I've been reading hear and have a few questions before I upgrade my reciever. I'll start with I'm leaning towards the HK 340 based on my research so far.
I currently have a Onkyo DS555 that has served me well for several years. I have infinity IL series speakers (5 of them with the large center channel speaker).
What is the difference in 5.1 vs 7.1? Do I need two more speakers if I get a 7.1 reciever?
Is the HK 340 a good fit for my speaker set up?
I can spend $500 and the HK 340 can be bought for around $300 on ebay. Am I better off buying the 445 or something else?
I'll only need the reciever for HT and TV sound. I have another reciever that powers my outside pool speakers. I'm thinking of using the old DS555 for that. I also want somthing that sounds good at lower volumes...my wife doesn't like it too loud.
Thanks in advance for answering my questions and any other advice you can offer.
Difference between 5.1 and 7.1 are that receivers these days come with 7.1 or even denon's 10.1 channel meaning the consumer can add additional channels or more no of spks to their existing setup... If u do get a 7.1 receiver,u can use ur 5 channel or can opt for 7.1 channel adding two more sets of spks...
The HK 340 is a solid receiver. Should be a decent upgrade from the older Onkyo in any event.
"What is the difference in 5.1 vs 7.1? Do I need two more speakers if I get a 7.1 reciever? "
You don't *need* to get two more speakers, but you have the option to get two more. And of course the difference between 5.1 and 7.1 is two speakers. They don't get huge amounts of use typically, but it can help create a more enveloping sound field if you have problems with that now.
"Is the HK 340 a good fit for my speaker set up?"
Yup. HK is also the maker of Infinity speakers (among others), so I would expect at least some synergy to be there.
"I can spend $500 and the HK 340 can be bought for around $300 on ebay. Am I better off buying the 445 or something else? "
Unless you really feel you need the extra power (which won't really net you that much of a gain anyways in terms of volume)/bells & whistles, you may as well stick with the 340. Plus with the extra cash, you can buy your wife something nice.
brian, 7.1 is not necessary at this time. nothing is recorded for 7.1 at most 6.1. the extra two will more or less be fudged by the reciever using internal circuitry to give additional surround sound feel. i personally would go for the denon 1907 or 1707 at $549 and $449 respectively. one thing to keep in mind is that an extra 15 or so watts does little in terms of volume increase. it helps more in allowing for detail in sound. many 7.1 receivers allow for the surround back speakers to be used as a zone 2 or even to biamp the front speakers. you will only need as many speakers as you have available. all recent model HT recievers will be able to turn channels on and off and compensate for whatever speakers are not hooked up.
There is another option you didn't mention. If you have a 7.1 receiver, most of the time it is possible to program the receiver to send the main signal to the extra two channels. In this situiation, if you have main speakers which are hard to drive, you can biamp them using 4 channels from the receiver into the speakers. This often gives a greater sense of grip and control when the speakers are not easy to drive (as in my case for example). Denon's 10 channel receiver allows you to run two separate 5.1 zones or to biamp a complete set of 5 speakers.