Buying my first receiver

[ABMSports23]

So I am new to the world of A/V Receivers and Home theater systems and I have decided to buy one to start my own "Home Theater" in my room. I have been researching on the site for about a week now and have found a lot of useful information and now it's down to decision time. I need a receiver and speakers and Im working with kind of a small budget, $400.

I think that I want to get the Onkyo TX-SR606. Everyone seems to have good things to say about it and its in my budget. Is this a good receiver for me to get? I also need a set of speakers and have no clue which ones are good and if I should get a set of 5.1 or 7.1 speakers.

Right now my set up includes:
-32'' Vizio LCD TV
-XBOX 360
-DVD player

Thanks in advance for all the help!

[SDBlu]

The 606 is a great reciever, and many of the members on here who have it, love it. As far as speakers, what kind are you looking for? Big, small, mid-size? With a budget of $400 total for receiver and speakers, you may need to save up a bit more, depending on what u are looking for. There are numerous threads on this site with various options...are you able to stretch that budget though?

BTW, definitely start with 5.1 and in time you could graduate to 7.1

[PanasonicPlasmaMan]

go with Onkyo 606 great price better value

[tbizzle]

The 606 is an awesome receiver, but at around $350, that almost wipes out your budget. If you'd like to get a 5.1 system, a lot of people recommend the Polk RM6750 5.1 set.

If you're looking to get something cheap that sounds pretty good, then you could go the route that I took. I ended up getting a nice 2.1 setup for cheap and it sounds awesome. It's pretty powerful for my bedroom. My receiver was $170 shipped, speakers were $160 shipped and my sub was $100 shipped.

[ABMSports23]

Im looking for medium size speakers. It's not that big of a room so I don't think I need anything too big. I saw somewhere that the Onkyo 606 was on sale for like $280, so factoring that in what kind of speakers could I get for $100-$150 that sound good for the price?

Also I read somewhere that the 1080i upscaling did not look very good and that was a main complaint of a lot of people. Will that cause my XBox 360 to look worse than it would just plugged straight into the TV?

[Colglizity]

This is a fantastic price for this system, and I can vouch how well they sound... I hooked up this system for a friend.

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Cha...0195811&sr=8-1

[lojack1976]

You can set your Xbox to output at 720p instead. Technically its superior to 1080i anyway since its a progressive signal versus an interlaced signal. How about THIS receiver which will run about $250 with UPS Ground shipping and THESE speaker set which will keep you under $400. If you can come up with another $50 you can get THESE, THESE, THESE, or THESE. HERE are some other good speaker options with free shipping.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

The 606 is an awesome receiver, but at around $350, that almost wipes out your budget. If you'd like to get a 5.1 system, a lot of people recommend the Polk RM6750 5.1 set.

If you're looking to get something cheap that sounds pretty good, then you could go the route that I took. I ended up getting a nice 2.1 setup for cheap and it sounds awesome. It's pretty powerful for my bedroom. My receiver was $170 shipped, speakers were $160 shipped and my sub was $100 shipped.

Welcome to the forums and Merry Christmas!

With your budget I would get the receiver and then start off with a 2.1 setup or just a 2.0 setup. It's also the way I started out.

[Kai Winters]

The Onkyo is a great buy and a very good receiver.
Save up some more money and buy a decent pair of speakers and go 2.0/2.1 as has been suggested.
I suggest listening to a pair of Paradigm Atoms. They have a fantastic sound for their cost and they are reasonably priced.
As you have more money and want better fronts you can use the Atoms as surrounds, etc.

Merry Christmas

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Kai Winters

The Onkyo is a great buy and a very good receiver.
Save up some more money and buy a decent pair of speakers and go 2.0/2.1 as has been suggested.
I suggest listening to a pair of Paradigm Atoms. They have a fantastic sound for their cost and they are reasonably priced.
As you have more money and want better fronts you can use the Atoms as surrounds, etc.

Merry Christmas

That's an excellent way to do it! And exactly what I did. I bought my Totem Mites (bookshelf and now my rear-duty speakers) first, my Totem Mite-T centre channel next and then my Totem Sttaf (floorstanders).

[b15nut]

Get the 606 from www.ecost.com in Silver and refurbished by Onkyo for $257.00 then get the Polk 6750 from www.newegg.com. The 6750 was on sale for 180.00 shipped but is back to 200.00 shipped. Wait for it to go on sale again and you can save an extra $100.00 in the meantime.

[ABMSports23]

So what you listed there is pretty much exactly what I have decided to go with. A little over my budget...but whatever budgets are made to be broken. So then next thing I figure I am going to need are wires. As of right now I have exactly ZERO wires. Since a lot of people on this forum have this setup I guess I am just wondering exactly what kind of wires I am going to need. I've heard that monopirce.com has a lot of good deals but I am just not sure what to get. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[SHines-IT]

Originally Posted by Colglizity

This is a fantastic price for this system, and I can vouch how well they sound... I hooked up this system for a friend.

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Cha...0195811&sr=8-1

Check www.newegg.com they have a good deal. $199.00 Shipped.

[callas01]

Monoprice.com, you will need 16 to 14 AWG wire. you will need to decide on how long depending on how you will be running the wire.

[b15nut]

Don't forget the HDMI 1.3 cables. One from receiver to TV. Once from Cable box to receiver and one from Xbox to receiver.

[ABMSports23]

So Im going to need 14-16 AWG speaker wire. As for banana plugs what do you guys recommend. I read the banana plug guide but I am still a bit confused on which ones to get or if they are even necessary. Also at the moment I don't have a HD DirectTV box so what would be the best way going about plugging that into the receiver?

[Opips2]

hey!! that's my first time I bought Harman Kardon AVR-254 on 4 weeks ago. the receiver is audio HD and movie HD.

but I bought a receiver is home theatre for 6 years ago. it's not receiver AVR. that's home theatre in a box.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by ABMSports23

So Im going to need 14-16 AWG speaker wire. As for banana plugs what do you guys recommend. I read the banana plug guide but I am still a bit confused on which ones to get or if they are even necessary. Also at the moment I don't have a HD DirectTV box so what would be the best way going about plugging that into the receiver?

These or these. I would recommend the open screw type for the back of the speakers. Keep in mind that not all speakers accept them so it depends on what you end up with how many you'll need. They ARE NOT necessary, but they sure are convenient.

As far as cable you'll still go directly to your set unless you have a cable box. Sound will need to come from the set via digital coaxial or optical out. If you have a cable box you'd go directly to the receiver.

[Opips2]

Originally Posted by ABMSports23

So Im going to need 14-16 AWG speaker wire. As for banana plugs what do you guys recommend. I read the banana plug guide but I am still a bit confused on which ones to get or if they are even necessary. Also at the moment I don't have a HD DirectTV box so what would be the best way going about plugging that into the receiver?

i don't believe it! HDMI is good future but not now! HD DirectTV is only 720p nagtive and opital digital regular audio 5.1 or most 2channel. no super 1080p & HD Sound.

you can receiver is too heat or tired because your family watch T.V 5 hrs everyday! that's much!

my cent $0.02

[supersix4]

I too now after owning a 606 would say get that ! .... It was very very easy to set up just plug everything in, do some easy adjusting in the menu they have.

TX-Sr606