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Getting there but need some help

post #1 of 7
11/8/09 at 6:55am
Thread Starter 
I'm starting almost from scratch in a 13' w x 15' d room with a 10' window right behind the seating, so I'm going with a 52" matte screen, probably Sony or LG.  Front, rear and center speakers are taken care of for the time being, but I need a new receiver and a subwoofer. 

Want to spend about $200 for the sub and I'm open to suggestions.  The Speaker Company has 20% off on what appears to be a decent 10".

The receiver is the big question, as technology is moving quickly yet there are some great deals on refurbished stuff from a year or two ago.  with no more than 12" behind the back seating I don't need 7.1 but that's what most receivers are nowadays.  If that's the way I go, I'll just wire it for 5.1.

I can buy a Marantz Sr6001 refurbished for $365 delivered and it originally sold for around $1K!  The Harman Kardon AVR 345 is also a refurb with a warranty in the same price range, as is the current model Onkyo HT-RC160.

Too much research is giving me brain freeze so please help me out choosing current technology with a lower discount and power or something a year or two old?

Also, do I really need Blu-Ray right now?  My 2 year-old DVD works just fine.

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post #2 of 7
11/8/09 at 3:19pm

Quote:
I can buy a Marantz Sr6001 refurbished for $365 delivered and it originally sold for around $1K!  The Harman Kardon AVR 345 is also a refurb with a warranty in the same price range, as is the current model Onkyo HT-RC160.


 



If you do decide to go with a BR player then that Marantz wouldn't be the best chioce. It isn't hdmi 1.3 so it won't decode the new HD audio formats. There isn't an H/K 345. Did you mean 354 or 347. The 354 would work, the 347 wouldn't.

As for what features to look for in an avr, hdmi 1.3 is first on the list along with some form of auto setup program. Audyssey, found on most Denon and Onkyo receivers, is the most preffered around here but most Pioneer, Yamaha, and H/K receivers come with their own version. 

Quote:
Also, do I really need Blu-Ray right now?  My 2 year-old DVD works just fine.
 


A BluRay player is a significant up-grade in picture and sound from a regular dvd player. You certainly don't need one but if you get an HD display it will allow you to take advantage of it's higher resolution capabilities.
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post #3 of 7
11/9/09 at 9:48am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your response.  The hdmi 1.3 info was particularly helpful.
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post #4 of 7
12/20/09 at 11:25am


Quote:
Originally Posted by gene c View Post





If you do decide to go with a BR player then that Marantz wouldn't be the best chioce. It isn't hdmi 1.3 so it won't decode the new HD audio formats. There isn't an H/K 345. Did you mean 354 or 347. The 354 would work, the 347 wouldn't.

As for what features to look for in an avr, hdmi 1.3 is first on the list along with some form of auto setup program. Audyssey, found on most Denon and Onkyo receivers, is the most preffered around here but most Pioneer, Yamaha, and H/K receivers come with their own version. 



A BluRay player is a significant up-grade in picture and sound from a regular dvd player. You certainly don't need one but if you get an HD display it will allow you to take advantage of it's higher resolution capabilities.

I actually just ordered an SR6001 for use with a BluRay player.  My understanding is that most of the BluRay players sold now will decode the HD audio formats and send them to the SR6001 in PCM form via HDMI.  The Marantz should be able to play these signals in their uncompressed form, right?

Apart from the HD audio, the only other benefit that I know of that would come with HDMI 1.3 is Deep Color.  Unless your display supports Deep Color (I believe most don't), this is more marketing hype than anything.  Nonetheless, it would be nice to have a few more HDMI inputs.

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post #5 of 7
12/20/09 at 11:59am

Quote:
I actually just ordered an SR6001 for use with a BluRay player.  My understanding is that most of the BluRay players sold now will decode the HD audio formats and send them to the SR6001 in PCM form via HDMI.  The Marantz should be able to play these signals in their uncompressed form, right?
 

The 6001 is hdmi vs. 1.2 so it should but I wasn't able to verify this (receiver manufacturers don't seem to want anyone to know what their equipment is capable of) which as I recall is the reason I said it may not be the best choice. It's usually better to have the receiver do the decoding but if the 6001 will accept LPCM over hdmi then it would work.

Quote:
Apart from the HD audio, the only other benefit that I know of that would come with HDMI 1.3 is Deep Color.  Unless your display supports Deep Color (I believe most don't), this is more marketing hype than anything.  Nonetheless, it would be nice to have a few more HDMI inputs.
 

I don't think any BR discs that have Deep Color have been released yet anyway.

In looking at the 6001's manual a little closer it does appear that it will work with a BR player that decodes the HD formats internally so I think you are correct, the 6001 should work with the appropriate BR player. I think I'm getting a little better at reading between the lines. But it would be nice if they just told us what these things can do.
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post #6 of 7
12/20/09 at 6:32pm

Quote:
But it would be nice if they just told us what these things can do.
LOL! They probably don't know!
I've read so many posts, where people called the manufacturer for help with a problem, and they couldn't help. But, the engineers aren't the ones on the phone either.......

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post #7 of 7
12/21/09 at 3:30pm
Thank you for your respnose! Just what I needed!
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