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New member Username: KlhPost Number: 1 Registered: Nov-04 | I have been searching for the right receiver for a long time. My buying philosophy is to get the best thing that will last for the longest. When I say that, I mean that I want something that has all the features I need now, and may need in the future. I want to buy a receiver and not have to worry about needing another one in 4/5 years. I don't want to buy something and find out that it doesn't have a input/jack or something that I need later. That being said, I should preface that I am a novice and that most of this technical and audio talk goes right over my head. My budget is 500-700 roughly. I don't want the top of the line, but i would rather spend a little more if it is going to make a difference. I am not an audiophile!! Here are the things I am looking for 1)Something that can be used for am/fm, SURROUND and cds. 2)I am mostly going to be listening to it at low volumes. I am most interested in something that is going to give me flawless, crisp sound. Although I do want the option of "blasting" it and having it sound great. 3)Fairly easy setup/use. 4)I have a very small room, so I don't think I need anymore than 5 speakers right now. I may in the future. Can u set a 7.1 receiver on 5.1 mode? I don't know if I should get a 5.1 receiver now or not. It seems that everything is 5.1 now, but in a couple years are dvds, etc gonna be in 7.1 and my 5.1 will not sound right? Now here is where I get REALLY confused I am looking at Harmon Kardon receiver on the circuit city comparison. -What is the difference between •Dolby Digital •DTS •Dolby Pro Logic •Dolby Digital EX •DTS-ES/DTSNeo:6 Dolby Pro Logic Iix •Dolby Pro Logic II logic 7? WHAT inputs do I need? # of optical inputs # of digital coaxial inputs # of s-video # of component video inputs I think I am down to harmon kardon avr 130, avr 235, avr 430, or avr 630 Which should I get? I have 1) a tv sony 36" kv36hs510 hdtv flat screen tv 2) dvp-ns725p sony prog scan dvd player 3) I have a sony vcr I am going to by a receiver, sub, and 5 speakers to start, more if I move out. I am going to use the dvd player as a cd player instead of a changer. I think I have settled on the Harmon Kardon avr 430, although I am even encountering problems with that. I looked on circuitcity.com and saw the avr 430 see the link http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Harman-Kardon-Surround-Sound-Receiver--AVR-430-/s em/rpsm/oid/97521/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do Now it is on the circuit city website, but every circuit city I call doesn't have it even listed. I ask them if it is a website only item, they don't know. I called some of the dealers off of Harmankardon.com and one mentioned that the 435 has replaced the 430, but I looked and the hk website doesn't even have a 435 on their products list. Here is the hk link for the 430 http://harmankardon.com/product_detail.aspx?Region=USA&Country=US&Language=ENG&c at=REC&prod=AVR%20430&sType=C Now, if you look at the two links, the two 430's look very different. Circuit city's circular sales paper this week had the same picture of the one on the cc.com website on the front page. Is that the new look of the receivers? Why do they look different? Can anyone shed any light on this??? Thanks in Advance Happy holidays kevin Calesco_99@yahoo.com |
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Silver Member Username: Elitefan1Post Number: 921 Registered: Dec-03 | Kevin, You have asked an awful lot of questions, too many to answer completely but I would suggest you find a local audio/video shop and forget Circuit City if possible. You won't find much help there and their prices are very high. H/K makes very good receivers and the 435 is the new model. All new models end in a 5. There are so many good recievers out there and I don't know how much you have looked. Don't worry about the number of inputs as you don't have that much stuff that you will run out of inputs in the future. The processing modes you mentioned are just that, different formats of processing either a digital signal[DD and DTS] or an analog[all prologic formats].All receivers include these formats or some variable of them. When you get your system just play around with them to see what they do and which ones you like. I assume the 500-700 figure is for the receiver only and that's pretty much the bottom line as far a decent unit goes. In this price range their are several very good units to consider. You have looked at the H/K's and I would add Pioneer Elite vsx52 and Marantz sr5500 to that list. For speakers that go well with those check out Monitor Audio Silver and Bronze series, Polk RTi series[forget the Polk Monitor series at CC],Klipsch[a bit bright but you might like them, Athena, Phase Tech, Def Tech and others that hopefully someone else will mention. Another good way to go is a Yamaha receiver paired with Paradigm speakers. This is the combination I often suggest to those starting out in this hobby[obsession for me.] I am sure there is a dealer or dealers near you that carry these. Look at the Yamaha 1500 receiver. It's priced right for you and has tons of features, inputs and processing modes to play with. Yamaha has greatly improved the sound quality of their receivers in the last two model lines and the 1500 is a very nice unit for the money. You can get it mail order for under $600. Paradigm has two lines to look at, the Performance and Monitor series that offer several excellent speakers that can be mixed and matched and give one a very good system for a real bargain price. The Titan and Atom are very inexpensive but sound much more upscale than their rather meager price would suggest. You will be much better served by finding a few specialty shops and looking at better and more varied brands than what's at the mass market stores. Good luck and remember to have fun with this and above all when you go out to audition anything take your own music and movies with you so you will be familiar with what you are hearing. |