Which surround receiver to buy?

Hi Mark,

If money and time were tight in my household, and I had an OK stereo setup, I wouldn't be considering a surround amp at all - particularly as you seem to say your not going to use it as a surround amp anyway.

This aside, your observations are correct ... the VSX516 is what you would consider if your main priority is surround sound ... the 816 you pay extra for so that it can be the switching center of your AV setup.

If you were going to by and connect multiple equipment that had RGB capability (and this is the lowest connect for good/OK big screen stuff)then it is worthwhile .... but based on what you write I am not sure this is of any real interest to you.

MORE importantly: If you are buying this as the beginning of a many year setup that you slowly add to .... I would be buying an amp that has multiple HDMI inputs as this is where the vast majority of good home theater stuff will head.

Some stuff to think about and if your lucky someone will disagree with me and give you some more ideas.

Cheers

Chops

Maybe because the majority of DVDs you can buy have DD and/or DTS surround sound encoded on it.

Dave :)

Yep, that's how it normally works. Ideally no sound at all comes through the TV, the video and audio from every source (DVD, STB/PVR, Xbox/PS etc) goes into the receiver and it switches everything for you. That way you can throw away the remote for the TV.

to some responses.

The #1 requirement is to make sure you get one with the right number and type of audio/video input connectors to suit all your system components, both now and in the future. You'll regret getting anything else. They all sound the same, so don't buy hype in that area.

Dave :)

No, not the Windows media pack! The open source MythTV is the way to go although it is not (yet) plug and play.

Well, the old Kenwood amp I've got I managed to get going this morning and it sounds fine with the Welling's I bought a couple of years ago (wish I'd bought the Dali's though). Stereo is fine for us as our house doesn't really lend itself to a surround setup anyway.

Man I'd completely forgotten HDMI. Now I've got the amp working we're a couple of years away from Big Screen Surround etc so ?I'll look at HDMI being a priority then. Thanks for your opinion/viewpoint as it's been invaluable. Mark

to some responses.

Umm Dave - I agree *mostly* with you, and yes *mostly* they all do sound the same ..... but not if you're contemplating the strathfield/XMS level .... better of to go JVC (if they still exist), Yamaha, Pioneer, ... yes THEY all sound the same.

An there *is* a noticeable difference when you goet into the reference level amps .... even in surround amps.

IMHO that is.

Chops

I did a bunch of research on these a little while back and went with an Onkyo TX-SR604B (US model?). It has all the typical bells and whistles, lots of connectivity and two HDMI inputs. It doesn't up-convert the analog inputs to HDMI, but it's bigger brother the TX-SR674B does. I'm really happy with it so far.

OK if its better. Anything is usually better than Microsoft's canned goods.

Problem its LINUX based. OK for some who know this stuff. But no time, ah, well I'll have to make some time. Linux or the antidote to Microsoft. It will hurt but you will get better.

How much out of interest?

Chops If you don't mind telling us.

Cost? Around $300 US for the 604. Here's some happy people, well excet for one that couldn't read:

read:

Onkyo TX-SR504S 7.1 Channel A/V Receiver is also a good deal if you do not need HDMI. Unless you have a 1080P wide screen you probably do not need HDMI and all the HDMI receivers will be obsolete in a few months anyway when HDMI 1.3 becomes available...

read:

Are you saying that a reciever with a HDMI passthough wont be able to passthough a 1.3 signal?

How come I can smell bullshit?

Chops

I did not say that nor did I mean to imply it.

As I understand it, ( I am not an expert, I just read up a bit since I just bought one ) all a pass through does is "pass through". It is a glorified switch and the HDMI signal is not actually accessed by the receiver. You have to hook up the sound inputs back to the receiver from whatever generated or used the HDMI signal.

Since you could just directly connect the hdmi to the TV and since the original poster indicated that he was trying to save money it seems like something he does not have to buy now.

When HDMI 1.3 does come out in a few months and after a year or more when it is debugged then pass through will be obsolete because the receiver should be able to directly access the audio from the HDMI and you will not have video/ audio synchronization issues.

I cannot think of a tactful response.

My receiver has no problem pulling audio out of the HDMI cable. My Linux MythTV box clearly identifies the Onkyo when X windows starts up and not my display device. So passthru must be a little more complex than a litteral wire. It's a layered series of negotiations and handshaking to get HDMI material from a source to the screen. When I put my receiver between the satellite box and the display, simply changing channels started taking longer with the increased handshaking. Fortunately, I've been lucky and all my HDMI stuff works together.

Outside of the convenience of having one cable for picture and sound, HDMI is a PITA.