It's been a while since I had to think about a stereo component. I have a Denon Reciever. It's still working great. But it's about 7 years old. I got it the same time I got my DVD player (that needs upgrading too).

I just got a 50 inch Samsung 1080P. The old receiver obviously does not have any HDMI inputs. In fact it does not even have a Dolby 5.1 decoder. The decoder is built into my DVD player.

Do you guys think I will be able to get by with my current receiver for a bit more? What's a good reciever and DVD player that I can pick up? I really would like not to spend a lot of cash. I have a good set of speakers, so I won't need those right now.

 

I'm a big fan of Rotel products.

That said, you don't really need HDMI switching. If you're TV has enough HDMI inputs, you're probably better off running direct-to-set, then running optical audio to your receiver.

This will allow you to use custom input settings on your TV. Which is important since every device will calibrate differently.

 

^ This is how both of our setups are done (HDMI to the set and optical audio to the receiver) and we have never had any problems doing it this way...

 

I never understood the need for video inputs (s-video, component, HDMI) on a receiver. I guess some can upconvert, but I think it's a waste of an extra wire.

 

Well, one reason is simplicity of control. This is supplanted today by modern activity based controllers.

The other reason is less wires to hide going to the TV, with wall mountable TV's, this is a big thing.

Another reason is its more difficult to properly synchronize your audio/video when they're not all being controlled by your receiver.

 

I would say to upgrade receiver and dvd player. With the decoder in the dvd player, does it relay a true 5.1 to your speakers? There are better dvd players on the market, some are starting to upscale 1080p.

Don't worry about all of the HDMI connections on the receiver, unless you turn your reciever on everytime you turn on your TV. You can get a really good receiver without these and save $300-$400 on it.

I don't use my reciever when I just watching TV, I do when I play a dvd or a videogame or if I'm watching a HD movie from sat.

For this all I have hooked up to the reciever is fiber optic cables, far cheaper than HDMI.

Do keep this in mind when making a choice, I don't get this problem alot.

 

I don't think there are optical inputs for my receiver. I know.....OLD. I'm thinking I'm going to be upgrading it in the coming months.

Any good suggestions on receivers? I'm sold on the fact that Denon is a good brand since the one I have still rocks and it's old as dirt. Just want some shopping options.

 

I believe it does send a true signal to the speakers. The receiver was 5.1 ready. There just was no decoder. It was cheaper for me when I bought the receiver and DVD player to do it this way. To be honest, I never expected that they will last this long.

As for the upscaling DVD players, I have been reading a lot of negative comments about them. A lot of people have been saying to allow the TV to do the upscaling.

 

Thanks for this, I couldn't remember how it was handle.

 

I don't know the model number, but I have two Pioneer receivers that we got from Best Buy last year. They were like $400 each at the time... so they aren't extremely high end. Kind of middle ground. They do a great job, offer tons of inputs, and I have everything hooked up to them (DVD, video games, cable box, etc) for audio. Denon is also very good, but we got the Pioneer's b/c they were onsale, and if you spent over $600 from BB you got a free 12" Klipsch sub... so that worked out well too

 

^^^

I'll take a look at that.

Someone posted a really nice Harman Kardon in one of the other threads.

http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-...&s=audio-video

I really like that one. But a buddy of mine went through 3 Harman Hardon because they kept crapping out on him.

 

Was your buddy's receiver a AVR 340? We had a very large number of failures with these.

How much are you looking to spend? I am a big fan of the new Marantz receivers. I just picked one up myself a few weeks ago. I could possibly get you a decent deal on one, but the shipping may not make it worthwhile.

 

I'm not sure. I'll check with him.

 

www.rotel.com

i'm a big fan of Rotel & their products.

the RSX-1057 would be ideal for you.

as far as Denon, I'm not a fan. IMO, they tend to overstate their products capabilities. i've been disappointed with most of the Denon products I've owned over the years.

 

Most decent quality upscaling DVD players have a marginally better internal scaler than does your TV, so if you have one, there is some benefit.

The question is whether that benefit can trully be perceived, enough to justify the cost at least.

I guess moral of the story is, if you have the extra cash to spend, go for it. But it's not something you need. It's not going to make a night and day difference.

 

There is no doubting the quality of Rotel, but didn't he state that he was trying to not spend too much money? I am not 100% sure, but I believe that receiver is in the $1500 price range. It may have come down a little, but still not what a lot of people would consider affordable. I will not argue with you however the quality. If money is not an issue, then I too will recommend them.

 

good point.

 

If you go with HK you can save a good amount of coin by purchasing a refurb unit. They carry the same warranty as a new one.

I have a refurb HK receiver and DVD player. I had a problem with the receiver and they replaced it with another one. They even gave me a UPS label to print and slap on the box so I didn't have to pay for the return shipping. In all I save several hundred dollars and was a happy camper.

I would definitely do it again. For about the same money as that 2xx you are looking at you can get a 3xx refurb.

http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...id=harmanaudio

 

if you like denon, you could try getting a refurb one from ecost or another authorized refurb reseller. i ended up buying mine new at the time (2805) so i can't comment on how the refurb ones are, but the savings are substantial.

 

Agh! Don't say that! I have the AVR340 and it's running great - I have heard it runs hot so I made sure the air flow was good. $400 at Fry's a couple months ago.

 

The biggest thing is making sure it has plenty of ventilation. You may want to install a fan if its in a cabinet, just to be safe.