How much to spend for Receiver (1 Viewer)

[greg149]

I want my total system to stay under $10k.....given that budget, how much should I spend on the receiver?

 

[SherardP]

about 2000 is about all I would give thats retail price. Then again you could go seperates for about the same price. Its all depending on what you want. I use my Sony 7100es as a pre/pro and went with power amps despite the its 170w x7 power rating. Check it out, look at the Denon 3806/4806 models also.

 

[Arthur S]

Then there are new Sonys coming including this interesting one:
http://www.sony.com.au/homecinema/ca...request=330022

 

[Seth=L]

Questions for Greg:

Is your budget for audio components only? Or does your 10K budget include video? What percentage of usage will the system get in a Movies vs. Music scenario?

Answering these questions can help us to better guide you to something that will be practical for you. Not to say any other advice that has been given is unpractical if you see my point.

 

[greg149]

Good questions....my 10k budget is total for audio and video....I would guess 70% movies adn 30% music.

thanks for the help

 

[Ron Z]

What components are you planning on buying - CD, DVD (HD-DVD?), DVR, display (1080P capable?), etc? Are there any compenents you already have and aren't planning on buying? Basically, a decent receiver covering most if what you'll need can be had for $1500 or less, here's a nice example:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn...985784,00.html

Good luck, and you'll find it's a fun but not inexpensive process.

 

[homthtr]

or the Denon 4306 would be another good choice. Includes Ethernet Port for streaming content from your network.
That's about 20% of your budget and about where you should be.... has 3 HDMI inputs and passes 1080P. lot's of other features!! check it out... click the link below and then go to "view more images" and then click on the "Back" view.

http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/2243.asp

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I would think less than $800 of a $10,000 budget system should be spent on the receiver. I think the best receivers in the $700 range for audio/video are made by Yamaha. Display, speakers, HDTV sources are all much more important to me. I am using a several year old Yamaha RX-V2300 with my 720p LCD projector and an even older Yamaha HTR-5490 with 30" CRT HDTV. I could not be happy with just a projector or just an HDTV.

Things like HD DVR, HD DVD, and an HDTV tuner are going to cost some money. Recording and playback of HDTV is a must, I can never stand to sit down at a given time for TV programming after being used to TiVo. Are you going to want DVD-A/SACD/DVD-V?

If you really are going to stop at $10,000 and not add on in the coming years, I sure don't recommend $1,500 for the receiver. Do you want 5.1 or 7.1? That means either 5 speakers plus a subwoofer or 7 speakers plus a subwoofer.

Chris

 

[gene c]

My .02 just for fun. An H/K 7300 for around $1000, a Yamaha 950 or 2300 for hi-res but I would at least look into higher priced Denons to see what all the fuss is about. A Toshiba HD-DVD (I would wait a bit to see if the price comes down), Direct TV/Dish HD receiver with hard drive. Speakers/sub: $3000-3500 (I have little experience with ones in this price range so this would take a while) Axiom, Ascend, Swan, Paridigm, etc., $500-1000 for cables, stands and things I forgot about, Mucho time sitting in front of the computer asking HTF members a bunch of stupid questions ($free but worth every penny) and the rest on the best 50+" Plasma/LCD I could find. Now, back to reality.

 

[John Brill]

Need more info on your situation...

1) Will this be a dedicated HT room (basement) or a multi-purpose room (living room)? This will affect decision on video source and power needs. For example, projectors can be cheaper than Plasma/LCD sources but need a dedicated room for light control.

2) What other components do you need? CD, DVD, DVD-A, HD-DVD, X-Box/360, PS-2/3, SACD, etc... as part of the expenditure.

Generally, plan on doing 25% Video, 15-20% Audio, 40-50% Speaker/Sub, rest on cables.

Happy hunting.

 

[homthtr]

I agree with those percentages. Remember that the Receiver/Amp is like the CPU of your computer... it's the "Heart of the system". It will also be one of the last things you will ever be replacing again. You might go through DVD players, Cd players, Tv's, Satellite Receivers, etc... But the Receiver will always be there. Unless you plan on upgrading on a regular basis I would stay as close to the 20% for the amp as possible.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

No way 20% works to my way of thinking. I would think most people spend far more than 20% on speakers and more than 20% on the display. Leaving less than 40% for everythnig else. I have 5 different items in my system that cost more than my receiver. Projector/HD TiVo/HDTV/Speakers/HD VCRs. We haven't gotten the DVD player or cables yet.

Chris

 

[homthtr]

There's too many variables to come up with an exact %. It will all depend on what you are using it for. If it's a dedicated home theater the percent be different then if you are using a 2 Zone amp and running whole house audio, way too many varialbles to give an exact percent. I just would get the best Receiver for whatever your budget allows. Everyone has their own views on this. It's just a general rule, no sticky glue here. If someone wants to take $1000 our of there Receiver budget to spend the extra $1000 on a better/bigger Screen/Projector/Monitor I wouldn't argue about it. There are features and benefits to both. That's always what happens when someone asks and Opinionated Question. There's no exact correct answer. I've got more into my MX-3000 remote then some people spend on their Receiver.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Of course that makes sense, all I was doing was giving the answer that works for me. The good news is $10,000 is a good amount and a great system can be purchased for that today.

Chris

 

[mfabien]

A wise decision would be to find a temporary receiver (eBay?) so that you may invest in the real receiver solution:

- One that will have HDMI 1.3 inputs/output

- The new audio codecs: DD Plus, DD TrueHD, DTS-HD MA

A receiver is good for many years. We are months away from the introduction of receivers with the above. If you invest heavily now for a receiver with HDMI 1.1 inputs/output and no new codecs, your receiver will become a huge disappointment.

There will be DTS-HD music disc
There will be music recordings (CDs?) in DD TrueHD
If you buy a BlueRay DVD player, instead of an HD DVD player, then the new a/v will be essential.

The above will give flexibility for 1080p and new color range with HDMI 1.3 provided your HDTV can handle it.

Timing is everything. We are at crossroads right now so you may need to consider temporary solutions.

 

[John Brill]

In no way was I implying that 20% is fixed, merely a starting guideline to figure out what you may need/want. As you start to look at your options, you may then chose to up the budget on audio or video or speakers which means something else takes a hit...

In my case, my first HT set-up was close to the % I recommended. Now, after upgrades in audio and speakers, my % is more like:

11% video (projector and TV), 36% audio (includes AVR, CD/DVD/SACD, X-Box/360), 48% speaker/sub (7.1), 5% cabling.

 

[Arthur S]

greg

If I were you I would get a Denon 2807 and if High Definition DVD really catches on, move the Denon to another room, and get a second generation receiver with HDMI 1.3 about 18 months from now.

 

[homthtr]

That's totally correct Chris. Thanks for changing your wording. You're original post was that 20% didn't work in "your way of thinking". I Believe want you really meant to say is "In your particular situation".

Everyone will have different setups and different priorities.

Like was said in another previous post we are in a very transitional period right now and will continue to be with all the new HD formats/ sound formats/ etc.

It's hard to keep up on all of it and I'm in the industry as a supposed "professional", but I can't even keep up with everything anymore.

Some days I think to myself "I'd like to just trash everything and start over!" But that's usually not very cost effective and a month later something else is going to change.

I'd love to get that new Panasonic 103" plasma. Anyone seen that in person yet?

I didn't have time to get to the CES show in Vegas this year. Can't wait for CEDIA and CES next year. They are going to be some interesting shows.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I would not go to cheap on your reciever as it is a big part of how good your system will sound. Speakers IMHO will make or break any HT system. And if your reciever does not have enough power to properly drive the speakers or if the amplifiers are of poor quality. Your sound will suffer and you will not achive the goal of a good quality HT. A better quality reciever will IMHO draw a decent amount of power, and a lower quality amp will not. This translates into weather a reciever can draw enough power to put out enough power to reproduce not only all the audio frequencies acurately, but with enough backbone as not to clip and distorte.

What is your goal for this reciever? Is Dolby Digital and DTS all you are looking for? Or do you want/need the ability to decode Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio inside a reciever and not a HD-DVD player? The HD-DVD players will decode Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby True HD and all you need is a 5.1 or 7.1 analog input on your reciever if you go that route. IMHO I would make sure any reciever you buy has a minimum of one 7.1 analog input. Do you want full 1080p switching in your reciever? Will you be buying a 1080 HD player anytime soon?

What is your goal? What features do you need? Is it important that you not have to upgrade for at least 8 years or are you willing to upgrade before that? Knowing this can help you choose the components that better fit your needs and ones you will be happy with for years to come.