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Low price receiver, need help. (1 Viewer)

Derek Duncan

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 17, 1999
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134
Hi, I am only 19, so I don't have extra money that often, spend most of that on DVDs. I have saved up $140.00. I have a Sony 550D DVD player. I have a Sony digital ready reciever, it is 5 years old. So I have dolby digital, but would like to upgrade to dts. I know that 140.00 is nothing, but does anyone have any idea of a good receiver for that decodes dd and dts for that price(new, I don't want used). I was looking at an aiwa at best buy, the dv58.Is it a bad receiver, would it beat my 5 year old sony, my sony says it has 100 wats, the aiwa has only 80, how much of a difference does that make, if it is a bad receiver, what is a good one for that price. Please don't start giving me $1,000 suggestions. I plan to get a good receiver when I can, but this is all I can do right now. Thanks.
Derek
 

Joseph_W

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Joined
Mar 23, 2001
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111
I second the Kenwood. I bought my son a 505 (well under $200) and it sounds great with my old Take 5 speakers.
 

JerryW

Supporting Actor
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Feb 7, 2001
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640
I would save up another $100 or so and get an Onkyo DS494, or a Denon AVR-1601.
... if you really have to have something sooner, save up $60 and get a Pioneer VSX-D510. I've listened to it and it's really quite a value for the $.
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September 11, 2001
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Sean Conklin

Screenwriter
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I'll third the Kenwood 505, 506, or 507.
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Sean
"I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates who said.......I drank what?"
 

Vin

Supporting Actor
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Oct 23, 2000
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If you don't need S-video switching, the Kenwood VR-505 for $200 or less is a steal. For a little more, the VR-506 offers S-video switching and the VR-507 (I own this one) for $300 or less will give you DPL2 and 5.1 Circle Surround.
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Derek Duncan

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 17, 1999
Messages
134
Thanks guys, that was a real help. I'll most likely save a little more and get a slightly better one.
Derek
 

Philip Hamm

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Jan 23, 1999
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Derek,
Look at refurbished merchandise at places like www.pioneerdirect.com and I think you'll find some pretty great deals. You should be able to get a nice upgrade for just a little more money than that. Personally I think refurbished, used stuff, and older models on closeout prices, are the smart way to shop. Most of my HT was assembled this way.
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Philip Hamm
AIM: PhilBiker
[Edited last by Philip Hamm on November 13, 2001 at 03:52 PM]
 

Geoff L

Screenwriter
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Dec 9, 2000
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Gota agree with Phill, for some one just like you, this is an excelent way to get more for less!!!
The others are excellent ways to go also, but dont turn your nose up and look past the factory warrenty refurbs. They ~{what ever brands site your looking into}~ dont always have what you might be looking for at the time,
frown.gif
~{but}~ defenitly worth a quick look!!
Good luck
Geoff
 

John Garcia

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I'll second the Onkyo. $100 or so more, but it will be worth every cent for the high current wattage.
SKIP the Aiwa for sure. The difference between 80W and 100W will entirely depend on the amplifier itself, but if they were rated using the same specs, from the same mfg, you would definitely be able to hear a difference in the power.
I picked up an open box STRDE475 for $149 for the bedroom and it does a good all around job, but the 80WPC rating is certainly PEAK, as distortion is very evident at higher listening levels or demanding material. This is typical of average popular brand name AVRs. Ideally you want something that has high current, full bandwidth rated power (later on, as budget permits).
The receiver I replaced with my Marantz SR-6200 was a 6 yr old STR-DE815, which I also still have (100x5 peak). The Marantz is 105 x 6 and I cannot hear distortion even at rediculously high levels that I would never listen at.
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Philip Hamm

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I was just browsing this thread and I noticed you're using a DVD player with a DD-ready receiver. Pioneer's site that I referenced above has the Pioneer 626D DVD player on sale for $199. This is a very good player with a built in DD/DTS decoder and a great remote control. If you sell your current DVD player used and buy this piece you can get DTS for a minimum investment.
However, I wouldn't worry about dts at all if I were you. Save up some more for better speakers, a better sub, or a receiver with better amplifiers (and dts maybe as a bonus), you'll get a much bigger increase in sound quality this way than DTS can give you. Heck, spend the money on software! :)
Newer stuff isn't necessarily better. Heck, I'm using a 7 year old DD-ready receiver in my main system and it sounds freeking awesome. $1800 receiver I got for $400 used because someone wanted more bells and whistles. It sounds as good as anything going at that price today, believe me! Generally speaking, today's $200 receiver won't sound any better than a 6 year old $200 receiver did.
My advice is to keep saving until you can get something that will really give you a noticable qualitative difference in your system. Don't upgrade for the sake of upgrading, what happens if something breaks?
furious.gif

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Philip Hamm
AIM: PhilBiker
[Edited last by Philip Hamm on November 14, 2001 at 09:51 AM]
 

Matt Everett

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Sep 4, 1999
Messages
75
Ah.. the days of being 19...dreaming of a $500 receiver when you could only afford a $150 one...I'm not knocking it because I remember it well. When I was 19, I was listening to an ancient Optimus receiver that a friend sold me for $30.
Now I am close to 30, listening to a $500 receiver and dreaming of a $1500 one!
One thing to consider when looking at wattage is that it's exponential. To double volume, you have to multiply wattage by ten. 100 watts is only twice as loud as 10 watts. So an 80 watt amp isn't actually 20 percent quieter than a 100 watt amp. And since the manufacturer can determine the listed wattage of a receiver in several ways, the numbers aren't absolute.
For what it's worth, I can't tell a big difference between DD and DTS. Whenever I have the choice, I will go for the DTS soundtrack, though.
I haven't bought a receiver in a while, so I'm not up-to-date on newer models. In the past, I've had great luck with Yamaha and Sherwood, and no-so-great luck with Sony.
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John Garcia

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Given a choice, I prefer DTS also, but that does not mean that DD does not sound great. The 5.1 effect does not change much, though DTS seems to often sound more "crisp" and tend to be louder with more significant bass.
I upgraded from DD ready to DTS and I am happy I did, however...the real deal is quality power and processing. As Philip said, quality gear goes a long way to making things sound better, not just features.
 

Robert Fellows

Stunt Coordinator
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Apr 5, 2000
Messages
67
Derek:
My advice is to forget about upgrading to a $140 receiver just to get DTS...it's not worth it.
Spend your money on better speakers, rental movies or DVD's.
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Bob
p.s.: This advice is worth exactly what you paid for it...
 

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