which a/v receiver? (1 Viewer)

[bmb]

I'm been looking at updating my receiver. i currently own a denon avr-2500 (1995) model and it is only dolby pro logic. im looking to get the hdmi hook ups etc. ive found a few in my price range being the Marantz sr4001 , Denon avr 2307ci , Pioneer elite vsx-80txv. then i'm planning a matching upconverting dvd player to match receiver or possibly the blue-ray later.

 

[mylan]

I've heard good things about the Denon 2307 ci. The ci stands for custom installer and includes an RS232 port for aftermarket touchscreen controls and the like but the 2807 also includes them and costs $300 more. What the 2807 has is auto room calibration from Audyssey which can make calibrating the receiver easier than the auto calibration that the 2307 offers. Either would be a good choice.
One thing to remember is that if you can hold out till early summer, Denon and others will be releasing their new models with support for the new HDMI standard ver. 1.3, which is supposed to better support HD-DVD and Blu-ray audio codecs. The upgrades are debatable according to the many posts on the subject and will no doubt be higher priced when they do come out.
On the subject of upconverting DVD players you can wait this format war out with a good uppconverting player from Denon or Oppo or get one of the Toshiba HD-DVD players, it will serve as an excellent upconverting player for regular DVD's as well for about $400 at this point with Blu-Ray starting at $700 to $800.
One thing about home theater now is that there will always be something just ahead that may be better of have more bells and whistles, it just depends on how long you are willing to wait. Good luck!

 

[bmb]

Thanks for the reply. i think the denon would be a good choice and for the marantz i believe denon owns them but they are still seperate companys?