...if the source is poor, there is nothing that a good set of speakers is going to solve.Good speakers won't fix bad quality audio, but bad speakers will screw up any audio, no matter how good regardless of other components in the chain.

Diogen.

Correct, except for incremental benefit, don't discount the source by trying to compensate with the speakers.

The answer is to match similar quality components.

Thanks a lot everybody for your input, I ended up buying Yamaha RXV659Ti form my dealer, (got really good deal), in Titanium finish too, looks really nice: all of my HT gear is silver.
BTW I was told HTR series is cheaper version of RXV, which only sold in BB/FS.

Good pick. You'll be happy with the 659.

I am currently looking to upgrade my Onkyo 676 HT receiver. My dealer has recommended Panasonic SA-XR57 or Pioneer Elite vsx-80 TXV.

I am also looking at Onkyo TX-SR 604.

Which would you recommend and why? (I have Paradigm speakers all around and BEV HD)

Any Help appreciated.

What is the purpose of the upgrade and what is your budget?

Budget is $800.

Purpose of upgrade is HDMI and better/newer technology.

You might as well wait a while longer for the new HDMI 1.3 AVRs with all the new flavours of DTS and DD for HDDVD and Bluray built in. There are some models due out this year.

So far receivers with HDMI bring you more problems than they solve:)

Got a question for you experts. I'm looking into a mid-range receiver, want audio Hdmi decoding to enjoy my ps3 losseless lpcm. I read tons but am a bit confused. 3 units that got my attention the Marantz sr-4001, and sr-5001 and the Onkyo 604. Any owners ?

All input is more than welcomed so hard to make the right choice

As other posters have suggested, if you are not interested in a sound quality upgrade - only a switching upgrade: wait at least 6 months until actual working HDMI 1.3 receivers are out.

I have always had problems with HDMI BS UNTIL! I purchased my pioneer elite vsx 84. It's an amazing receiver. It is quite expensive though (1500-1800) but the HDMI upconverting works flawlessly.

1 cable going to the plasma and just feed everything into the receiver. It passes 1080p no problem (PS3). PCM tracks sound amazing from blue ray. I had this system downstairs but it's simply to nice and sounds great so I brought everything up and put a secondary sound system in the basement (still waiting for speakers)

This is basically just an endorsment for the 84. Great, Great receiver - Doenst pound like my NAD T773 but who wants to go def anyways ;)

Has anyone tried the Denon series from best buy? The 787 is well price and looks great - no HDMI but who cares. I'm thinking about going with a low end denon and a yamaha or polk soundbar for the bedroom. I notice the yamaha was the encoder built in so is a receiver necessary? The polk has just the speaker inputs.

Exactly I'm looking in sound improvement, hence the hdmi audio, the swithching for me is secondary as is upscaling. As long as it passes 1080p( ps3 and KDS60A2000 and Oppo 981hd) and plays lpcm, I'm happy :D

You might as well wait a while longer for the new HDMI 1.3 AVRs with all the new flavours of DTS and DD for HDDVD and Bluray built in. There are some models due out this year.

Not true. You do not need HDMI 1.3 receivers to enjoy the next gen sound formats. Current receivers like the Yamaha RX-V 2700 or 1700, any current Denon HDMI receivers or the Pioneer Elite 82 or 84 receivers will do just fine. As far as i understand, as long as your HD dvd player or Bluray player decodes the sound first, then you are good to go. There's a pretty long thread about this over at AVS forum.

Hello.

I have been looking at the Harmon Kardon AVR 645 receiver and now I'm wondering about others from Denon, Yamaha ect.

What would the comparable models be in other brands like Denon, Yamah ect. to the Harmon Kardon AVR 645?

Thanks

Viper

ten7ryder,

At this time, only an HD DVD player can decode DD TrueHD and DTS-HD. And that can be done with HDMI 1.1 as well as 5.1 multichannel analogs.

New receivers are now announced at the CES show, and should be on the market in a few months, which will decode DD TrueHD and DTS-HD and will require HDMI 1.3 source to accomplish that.

I am now seriously looking at Denon AVR2307CI, Marantz SR5001 or Pioneer EliteVSX80TXV an upgrade in the sound quality is a definite must - my other equipment is a 50" Panny Plasma and an upconverting Panny DVD player, Paradigm speakers all around and Onkyo 676 receiver (being replaced)

Any comments or advice on the receivers would be much appreciated.

You are getting up into the entry level area for UK designed units. Different sound vs Asian products. Their designs focus more on sound quality whereas Asian focus is on "everything including the kitchen sink". I would checkout Cambridge Audio, Sherwood Newscastle and NAD (although NAD is now Canadian based).

For a few $$ more, you could look at Arcam and Rotel.

I looked at Cambridge, Sherwood and NAD and found them to be out of my price range here in Ottawa. My dealer carries NAD but would only recommend Panasonic SA-XR57 or Pioneer Elite VSX-80TXV for my setup.

Any comments on the receivers I am considering would be appreciated. BTW I also have BEV 9200 sat.

I recently purchased a avr340 and it does not have HDMI. I purchased it for 600CAD. I can now purchase a avr245 for 700CAD with HDMI and XM. My question is how important is HDMI going to be in the future. I currently have a rear projection with a DVI input but I will be upgrading to a plasma in the future. Will I need an HDMI AVR to maximize performance with the plasma.
I currently am running component for my tv. I cant tell the difference from DVI. Will this be the same on a plasma?
Thanks