Need help matching my wish list with the right HT receiver...

[Richta]

Hi all,

So this is my first post, and like so many others I'm a bit new to some of this stuff. I'm in the early stages of looking at home theater receivers, trying to find one that would act as the heart of my eventual sound system ... but I've got a few things on my "wants" list that are making it harder for me to find the right receiver, and I'd love some help. Here's the scoop:

Home theater aside, I'm looking for something that has a top-notch FM tuner. From a few posts here and there it sounds like some HT receivers aren't that great in the sensitivity/selectivity areas. I had my eye on an older Sony "ES" line HT receiver, but then ran across a post saying (on a different ES model) that the FM tuner was junk. Any thoughts on people's experience with the tuners built into their home theater receivers would be great.

Another thing I had liked about the Sony ES line was the idea of upgraded internal components, massive heat sinks, etc., over their regular line ... quality components and build is important. Are there other brands that have higher quality lines within their own brand, or brands that are just generally that level of higher quality all around?

HD capable video switching would be nice, and lastly, a phono input would be great ... I still use my turntable. I also use MD, ipod, PC (for recording), etc. so lots of inputs/outputs is good.

For the surround aspect, 5.1's probably just fine for my movie-watching habits.

Lots of questions, I know! But I'll say in advance that I sure appreciate any input anybody's got ... on any or all of the above. Maybe there's no one unit that'll fit all my wants on my budget, but I figure I'd toss all this out there and see what people recommend. BTW, budget's maybe in the $300-800 range, which probably means buying used(?) ... which is just fine by me.

Thanks much!

 

[john72953]

Hi all,

So this is my first post, and like so many others I'm a bit new to some of this stuff. I'm in the early stages of looking at home theater receivers, trying to find one that would act as the heart of my eventual sound system ... but I've got a few things on my "wants" list that are making it harder for me to find the right receiver, and I'd love some help. Here's the scoop:

Home theater aside, I'm looking for something that has a top-notch FM tuner. From a few posts here and there it sounds like some HT receivers aren't that great in the sensitivity/selectivity areas. I had my eye on an older Sony "ES" line HT receiver, but then ran across a post saying (on a different ES model) that the FM tuner was junk. Any thoughts on people's experience with the tuners built into their home theater receivers would be great.

Another thing I had liked about the Sony ES line was the idea of upgraded internal components, massive heat sinks, etc., over their regular line ... quality components and build is important. Are there other brands that have higher quality lines within their own brand, or brands that are just generally that level of higher quality all around?

HD capable video switching would be nice, and lastly, a phono input would be great ... I still use my turntable. I also use MD, ipod, PC (for recording), etc. so lots of inputs/outputs is good.

For the surround aspect, 5.1's probably just fine for my movie-watching habits.

Lots of questions, I know! But I'll say in advance that I sure appreciate any input anybody's got ... on any or all of the above. Maybe there's no one unit that'll fit all my wants on my budget, but I figure I'd toss all this out there and see what people recommend. BTW, budget's maybe in the $300-800 range, which probably means buying used(?) ... which is just fine by me.

Thanks much!

Hi and welcome!

I'm going to refer to the "experts" about how to find on acceptable tuner for your needs. Perhaps one of your choices might be to find a 5.1 or 7.1 Integrated Amp and pair that with a Tuner. However, that will cost you a lot more money. I don't listen to FM at home (only in my car) anymore and have never even used the tuner portion of my receiver.

I suppose a higher-end A/V receiver may accomplish what you're looking for. My Yamaha (see sig) is only available in Canada, but is equivelant to the Yamaha RX-V1800....perhaps some of the guys can shed some light as to whether this has a decent Tuner.

John

 

[markw]

While a lot of tuners in modern HT stuff isn't quite up to the equal of the classic analog tuners of the 70's, many people don't give them a fair chance.

Simpy put, you need a good antenna. Not a cute little little piece of metal with a big amp that sits in your entertainment center, but a real, honest-to-goodness FM antenna, preferably as high up as possible and outside. Given that, many tuners will satisfy.

Short of that, a simple, inexpensive rabbit ear antenna is about as good as it tets, but you have to adjust it frequently.

Oh, many existing rooftop VHF TV antennas work pretty well, too. I'm running a Denon 2802 with one of these and it does just fine.

 

[Pyrrho]

My advice is to buy a home theater receiver that you otherwise like, and see if its tuner is good enough for you with a decent antenna. And if it turns out not to be good enough, then buy a separate tuner. The Sony XDR-F1HD tuner can be had for about $100, and is supposed to be great:

http://ham-radio.com/k6sti/xdr-f1hd.htm

As for the receiver, if you have plans for ever buying a Blu-Ray player, I recommend getting a receiver that can decode all of the audio formats that are on it. This basically means buying a new [non-low end] receiver, not a used one. I would probably go with a Yamaha RX-V863 at your price point:

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=567570&CTID=5000300

It can easily be had for less than retail price.

 

[lsiberian]

Just get the best deal you can find on an hd-capable Onkyo, Yamaha, Denon, or Marantz receiver. Then get a separate tuner if need be.

 

[Richta]

Hey, thanks to all of you for the comments and recommendations - I'll check out the ones you all mentioned, but at first glance that Yamaha looks like it has pretty much everything I'd need.

Good comments on the FM tuner, too ... I was wondering if I'd wind up heading down the separate tuner road. Funny you should mention it, markw, but the tuner I'm currently using is about what you're talking about ... an older analog FM-only tuner, plugged into a newer digital receiver that couldn't quite pick up what the analog one can. I just moved from a house where I had set up a good outdoor FM antenna too, but I didn't take it with. Might have to get another one, just for fun.

Glad to see your recommendation on that Sony XDR-F1HD, Pyrrho ... HD radio was another item on my wish list that I hadn't mentioned at first, and it's good to know that this one's well-thought-of, from that review you linked to, especially nice that they liked both the HD and analog tuners in it.