I'm new to the forum but not a stranger to home theater systems.

I've been on a 10 year hiatus from buying home theater equipment.

Old system consists of

Purchased in 1998
Sony VPH-D50 CRT projector (11 years and I've only put 300 hours on it)
Kenwood THX KC-Z1 Processor
Parasound THX HCA-1206 power amplifier
Atlantic Technology 350 THX 5.2 speaker system and pedestal stands
351LR
353C
354SR
352 PBM Sub X 2
Monster line conditioner and surge protector
All hooked up with monster cables

After seeing a friends 1080p Projector I knew it was time for an upgrade....

Picked up a Sony Bravia VW50 and a blu-rya player. I thought that would satisfy me...

But my old amp is only AC-3 DD and not DTS and I have to play some blu-ray movies via Analog audio (Chronicles or Narnia)

I kinda went from just wanting to spend $1500 to now close to $3000 (the hardware, 30ft HDMI cables, blu-ray movies, HDMI wall plates etc etc)

Now I need to get an receiver with preouts (to connect to my Parasound)... I'm way over budget....

Do you guys think the Yamaha HTR6160 will work ok as a GOOD processor? Do I need a THX certified one?

Thanks in advance!

Are you referring to just the receiver/processor/amp or for a new HT system speakers and all in a dedicated HT room?

If it's just an amp/receiver/processor then lots of opinions abound but it really about what you want to do. Do you want to showcase your theater (aka audiophile; tricked out, etc.) or do you want to watch movies with good sound? If your the former then I don't know much but if your the latter then I can suggest a few things. I'm building my HT on a budget and I definitely didn't spend $1500 on the sound equipment. My sound (and video) is great (high quality) but I didn't waste my money on names or fancy features.

Cheers,
Kaoru

I saw your posting in the HT setup thread... Your probably looking for tricked out... :D

Cheers,
Kaoru

I'm done with ticked out... Tricked out was me a few years ago =O)

At this point... It's whatever works and works well.

The way I see it... It's all going to be stuffed in a little room where no one will see it hehehe

My HT is about quality at a descent price so I shop arround, not to mention read a lot about home theater equipment. For example, I bought a Pioneer VSX-1015 based on what I read regarding the biggest bang for the buck (at the time being <$500). I'm looking to replace that AVR with a Pioneer VSX-1018 which is in the <$600 area. It essentially has all the features of the 1015 but with a HDMI 1.3 (1080p) certified processor/switcher (drops S-Video though). The are a few bells & whistles like iPod/XM radio. The main reason is for DD HD & DTS MA (as well as all the other standards). The downside is the amp engine is new so the NA model is not THX certified (though the Europe model is...). I guess they could not be bothered to pay the fees but having a THX logo is not important to me. Other AVRs in these area is the Onkyo 805 and Yamaha RX-V663 but I didn't look too much into these.

As for speakers, I bought (will buy) descent (but not high end) speakers; my current ones are from the Source at <$100 a pair. I got my cables from TigerDirect which are the CTG RapidRun digital runner with passive HDMI wall plates; not the cheapest (I paid <$250) but specific for my install. Note that Monster <insert product here> is 200% more expensive with no actual increase in value or quality; your paying for a name.

In the end:
AVR should run ~$600
HDMI passive cable (wall plates) should run ~$300
2 x APC 1200 VA UPS @ $150 ea (at Costco); ~$300 (one for amp/equip and one for projector/equip)
DIY power bridge via outlet & P&S 120V 15A straight blade "inlet" ($20); for the projector.
Leaves ~$300 for speakers which for me is plenty, I can replace them as money permits. The assumption here is that your not starting from scratch.

Total is $1500 with a good (and protected) 7.1 AV system with the latest standards. BD player, BD movies, HTPC, etc. are extra but I have ideas for those as well.

Cheers,
Kaoru

Thanks that gives me some perspective.

I think i will go ahead and purchase the Yamaha 6160 just to hold me off for now. It's pretty inexpensive and packed with a lot of goodies.

The speaker system I have is good enough and is being powered by my Parasound.

The HTR-6160 has pre-outs, has all the codecs you need for your new BluRay player and matter of fact the HTR-6160 has the same chassis and board has the RX-V663 since the RX series is simply a chromed-up" HTR series! If you like the Yamaha sound, you'll be very happy with the entry level HTR-6160. Last year I bought the 6080 which basically has the same bells and whistles as the 6160 (only a few negligible extra watts in the 6080) they both up-scale and if I am correct, you have an extra HDMI and 1.3 versus the last year 1.2 versions.

Here is a DHCers review on the HTR-6160:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=85749&highlight=6160

Here is the brochure for it:

http://www.yamaha.ca/av/PDFs/Receivers/2008_Models/HTR6160_Brochure.pdf

Hope this helps!

Cheers!
René

That helps A LOT

The power of this thing is not really a concern as I have a power amplifier for the pre outs

I think it's going to be a pretty darn good processor =O)

thanks again guys!

The power of this thing is not really a concern as I have a power amplifier for the pre outsGreat as the 6160 will simply last you that much longer since you take away some of the stress/work from it ;)