Help with receiver selection

[craigh]

I am a complete newbie to this so I appreciate the patience. My first and last purchased receiver was a HK AVR20 in 1997, but it is on its last legs. So I am looking for a receiver to go with my recently purchased Polk SurroundBar; my budget is approx $500. Our TV is a Sony KDS-50A2000 which is a 1080p & HDMI. I will purchase a powered subwoofer but for now using my old Cambridge Ensemble III sub (ca. 1997). Since the surroundbar is a 5 channel set-up, I don't want to waste $$ on extra channels when I could apply it to better sound quality, connections, or digital modes, but the range of features & specs out there is quite frankly overwhelming to me at the moment. I would also like to be able to plug in my IPod.

I am not sure how well the acoustics would be. The living room is ~ 20x20 with a rising shed-style roof and hardwood floors. The construction is post & beam with a deck ceiling so there only sheetrock on what walls are present (the room opens up on one side to the dining area and there are windows all along the back wall).

We will use this for both music & movies, about 60/40. Oh yeah, preference is for silver/titanium (in other words, the wife wants it silver/titanium).

Thanks a bunch in advance for the advice!

 

[jcPanny]

Receiver for soundbar

If you must have a soundbar type sytem, I would recommend geting one of the Yamaha YSP models. These work best in small, square rooms. They will take a digital audio connection from your DVD, satellite, etc. and no receiver is required. Add an HDMI switch to handle the video switching or connect all sources directly to the TV. Like you suggested, you will need a sub to fill in the low end.

If you are planning on spending $500 on a receiver, than consider a real multichannel speaker system with at least 5 speakers.

 

[craigh]

Receiver for soundbar

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately I already purchased the Polk soundbar because it was impractical to wire the living room for rear speakers in manner that would satisfy my wife and I came across some very positive reviews on it. The YSP did not come up in a search I performed when investigating the soundbar and I had not come across this forum. I take it you recommend the YSP over the soundbar, correct? When looking at the YSP on the Yamaha site I came across the YST-FSW100 powered subwoofer. Its cost is pretty low but then again our living room is not large so would that suffice or should I look for something more powerful?

We need to use the system for radio, CD, and iPod listening as well so any receiver suggestions would be appreciated.