Need receiver suggestion for ~$350 or so...

[seedubxj]

Any suggestions for an AVR with HDMI decoding that will be powering a Polk RM85 5.1 setup and a Velodyne VPR-10 sub?

[Pycroft]

I got my Harman Kardon AVR354 - true 75 watts per channel, decodes all newest codecs, very warm and musical, has pre-outs for adding extra amplification, and I paid less than 350 on the HK offical ebay store. Can't go wrong there I think.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by seedubxj

Any suggestions for an AVR with HDMI decoding that will be powering a Polk RM85 5.1 setup and a Velodyne VPR-10 sub?

there is no such thing as HDMI decoding, do you mean HD audio codecs? What will you be using to play blu-ray's--actually, list all components you plan to connect to the receiver. as well as expected options/abilities of the receiver i.e. should it have pre-outs yes or no? stuff like that so you don't get the next 10 folks asking the same things.

[seedubxj]

Ok, a bit more info.

Display : Samsung LN-40A630 LCD
Blu Ray: Sony BDP-S360
Comcast Moto box DCH3416
WD TV Media Player

No need for pre-outs, but not against them.

And yes, I mean codec decoding, as the BDP-S360 does not have multichannel out capabilities, hence needing the audio decoding.

Let me know if you need anything else to help guide me. Thanks

[jaydoc24]

In that price range, I'd go Onkyo 607. It's $359 with free shipping from Amazon and it decodes both HD codecs. You also have 5 HDMI rear inputs and 1 in the front and it runs "90" watts per channel. That number is probably a little inflated as receiver numbers generally are but for your purposes I think it would be great for you. There are no pre-outs so if you ever are considering separates in the future, you may want to look somewhere else, but it does have two subwoofer pre-outs.

I've owned two Onkyos and loved both of them. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a more complete package at that price level. There are going to be some offerings from Pioneer and possibly even Denon, but I am less familiar with their models. Good luck.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...X0DER&v=glance

[callas01]

Any of these will work

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-285-_-Product $329 Or AMAZON $297
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-284-_-Product $299
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-146-_-Product $344
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-131-_-Product $269
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-194-_-Product $329
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-133-_-Product $369
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-91...182156&sr=8-16 $399
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V663...182254&sr=8-28 $330

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by callas01

Any of these will work

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-285-_-Product $329 Or AMAZON $297
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-284-_-Product $299
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-146-_-Product $344
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-131-_-Product $269
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-194-_-Product $329
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-133-_-Product $369
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-91...182156&sr=8-16 $399
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V663...182254&sr=8-28 $330

callas did all the work Plenty to choose from there !

[seedubxj]

Awesome! Thanks.

Time to go to BB and audition a few units. How likely that BB prices will be comparable to newegg?

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by seedubxj

Awesome! Thanks.

Time to go to BB and audition a few units. How likely that BB prices will be comparable to newegg?

They won't come close . Newegg will be much cheaper Better deal .

[seedubxj]

So all of the above should be a good fit with my Polks?

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by seedubxj

So all of the above should be a good fit with my Polks?

Yes they are all good brands .

Go to BB & listen to all 4 brands .

They will go with the Polks .

[seedubxj]

Thanks again guys.

I am considering waiting until the day after X-mas to buy something. What are the odds I can find any of the above on sale? Wishful thinking?

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by seedubxj

Thanks again guys.

I am considering waiting until the day after X-mas to buy something. What are the odds I can find any of the above on sale? Wishful thinking?

You never know . When you are ready start searching for the best deal !

[tootall82103]

Originally Posted by callas01

Any of these will work

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-285-_-Product $329 Or AMAZON $297
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-284-_-Product $299
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-146-_-Product $344
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-131-_-Product $269
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-194-_-Product $329
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-133-_-Product $369
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-91...182156&sr=8-16 $399
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V663...182254&sr=8-28 $330

Nice selection. I'd have to go with the Yamaha 663 just because it has the 7.1 pre-outs. Unless I missed it, none of the other receivers have that feature. The only downside of the 663 is there are only 2 HDMI inputs. That can be taken care of pretty easily with a 30 dollar HDMI switch from monoprice though. If there is no chance you will ever add an external amp down the road, the Sony 1000 is very nice. A buddy of mine has one and I like it a lot.

[emoxley]

I second the recommendations for the Onkyo 507 or 607. A lot of bang for the buck. Very easy to setup and use. Has Audyssey, which is a definite plus. Usually, Sony receivers aren't recommended until you get into their "ES" line, which is a good bit more expensive.

[Steve]

My advice is to only look at models that have pre-outs. I bought an Onkyo 605 as my first receiver and didn't think I would ever want any more power, but I was wrong. It was a great receiver otherwise. Instead of being to add an amp I had to start all over with a new receiver. It cost me a good bit more money in the long run.

[Pycroft]

Those are some nice selections. Just saying, don't sleep on the HK 354. I think it is vastly superior to the Onkyo 606 (I upgraded from that), and is perhaps the most musical of all the selections that I've heard.

Pycroft

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by Pycroft

Those are some nice selections. Just saying, don't sleep on the HK 354. I think it is vastly superior to the Onkyo 606 (I upgraded from that), and is perhaps the most musical of all the selections that I've heard.

Pycroft

As both an Onkyo and HK owner I agree. I have an Onkyo 605 which is actually a little better than the 606 in the power department and an HK 247 that I replaced it with in my living room home theater, and the difference was like night and day. Even at a much lower wattage the HK performs better.

Don't get me wrong. The Onkyo is a very solid receiver, but HK receivers give a warmer sound as well as being able output more true power. I was totally blown away by how much harder this receiver pushes my speakers. HK just uses some beefier components in their lower lines than other companies. What I lack in features is more than made up in actual power and sound quality. Of course newer HK's have all of the features that competitors have, so this isn't an issue with the 354. I love the look of HK receivers too.

One thing I will say though...HK is not for everyone. If you have little patience to configure it and get everything to your liking you may want to avoid one. These are not the most user friendly receivers in the world. They are also known to have quirks and sometimes bugs upon initial release. They do however offer firmware updates to correct problems. I myself haven't had any problems with mine.

If you have the patience to set one up you will be rewarded with stellar performance. For example: the calibration setup is nothing like Audyssey on Onkyo receivers which is easy and will give you pretty good results. No matter how many times I tried my HK gave me horrible results, so in the end I had to manually set everything to my liking. It was much more time consuming, but the end results are great. In the end I think that HK is an excellent choice that should be considered, but if you want an easy setup and go receiver be warned that this is not it.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by emoxley

I second the recommendations for the Onkyo 507 or 607. A lot of bang for the buck. Very easy to setup and use. Has Audyssey, which is a definite plus. Usually, Sony receivers aren't recommended until you get into their "ES" line, which is a good bit more expensive.

If you are refering to the fact that they don't test out to be up to spec I will add that neither do Onkyo, Yamaha or Pioneer test to the specs they say they do. The Pioneer 1019 is only putting out 29 watts per channel(home theater mag)...

ReceiversPioneer VSX-1019AH A/V Receiver:
HT Labs Measures HT Labs Measures
Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 28.7 watts
1% distortion at 34.3 watts

So your statement about avoiding Sonys non-ES line should be more to the tune of Avoid all receivers that are not in the upper tiers of the receivers brand, therefore only buy Elites, ES's, Denons and Marantzs', etc.... avoid the lower mid level receivers to the entry level receivers...

Here is the always vaunted Onkyo 8 series (807 to be exact) and what does the bench test report?

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 29.9 watts 1% distortion at 33.0 watts

http://hometheatermag.com/receivers/...er/index4.html

Or the Yamaha 863
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...3&postcount=14

Or the Pioneer Elite 94 with 140x7 wpc does that look like 140 wpc?

Output at clipping (1 kHz into 8/4 ohms)
1 channel driven: 178/300 W (22.5/24.8 dBW)
5 channels driven (8 ohms): 84 W* (19.2 dBW)
7 channels driven (8 ohms): 61 W* (17.9 dBW)

Unfortunately there are too many receiver mfgs that are more worried about features then how the amps in the receivers perform.

I have the sony 920, and it is said to have the amp and power supply of the es2400, but I've heard it is still only putting out about 50 watts per channel when more then 2 channels driven. OK, that is fine, I just wish they and all mfgs were honest about it.

Now I will say that the previous receiver I had was a Sony 710, and that I have no idea how many wpc it put out, but I can say that the 920 I have now sounds much better and fuller, more complete and powerful then my previous. In terms of features, and ease of use, they are just as good as any other receiver.

But to just make a blanket statement that you should not buy a Sony receiver unless its an ES doesn't hold water IMO. All receiver MFGs fail to live up to their "specs". Understand that I am not defending Sony as much as I am depricating all MFGs.

[lojack1976]

Well Callas, I wouldn't say all fail to live up to their specs, but I would say most do. In the past most receivers at least came relatively close, but this year and last year has shown a troubling trend of receivers coming nowhere near their stated specs. I will say this though, HK is 100% honest with their numbers. In the reviews that I've seen they actually turn out to perform better than the stated wattage.

Some of the other manufacturers also hit their numbers consistently, but again I find it troubling when I continue to see companies like Yamaha, Onkyo, Pioneer, and Sony give us highly inflated numbers. This seems to be getting worse year after year. Yes, I know its mostly in the entry level, but its still inexcusable. People want what they pay for, and if its stated to be one thing and its not then I have a big problem with that.

I still regret not getting an 805 over the 605, but I am so glad I didn't wait and wait like I originally was going to do. I may have ended up with a 607 which would have been quite disappointing looking at things now.