuff and have no idea where to start, also I realize after looking around that a 2.1 setup isn't very common for home audio. The only things I need to hook up are an xbox 360 and a ps3, and also an aux connection for music. I have plenty of hdmi cables but nothing else as far as audio connections.

Thanks.

 

[Number1]

I think you would be well served with a unit like this and you will be ready for when you decide to add surround and a center speakers.

Denon AVR-1613

Denon AVR-E300 5.1

Onkyo and Marantz are other good brands.

 

[lllDapperDanlll]

I think you would be well served with a unit like this and you will be ready for when you decide to add surround and a center speakers.

Denon AVR-1613

Denon AVR-E300 5.1

Onkyo and Marantz are other good brands.

I don't really plan on adding more speakers but I guess a 5.1 is really going to be the only way to to. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[boomhower]

I'm a Denon fan with Yamaha and Pioneer being the next choices.

 

[Number1]

I'm a Denon fan with Yamaha and Pioneer being the next choices.

I had a bad experience with a Pioneer receiver many years ago so I would not recommend one. I have no experience with Yamaha products.

Denon and Onkyo are hard to beat. Grant you, Onkyo receivers tend to run hot and have HDMI boards problems. My Onkyo TX-SR607 worked perfectly but I replaced it with a denon AVR 1712 which has a much better automatic speaker calibration system, Audyssey MultEQXT.

 

[gar655]

Budget?

 

[lllDapperDanlll]

Budget?

About 400, considering I will probably leave it at a 2.1 system don't really want to drop too much.

 

[s44]

I don't really plan on adding more speakers but I guess a 5.1 is really going to be the only way to to.

A lot of setups don't really need the center speaker. Just getting a pair of (cheap) bookshelves as sides does a lot for movies/games and isn't expensive at all.

 

[Pkeg]

More than $400, but I find this to be a killer deal
http://www.sherbourn.com/products/sr8100
basically, it is the Emotiva UMC-200 and UPA-700 combined. No pre-outs, but that doesn't seem like a problem for what you have planned.

Emotiva acquired their sister company, Sherbourn, and they dropped the price on their product line a lot to clear out inventory.

 

[sciencewhiz]

If you're near a Fry's, they have the Denon AVR-E400 on sale this weekend for $317. Normally $599.

 

[queequeg99]

Like Number1, I'm a Denon fan. Really good quality with a high number of features. I've been really tempted by some Onkyo stuff but the heat and HDMI board problems need to be a few more years in the past before I'll bite.

One reason I really like Denon is that they always have some relatively lower range offering that includes Audyssey MultEQ XT room correction. The XT level will EQ your sub. Otherwise, you need to do that by hand. If you're a seriously home theater person, you do everything by hand with an SPL meter. But for the weekend warriors like me, the XT system is great.

I believe all of the Denons mentioned so far have MultEQ only (not XT). The 1713, which is a year old model, has XT, as does the current X1000. I found an open box 1713 at my local Best Buy today for $233. The x1000 is $450 shipped ($400 and change if you call around and bargain with authorized dealers) but has more features and obviously comes with a longer warranty than any open box/refurbed items. So you can occasionally find older full feature models for decent prices. You just need to search.

The e400 for $317 is a great price but might not be right for you because you're paying a premium for 7.1 abilities, which it sounds like is not important for you (and you get Audyssey MultEQ only, not XT).

 

[SlickSnake]

I have been a fan of Harman Kardon home theater receivers for about 15 years now, and Infinity speakers. And I buy for sound and not price point. That said, my local Fry's frequently has both on sale for stupidly cheap prices, like 2/3s off retail at times. My system is usually used for movies and not music, but is outstanding on both.

And I was never a big fan of Polk, but they sound good on movie playback.

It's when you get down to the subtle differences in the home theater receivers designs that you can really begin to hear what separates them at high volumes during a movie. The last time I auditioned receivers at the 1k price point was at the beginning of this year, and the Denon's still came up a close second to the Harman Kardon's to my ears, and I still do not like the sound of the Onkyo's at that price point, no matter what speakers I demoed them with. I like the sound of the Marantz, Yamaha's and Pioneer's better than the Onkyos, in that order.

But the speakers can also make a receiver sound better or worse than it actually is. Ideally, you need to demo the receiver you want with the speakers you have. The Onkyo's seem to make the Polk speakers perform a bit better because the Onkyo's have a slightly harsher sound that on more expensive speakers I just can't stand. Which is why I think so many people think the Polk and Onkyo pairing are all win.

 

[Lewy]

Harman/Kardon AVR 1565 5.1-Channel AV Receiver

Looks perfect for you and is well reviewed. If you had over a $K too spend I'd go for a Pioneer elite with their wonderful D3 amps but I'd get different speakers too. The Polks are very good though and the h1565 will do them justice I'm sure.

 

[olds]

Denon fan here. My last two receivers the 3805 and 3313CI have been awesome. Especially the 3313.

Before that I was a Sony ES fan but when I got my Def Tech speakers it saw each speaker as two speakers because of the built in subs. It would go into overload protection and shut down.

 

[Meghan54]

I went a different route with my current systems. Bought NAD. Dealer had Denon and NAD, got to play with them both for quite a while.

Did my "office" with a T748 with a pair of Paradigm Studio 20's, and honestly, that setup really has impressed me.

Denon's quite good, tho. So is HK.

 

[LikeLinus]

Denon...period. I have four Denon receivers over the past few years and I've never had an issue. Stupidly I got my mom an Onkyo receiver a year ago and it has failed twice so far. Never again, such a POS.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Unless this is for an audio + video system, get a two-channel audio receiver, not an A/V receiver with video switching and other useless features. The older solid-state receivers from the early 80s (seriously) from mfrs like Pioneer, Sansui, Marantz and Yamaha are built like tanks and very sweet sounding. They can often be found in perfect working order on Craigslist for under $100. And if you don't need/want a radio tuner, just get a two-channel integrated amplifier. The NAD suggestion above is a good one.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NAC316BEE

 

[SlickSnake]

Denon fan here. My last two receivers the 3805 and 3313CI have been awesome. Especially the 3313.

Before that I was a Sony ES fan but when I got my Def Tech speakers it saw each speaker as two speakers because of the built in subs. It would go into overload protection and shut down.

Sony still makes receivers? Huh. And notice I not so subtly left them off my receiver list completely. ^_^

 

[queequeg99]

Just realized I posted some incorrect info above: the regular Audyssey MultEQ does EQ your sub. I mistakenly thought that you needed to step up to the XT level to get that feature.

 

[Peppered]

AS far as recievers go , I was a fan of Denon untill I got aone several years ago when they first came out with HDMI ports.

It didn't last long and my old onkyo I had for 4 years was still working but didn't have hdmi ports.

SO from past experiace I got a Onkyo and it also failed before a year was up. I then learned the new ones had heat issues causing them to fail.

I was looking to get a new one my self once again. Looking at the Denon ones I saw a lot of bad reviews and good ones but the bads one talked about poor Costumer service and the units failing after a year or two.

I only read a lot of good comits about a couple of not high end Yamaha and a Sonys so I ordered both will put them threw the test and hope the one I choose will last a long time.

I wish they made them to last like they use too

 

[Kadarin]

I'm a Denon fan with Yamaha and Pioneer being the next choices.

I'm the opposite, I'm a Yamaha fan, and didn't like the Denon I had. My Yamaha is an RX-A820, and the Denon I have is a AVR-890. Both do great with movies, the Yamaha does much better with music.

 

[Peppered]

Those are a bit more than I wanted to spend for a Receiver, The I found both a Sony DN 140.
And a Yamaha is a RX V673 at amazon that I have a account with.
Both have very good reviews at amazon and other different sites.

I like that the Sony has more power but it cost a good bit more.
I have never had either of these brands

But in the end I am looking for good sound and reliability.

Reliability is the issues I had with Denon and Onkyo .

 

[gar655]

Those are a bit more than I wanted to spend for a Receiver, The I found both a Sony DN 140.
And a Yamaha is a RX V673 at amazon that I have a account with.
Both have very good reviews at amazon and other different sites.

I like that the Sony has more power but it cost a good bit more.
I have never had either of these brands

But in the end I am looking for good sound and reliability.

Reliability is the issues I had with Denon and Onkyo .

If reliability is your main concern I'd go for the Yamaha. It's been around for awhile and seems to be very reliable. The Sony is new and some users are reporting HDMI issues.

Both units will sound about the same, plus the yamaha is less expensive.