Help my friend select a HD Reciever unit.

November 17, 2007 11:52 AM

My friend is in the market for a new Hi-Def receiver unit. He need help picking the right one for him.

"So one of my goals for 2008 is to upgrade to a Hi-Def TV. Now that I have several toys in the house that handle HD (PS3, Apple TV, Verizon FiOS), it's time to get the screen to match.

Resources for choosing a good TV are easy to find. I'm not too worried about that... it's the Receiver I need help with. ConsumerReports.org's last review was November 2006, and is now a year out of date. I looked at Amazon and walked past a BestBuy just to take a peek, but both were lacking in the technical details I need.

What I need is a Receiver unit with the following specifications:

* At LEAST 3 HDMI inputs, and possibly more for down the line if we get another device to hook up.
* One set of inputs for a Wii (Which does not do HDMI, but can do S-Video and I think Component as well - not sure)
* HDMI out (for the TV)
* Optional: 5-speaker out for the current Bose cube setup I have. While I could also buy new speakers, I'd rather not upgrade the whole AV system in one shot if I can help it. If not, then recommend a good set of speakers to go with the Receiver. ;-)

Once I have the Tuner, I figure I can get the HD TV with the holiday bonus and the post-holiday / pre-Superbowl sales that usually happen.

If anyone who is knowledgeable about such things can recommend brand names & models, I would be eternally graceful. (Links to specs would make me even happier, so I could oogle them and know what I'm looking at.)"

(I'll give him the link to this question, or you can see his lj post on the issue.)

posted by Karmakaze to technology (5 comments total)

I've got this Marantz 5002 receiver, which meets your specs, and I've been quite happy with it. I'm not sure how much you were intending to spend, so maybe this is over budget.

The Wii does indeed do component out.
posted by IvyMike at 12:34 PM on November 17, 2007

When I was buying my receiver, I found that constraining to the # of HDMI inputs is a bad idea. You are limited to the mid-high end.

I ended up buying an Onkyo that I really liked for a great price. It only has 1 HDMI, but I bought a HDMI switch box (3 port) which has a remote, for $30.

Programmed it in with my Harmony remote and you can't even tell.
posted by mphuie at 1:42 PM on November 17, 2007

I would consider taking a look at the AVS forums receiver section. Those guys know their stuff.
posted by jmd82 at 2:06 PM on November 17, 2007

mphuie has the right strategy, IMO. Just be sure to get a receiver that can do multi-channel PCM over HDMI.

Harmony remotes make any number of switches and other components easy to control.

Personally, I haven't bothered upgrading my receiver because I don't have a high enough quality speaker setup to hear the difference between uncompressed PCM and the high bitrate DD and DTS tracks on Blu-Ray discs. My receiver doesn't even have S-Video switching, only composite.
posted by wierdo at 11:00 PM on November 17, 2007

Sony STR-DG910

Correct, the Wii can do component, which this can handle. Has three HDMI in and one HDMI out. Is also HDMI 1.2 or 1.3 compatible, so it will carry audio in addition to the video over HDMI cables (less cables for you to worry about). Excellent surround sound system. I use only 5.1 on it, but you can go up to 7.1. Comes with a mic for autocalibrating your sound system. Difficult learning curve for the really advanced stuff, but an easy setup right out of the box if you don't care about tweaking the minutiae that *philes are obsessed. I'm quite satisfied with this unit.

This ranges from $350 up to $450, is a good value at this price range (B&H link above is $350...B&H is very reputable online retailer). I can't compare it to a higher end model like a Marantz, but I can tell you as a non-audiophile, my current setup including this receiver blows away every guest I have over.

With that being said, I don't have a Wii or a Ps3. I have an Xbox360 which works great with it, a Verizon FIOS Motorola HD box, both running to the receiver via HDMI and out of the receiver via HDMI to a hi-def front projector TV.

As for speakers I use JBL's (Venue series) in the front and just some Sony bookshelf speakers in the back. I can't say whether this is better or worse than Bose stuff (which seems to be very expensive and always very highly rated), but my audio setup blows people away in my ~18x18 basement.

Recommendation on the speakers: You have them already. Hook them up to your new receiver and see if you're satusfied. You can always add a new speaker system later.
posted by poppo at 4:16 AM on November 18, 2007