Noob Needs Help Finding a Receiver from $800-1000

[Battlefront115]

Hi guys, this is my first post and in need of some advice. I have just bought the KEF 5.1-Channel Home Theater Speaker System from circuitcity (I don't know much about speakers but they got rave reviews from cnet and other websites and they were $500 off so I jumped on them). What receiver would you recommend between $800-1000 usd for these speaker? It will be used mainly for home theater and gaming. I am going to be hooking up a PS3(blue ray player), Xbox 360, comcast cable box, all to a 47" 1080P LCD TV all through HDMI so I would think that 3 hdmi ports would be a minimum. But I am just a noob so if you do not recommend that please let me know.

I am a stickler when it comes to where to buy from so I am going to limit where it can be bought from to a few stores, circuitcity, J and R, bestbuy, tweeter, tigerdirect, newegg, and amazon. I only selected these stores because I have had personal experience with them and know they are reputable.

Thanks for the help (BTW I will go over $1000 slightly if it is a better buy for the money)

 

[bandphan]

Hi guys, this is my first post and in need of some advice. I have just bought the KEF 5.1-Channel Home Theater Speaker System from circuitcity (I don't know much about speakers but they got rave reviews from cnet and other websites and they were $500 off so I jumped on them). What receiver would you recommend between $800-1000 usd for these speaker? It will be used mainly for home theater and gaming. I am going to be hooking up a PS3(blue ray player), Xbox 360, comcast cable box, all to a 47" 1080P LCD TV all through HDMI so I would think that 3 hdmi ports would be a minimum. But I am just a noob so if you do not recommend that please let me know.

I am a stickler when it comes to where to buy from so I am going to limit where it can be bought from to a few stores, circuitcity, J and R, bestbuy, tweeter, tigerdirect, newegg, and amazon. I only selected these stores because I have had personal experience with them and know they are reputable.

Thanks for the help (BTW I will go over $1000 slightly if it is a better buy for the money)

which KEF speakers? Do you have specs? how large is your room?

 

[Midcow2]

recommendations

Hi guys, this is my first post and in need of some advice. I have just bought the KEF 5.1-Channel Home Theater Speaker System from circuitcity (I don't know much about speakers but they got rave reviews from cnet and other websites and they were $500 off so I jumped on them). What receiver would you recommend between $800-1000 usd for these speaker? It will be used mainly for home theater and gaming. I am going to be hooking up a PS3(blue ray player), Xbox 360, comcast cable box, all to a 47" 1080P LCD TV all through HDMI so I would think that 3 hdmi ports would be a minimum. But I am just a noob so if you do not recommend that please let me know.

I am a stickler when it comes to where to buy from so I am going to limit where it can be bought from to a few stores, circuitcity, J and R, bestbuy, tweeter, tigerdirect, newegg, and amazon. I only selected these stores because I have had personal experience with them and know they are reputable.

Thanks for the help (BTW I will go over $1000 slightly if it is a better buy for the money)

I assume you got the Model #: KEF KHT3005BL system for $999. it looks like four fairly small surrounds, a center speaker and a subwoofer. The center speaker has an average sensitivity of 90dB ( meaning pretty loud at fairly lowpower). The four surrounds have a max of 100 watts each. The sub is 10"' 250 watts. Okay system, but eventually you might consider upgrading to some good front speakers.

There are a lot of good receivers that will drive these speakers., some in the range you want to spend are:

(1) Onkyo TX-SR805 as low as $549 pricegrabber
http://electronics.pricegrabber.com/home-audio-receivers/m/36951629/search=Onkyo receivers/st=product/sv=title/ HDMI 3 in 1 out. A lot more than you need now, but lots of room to grow and upgrade.

(2) Marantz SR5002 Receiver as low as $549 of pricegrabber.com HMDI 3 in 1 out.

(3) Yamaha RX-863 Receiver as low as $695 on price grabber - excellent choice. 7.2 3 HDMI in - 1 out

All of these have much more than you need now and a lot of room to grow.


Your hook-up choice is excellent!

P.S- If you limit your store selections too those you mentioned above you will probably pay a lot more

 

[jcPanny]

Receiver options

For Kef or other satellite speakers, just get a receiver in the $4-500 price range (Yamaha RX-V663, Onkyo 605/606, etc.) that has the HDMI audio processing feature. They will have more than enough power and features. I have also seen a few deals posted on the Onkyo 805 for about $600 which would be another good option.

Another option would be to get the $400 receiver and use the extra $600 to get a better bookshelf type speaker system.

 

[Battlefront115]

Thanks for the input guys. The speakers are going to be here soon so i think i will give them a try and if they don't give me the desired sound i'll return them. The room it is going to be in in very open to the rest of the house and somewhat large i think I'm leaning torwards the onkyo 805 but does anyone have another brand that has similiar/or better features? also is onkyo a good and reliable brand?

 

[PENG]

I think you will gain more by trading up your front and center satellites to bookshelves such as the iq3. Given your $1000+ budget you may still have money left for a RX-V663 or Onkyo 805.

 

[Battlefront115]

do you have a link to the iq3, I would like to see them. Also will the 1080p upconverter in the onkyo 805 make a noticeable difference in a 480i/p signal from the cable box? Also why is heat bad for a receiver? I read that the onkyo 805 had some small heat/ firmware issues and i was curious if this was true.

 

[mazersteven]

do you have a link to the iq3, I would like to see them. Also will the 1080p upconverter in the onkyo 805 make a noticeable difference in a 480i/p signal from the cable box? Also why is heat bad for a receiver? I read that the onkyo 805 had some small heat/ firmware issues and i was curious if this was true.

Yes heat is "Bad" for electronics. Make sure your receiver is in a well ventilated place.

I agree with jcPanny's statement. "Another option would be to get the $400 receiver and use the extra $600 to get a better bookshelf type speaker system."

 

[PENG]

do you have a link to the iq3, I would like to see them. Also will the 1080p upconverter in the onkyo 805 make a noticeable difference in a 480i/p signal from the cable box? Also why is heat bad for a receiver? I read that the onkyo 805 had some small heat/ firmware issues and i was curious if this was true.

http://www.kef.com/qseries/products.htm

I prefer to upconvert with my DVD player. I am not sure if the 805 upconvert to 1080p or just pass through. The 875 and 905 do upconvert to 1080p and from what I read, the 905 can do a great job with the Reon.

 

[jcPanny]

Video conversion.

FYI,
with an HD source like BluRay, no scaling is necessary on the receiver. Receivers that do include a good scaller are >$1. An extra $5-600 in your speaker budget will make a big differnce. The scaling features included in a mid-fi receiver will make little or no difference to your video performance.

 

[Battlefront115]

thanks for the help guys I did the best of both worlds. I am going to keep the KEF 3000 and add on two more speakers. i ended up picking up the Pioneer Elite VSX-92TXH and have to find the time to set the system up. SHould hopefully give me the sound and picture i'm looking for.