looking for AV receiver to drive 5.1 system: spec inside

[Phil Indeblanc]

Ok, I guess I lost touch and got tossed off track a bit regarding amps/recievers, but I have not taken the plunge in any direction for my home AV receiver...So I need your help to pick one.

What I have now :
2- A/D/S bookshelfs (L300?) 4 or 5.25" driver with a tweeter. 4ohm /OLD
2-infinity (Made in USA) RSV-3 8"driver and tweet.(8ohm?) /OLD
(I guess I like old sounding speakers).
1-10" sub with a wide range of khz and volume control with 2 RCA's out and speaker in and out. Cambridge.
0- center channel, will need your input.
6 outdoor Bose 201's just to get some sound out. My neighbors wouldnt appreciate anything more.(not often do I want music outdoors...maybe for BBQ, etc.
1 DVD/cd recorder/player Panasonic.
1 PC with lots of MP3's that I want to listen to.
(Maybe there is a better or equally good way to get the PC connected to the recevier if one doesnt have networking)
1-42-48" LED flat screen (this is the only HDMI device so far).
iPod, but has all the same music on my PC, so not a biggy
Lots of CD's

What the system will serve: Not counting TV watching 60% audio, 40% movies...but this can change when hearing how enjoyable home theater is, and having 2 kids just starting to grow. With TV being almost a daily 1-2 hour viewing with Top Chef, Design Star, or HGTV, I am not sure if it makes a big difference.

1. Will be listening while having party and fun, and want a amp that can do long ours and when tired and you have the slow chill music playing you notice how nice the sound is of your audio system as you are tired on the couch.

2. Will be renting some nice movies for nice home theater sound

I listen to a wide range of music, from Gerry Mulligan, Morcheeba, Massive attack, Sade, NatKingCole, Sinatra, Metallica, System of a Down, EPMD, DepMode, Police /Sting, Bjork, lots of "listening room" electronic beats, tiesto, Timo Maas, Benny Goodman, Buena Vista Social club/Ibrahim, some Cuban, Latin, Greek, Arabic/, some French, Italian, love Paolo Conte, I am very open minded to music, so no probs there. I used to like some 80's new waves stuff too...enough said!

The room is a 30x18 that opens to another room. All the floors are concrete. The speakers will be mounted on the ceiling corners and each has a 90degree angle with a wall behind it, and the mounts are about 10 to 14 " off the wall. Moving the speakers or carpeting floors is not much an option and I understand these are not ideal (or close) conditions.

****
Here is a list of featuers that I think are important to me...

_ enough power to drive 5.1 speakers without the amp straining and creating high pitches and outputting distortion.

_ 2 Zone

_ what ever it is I will need with having a new 46" LED monitor fed from cable

_ direct stereo or a mode that is dedicated for stereo sound listening. Maybe the 5.1 speakers will be so nice sounding I will forget this, but?

_ adjustable EQ of some sort, or full set of preprogramed listening options (as thats wht I see replacing an EQ on most units)

_ HD Radio would be nice (but once a PC is connected, does it need this as a sep feature?)

_ all those logo's thx, dts, neural..I honestly dont know much about them, but they are supposed to make movies sound better, right?

_ A macro remote would be nice to do all the comps, but I love RF, so maybe a Harmony would be nice. Can't afford the Control4, or uni stuff.

My other main thing is...I am not one to pay for retail. I am a bargain hunter, as I know there are plenty good products out and available for less money. So I might be buying used, or something that is a good deal, if the savings justifies, as I'm not one to pass something new for say, $50 to 100, on something that is a few hundred dollars. Since this is a luxury expense, I can wait for a deal.

Also, not sure if I mentioned this, but if there is a way to get HDMI sound and picture qualty via other means I am ears. This applies to getting my PC connetced also, as I would like to watch tv and surf net on the same screen often times, let alone view my sec camera system to see who might be at the door or the kids playing outside, etc.

I hope this is enough info to narrow down 2 or 3 contenders that stand out.

in advance, thanks for those who read through this and put in some thoughtful feedback.

Phil

 

[Phil Indeblanc]

My other main thing is...I am not one to pay for retail. I am a bargain hunter, as I know there are plenty good products out and available for less money. So I might be buying used, or something that is a good deal, if the savings justifies, as I'm not one to pass something new for say, $50 to 100, on something that is a few hundred dollars. Since this is a luxury expense, I can wait for a deal.
Phil

As far as how I would approach purchasing...
for example, I see the Marantz SR7002 selling for $899 includes shipping. I also see the 8002 selling for $1050. If the quality and features are significant enough to up to the 8002, I would. As long as there is good reason, but then you read it shed 10 lbs, and you wonder what got gut out? :-0

 

[Phil Indeblanc]

From what it looks like the Pioneer can support 8 or 6 Ohm speakers.
Not 4? If I am running 4, how much of a strain is that?
I know I will use more power and some amps cannot handle long play in that impedence..but maybe you know better?

Do I rule out the vsx23txhci for that ?
My other option was the Yam rxv1065, or the Denon 2310ci

Thanks for all the great feedback so far ;-P

Maybe the logo's are the best way to pick a receiver.
Elite has 12, the Yam 9, and the Denon a measily 6. (they are about $100 difference between them)

 

[Phil Indeblanc]

After some more reading here, I came across a 4vs8ohm speaker and amp mating thread.

It looks like I need a high effieciency amp for the midfi group of selections. As I am not sure what the needs are for amps on a 5.1 setup. I dont know if I will be able to afford a HDMI receiver and amps, so I will do the midfi, right? since so many of you posted in the same direction I will say it is so.

So I am looking at the RX-V4600 by Yamaha, what do you all think?

Is the HDMI and upscale on this up and up / will it upscale? should I worry bout 1.0 vs1.3 hdmi (I forgot, but knew there was a questionable difference). I will have 1 hdmi screen on this and likely a blueRay to follow, and not planning on much gaming, but maybe Wii, and that is not demanding on video(hdmi?). Are there known issues or limitations with this receiver?