Electronics to support my requirements - HELP

[Tech HiFi]

I have been following Audioholics for a few years now but I now ready to buy my speakers/electronic components. This one is not easy! Here's what I'm looking to accomplish. Most of the "sales associates" at BB and CC look at me like I have two heads when I explain this.

1. Set up a 5.1 system (receiver/DVD) in my living room. Speakers will be PSB/Jamo/JBL/Infinty in-walls with an in-room sub. Opinions please. Video is a 61" Mits DLP with HDMI purchased in 2005.

2. Zone 2 for outside on the deck.

3. Must be iPod compatable.

4. Blue Ray and/or HD DVD compatable???

5. HDMI 1.3???

6. In addition, I also have 4 additional rooms downstairs pre-wired for distributed audio.

Notes: I purchased all the cabling from a respected vendor from this website. I installed all the wiring in the walls in 2005 when the house was built. The electronics will be located in a closet under the stairs about 30 feet away from the TV and front speakers. I have HDMI and component video to the TV, 12 ga speaker wired to all 13 speakers, sub cable to the sub, CAT 5e to all the distributed audio keypads/controllers in the 4 zones, and an IR wire to the left front speaker of the 5.1 set up.

Goals: Purchase the electronis to MEET my needs, not EXCEED. Understand I'm buying the capability to do what I need, but I'm also a bang for your buck type of guy. I prefer to purchase the latest and greatest electronics from the same brand but it's not necessary. The brands I would consider are Hk, Denon, Onkyo, and Yamaha. I would like to utilize the HDMI to the TV but understand that the 50' HDMI cable presents some signal loss issues???

As far as the distributed audio system I prefer to have one 8 channel pre amp/amp with connections via CAT 5e to the in-wall keypads/controllers. I know that Russound makes products that will do this but anyone else???

Understand all equipment will be in the closet under the stairs and all connections terminate under the stairs too.

Can the two (Home Theater/Distributed Audio) system be integrated into one or do I need 2 seperate sets of source components??? I'm leaning towards two seperate. CD players are cheap, I gues iPod docks are too.

When making recommendations give make/model and why please.

I'm leaning towards Denon AVR-2308CI and DVD 1930CI, PSB CW 263 (L+R fronts), CW 26 (L+R rear), Image C40 (center) and SubSeries 5i for the HT. Distributed is Russound CAS 44 with KPL keypads or Jamo A-Bus, but I'm a little concerned with the power from A-Bus.

I have an open mind so if anyone can build a better mouse trap... I'm all ears. Remember meet, not exceed. So, I'm looking to be below the above systems if I can meet my needs. Budget - under $3000 MSRP for the HT and under $2000 MSRP for the distributed.

Thanks in advance,

Frank

 

[j_garcia]

#4 more or less covers #3, so nothing to worry about there. It's Blu-ray, not Blue.

I do think the 2308 would fall in the meets category and for something for the level that you are talking about I would be shooting higher. Meet should not mean barely meet and should have enough of a comfort zone to handle anything, though with in wall speakers you aren't going to be upgrading them on a regular basis if at all...

For the DVD player, I'd take a look at Oppo and save the funds to go toward a BD or HD-DVD player. No reason to spend a lot of money on a SD DVD player at this point and the Oppos are very good.

Sub I would look at www.svsound.com and www.hsuresearch as you will get more bang for your buck. There is no need to match the sub to your other speakers.

 

[jcPanny]

HT and Distributed Audio

Sence you mentioned bang for the buck and "meets requirements" you might consider the following minimum recommendations:

HT:
Yamaha RX-V661 receiver. - $400
It will do HDMI audio processing and you can get an iPod doc for an extra $100. Should have plenty of power for most in-wall speakers.

Distributed audio:
Sereo or HT amp. Behringer A500 - $180, Emotiva LPA-1 - $500
Impedance matchig VCs or speaker selector. $100 for 5 VCs or 1 speaker selector.

I have a similar system with the less sophistocated distributed audio system in 5 rooms of the house. The main disadvantage, is that every room is playing the same source. I use two channels of the LPA-1 to drive the distributed audio and the remaining 5 for the HT with a Yamaha receiver as pre-pro. Russound and other Keypad systems are nice and allow any source in any room. My parents have a 10-zone russound system in their large house.

I have the entry level Oppo and recommend one of their DVD players but for just over $200 you can get the Toshiba HDA2 and several free movies. It will also do a good job of upscaling regular DVDs and your 2005 TV probably can't accept a 1080p signal.

Also plan on a good RF remote or IR repeaters to accomodate your electronics in a cabinet without line of sight.

 

[j_garcia]

I say RF for the remote. I have used the URC remotes with RF extender in a mutli floor install with the gear located in the attic (converted) and it worked extremely well. For that install, I used a stereo receiver to handle the distributed system and an impedance matching selector; the HT was powered by its own receiver.

 

[jcPanny]

URC Remote

I am having good results with the URC-300 remote and RF basestation. It is a little more difficult to program than a Harmony remote, but the URC gives you more control and it was only about $100.

Also, my wife loves the remote.