Reciever options?

Hi All,

First time poster here. I have a background in Professional Audio, mainly system design and both large scale and small scale concert mixing (little Mackie 1208's all the way up to Yamaha PM-1D's).

I also have a strong background in car audio from my teen years.

With that background, I have a good grasp on audio basics, speaker design, calibration and tuning, blah blah blah.

However, I find myself in a house I just bought and with some absolutely fabulous tower speakers. I need a heart for my new entertainment system, though. I'll lay it out real quick.

Large custom made towers with Dynaudio 3-way mains and complementing subs (different brand). There are passive xovers for the Dynaudio portion of the towers driven by a Hafler P7000 amplifier. The sub portion of the towers are 3 8" tang band drivers tuned to 30hz and being driven by a Crown Microtech 1000. A dbx Driverack Pro (loaner) is handing crossover duties for the subs and a highpass for the Dynaudios.

Input wise, I have a blu ray, vcr, and a PC. HD from the PC as well as the blue ray. The display is a 52" Sony LCD of some model. Can't remember which. 1080p, 120hz blah blah blah.

I am going to add a media player thingy to the PC to easily transport HD video and audio from any computer on my network. HDMI out from the media player.

I need a receiver that will complement all this. I am on, unfortunately, a strict budget. Cheaper (ie: no more than $350... I know, I know).

The receiver MUST: 
a) have a decent independent crossover on the sub output.  I need to be able to tweak it.
b) power a center and surround speakers
c) 5.1 decoding for the dvd's and bluerays, and even from the PC.
d) SPDIF/Optical input
e) Preamp outputs for the main L/R ( I will NOT consider using the receiver for the towers. Not an option).

I'd really REALLY like to have the ability to highpass the main L/R preamp outputs.

Traditionally, I like Denon and Yamaha audio electronics, but will go where needed to accomplish my goals.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Mike

Reciever options?

*error*

oops.

Edited by mikeNT - 8/23/09 at 8:23am

Your preamp output requirement is incompatible with the $350, if you want a new receiver.  Something will have to give.  The cheapest you can get with main preamp outs is Yamaha 665.  $439 right now at Amazon.

If you look around for used, you can probably find something, although used will tend to have the annoyance of not being able to deal with audio using HDMI.

I am very open to the used market and in no hurry to buy, so I think that works in my favor.

Does the Yamaha you mention have the crossover capability I require?

You can easily accomplish all your listed objectives.  Just look for a used receiver.  You probably won't get hdmi audio or switching, but that was not on your list of demands.  You should be able to get a very decent used Pioneer Elite or mid level Denon in your price range.

Are there any particular places good for checking the used market? Ebay, I know, and Craigslist. Any other websites?

Audiogon.com is an excellent place to look for good used equipment. I've bought and sold many things on Audiogon including purchasing my Pioneer Elite 59txi and DV-59av last year. The prices are generally a little higher than craigslist/ebay because these people know what they have. But check CL also for those who don't. I just bought a mint pair of Infinity Kappa 5.1's for $75.

A quick check brought up this Pioneer-Elite-74-txi for $350 + shipping. You can use the "Make an offer" feature to bring the price down a little. It's been listed for 25 days (the listings expire after 30 days) so the seller may be willing to negotiate. Not saying you should get this one, just showing you what's available.

Edited by gene c - 8/24/09 at 7:52pm

Check here too, in the hardware for sale section.  Some one had a very nice Elite in your price range.