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Which should i buy

2K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Aanthony 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello. so i am upgrading my reciever now, and i need some help on which to get, my budget is between
$400-$800 dollars. Let me give you a rundown of my system.

Speakers: All soundstage roughly $3000 dollars of speakers

Tv: Sharp Touch of color 52"

So as of right now i have some 10 year old reciever, so i need a new one. Now I am going to have a ps3, blu-ray player, computer, and high def cable all hooked up to my tv, so i am going to need some hdmi outputs. These are the recievers i have found, can somebody give me some info since i am quite confued on what to buy.

Harmon Kardon AVR 347: Roughly $500-$600
http://www.harmankardon.com/product_detail.aspx?cat=REC&prod=AVR 347&stype=S

Onkyo TR-SR606- Roughly $400
http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR606&class=Receiver&p=i

PIONEER ELITE VSX-1017TXV-K -Approx 500
http://www.pioneerelectronics.ca/PO...Receivers/Pioneer+A+V+Receivers/VSX-1017TXV-K

Yamaha HTR-6180 -$600
http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/...67422&CTID=5000400&ATRID=1020&DETYP=ATTRIBUTE
 
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#2 · (Edited)
all these specs confuse me, so i need some info from somebody who knows what their talking about. If you could help me it would be much appreciated, or if you have any other recommendations then let me know too. Thanks in advance

from what i've read the harmon/kardon 347 seems to be a great unit. and for $450.00 thats a crazy deal. But the 347 has only 55 watts per channel, where-as the others have 105-110 watts per channel. Am i reading it right, or do different companies use different ratings.
 
#3 ·
I just picked up the TX-SR606 and it ROCKS big time. Best bang for the buck, great power, great processing, switching, the whole 9 yards. BTW, you won't find this machine for $400 anywhere, list price is around $599 USD, but at around $565+ CDN which is doable, it is a great machine.
 
#4 ·
Are you going to have both a Ps3 AND a Blu Ray or is the PS3 the Blu ray player? If its just a PS3 then you should be able to get by with 2 hdmi. How will you connect the PC? Is it a multimedia PC or are you just running the RGB to the monitor.

As for the power ratings yes manufacturers do using idfferent methods. HK tends to be accurate or even conservative as they use a high current amp and their WPC ratings and what they test out at are consistent. Some manufacturrs say 100 WPC but that's only with one channel driveen and they may put out much less all driven. They may use different amounts of allowable distortion. Its really a crapshoot. Worst of all is if they use different impedence levels. Most of the time published power is at 8 ohms. But that pioneer shows 150 wpc (more than my $1500 denon) but they are showing it at 6 ohms !!

The Onkyo is a good deal but I would only consider it if the reciver is well ventilated. They have well documented heat issues. If its sitting on the tiop shelf of a rack in the open like my recviver does likley no problem. In a cabinet..NO. I persoanlly would lean towards the Yamaha of those 4 it has 3 hdmi in and all the features you'd probaly look for.

It apears all soundstage towers are 8ohm and around 90 +db sensativity so they are easy to drive so any of these recvivers should provide adequate power in small to medium rooms at normal listening levels.
 
#5 · (Edited)
FINALLY SOME RESPONSES.

well it seems that my receiver will be going into one of these


I am just going to be using my home pc, and will use my 52" lcd as my new moniter. And my tv does has plugs which will allow me to do that. The chances are that i will be using my ps3 as my blu-ray, but i also have another dvd player which i use to play all my burnt movies.

I guess i cannot do the onkyo since it has heating issues, but if it is that great of a receiver i can wire some fans into my cabinet. I think as of right now it is pretty close between the onkyo and the harmon. Well actually all of the receivers are close. Theres nothing that really sets them apart, they all have pretty equal power ratings, and the only diference is that the onkyo 606 has 4 hdmi inputs. So, on the surface they all look the same to me, now its just comes down to whats the best deal
 
#6 ·
I would lean towards the Yamaha. Their receivers have a strong following and a good reputation for quality. The HTR6180 (same as RXV-863) has 3 HDMI 1.3a inputs, can handle all of the latest HD codecs, adequate power, all of the necessary connectors and meets your price range. My opinion anyway....
 
#9 ·
so from what i read you will get better sound and picture quality out of the 1.3. Now what i am wondering is what if i were to buy a 1.3 splitter (i do not know if they even exist) and secondly, will the difference in picture and sound quality (the 1.1 to the 1.3) be significant, or will it be one of those siturations that you can barely tell?
 
#10 ·
No such thing as a 1.3 splitter. You have purchased an older AVR with older HDMI connections. Don't take this as personal critisism, but I would return it and do some self-educating. Compare the pros/cons and prices of the various AVR's in your price range then make a wise decision rather than making a snap judgement and buying something just becuase it is on sale. You will get a much better result!
 
#11 ·
i did self educate, well not the hdmi part.....

anyways, i ran into some problems with the receiver, my sound was great, but my video ports were all messed up,
Problem #1
I hook my component cables from my dvd player to my tv, and i get picture, but the second i run it through my receiver i get a horrible picture.

Problem #2
I put my component cables in source 4, but i get picture on source 1.

Anyways i love the sound, so 55 watts per channel is plenty for my size of room. I will be bringing back the 347 and replacing it with the 254. Which has 50 watts per channel, 1.3 hdmi, the bridge, and a new look!!!! and with an msrp of $650!!!! I was looking at the 354 but 75 watts per channel would be overkill.
 
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