I've currently been using a soundbar but since I moved into the new house I have room for a full surround sound system, coupled with the fact my father gifted me his 5.1 speaker set, I just need a receiver to get it up and going.
So I would like something decent 2-500 dollars, I currently have a 55" 1080p set as my monitor, and have an xbox, ps3, and wii hooked up to it, eventually it will have my htpc connected as well.
I'm not an audiophille, but can hear the difference between cheap and good, but not good to awesome to my knowledge. 1080p up conversion as well as annalog inputs being outputted to hdmi to the tv would be great. Other then that I got no ideas what I need.
So go pick out something shiny for me.
No pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater... than central air. -Dogma
I've currently been using a soundbar but since I moved into the new house I have room for a full surround sound system, coupled with the fact my father gifted me his 5.1 speaker set, I just need a receiver to get it up and going.
So I would like something decent 2-500 dollars, I currently have a 55" 1080p set as my monitor, and have an xbox, ps3, and wii hooked up to it, eventually it will have my htpc connected as well.
I'm not an audiophille, but can hear the difference between cheap and good, but not good to awesome to my knowledge. 1080p up conversion as well as annalog inputs being outputted to hdmi to the tv would be great. Other then that I got no ideas what I need.
Either of those is good - if you want upconversion, I think you're stuck with a 7.2 receiver (which can still operate in 5.1 mode, if I'm not mistaken)
Those are also retail pricing, you can find them cheaper elsewhere. The 608 is under $400 iirc. The only difference between the 2 models - the 608 has a PC input, and is THX Certified. The 260 is the same otherwise.
Sound... is subjective, heh. I like Onkyo. Had one a while. I listened to Integra all the time when I did high end stuff (Integra is to Onkyo what Lexus is to Toyota). I am looking at Onkyo myself (the 608 does not do composite upconvert - aka, my laserdisc won't be upconverted to HD.. I THINK I'm gonna get the 808, personally. I'm also looking at the Integra cuz my friend at my old company will hook me up, heh).
Sort of how I love Polk Audio speakers, and dislike Infinity. I think the Infinity's are kinda flat.
Quality - Yamaha is good, Onkyo is good, Denon has it's ups and downs (as in for a few years they are top notch, then they release one that sucks for a couple years). Harmon Kardon is another good one - thought I've always felt their music is better, Onkyo did movies better. Again, it's all subjective, so listening is your best bet - but it's hard to do a full listening experience in store, since your room acoustics change things, and your speakers, and a ton of stuff.
Oh, I would stay away from Sony home audio (and car audio), personally. Sony TVs = hawt, Sony audio = nawt.
Out of curiosity, are Harman Kardon products still worth buying? I still have an ancient AVR 70. The parts of it that work, still work great, but it's lost capability to about half of it's inputs. (The thing is nearing 15 years old, and has been shipped 7 or 8 times as I've moved.)
Perhaps a better question, were Harman Kardon products *ever* worth buying?
Out of curiosity, are Harman Kardon products still worth buying? I still have an ancient AVR 70. The parts of it that work, still work great, but it's lost capability to about half of it's inputs. (The thing is nearing 15 years old, and has been shipped 7 or 8 times as I've moved.)
Perhaps a better question, were Harman Kardon products *ever* worth buying?
-Sinc
I mentioned them above... I always found that they played music a little better than Onkyo did, but Onkyo did movies in surround a bit better. They were always high quality product, imo.
Do they compare to Integra, Rotel, Krell, etc... no way. (I went in ascending order there - Krell's are absurdly good, but absurdly expensive). When I did high end home audio, Integra (which is high end Onkyo) was our most commonly used product. Denon is on the same level, when they have a good year, but on a bad year they are crap. HK is Onkyo level, or Yamaha level. Unless you go super high end Yamaha, which is fantastic but expensive.
Not sure if I should create another thread, but it seems related...
What are everyone's favorite speakers?
I don't have a receiver or speakers yet, but may be in the market to put together a surround sound system in the upcoming months.
Also, I'm honestly not sure if I care to go full 7.1. Is there really that much of a difference between 5 and 7?
Are soundbars worth looking into as well, or should I not waste my time? I have surround sound headphones I use at night for gaming while wife is asleep, and surround sound for a movie probably isn't that important to me. I'm sure I could save some major money as well.
I just need some sort of improvement over the tinny built in TV speakers we've been using! Can't even enjoy music or hear any bass in movies
