Looking for a new receiver, considering Yam V863

[Raziel66]

Alright, so a while back when I bought my tv from Best Buy I picked up an SLS HTIB. The speakers are awesome but the receiver doesn't meet my needs. Looking for something new! Preferably from Best Buy (I have a best buy card) so I can buy it today.

I picked up a Denon 1708 two days ago but returned it after finding out it does not do HDMI audio as the sales associate had told me. Now I am looking at the Denon 2308, 1908, or the Yamaha RX-V863BL, or the 663. Opent other suggestions as well!

I need HDMI 1.3 with audio support. HD Radio and picture upscaling seem like perks to me that I'd enjoy, but I know some people say to skip them. Any feedback?

 

[GlocksRock]

Go with the 663 over the 863 unless you really need the extra features. But you can always add an HDMI switcher for cheap, and the upscaling ins't that great, besides if you get a blu ray player, it will upscale your dvd's for you, and your tv scales everything to it's native resolution. You won't notice the difference in power between the units either, so save some cash and skip the 863.

 

[rnatalli]

Yamaha 663, Onkyo 606, and Pioneer 1018. Seems a little crazy to purchase a $400-$500 receiver for an HTIB, but if you need the features.

 

[Raziel66]

Definitely need the features of a more expensive model. I have a ps3, xbox 360, wii, FyreTv (beta), high def DVR, B&O turntable, Zune, and a Dell XPS m1730 that I will be using with the system. The current receiver doesn't do much for me at all right now. Everything I read said that the SLS speakers were awesome, but the receiver was a re-badged Sherwood that needs to be replaced.

I guess I can go with the 663 and get HD Radio at a later date!

 

[GlocksRock]

Good choice. The Denon 1708 is nice, my parents have one, but no audio via HDMI is definitely a deal breaker. I say what is the point of even having HDMI if it doesn't do audio.

 

[Raziel66]

Exactly! I couldn't believe how many receivers don't support it. Plus, they aren't expressly marked as such (the Denon box said nothing about it, found out after looking online ).

 

[Raziel66]

Uh oh. Just looked in the deal forum and saw that I can get a Denon 2308 for the same price as the Yamaha. Conflicted!

Edit: Nevermind. A quick comparison at Crutchfield shows that the Yamaha is still better as even the expensive Denon doesn't support HD audio.

 

[JStew]

Definitely need the features of a more expensive model. I have a ps3, xbox 360, wii, FyreTv (beta), high def DVR, B&O turntable, Zune, and a Dell XPS m1730 that I will be using with the system. The current receiver doesn't do much for me at all right now. Everything I read said that the SLS speakers were awesome, but the receiver was a re-badged Sherwood that needs to be replaced.

I guess I can go with the 663 and get HD Radio at a later date!

I had a Sangean HDT-1 that I used with my previous system and it worked very well. I've recently purchased the RX-V863 because HD radio is part of the deal. If you've got the extra cash, go for it.

 

[Seth=L]

Yamaha 663, Onkyo 606, and Pioneer 1018. Seems a little crazy to purchase a $400-$500 receiver for an HTIB, but if you need the features.

The SLS package contains a Sherwood receiver (a basic, but sturdy receiver) 5 speakers of decent size (with ribbon tweeters, these speakers actually sound very good for a HTIAB) and an HSU designed subwoofer. It's really a nice system for the money.

IMO, get the Yamaha RX-V663, the RX-V863 is overkill.

 

[Raziel66]

Thanks for all the advice guys! I went ahead and picked up the 663 last night, will probably buy the HD Tuner at a later time. I've got it hooked up with a few of my players so far and all I can say is... WOW! What a huge difference it makes!

I can't imagine what the audio quality is like for all of you with really nice setups. When I get home from work today I'm going to run the auto-setup and toy with some of the settings. Still trying to work out exactly which sound modes are better than others.

Next thing on my list will be to get another speaker or two for 6.1/7.1.

 

[GlocksRock]

Glad to hear you got the 663 and are happy with it. Mine drives my Def Techs really well, and tonight I should have it all hooked back up, but with a 2 channel Onkyo amp for my BP8s, so the receiver will only be pushing the center and surrounds, so they will then have even more power to them.

I have found that using the Cinema DSP modes adversely affects the sound, since it adds too much reverb, which can be heard using the click test on the Avia disc. I would just stick with the standard dolby digital/dts. But for .mp3s and radio, the music enhancer works pretty well.

Keep in mind when you run the auto setup, that it will probably set some speakers to large that should be set to small, so go behind it and double check it. Sometimes it gets the polarity wrong as well, so if you know for a fact that it's hooked up right, just disregard what it says and skip the wiring check. It does do a pretty good job of getting the speaker distance right though, but I would still manually set the levels if you have an SPL meter.

 

[Midcow2]

For that price range you might also want to consider...

Marantz SR5002 - MSRP $749.99
http://us.marantz.com/Products/2207.asp

Onkyo TX-SR606 - MSRP $599
http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR606&class=Receiver&p=i

If HD radio is importnat to you, then a separate HD tuner and separate antenna will give you the best sound. Right now, only the higher-end AVRs include HD or XM radio. A good HD receiver is the Sangean HDT-1
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=HD+stereo+tuners&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=10869903717759389812&sa=X&oi=product_result&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=3

 

[Seth=L]

Marantz SR5002 - MSRP $749.99
http://us.marantz.com/Products/2207.asp

Onkyo TX-SR606 - MSRP $599
http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR606&class=Receiver&p=i

If HD radio is importnat to you, then a separate HD tuner and separate antenna will give you the best sound. Right now, only the higher-end AVRs include HD or XM radio. A good HD receiver is the Sangean HDT-1
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=HD+stereo+tuners&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=10869903717759389812&sa=X&oi=product_result&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=3

He already purchased the Yamaha.

 

[Raziel66]

Now that I have had a couple days to fiddle around a little bit, I'm really liking the audio quality. I can't believe what I was missing before. When action moves across the screen (as in the fights during "300") the audio moves from speaker to speaker in a much smoother and more realistic manner. Having the capability for HD audio and PCM audio is like night and day.

I can now see where the criticism toward the sub in my speaker set comes from too. Reviewers said that at certain frequencies it seems to just rumble more than anything. I might to try out some new ones with my setup.

One newbish question though. The receiver says to set the resistance level to either 6 or 8 ohms depending on your speakers. It also says that it works with 4 ohms speakers. Well, the metal plate on each speaker says 4 ohms, but the SLS website says 6 ohms. Do I need to change any settings? The default right now is 8. Thanks!