Upgrading my old Reciever - A question before I buy (1 Viewer)

[Wil_J]

Hey everyone.

I have an old Onkyo TX-DS494. It has served me well in its time, but the upgrade bug has bitten me to get upto date so my PS3 has some decent equipment to run with.

I have been very happy with my Onkyo and plan to get another one. Either TX-SR506 or TX-SR606.

Before I ask which one though, below is my current setup, as well as what my plans on upgrading my system are.

TV - SD 32" JVC D-Series. I've been very pleased with this TV, and really have no reason to get rid of it except that its SD. I currently plan on upgrading to a 37" 1080p Sharp AQUOS, though I haven't gone and done any hard TV picture comparisons yet, so it may change. But it will definately be HDMI input for my PS3.

Speakers - Currently only 5.0 (no sub yet, not even a crappy one, this is a whole other topic). I'm running the old JBL N-Series all around. The N-Center, the original curved N26's for my left and right, and N24's as my surrounds. I was able to find some new N24's for around $100 on Amazon, so I'm planning on jumping on those on my very next pay day before I can't find them anymore, thus setting up what I need for 7.1 sound.

Misc Extras - I have a Wii and a PS3. I use the PS3 as my primary DVD player.

Anyway, now that you know my setup/upgrade plan, on to the question. First off, I think I'm pretty much set on one of the two recievers listed above. My question is basically, can the 506 handle inputs from different connection types, and still output them over a single connection to the main TV?

For Example, If I want to connect my PS3 via HDMI, but my Wii via component, or even composite, will I still be able to output through a single HDMI cable to the main TV, or until I get the new TV, through component to my existing TV?

Will I be ok with the 506? Or do I need the 606? Or even worse, am I going to be forced to look into something even more expensive to get the functionality I want?

Thanks for the help everyone. Haven't had to do research for new stuff in awhile, so please bear with me.

P.S. Currently no cable or Satelite or other HD source, but I am in the market for one, that would be another connection type to bear in mind, but I don't know which one since I haven't looked into services yet.

 

[Ed Moxley]

Since the Onkyo TX-SR606 can decode the HD audio formats, on Blu ray movies, and the 506 cannot, without a second thought, I'd say get the TX-SR606.

Also, since it does decode the HD audio formats, you'll need to go to the receiver first, with the HDMI outputs, from the sources, then out from receiver to the tv. There won't be any video degradation, if you were worried about that.
Yes, the 606 upconverts everything to HDMI (1080i). No upconverting over component though, for existing tv.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Since your PS3 is your primary DVD player you don't have to get a receiver that decodes the HD audio formats. The PS3 decodes them internally and sends them out via HDMI to the receiver. You do, however, need to make sure that the receiver you buy can accept the HD audio decoded by the PS3 over HDMI.

 

[Wil_J]

Hmm...so if I get the 606 then it shouldn't matter right? Or if it does matter, and the ones I'm looking at can't do that, what recievers should I look at?

 

[Ed Moxley]

The 606 is a great choice...........