Getting a new receiver

[aehusted]

I am getting ready to set up the new home theater in my basement and I am having a bit of trouble narrowing down the receiver search. I have not found a site that does a good job of listing the specs in an easy-to-compare matrix format. Most retailers only carry a few brands and all the audiophile-type sites I have searched only have individual reviews.
Does anyone know where something like this exists?
If not, would anyone care to help me build one?

 

[GraysonPeddie]

Have you really thought about Onkyo TX-SR705? It features an RS232 port and it supports the latest digital formats, such as Dolby Digital+, TruHD, DTS HD, etc.

Do you have a budget?

If you froogle "Onkyo TX-SR705" (with quotes included), you can find the lowest price through there.

 

[IVB]

CQC forums to the rescue yet again...

Not quite a matrix form, as that would be impossible given the # of columns you'd have, but it is a list of the serially controllable ones.

 

[aehusted]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Budget wise, I am aiming to keep the whole system (50"Plasma or LCD, receiver, speakers, region free DVD) under $5K.

As far as the serial control, this is not a top priority at the moment. I am already going to be using an IRTrans system to control it from a Mac running Indigo. The only additional thing that the serial gets me (AFAIK) is status capability and absolute volume control. Neither of these are too compelling at the moment. I am looking for something that will handle all the HDMI conversions from DVD, PS3, AppleTV, VCR, Xbox.

 

[sic0048]

I've had very good luck buying used high end (or formerly highend) equipment off E-Bay. You can get a very nice Denon or Integra receiver for $200-$400. The would include component upscaling (making all inputs component level) and also include serial control for potential future use. A lot of people always want the high end equipment or at least HDMI switching, so the prices on non-HDMI equipment is supper cheap.

I personally don't want HDMI anyway because of all the problems with encryption, handshaking, etc. I get just as good of a picture with component outputs. So what if I have to connect a separate audio cord up. At least I know it works with anything I hook up.

 

[aehusted]

After looking around a bit, it seems like there are a lot of non-authorized dealers out there (e-bay and elsewhere) that sell receivers for less than half of the authorized dealer prices. While I would really like to get a $2000 unit for $800, this still sets off the too-good-to-be-true alarm in my head.

Anyone have bad luck with this type of source? I am leaning toward giving in to this temptation for the receiver and speakers because they seem like components that have little chance of warranty issues. Is my reasoning pretty sound or is sic0048 the only one who has been so lucky?

I've had very good luck buying used high end (or formerly highend) equipment off E-Bay. You can get a very nice Denon or Integra receiver for $200-$400. The would include component upscaling (making all inputs component level) and also include serial control for potential future use. A lot of people always want the high end equipment or at least HDMI switching, so the prices on non-HDMI equipment is supper cheap.

I personally don't want HDMI anyway because of all the problems with encryption, handshaking, etc. I get just as good of a picture with component outputs. So what if I have to connect a separate audio cord up. At least I know it works with anything I hook up.

 

[DaveW42]

If you are at all interested in Blu-ray, you should check out the chart provided here. It provides information about players and support for the various codecs. Support for DTS HD-MA has tended to generate a lot of discussion.

Dave

 

[IVB]

That DTS-MA is a tough nut. OTOH, I'd hate to buy a receiver without all the latest stuff. However, would I really notice?

Hence all that discussion

 

[aehusted]

Thanks for the link, Dave!
Since I already settled on the PS3 as my blueray player(I admit, this had something to do with my choice ), what do those "decode" boxes on the chart you linked to really mean to me?
How do I match this fact up with the specs I should be looking for on the receiver?
Also, would the fact that I am getting a region free DVD player affect my choice in any way?
Thanks for the help.

If you are at all interested in Blu-ray, you should check out the chart provided here. It provides information about receivers and support for the various codecs. Support for DTS HD-MA has tended to generate a lot of discussion.

Dave

 

[gatchel]

I have read some interesting reviews here:

http://www.audioholics.com/

 

[DaveW42]

Hi Aehusted. I'm glad you found the information helpful. You just need to make sure that the receiver you get lines up with the capabilities of your Blu-ray player. Since you are using a PS3, here is a relevant quote from a PS3 FAQ:

"The PS3 will not bitstream advanced audio formats to your AVR (it can only bitstream basic Dolby Digital and DTS surround audio formats, as well as provide PCM 2-channel stereo via either HDMI or optical digital outputs). The PS3 can decode all of the Blu-ray Disc standard and optional audio formats and convert them to multichannel LPCM and pass that to your AVR via HDMI. Thus, to get the full advantage from the superior audio formats offered on BD, as compared to DVD, you must connect your PS3 to an AVR that has HDMI inputs that can accept multichannel LPCM (most AVRs that have HDMI inputs can do this except for a very few low-end models)."

That last sentence is the important one. The full FAQ can be found here. With respect to the difference between bitstreaming vs. LPCM, I believe it is just a question of whether your receiver does the decoding or whether the player does the decoding. The above quote indicates that the PS3 would be the one that would perform the decoding (i.e., as of 8/23/08 it can't bitstream).

That Star Wars game does look pretty cool (interesting plot)!

Also, I just noticed a typo in my original post (the link goes to a 'player' chart, not a 'receiver' chart). I have fixed it there, to avoid any confusion.

Dave

Thanks for the link, Dave!
Since I already settled on the PS3 as my blueray player(I admit, this had something to do with my choice ), what do those "decode" boxes on the chart you linked to really mean to me?
How do I match this fact up with the specs I should be looking for on the receiver?
Also, would the fact that I am getting a region free DVD player affect my choice in any way?
Thanks for the help.

 

[DaveW42]

I know what you mean. Fortunately the prices have started to come down on receivers that can handle DTS-MA.

That DTS-MA is a tough nut. OTOH, I'd hate to buy a receiver without all the latest stuff. However, would I really notice?

Hence all that discussion

 

[aehusted]

Thanks for all the info.
This will keep me busy for a while.

Hi Aehusted. I'm glad you found the information helpful. You just need to make sure that the receiver you get lines up with the capabilities of your Blu-ray player. Since you are using a PS3, here is a relevant quote from a PS3 FAQ:

"The PS3 will not bitstream advanced audio formats to your AVR (it can only bitstream basic Dolby Digital and DTS surround audio formats, as well as provide PCM 2-channel stereo via either HDMI or optical digital outputs). The PS3 can decode all of the Blu-ray Disc standard and optional audio formats and convert them to multichannel LPCM and pass that to your AVR via HDMI. Thus, to get the full advantage from the superior audio formats offered on BD, as compared to DVD, you must connect your PS3 to an AVR that has HDMI inputs that can accept multichannel LPCM (most AVRs that have HDMI inputs can do this except for a very few low-end models)."

That last sentence is the important one. The full FAQ can be found here. With respect to the difference between bitstreaming vs. LPCM, I believe it is just a question of whether your receiver does the decoding or whether the player does the decoding. The above quote indicates that the PS3 would be the one that would perform the decoding (i.e., as of 8/23/08 it can't bitstream).

That Star Wars game does look pretty cool (interesting plot)!

Also, I just noticed a typo in my original post (the link goes to a 'player' chart, not a 'receiver' chart). I have fixed it there, to avoid any confusion.

Dave

Thanks for the link, Dave!
Since I already settled on the PS3 as my blueray player(I admit, this had something to do with my choice ), what do those "decode" boxes on the chart you linked to really mean to me?
How do I match this fact up with the specs I should be looking for on the receiver?
Also, would the fact that I am getting a region free DVD player affect my choice in any way?
Thanks for the help.