I have the XBR , what's next? (1 Viewer)

[Joe_on]

Im happy with my Sony 36 XBR which I have had for a year and a Directv tivo to compliment it.

Now, I want to start building a home theater, one unit at a time.I have been looking at receivers and the Sony DA4ES and DA1000ES have caught my eye. I have looked at Yamaha, denon and Onkyo.The onkyo has a feature which I thought was cool, night feature which the settings are for night time so your neighbors and wife wont complain how loud it is. Is this a cool feature or lowering the volume does the same thing.
And of course, the Yamaha and Denon have great reputation. Im looking to spend 400-600 dollars. I want the clean surrond sounds of rain, airplanes and glass shattering in my surround speakers. The receiver with the most bang for the buck with some upgradibility feature.

Or should I begin to buy the speakers first, I have a Sony DVD that gives me virtual surround sounds with 2 front speakers. Then, I can get the center speakers and so on then later buy a receiver. It would be at least a 6 months in between the units.

Any suggestions? TIA

 

[HienD]

Midnight mode is implemented differently depending on which brands. With the onkyo, the dynamic range of the sound is narrowed down to allow you to easily hear minute sounds at low volume.

I find this option quite useful. I'm a night person and watch quite a few movies late at night.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Joe, a DVD player's line-level output is not capable of driving speakers; it has no audio amplifiers. So, if you're on a budget that dictates buying a receiver and then the speakers later (or vice versa), it doesn't matter which you get first. Neither can work without the other.

 

[Ted Lee]

all the brands you mention are great bang for the buck: onkyo, denon, yamaha sony (ES), are all decent brands. you may also want to check out www.outlawaudio.com - they have a receiver called the 1050 which has garnered quite a following. i've never heard it, but everyone says it's great receiver for the price (around 500 i think). all the reviews i've read also gave it high praise.

since it sounds like you're just starting out, i highly recommend you read the beginner's faq - it will help you decide what kind of features are out there and what you will want to look for when shopping.

also, check out the receivers forum. do a search there on "recommend", "beginner", etc. believe me, your question about what kind of receiver should i buy has been asked a gazillion times.

finally, if you don't find what you're looking for, post your own question there. be sure to include your budget and what kind of features you like.

good luck!