buying receiver

[uav]

hey all,

newbie here. i am looking to buy a new stereo and want to make sure i dont buy the wrong thing. Now from what i have read and understand the onkyo 605 is the way to go to get proper sound, but where i am it is pretty expensive compared to other that i can get, in australia it is $900AUD compared to approx $400USD. Will any reciever with hdmi do the job? i dont even no if that is a stupid question on not. oh and i have the sony BDPS300 and sony bravia 40" w series any help appreciated

thanks in advance

[nelsona]

You could stick with Sony, either the DG-810 or 910 would work for you. I had the 910, and while it was a nice receiver, I preferred the Onkyo 605.

[frenchglen]

Lots of fine models with HDMI. Looks like you'll have to get a cheaper model with HDMI 1.1 or 1.2. To say things extremely concisely, either your blu-ray player can decode TrueHD and DTS-HD MA and an (up to HDMI 1.2) receiver will read it as PCM, or your player will bitstream it and a (HDMI 1.3) receiver will decode the stream to PCM. The smartest thing is to get a receiver with HDMI 1.3 as most players can't decode yet, but only bitstream...but the more cheaper option, HDMI 1.1 or higher, should be fine, and if you don't have a blu-ray player with internal decoding, get one when they're cheaper, as you're really missing out otherwise!

Try getting to a JB HiFi and you can often get good bargains. Make a deal with the hifi guys, they're always itching to sell stuff off and get commission. I've had a brand new subwoofer model reduced $500 from $1500 before, as well as a Pioneer receiver reduced from $2500 to $2000. Use things like cash offer, look for clearance models, or if you're happy, a demo model that they want to get rid of. Or get a smaller item at same time like a centre speaker you might need and bargain down that way.

It's really fun!

You can do that with cheaper models too, of course. Those two particular cases were when I just went in, walked straight to the most expensive sub/receiver in the shop (I had of course looked at it and researched for a long time) and lit up the eyes of the particular hifi guy I was closest to!

[uav]

as i understand it my bluray player, the sony BDPS300 can internally decode so does that mean i can get any reciever with hdmi or do i need one with dolby true hd and all that other stuff?

[TENSE]

you should go with the pioneer elite 92

[frenchglen]

Originally Posted by uav

as i understand it my bluray player, the sony BDPS300 can internally decode so does that mean i can get any reciever with hdmi or do i need one with dolby true hd and all that other stuff?

I remember reading the specs for this player and unfortunately it doesn't decode, mate. So you'll have to make up your mind on spend more or be happy with what you can afford. I know, it's annoying. It's cause blu-ray is still in early adoption stage. Slowly changing over though. I'd say this christmas will be a turning point and 2009 is the big year people go crazy for it like with DVD.

[rogman]

Originally Posted by uav

hey all,

newbie here. i am looking to buy a new stereo and want to make sure i dont buy the wrong thing. Now from what i have read and understand the onkyo 605 is the way to go to get proper sound, but where i am it is pretty expensive compared to other that i can get, in australia it is $900AUD compared to approx $400USD. Will any reciever with hdmi do the job? i dont even no if that is a stupid question on not. oh and i have the sony BDPS300 and sony bravia 40" w series any help appreciated

thanks in advance

I'm pretty sure I know what you mean, but don't say "stereo". That would be 2 channels, and you definitely don't want THAT in your home theater setup!
I have three Pioneer receivers ranging from the 500 series to the new Pioneer Elite VSX92. I'm very happy with all of them. (The 92 is the only one w/HDMI.) They're pretty easy to use (great for the SAF) and have great sound when matched to quality speakers (I have two Aperion 5.1 surround systems, and a cheapie JBL HTIB system). Pioneer has a receiver for pretty much any budget too. The 500 series was about $250, the 92 was $1,170 on sale at Best Buy. Keep in mind that lower-end HDMI receivers may only have 'pass thru' (they won't upsample your video), and may not be HDMI 1.3. Depending on your budget/setup that may not be an issue, but still something to keep in mind.

Here's an article that might help: http://www.finishabasement.com/home_...a_receiver.htm
Happy shopping!