i'm really confused...

[jp chicha]

I have reserved (with a down payment) a home theater system including
pioneer pdp-5010 (50 inch plasma)
2 Energy Reference Connoisseur RC-30 tower speakers
2 RC-10 bookshelfs
ESW V10 sub woofer
RC-LCR center
sony blu-ray BDP S300
now here is my problem
they are proposing to me a denon AVR888 receiver and I seen talk that I would be better off with the onkyo TX sr606 (new version with 4 hdmi ports instead of the TX SR605 ???
Any comments or advice from informed people
P.S. The Pioneer plasma is a Store Demo 1080P in excellent condition that I can get for $3000 canadian dollars (in Canada they retail for anywhere between $4000 to $4500...)
jp

 

[jp chicha]

I have till wednesday night to pay for this home cinema and would appreciate a quick comment...

 

[ThA tRiXtA]

What seems to be the problem? You don't think the original receiver they are offering you supplies enough HDMI connectivity?

How many devices that are HDMI capable do you or will you own?

As for the TV, if you're going to get a floor model, I would bargain for a decent warranty on it... regardless of it's current condition.

Good luck.

 

[MDS]

I personally would go with the Onkyo but that is because it is the brand I have the most experience with. I don't really see any big dilemma here with choosing between a Denon or Onkyo or any other receiver for the matter.

They are all fairly comparable and the difference comes down to price and features at a given price point. If the Denon doesn't have as many HDMI inputs as you need now or will need in the future then that is one negative against it. But consider other things too - like ease of use and convenience features. One way to do that is to get the manuals for the models you are considering and read through them and compare. If you are totally confused by the manual (and you will be with the Denon) then it might be better to choose something else.

 

[Nomo]

I personally would go with the Onkyo but that is because it is the brand I have the most experience with. I don't really see any big dilemma here with choosing between a Denon or Onkyo or any other receiver for the matter.

They are all fairly comparable and the difference comes down to price and features at a given price point. If the Denon doesn't have as many HDMI inputs as you need now or will need in the future then that is one negative against it. But consider other things too - like ease of use and convenience features. One way to do that is to get the manuals for the models you are considering and read through them and compare. If you are totally confused by the manual (and you will be with the Denon) then it might be better to choose something else.

The Onkyo's have always seamed to be the most user friendly of the big commercial brands.
It does seem to be somewhat of a coin toss beyaond that and the 4 HDMIs.

I guess I would lean towards the Onkyo.

 

[mouettus]

Either of the receivers you choose, that's hell of a system you'll have there

 

[stratman]

What throws up a red flag for me is the used TV, I would get a tight warantee on that. They're on from early morning to late night, that's a lot of burn-in on the most expensive and important piece of gear in your HT. I'd get a new TV and try to get a floor sample receiver or speakers.

 

[mouettus]

What throws up a red flag for me is the used TV, I would get a tight warantee on that. They're on from early morning to late night, that's a lot of burn-in on the most expensive and important piece of gear in your HT. I'd get a new TV and try to get a floor sample receiver or speakers.

+1

Good advice. It is so much easier to get a discount on speakers because of the markup. You're buying some mid/hi-end stuff here. Don't be shy.

 

[jp chicha]

i'm less confused

so buying a floor model of a plasma pioneer is not a great idea, even though the store waranty is 1 year. I can take an extended waranty of up to 4 years. By the way the store is Future Shop, I had not mentioned this. Their extended warranty is several hundred dollars and protects against faulty pixels... the overall comments from you all seems to be that the new model Onkyo TX SR606 with 4 HDMI's and upconverter to 1080 is worth the wait. ONKYO being the easier receiver to use.. thank you all for the prompt response and I would appreciate further comments. jp

 

[jp chicha]

no to monster cables ?

I am new in this domaine, what is with the say no to monster cables
and does anybody out there know about the energy speakers?

 

[ThA tRiXtA]

We're not saying there is anything wrong with a floor model TV, it's just that you are still paying a good chunk of cash for it and at the end of the day that TV has still been well used. If I were to get a floor model, I would bargain with them to at the very least cut me a good deal on the multi year warranty, or if they really want to sell the TV, throw in the warranty for free.

If nothing happens to the TV, it doesn't cost them anything, and if it breaks down your *** is covered. (My friend recently bought a floor model LCD from future shop and he got them to throw in the multi year warranty free... so it does happen even if they say it doesn't.

There is nothing technically wrong with monster cable, it's just that they charge an arm and a leg and your firstborn and they don't do anything that any decent yet much cheaper cable will do too.

As for energy speakers, I wouldn't suggest taking anyone's opinion too heavily regarding speakers. You will be the one who has to listen to those particular speakers for the next few years at least.

Listen with your head and your ears. Come to your own conclusions.

 

[ChunkyDark]

I am new in this domaine, what is with the say no to monster cables
and does anybody out there know about the energy speakers?

Monster is ludicrously overpriced. Check out bluejeanscable.com or monoprice.com for good reasonably priced cables.

Oh, yeah and they are sue happy.

 

[mouettus]

As for energy speakers, I wouldn't suggest taking anyone's opinion too heavily regarding speakers. You will be the one who has to listen to those particular speakers for the next few years at least.

Listen with your head and your ears. Come to your own conclusions.

While being true that speakers must be chosen with one's listening tastes, regardless of that, the Energy RC series is a very refined and well built speaker. Canadian product not too much sold in the states. That's why they don't make headlines such as B&W, PSB and the like on sites like AH. Don't be afraid, all the equipment you've chosen is of very good quality. I'm not sure the RCs would like the 605 though. I'd push a little higher powerwise.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Onkyo 606:

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4223887

http://www.productwiki.com/onkyo-tx-sr606/

 

[Exit]

I would not get hung up on how many HDMI ports are on a receiver. I got a 4-position HDMI switcher from monoprice.com for about $43 so you can always expand as long as you have at least one HDMI input port available on the receiver.

 

[swestbom]

I have reserved (with a down payment) a home theater system including
pioneer pdp-5010 (50 inch plasma)
2 Energy Reference Connoisseur RC-30 tower speakers
2 RC-10 bookshelfs
ESW V10 sub woofer
RC-LCR center
sony blu-ray BDP S300
now here is my problem
they are proposing to me a denon AVR888 receiver and I seen talk that I would be better off with the onkyo TX sr606 (new version with 4 hdmi ports instead of the TX SR605 ???
Any comments or advice from informed people
P.S. The Pioneer plasma is a Store Demo 1080P in excellent condition that I can get for $3000 canadian dollars (in Canada they retail for anywhere between $4000 to $4500...)
jp

Onkyo is on their second generation of HDMI-1.3 receivers so I would go with that over Denon for that reason alone. Besides Onkyo definitely has much better bang for the buck than Denon (and Denon/Marantz are on the block which will take its toll on support).

 

[jp chicha]

I can buy a yamaha HTR 6080 on sale for $649. I know that this is a discontinued model but it is a 7.1 that can belt out 120 watts per channel.
In lieu of an onkyo 605 or 606 is this a good choice? I will be running my cable box (illico hd) and a blue ray DVD. I am told I can get a switch for about 50 bucks to transform a HDMI into 4 HDMI, so 2 HDMI's IN are not a problem.. this speaker ensemble 2 RC-30 towers, 1 centre,2 RC-10 bookshelves and a 10 inch sub by Energy in cherry wood will cost me about $2400. Is this an outrageous expense? Total cost of package taxed in is $8400 can. Sale ends tomorrow night... thank you all for your enlightening comments
By the way, they are willing to gove me a extended waranty for half price, I will try to bargain for more.
jp

 

[mouettus]

hey jp, whereabout in quebec are you?