Joseph DeMartino
Senior HTF Member
My brother-in-law is finally surrendering to the 21st century and upgrading his satellite service to HD, because he needs to buy a new TV for the family room. One of the reasons he's making the move, despite the lousy economy, is that he's getting a terrific deal on a 60" Sony TV. He's self-employed and has seen business improve a little in recent months, and he's hoping the trend continues so that he can do something like more a real home theater. But he's up against serious WAF issues with my sister, plus the need to save up to do each step. He also isn't a huge movie fanatic (although I suspect that will change with the big screen.) The HT will mostly be used for sports, with the sound system being more of a supplement and special occasion thing than an everyday feature. (Hence I'm not worried about a big deal universal remote at this point.)
Anyway, I may have a shot at getting a BD player cheap, which may be his Christmas present this year. So that would be two solid components. With the new HD-DVR from DirecTV, that's three. The weak spot is the sound system. They have an old, analog Pioneer DPL receiver and two largish Cerwin-Vega speakers. I've found a matching center for them, which won't break the bank, and an uncle who recently moved to Florida had a decent Velodyne sub that he doesn't need. (He had two of them, which is overkill in his new, smaller, place.) They also have a pair of old JBL bookshelf speakers that can be pressed into service as surrounds. Kind of a Frankensystem, but not utterly horrible.
The real weak spot is the receiver. I'd really like to replace that with something that at least does Dolby Digital and DTS.
So that brings me to my own system, which as served me well for many years. I have an Onkyo TX-SR503. Nice receiver, but it is pre-HDMI. I'd love to replace it with something, even something refurbished, that would let me get more out of my own BD player, HD-DVR and DVD players. If I can upgrade my receiver on the cheap, I can give them the Onkyo and connect the BD and HD-DVR to the TV with HDMI and to the receiver with digital coax or optical and they'll be miles ahead of where they are now.
I've just been out of the market for so long, I'm a little fuzzy on some of the current features and terms myself. I'd like to stay under $300 on any new receiver I buy for myself. I want HDMI, and currently have 4 devices that would need HDMI connections. (And might add more in the future, who knows?) If I have to handle some of the connections with an external HDMI switch, I don't have a problem with that. An automatic equalization system like Audessy would be nice, but isn't mandatory. HD audio decoding over HDMI is. Upconversion of analog sources over HDMI is one of those "just in case" ideas that I wouldn't pay extra for, but would be happy to have available. And I understand that some receivers will no pass audio over HDMI to the TV in standby mode. But I have a feeling that might not be an option in my price range.
So that's where I am. I'm not married to brand names. I've owen Pioneer, Technics, Kenwood, Denon and Onkyo receivers. Liked the last two best, but I've always maintained the speakers affect sound a lot more than amps do, and those aren't changing. Any suggestions for my next receiver, so that my Onkyo can go to a good home and (with any luck) start the process of drawing my brother-in-law and sister over to the Dark Side?
Regards,
Joe
Anyway, I may have a shot at getting a BD player cheap, which may be his Christmas present this year. So that would be two solid components. With the new HD-DVR from DirecTV, that's three. The weak spot is the sound system. They have an old, analog Pioneer DPL receiver and two largish Cerwin-Vega speakers. I've found a matching center for them, which won't break the bank, and an uncle who recently moved to Florida had a decent Velodyne sub that he doesn't need. (He had two of them, which is overkill in his new, smaller, place.) They also have a pair of old JBL bookshelf speakers that can be pressed into service as surrounds. Kind of a Frankensystem, but not utterly horrible.
The real weak spot is the receiver. I'd really like to replace that with something that at least does Dolby Digital and DTS.
So that brings me to my own system, which as served me well for many years. I have an Onkyo TX-SR503. Nice receiver, but it is pre-HDMI. I'd love to replace it with something, even something refurbished, that would let me get more out of my own BD player, HD-DVR and DVD players. If I can upgrade my receiver on the cheap, I can give them the Onkyo and connect the BD and HD-DVR to the TV with HDMI and to the receiver with digital coax or optical and they'll be miles ahead of where they are now.
I've just been out of the market for so long, I'm a little fuzzy on some of the current features and terms myself. I'd like to stay under $300 on any new receiver I buy for myself. I want HDMI, and currently have 4 devices that would need HDMI connections. (And might add more in the future, who knows?) If I have to handle some of the connections with an external HDMI switch, I don't have a problem with that. An automatic equalization system like Audessy would be nice, but isn't mandatory. HD audio decoding over HDMI is. Upconversion of analog sources over HDMI is one of those "just in case" ideas that I wouldn't pay extra for, but would be happy to have available. And I understand that some receivers will no pass audio over HDMI to the TV in standby mode. But I have a feeling that might not be an option in my price range.
So that's where I am. I'm not married to brand names. I've owen Pioneer, Technics, Kenwood, Denon and Onkyo receivers. Liked the last two best, but I've always maintained the speakers affect sound a lot more than amps do, and those aren't changing. Any suggestions for my next receiver, so that my Onkyo can go to a good home and (with any luck) start the process of drawing my brother-in-law and sister over to the Dark Side?
Regards,
Joe
