Have everything picked out for my new home theater but need hlep picking a receiver (1 Viewer)

[RCPJohn42]

I have been reading posts for hours and days and have come up with a system for my new home theater. Thank you to the members here who have helped me so far. Last on the list is a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound receiver. Below is the components of my system. My main purpose for the room will be watching movies and occationally listening to music. My room is 22ft x 16ft with a 9 ft ceiling. I would like to spend under $600 for a receiver. I am looking for something that will allow plenty of power to drive my speakers and give me good surround sound for watching movies.

So far the one reciever that stands out in my search is the Denon 2311. Am I on the right track or is there something more suited?


Thanks in advance for you help.


Screen ....Da-Lite Da-Mat

Projector.....Epson 8700 UB

Speakers.....Energy CB-20 (fronts) CR-10 Bipole (rears) CC-10 (Center)

Sub...B.I.C F12

Blu Ray....Oppo 93

Remote.....Harmony One

5.1 Surround sound receiver....???

 

[gene c]

I had some Energy C series speakers for a bit. Very laid-back, almost muffled, sound quality. Excellent build quality and beautifull looking for the price. Still have a pair of small C-50 bookshelves around here somewhere. BIC seems to be a real good sub at that price. My brother has a v-1220. What else can be said about OPPO and Harmony? (except that I have a bdp-83 up-graded to an SE model and an 880. Worth every penny).


Even though that is a pretty big room just about any $500-$600 receiver well be powerfull enough. I've had about 15 different receivers pass through my living room over the last couple of years and even though some were obviously stronger than others they were all powerfull enough. And even though I'm one of the few around here who think there is at least a slight difference in the way receivers sound, I'm sure you would be happy with any of them. But it's features and value that you should be looking for. After narrowing it down to 2-3 down-load the manuals to see what they are really capable of.


Denon's have the latest bunch of Audyssey room correction features and it's performance can't be faulted but their remotes and manuals give me a headache. They also don't seem as intuitive as other brands. But I give them high ratings in all other areas.


Marantz is similar to Denon and add a touch of class to your room. Again, remotes, manuals and operation seem a bit harder to use than some others. Great sound and performance. Very warm and fuzzy sounding (in a good way). Marantz only allows one crossover setting for all speaker groups and my 7002 can't apply Audyssey to Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio. Not enough processing power (wtf ). $600 is a tough price point. The $400-$500 avr's are more than enough for most anyone and you have to get to $800+ to see any real advancement. Maybe look into the Onkyo 708 and Marantz 5005/6005. The H/K 2600 as a long shot.


Most of this is my own opinion and things I've read having wondered around these type of forums way, way too much over the years. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[RCPJohn42]

Last night I went down to the local Best Buy and sampled some of their Energy speakers. They played them with an Energy 10" sub and powered them from a Pioneer VSX-30. I was very pleased with the sound quality. The set up may not be tops in its field, but they sounded pretty nice.


I inquired about getting tower speakers as opposed to book shelf and they said without a sub woofer, you could go with the towers, but if using a sub, than the bookshelves would be just fine.


I was also very satisfied with the power of the VSX-30. It may not have all the features of the 33, 32 but it works for my taste. Saving some money and going with the VSX-30 will allow me room to upgrade down the future and this gets me started with a nice sounding system right out of the gate, at least in my opionion.


I also think I may be headed towards a PS3 for blu ray play. My kids are all gamers and this is an added bonus to the PS3. At only $300 it leaves me room to possibly upgrade down the road if I want to experiment with the upper models like the Oppo 93.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Originally Posted by RCPJohn42

I inquired about getting tower speakers as opposed to book shelf and they said without a sub woofer, you could go with the towers, but if using a sub, than the bookshelves would be just fine.

Regardless of whether your mains are towers or bookshelves, one should get a subwoofer. A sub will always benefit a system. Ultimately, it's the drivers that produce the sound, not the cabinet. The enclosure has a negligible effect on the sound compared to the drivers.


On the receiver front, I agree that the 32 and 33 offer nothing of any significance over the 30. 30 watts of power is nothing.

 

[JohnRice]

You can currently get the Marantz 5005 new in the $500 range. I just got one from accessories4less for $500 delivered for my living room system. It has the features I consider to be actually good to have and it is also very classy looking. It also has pre-outs.

 

[Al.Anderson]

I inquired about getting tower speakers as opposed to book shelf and they said without a sub woofer, you could go with the towers, but if using a sub, than the bookshelves would be just fine.

That's a good generalization, but leaves out some details. First it depends on the towers. Some towers are just the manufacturer's bookshelfs in a larger package. That can actually add some bass, but doesn't equate to a sub. It also tends to be more true of systems being used primarily for music. For a movie system, and particularly in a very large room (22x16 is bordering on very large) a sub would be a good addition. The good news is there's no harm in adding one later; just don't write it off. (And don't get a low-end sub; they will disappoint.)

 

[RCPJohn42]

Originally Posted by Al.Anderson



That's a good generalization, but leaves out some details. First it depends on the towers. Some towers are just the manufacturer's bookshelfs in a larger package. That can actually add some bass, but doesn't equate to a sub. It also tends to be more true of systems being used primarily for music. For a movie system, and particularly in a very large room (22x16 is bordering on very large) a sub would be a good addition. The good news is there's no harm in adding one later; just don't write it off. (And don't get a low-end sub; they will disappoint.)

Yes, I intend to add a sub no matter what, just wasn't sure if I should spend the extra money on towers or if the shelf's will be good enough. Right now top on my list for speakers is Energy CB-20's for the fronts, Energy CC-10 for the center, Energy Bipole CR-10's for the rear surround and either Energy ESW-C10 sub or B.I.C F12.


thanks

John

 

[caaraa]

good luck!

 

[Hicks]

The latest generation of Marantz receivers, like the 5005, will allow you to set individual crossover points for each speaker.

 

[Mrhanky5555]

Does anyone have any input on the yamaha rx-a700? I know you can find them for a good deal online but its hard to find any first hand info on them. I feel like being able to individually set crossover points for each speaker is important. But i do keep hearing that its a quality unit but never heard it from first hand experience. Helpful thread though.

 

[gene c]

Originally Posted by Hicks /forum/thread/311305/have-everythin...but-need-hlep-picking-a-receiver#post_3811390

 

[JohnRice]

I just set up the 5005 today. VERY nice receiver.