Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Decision made on speakers! Now the receiver??!!

I’m beginning to feel like the Axiom, HMDI spokesperson and I’m not even qualified and hate it more than Ken does……

No, you do not NEED 1.3. Definitely, do not. Is it worth waiting for? Maybe, maybe not. With 1.3 you will get True color, auto lip sinc, and higher band width carrying capabilities for DD-HD and DTS-M. You will also get a whole new batch of bugs. So take your chances.

With 1.1 and even 1.2, most of the bugs have been discovered and the manufactures have, or are addressing them with firmware upgrades.

If you do not need or foresee yourself needing 7.1 and only need 5.1, there is a very large selection of HDMI receivers that will process high def audio that is on HD and BR disks in an uncompressed multi channel PCM bitstream.

Where the bulk of issues are residing with these new formats is 6.1 and 7.1 multi channel LPCM bitstreams. Some HDMI receivers process all 6.1 or 7.1 discrete channels without issues, some don’t. Some will extract 7.1 channels from 5.1 channels no problem, some don’t. So if you don’t need or want 7.1, no problem. You have numerous choices. If you want/need 7.1, your choices just got a whole lot narrower.

Now another point that continues to be left out of this 7.1 LPCM debate is just how many disks are encoded with more than 5.1 discrete LPCM channels. I know of three. I’m sure there will be more as more and more SD movies get transferred and new movies hit the streets, but in reality, how many nobody really knows and those who claim to know are quite simply……full of BS.

How many movies are directors actually filming in 7.1??? I don’t know. Not all of them, that’s for sure. Of my collection of just under 800 SD dvd’s, I have a WHOPPING four DVD’s that have discrete 6.1 channels. None have 7.1.

How can I get a no-interest loan? I am actually quite curious...

Thank you Mike for your advice. I have read all your most recent posts the last couple of months on HDMI and learnt a lot from your personal experience and research. I would regret staying off Rotels as I really enjoy them in my stereo setup, but I don't think they are keeping in touch with the new HT audio/video formats.

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If you do not need or foresee yourself needing 7.1 and only need 5.1, there is a very large selection of HDMI receivers that will process high def audio that is on HD and BR disks in an uncompressed multi channel PCM bitstream.

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A few picks in here please! Unfortunately I can only do 5.1 in my condo, as the living room where the TV is, is too small and the coach is against the back wall. We just bought the condo last year, and can't even think of moving for at least five years. That means that I have to be satisfied with 5.1 for the next few years.

I looked at Denon 2807 now, and it seems full of features. The price is also OK.

>>That means that I have to be satisfied with 5.1 for the next few years.>>

I think after you get your QS's you will begin to wonder what 7.1 will add to your movie enjoyment.

I’m glad my foolish endeavors and humbling posting of my mistakes have been of value to you.

This is just my opinion, which is just what it is, an opinion……but I think the Denon 2807 is the best bargain on the market right now for folks who want to take advantage of uncompressed PCM audio via HMDI. It’s one of the very few receivers that just works, first try out the factory doors. And you already have the amps for additional power if needed. My # 2 best bang for the buck would be the Yamaha RX 1700. It works fine from user accounts but the 2807 has a stronger amp.

From there you get to the > $1000 receivers that are on my short list. The Denon 3806 / 4306, Yamaha 2700, Marantz 7001 / 8001.

Then there’s the >$2000 receivers / processors. Denon 4806 / 4806 CI, Anthem AMV 40.

I don’t know didly about Pioneer, Onkyo or Sony. Don’t like them and can’t really tell you why. They have wussy power supplies, so I never really looked at them all that closely. I’m sure they work fine for some folks.

The Marantz’es and the AMV 40 do not, at this time process Discrete 7.1 LPCM. They will post process 5.1 to 7.1, but without a firmware change (pending release date TBD); they won’t give you true, 7.1 LPCM.

Mark, I'll extend my congratulations, but that's it.

This might sound like a stupid question, but where do you guys buy your Denon's, Yamaha's and Marantz's? I run a search for online stores on a couple of receivers mentioned here, and the prices seem to be way lower than MSRP. To tell you the truth I am very tempted from the "smaller" brother of Mike's Marantz: the 7001, but also Denon 2807 looks very good.