Recommend me a good reciever

J

JohnleMVP

Supreme [H]ardness
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May 20, 2001
Messages
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I'm looking for a good audio receiver for around $500. This will be for my PC, x360, ps3, hooked up to a 40" LCD that I sit pretty close to. I will only be using 5.1 for now, since the main purpose is gaming.

I would like:
- 3 to 4 HDMI ports (for X360, PS3, PC, Laptop)
- 1080P pass through
- 5.1
- would work good with the Micro speakers from the Sony DAV-IS10

Would be nice:
- 7.1
- Video up scaling to 1080p.
 
Onkyo (starting at the TXSR-606)
Harmon Kardon (starting/and ending with the AVR-354)
 
I just went from the highly reguarded Panasonic XR-55 to the Harmon Kardon AVR 247($200.00) and damn it is good. I would have to highly reccomend HK if you are going to want to save cash and buy a refurb direct from the manufacturer on ebay. At full price however I would have to go w/ the Denon listed on the Hot Deals section.
 
The Denon in hot deals looks good but only has 2 hdmi inputs. As far as Harmon and Kardon refurbs on ebay what are the models to get besides the AVR 247(I'll check it out).

I'd like to use ebay cash back and I also have some gift cards at amazon. So either place is good for me.
 
JohnleMVP said:
The Denon in hot deals looks good but only has 2 hdmi inputs. As far as Harmon and Kardon refurbs on ebay what are the models to get besides the AVR 247(I'll check it out).

I'd like to use ebay cash back and I also have some gift cards at amazon. So either place is good for me.
Click to expand...

Here is the link to the Manufacturer's ebay store

http://stores.ebay.com/Harman-Audio

Link to the receivers

http://stores.ebay.com/Harman-Audio...W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ10225972QQftidZ2QQtZkm

It looks like the 347 is going for about $300-$$350 on the bids.
 
$500

well Onkyo, Harmon Kardon. Pioneer might have something in that range that does decoding of all the new lossless stuff for HD media (Blu-ray).
 
Get a refurb'd Onkyo from shoponkyo, they're very good and usually 50% off list...
 
aznx said:
Get a refurb'd Onkyo from shoponkyo, they're very good and usually 50% off list...
Click to expand...

Yeah, gotta agree here. Either go onkyo or hk refurb'd . Take your choice, can't lose either way, and you get to keep some cash in your pocket :p .
 
I recently purchased a Pioneer Elite VSX-01TXH. It has all you described, and hdmi from my htpc (690g-based), looks awesome. You can save a few bucks are pick up the non-elite VSX-1018AH which has almost the same feature set. At the time, I needed s-video, so I went with the elite.

-S
 
I'm a big fan of Denon equipment. Onkyo makes some pretty good stuff at an affordable price. I think yamaha makes some decent equipment, and even pioneer. Really, just find something that fits your needs.
 
That Pioneer looks closest to what I want. Most of the cheaper Denon, HK, and Onkyo recievers only seem to have 2 HDMI In ports. The Pioneer has 3 HDMI in and its pretty close to $500 on ebay.
 
how many HDMI ports does your tv have? I think that should eliminate the need for so many ports on the receiver.
 
My TV has three, but only 1 can be used for PC (it doesn't try resize the image and there is no overscan on this port).

My issue is I have 4 devices, X360, PS3, Desktop PC (Gaming), and Laptop (Work). Its still a compromise with 3 HDMI. The advantage of having all the devices connected to the receiver through hdmi is less cables (Xbox optical out dongle is ugly), one less remote, and the highest quality audio output (probably only matters for PS3).
 
I have a Denon - 2809. After some setup issues, it works great. It has 4 HDMI inputs, 7.1, 1080p upscaling. In Canada it was more than $500, if you're in the US maybe you can catch a good sale on Friday.

As others have already said: Yamaha, Denon, Pioneer and Onkyo all make good stuff.
 
I have the Onkyo TX-SR606 and it does everything you need at an affordable price. I got mine for 325.
 
Denon receivers have the least problems with their HDMI inputs. Especially when using it with a HDMI connection from your HTPC.

I have a AVR-889, and get full 7.1 from my HD4670 video card. However, you need to remember to use the V. Aux HDMI input.
 
just ordered my onkyo 606 from seller accessories4less on ebay using microsoft live. They are authorized dealer plus they sell it at an already good price. Got mine for $320 shipped plus $75 cashback.
 
Well right now I'm looking at the Onkyo TX-SR706 and Denon AVR-2309ci. Both are 1080p upscaling and 4 HDMI in recievers. Seems like the Onkyo can be had for about $550 - $165 (30% Live Cashback) = $385 and the Denon for about $650 - $195 (30% Live Cashback) = $455.

The Denon looks like its missing Audyssey MultEQ XT, but I doubt I'll need this anyway.

Do these things do a good job of upscaling? Like will X360, PS3, Wii look better upscaled? If not it seems a Onkyo 606 would be good enough.

Edit: Looks like they only upscale analog video.
 
Onkyo 606 here from ebay with the %30 off. Hooked up to HTPC/Wii/HDCableBox and all is well with the wife again! ( tv didn't like to swap inputs from the remote...)

Wii looks good upscaled but can't really say I noticed much of a difference since my TV De-interlaces badly so most 1080i sources are noticably lesser to a 1080p source.
 
my vote is for the Onkyo TX-SR606....it comes with 4 HDMI inputs, upscales your non-HD sources to 1080i, amongst a TON of other features.....and it just looks damn sexy! :D
 
xXaNaXx said:
upscales your non-HD sources to 1080i:D
Click to expand...

I hope you mean 1080p, as that was a requirement for him.

The Denon AVR-1709 is $449 brand new, has 3 HDMI 1.3a inputs and upscales any non HD source to 1080p. Plus its a Denon. Onkyo has really gone downhill since they got popular with the non-HT enthusiast crowd (i.e. = us..), but there Integra high-end brand is still great.
 
criccio said:
I hope you mean 1080p, as that was a requirement for him.
Click to expand...

i think non-HD (480i/480p) and 720p HD content gets upconverted to 1080i, but if you have a source that outputs 1080p, it will also output 1080p to your TV. i may be wrong on the upscaling part, but i know for a fact it has 1080p --> 1080p. it may just be a simple matter of configuring that input for whatever output you want, too, as i think the inputs are individually configurable...or at the very least, the output from the receiver to the TV is configurable.
 
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