Help me pick out a new Home Theater receiver?

May 27, 2008 7:44 PM

I need (well, want) a new receiver for my home theater system to accommodate my new HDTV. What's my best bet for the least amount of money? Specs on everything, and details on what I'm looking for, inside.

So I find myself the proud new owner of a ViewSonic N3250W HDTV, to replace my aging CRT. Difficulty: my current receiver (A Yamaha HTR-5630) will switch Composite and S-Video for me, but knows nothing about Component, DVI, or HDMI.

The TV:

The ViewSonic will accept HDMI or Component input for HD content, and also has a Composite/S-Video input, and D-Sub. I have no interest in its speakers (though I'll admit with my old TV, I used its speakers as a center channel).

The Sources:

A Philips DVP642 DVD player with component output, which I may upgrade to a model with HDMI. Audio output can be either optical or coaxial.

A Home Theater PC that ideally will be DVI or HDMI out, but I can also do component, or D-sub if necessary. Audio out is just plain stereo RCA cables.

A Playstation 2 that I'll be buying component cables for. Audio can be either optical or plain stereo RCA cables.

A Wii that I'll also be buying component cables for. Audio is stereo RCA.

And preferably one input that I can swap between miscellaneous non-HD things, like a VCR, my old NES, and whatever else.

I have no need for satellite-readyness (though I'm not offended by it being there), or for the AM/FM tuner. And I'm not looking for a home-theater-in-a-box setup, as I already have all the speakers.

The Question:

What's a good replacement receiver that will handle all of these with ease? I'd like a solution that minimizes the need to change inputs on the TV; ideally that means the receiver will switch everything. However, I'm on a very light budget ($200-300, preferably), and most receivers that upconvert everything are way out of that range, so I recognize there may be no "perfect" answer. The good news is I'm not afraid of last year's models, or even slightly used ones.

I'm very partial to Yamaha as a receiver brand, and I'm rather not fond of Sony.

I'm also open to suggestions for remote controls (like the Harmony but preferably not $150) that will take care of the input-swapping pain for me.

posted by CrayDrygu to technology (6 comments total)

I've always read positive reviews of Onkyo receivers, and ours is still going strong after 5 years of heavy use. If you create a login for their sales site they'll offer you special "club prices" (they don't spam) and they have several 5.1 and 7.1 receivers for under $200 right now. This one looks like it meets all your specifications, for $159.
posted by bizwank at 8:25 PM on May 27

You've got a pretty solid receiver and a pretty tight budget for replacing it. Why not get an HDMI switch box (with remote), and leave well enough alone on the audio side? Especially if you are going to get a learning / macro remote, because you won't even know audio and video switching jobs are built into separate boxes, most of the time.
posted by Chuckles at 5:25 AM on May 28

This was my similar question a while back, and after buying the Onkyo receiver I settled on, I wrote a review of it.

Today, it's been in my living room for something like 18 months. The connection options still feel a bit limiting, but the sound is superlative, and the auto calibration is an outstanding feature.

Overall, I'd highly recommend a similar but updated Onkyo to you, with the hope that they've made the sources options better/more configurable.
posted by SlyBevel at 12:14 PM on May 28

Oh, and you mentioned getting a Harmony Remote.

Do. You won't regret it. I have the new Harmony One with the color screen, and it's really, really great, but you really don't need the fancy screen and rechargeable battery for it to be a great remote. My last one was a Harmony 668 and it was dandy.

(Disclaimer: I'm in a word of mouth campaign and I got my Harmony One for free. But I was already a Harmony user and I really, genuinely think they're great.)
posted by SlyBevel at 1:12 PM on May 28

Uh, Disclosure, I mean. Whoops.
posted by SlyBevel at 1:20 PM on May 28

chuckles: You're on the right track, but not all my inputs will be HDMI, so I'm worried that would complicate, rather than simplify things. But you're right, if I get a fancy learning remote that's capable of switching that box too, it probably won't matter. I may wait until I have more than one HDMI/DVI source, though.

bizwank: Thanks for the link, that definitely looks like a good deal.

SlyBevel: Lots of great advice! I'm tempted now to stretch the budget to fit a model that upconverts everything. Either way, it's nice to see more than one person recommending Onkyo.

And yes, I'm in love with everything about the Harmony except that price tag. I'll have to hunt down a deal on an old or used one.
posted by CrayDrygu at 4:15 PM on May 28