Help pick a receiver to match my speakers

[Garyc]

Hello,

I am getting my feet wet in the receiver/speaker arena.

Currently we have a 46" Vizio tv and a sony blue-ray player. We use our tv mostly for movies and playing video games.

I thought the sound was just fine until a neighbor showed me his home entertainment setup (he is a professional home entertainment installer).

While I do not want to spend the $15k+, I desire to have something better than basic audio through the TV speaker.

I'm focusing toward these speakers: Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1.

Would like to know:
A. Which receiver is compatible with these speakers.
(Was considering Pioneer or Yamaha)
B. Would you recommend a different set of speakers?

For now, I am thinking of spending between $1 and $1.5k. But if there was a speaker/receiver setup that cost a little more, I'd be willing to stretch.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Ares]

Hello and Welcome to AH Gary,

I have a question what are the measurements of the room that your setup will be placed in? This would help in coming up with a recommendation that will work for that room, I would suggest look at other options of speakers like Infinity Primus series which are considered very good speakers for their price a few members here own these and are really happy with them as a bonus they won't break the bank. Berhinger is another that get's high praise for being affordable and perform beyond their price.

I can't comment on the Onkyo speakers but I do know that their receivers have a good rep among many AHer's along with Denon, Marantz and Yamaha with the receiver it will boil down to what features you want and making sure that it will push the speakers you ultimately chose.

 

[Pyrrho]

With a $1.5k budget, I recommend that you look for speakers that cost around $1k, and keep the receiver at about $500. Speakers affect the sound much, much more than the receiver. In fact, if your budget goes higher, I still recommend keeping the budget for the receiver close to $500, until you get to multi-thousand dollar speakers. And even then, you probably do not need to spend much more on the receiver.

As for your question regarding those speakers, just about any receiver you can find will be compatible with them.

I recommend that you go out into the world and listen to as many speakers, and as many types of speakers (e.g., ribbon, horn, dome, whatever) as you can afford. There is no such thing as a perfect speaker, so it is always a question of what virtues you require and what vices you can tolerate.

And remember, when they come out with some new sound format, quality speakers do not need to be upgraded; it is only the processor and such things that need to be upgraded, so money put into speakers is a better investment than money put into a receiver.

 

[Garyc]

Hello and Welcome to AH Gary,

I have a question what are the measurements of the room that your setup will be placed in? This would help in coming up with a recommendation that will work for that room, I would suggest look at other options of speakers like Infinity Primus series which are considered very good speakers for their price a few members here own these and are really happy with them as a bonus they won't break the bank. Berhinger is another that get's high praise for being affordable and perform beyond their price.

I can't comment on the Onkyo speakers but I do know that their receivers have a good rep among many AHer's along with Denon, Marantz and Yamaha with the receiver it will boil down to what features you want and making sure that it will push the speakers you ultimately chose.

The room is in the basement. Size is approx. 16 feet by approx 24 feet. The ceiling is a false ceiling, which will be nice for running speaker cable.

Do you know who sells Infinity Primus? I looked on Amazon, and there were too many different styles of them.. bookshelf, satellite, floorstanding. Which ones do you recommend? Do you have to buy IP speakers separately, or do they sell them in a 5.1 or 7.1 setup?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

The room is in the basement. Size is approx. 16 feet by approx 24 feet. The ceiling is a false ceiling, which will be nice for running speaker cable.

Do you know who sells Infinity Primus? I looked on Amazon, and there were too many different styles of them.. bookshelf, satellite, floorstanding. Which ones do you recommend? Do you have to buy IP speakers separately, or do they sell them in a 5.1 or 7.1 setup?

AVR: http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKTXSR707/Onkyo/TX-SR707-Thx-Select2-Plus-100-watts-channel-7.2-Receiver/1.html
Speakers:
http://www.emptek.com/impseries51_pkg1.php - Better music
or this:
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/enthusiast2.html
- better HT

 

[Ares]

With the IP's yes you have to buy them separately, as Pyrrho has mentioned you should go out and listen to as many speakers as possible to know what you like. Recommendations will never replace auditioning and it's the only way to know what you will like in a speaker. I also agree with him on another point that most of your money should go towards the speakers if look at my Sig my speakers cost about $1500 at the time and my receiver was just short of $500.

BSA recommendation of a refurb receiver is a good way of getting the most bang for your buck and it would allow you to but more towards the speakers if need.