Please help with AV receiver purchase

[Mike Bougard]

I am interested in purchasing a new av receiver, but I am quite baffled by the array of audio formats that are offered/supported by the receivers. I know that nothing is future proof, but what do I really need to be concerned about when looking at these audio formats.

I am interested in connecting a DirecTV HD receiver and an HTPC with a standard DVD player using HDMI to a Mitsubishi HC1500 projector. I have not purchased as of yet, one to the newer of the HD DVD players as I am waiting for the dust to settle. I intend to continue running whatever I do through the HTPC, so 2 HDMI connections are fine. The front speakers are Altec Lansing Model 19’s with the remainder of the 7.1 setup being JBL.

I have looked at the Denon AVR-1908 and the Onkyo TX-SR605. The Onkyo I am concerned about the heat/popping (clicking) issues that I have read about and really don’t know if any of these are points of real concern or have been addressed in later production units.

I am open to other units that may be suggested and I would like to make an evaluation and purchase this weekend.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Seth=L]

I would recommend the Harman Karkon AVR-247 and Yamaha RX-V661 over those two. My personal favorite in the $400-500 range is the Harman Kardon AVR-247.

 

[asahikasei]

Try and stick with something that will be future proof for the new audio codecs.

 

[gus6464]

The question is are you going to buy a new BD player anytime soon? Base your receiver decision on that as you can buy a player that decodes everything internally so you don't need the Onkyo 605 (which is crap anyway). And if you end up getting a new BD player that decodes everything I recommend these two receivers over the Denon and Onkyo as Seth said:

Yamaha RX-V661
HK AVR-247

 

[64met]

What is your budget? Depending on what u want to spend; you might want to check out the Onkyo 805... I own this... and I have had zero prob's with it. I also owned an HK... IMO... both Onkyo and HK are great receivers. Just make sure you are future proof (or as close to future proof as possible).

I am interested in purchasing a new av receiver, but I am quite baffled by the array of audio formats that are offered/supported by the receivers. I know that nothing is future proof, but what do I really need to be concerned about when looking at these audio formats.

I am interested in connecting a DirecTV HD receiver and an HTPC with a standard DVD player using HDMI to a Mitsubishi HC1500 projector. I have not purchased as of yet, one to the newer of the HD DVD players as I am waiting for the dust to settle. I intend to continue running whatever I do through the HTPC, so 2 HDMI connections are fine. The front speakers are Altec Lansing Model 19’s with the remainder of the 7.1 setup being JBL.

I have looked at the Denon AVR-1908 and the Onkyo TX-SR605. The Onkyo I am concerned about the heat/popping (clicking) issues that I have read about and really don’t know if any of these are points of real concern or have been addressed in later production units.

I am open to other units that may be suggested and I would like to make an evaluation and purchase this weekend.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[cruzmsle]

Tx-sr605

Mike I have the 605 and had the popoing sound. I have it in a cabinet and the heat was creating the problem. I purchased dual cooling fan with thermistat on ebay and since I have put it on the top it has stopped. I did not want to get ride of it because of the 2 HDMI v1.3 and the quality of the audio especially the Dolby DTS..... man it is unbelievable. I have a 5.1 Bose surround sound system and when I play blue ray on it. it is like you are at the movies.

 

[rnatalli]

I would recommend the Harman Karkon AVR-247 and Yamaha RX-V661 over those two. My personal favorite in the $400-500 range is the Harman Kardon AVR-247.

The Yamaha 661 is one of my favorites, but the HK 247 is excellent as well. The HK amp section probably has more juice despite the lower stats.

 

[Mike Bougard]

Thanks for the replies guys. I had no idea buying an av receiver in this day and age was going to be so difficult.

Makes me want to keep my JVC receiver and just keep plugging and unplugging my HDMI cable from my sat box and htpc to the projector.

Needless to say, I have passed up my intended deadline to purchase. The search is still on...

 

[Seth=L]

Thanks for the replies guys. I had no idea buying an av receiver in this day and age was going to be so difficult.

Makes me want to keep my JVC receiver and just keep plugging and unplugging my HDMI cable from my sat box and htpc to the projector.

Needless to say, I have passed up my intended deadline to purchase. The search is still on...

It's not that hard, about any receiver in that budget would be a step up from what you have and would also be a great receiver. Just pick one that has the looks and features you want and get it.

 

[JOD]

Mike, my personal feeling is that you should not buy an
onkyo if you care about customer support. I have bought a few Onkyo products in the past, the equipment its self was fine.....but they have possibly the worst customer serivce in the world. I called one time during reg. business hours and waited on hold for 2 hours, no one picked up. After calling every day eventually i got through, they said that they were reciving alot of call lately...BS. They werent very helpful and the rep o spoke with didnt seem he knew what he was doing. There are many others here that feel the same way about onkyos CS. Look around online, you will hear all about how terrible their CS is.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I would recommend the Harman Karkon AVR-247 and Yamaha RX-V661 over those two. My personal favorite in the $400-500 range is the Harman Kardon AVR-247.

I can personally vouch for the Harman Kardon AVR-247.

After owning that great product for 3 months (sold it to my little brother because he needed it more), I have a tremendous respect for all Harman Kardon products!

If I were to sell ALL my separate components, I would have to just wait for HK to come out with a new top-of-the-line receiver that has HDMI 1.3/DTS-MA/TrueHD.

Example, when HK says that it is rated at 50 wpc x 7, it actually measures like 80 wpc w/ all 7 ch driven, or 100 wpc w/ 2 ch driven.

When other companies say it is rated at 100 wpc x 7, it actually measures like 50 wpc w/ all 7 ch driven, or 80 wpc w/ 2 ch driven.

But that's just one little part of the story.

I've compared the HK247's direct stereo vs my RL-11's true analog stereo, and the HK247 came extremely close to being as good as the RL-11 preamp.

Another plus for the HK is that it is the least expensive AVR to use Faroudja Video Processing for 720p upscaling.

Keep in mind that HK is owned by Harman International, which also makes Mark Levinson, Revel, and Lexicon!

 

[Seth=L]

Mike, my personal feeling is that you should not buy an
onkyo if you care about customer support. I have bought a few Onkyo products in the past, the equipment its self was fine.....but they have possibly the worst customer serivce in the world. I called one time during reg. business hours and waited on hold for 2 hours, no one picked up. After calling every day eventually i got through, they said that they were reciving alot of call lately...BS. They werent very helpful and the rep o spoke with didnt seem he knew what he was doing. There are many others here that feel the same way about onkyos CS. Look around online, you will hear all about how terrible their CS is.

But hey, Pioneer is tops.

 

[Seth=L]

Another plus for the HK is that it is the least expensive AVR to use Faroudja Video Processing for 720p upscaling.

Keep in mind also, and I just found this out a couple of days ago, the H/K 247's scalers can't scale to any resolution but 720p and can't be shut off. It would likely pass resolutions above that without doing anything to them though.

 

[Bad_ben81]

I am sorry to hijack this thread. But would you change your receiver recommendation if I wanted to use just the model 19s as my speakers instead of a 7.1 configuration? I currently have Sony STR DH130 as my receiver, but don't have a good sound from the speakers. I have to raise the volume level to approximately 90% level, and this causes the receiver to crash at times. So I am looking for recommendations for a receiver that can power the altec lansing speakers.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It's funny reading our own threads from 10 YEARS ago!

Where did the time go?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

So I am looking for recommendations for a receiver that can power the altec lansing speakers.

What model number?

How far you sit from speakers?

How loud do you listen? Moderate, Very Loud, Extremely Loud?

 

[Bad_ben81]

What model number?

How far you sit from speakers?

How loud do you listen? Moderate, Very Loud, Extremely Loud?

Altec Lansing model 19 speakers were driven by sony str dh130. I like to listen to moderate to loud music. But the receiver would need to be at around 90%volume level for even a moderate sound to be produced.

 

[lovinthehd]

Altec Lansing model 19 speakers were driven by sony str dh130. I like to listen to moderate to loud music. But the receiver would need to be at around 90%volume level for even a moderate sound to be produced.

You know percentage of volume is really a poor way of thinking about volume or your amp employment, right? Not only does it vary in scale among various gear, without calibration hard to compare at all on the internet. Power is logarithmic, too, so to gain say 3dB more with an amp of 100 watts per channel you'd need one with twice, that, 200 watts per channel. Try changing volume by 3dB to see how slight an increase that is. Better way to think about it is your speakers' sensitivity ratings (altho there are various ways of expressing that too). IIRC correctly your Altecs would be very sensitive and can be driven by most amps fairly easily (and a brief search shows a spec in the range of 99-102 dB, quite high and very easy for an amp to drive quite loudly easily).

 

[sholling]

If you're in the US and near a Frys it's worth signing up for their newsletter just to get your daily personal promo codes. For the last couple of months they've been blowing out Denon's AVR-X2400 for $300ish, AVR-X3400H for under $500, and AVR-X4400H for as low as $800 in one-day sales (personalized promo code required). These seem to go on sale every week or two.

 

[Bad_ben81]

You know percentage of volume is really a poor way of thinking about volume or your amp employment, right? Not only does it vary in scale among various gear, without calibration hard to compare at all on the internet. Power is logarithmic, too, so to gain say 3dB more with an amp of 100 watts per channel you'd need one with twice, that, 200 watts per channel. Try changing volume by 3dB to see how slight an increase that is. Better way to think about it is your speakers' sensitivity ratings (altho there are various ways of expressing that too). IIRC correctly your Altecs would be very sensitive and can be driven by most amps fairly easily (and a brief search shows a spec in the range of 99-102 dB, quite high and very easy for an amp to drive quite loudly easily).

First of all, let me apologize for an incomplete description of my situation. I am a complete newbie and still need to look through the internet for basic info on audio systems. I agree when you say percentage of volume control is a poor way to define volume.
I inherited these speakers with the house that I had bought. I remember the first time I heard those speakers during the house showing. The model 19s were in the basement and we were in the level floor. The owner turned up the volume on these speakers and I could feel the vibration from the floor, not just hear the music. So I know for a fact that these speakers can play real loud (too loud for me).
I was completely clueless on audio systems back then, so I did not bother to see what setup he had. It was these speakers that got me hooked onto audio systems and desire to set one up for myself began. When I looked up on audio systems, I was amazed to see a wider world beyond reciever and home theater systems.
When I look at the specs for the speakers, the amplifier operating range is 10W to 350W, with Long term max acoustic output of 117 dbSPL @ 65W. Forgive my ignorance, since I am expecting this to play at a decent level of volume with good clarity, driven by a 135W per channel receiver at around or a bit above of 50% of volume control to reach the 65W. Currently I need to play the receiver at around 90% of the volume control jacked up, and this causes the receiver to crash or shut down the volume when there's a sudden change in music. I am not expecting the receiver to crash at these levels when playing since I am expecting to use around 65W to power the speakers at a decent level of volume.
At this point, I am assuming either I have not setup the system right, or that the receiver is not capable of delivering 65W without crashing.