Home Theater Receiver

[flipper35]

To add to an already somber weekend, our HT Receiver bit the dust on Saturday. We need to get a new one and I was looking at teh Yamaha RX-V667 but it looks like that is an older model and may be out or soon out of production. The price is decent as I see it online in the $360 - $400 range but I am hesitant about getting something that is near EOL. Looked at a couple Pioneer and Onkyo as well but for some reason the reviews keep pushing toward the v667 with the description of the sound it produces. It is relpacing a Sony unit. The last Sony product I have purchased and don't see another any time soon. The unit itself was decent and is close to 10 years old but they ticked me off years ago and I guess I can carry a grudge. <rant>Same thing with Home depot. Had to wait forever for the two associates to finish their flirting match before they would help us. They sent me a $10 gift card rather than have a talk with the employees in question and I sent it back telling them it was worthless to me. Haven't been back since. </rant>

So, what do you think, go with the Yamaha or get a newer style unit. I would love one with 2 HDMI out but they seem to be more than I want to spend for the feature.

[Zeke]

Seem to be a lot of used units by various mfgr's on CL. Sorry you're Sony challenged. Nothing but good luck here buying the better stuff.

[scottmandue]

My info is from a few years back so my be out of date, however;

I love my Pioneer Elite,

I almost got an Onkyo because of their great spec. but read online they were having some reliability problems with the particular model I wanted.

Only thing with the Pioneer is you need to be a little tech savvy... if you want to fine tune you system it is great.

These guys seem to have good prices on new,

Receivers, Amps, & Tuners Reviews, Ratings, Deals and Comparison

I was going to buy from them but I found the exact Pioneer NIB from a guy in San Diego on eBay for a few bucks less.

[JavaBrewer]

My first thought would be to go with a newer receiver with the HDMI out that you desire. I think the market is flush with many options in your price point and doubt one will be substantially better than the other.

I am still running with an old RX-V520 5.1 AV receiver. It is connected to my DVR and DVD player with optical cables and outputs through newer Polk TL2 satellites and sub. Sounds great to me.

[Rusty Heap]

new buzz words and whoo-dickeys don't matter diggly if you can't drive the remote and use basic functions.


I've gone basic basic for years.

If to access some function you have to drive down 17 menus to access it..........bugger that.

[kach22i]

Everything in that segment goes obsolete so quickly, I'd be hard pressed to pay much more than I really have to.

Ease of use as already mentioned is one way to thin out the herd.

[flipper35]

I can get an HDMI switch or splitter from Monoprice that is 1/5th the price difference of a unit with 2 HDMI out as all I see with 2 HDMI out are in the $800+ range which nearly doubles the price of a unit.

Zeke, I used to get Sony products and the receiver I had I certainly can't complain about, especially with the quality of power out here in the country. They just irked me with some of their new policies some years ago. I think their high end stuff is still pretty good stuff but the entry level consumer stuff isn't as good as it used to be.

Scott, I was looking at a Pioneer with network support for DNLA and internet radio, but we have a home theater PC that takes care of all that for me. Which model do you have?

[MysticLlama]

Maybe see if you can find a used Marantz 6003 somewhere. It has two HDMI outs.

I have a 5003, and based on a back to back sound test liked it much better than the equivalent Pioneer Elite at the time.

[scottmandue]

Mine is two, three, or as much as five years old... I think it is a VSX10something...

It is good, but not great.

Mind you I would easily drop $5000 on a home theater receiver... and be driving a 997 turbo... in a perfect world.

But this is what was in the budget.

[willtel]

I have a Sony I bought from a woman on Craigslist that I am hoping will die. I also have a strict no Sony rule but I went over there to buy a Weber grill and she offered it to me for next to nothing. I left there with a nice Weber gas grill, a Sony receiver and a Klipsch 12" sub for $175!

If I were to replace it today I would buy a used Arcam AVR-300 from this site, Search Results for "" | AudiogoN

I've never run video through any of my receivers so HDMI is of no value to me. Not what they are for IMO.

[scottmandue]

Curious why you want 2 HDMI outputs?

I'm sure Yamaha, Maranz, Onkyo all make fine equipment... I just went with Pioneer because (at the time) it looked better on paper.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by willtel

I have a Sony I bought from a woman on Craigslist that I am hoping will die.

The Sony or the woman you bought it from?

[willtel]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

The Sony or the woman you bought it from?

I knew that sounded funny. I'm hoping the Sony will die, if she dies I'm still stuck with the Sony.

[Gordo2]

I'm finishing a basement and have been researching A/V components. I haven't purchased yet but plan to go with the Denon AVR-1912. Good specs/features:
-Really like the front panel simple A/V switching (for those in my family that can't seem to work a remote)
- Current formats (I was looking for TrueHD)
- Reasonable power
- 6 HDMI input (cable, DVR, BluRay, X-box and room for more)
- Solid user reviews (A/V reviews and Amazon).

DENON US)

Was also looking at the Yamaha RX-V671 but found a few reviews listing some early failures:

RX-V671 - RX - AV Receivers - Audio & Visual - Products - Yamaha United States

Both are in the same price range. Good luck,

Gordo

[flipper35]

1 HDMI for the TV and 1 for a projector. Looking at an Epson 8300 but don't have it yet.

Willtel, the HDMI carries the audio as well so I would have to run HDMI to the TV and SPDIF to the receiver, HDMI to both, or HDMI passed through to the TV.

Gordo, the Denon looks like it has similar features and is in the same price range, I will check it out.

Scott I hear you on the need to budget. If I had unlimited funds I would be using a separate amp with some serious speakers for the audio and a $7500 projector. (or two for a polarized 3D setup) I guess the budget is God's way of preserving my hearing.

[cairns]

I would recommend the Denon as well. I have a 6.1 that has worked well for years, I also bought their first (the first) CD player and have that and another later Denon one in the basement that still work fine.

[MysticLlama]

Would something like this eliminate the need for dual HDMI out?

For only $22.84 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 1X2 Mini HDMI® Splitter w/ 3D support | HDMI Powered & Passive 1 X 2 Splitters

That would open up the options quite a lot, and still keep switching constrained to only messing with the receiver.

[JR Indy]

I purchased a pioneer elite vsx-52 a few months ago, upgraded from a Yamaha. Much happier with soundand user interface. iPad control app, AirPlay built in. I looked at and listened to comparable denons and marantz units. I'm very happy with the unit.

[LeeH]

I just picked up a Pioneer Elite VSX-90TXV (with remote & manual) from my neighbor's garage sale for....
$20! Yes, you read that right - $20. Me=baffled+happy

[jorian]

I have a Denon AVR - 791 (now in my in garage) - it's a 2010 model with 3 or 4 HDMI inputs. I hooked up my HT and it just sounded like crap. Could never get it to sound right. Bought an Onkyo network receiver at around the same price point and it made a huge difference. They are both high current amps but the power supply on the Onkyo is far superior. Only downside to Onkyo is that they run hot and need a well ventilated area.