Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Help with picking a receiver

I am in the process of researching a 5.1 system including a receiver. My room is 22x13.5x8. I will be using the system for about 85% movies and 15% music. I don't want to go with floor standing speakers for the front. So right now I am looking at

(1) M22v2, VP150, and QS4v2.

(2) M3v2, VP150, and QS4v2.

My budget is about 1200 for speakers, 500 for sub, and 400-500 for receiver.

Can someone recommend a few receivers for the systems I have listed? I don't know much about receivers at this point. I am learning as I go.

Thanks
mark

What kind of hook-ups do you need? HDMI, component, s-video? Will you be getting into Blu-Ray in the near future?

Pretty much any receiver will drive those speakers.

Just find one with the features you want.

Check out the denon AVR-1708 as a starting point
http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3637.asp#

For now I will be connecting Fios to the receiver. Eventually I will be hooking up a blue ray player.

Question. Do I really need a receiver to do up conversion or pass through HDMI? For a blue ray and cable box can't I just do an HDMI connection from those to the TV and do a digital audio connection from blue ray and cable box to the receiver.

It is not an absolute necessity I suppose. But I would not buy a receiver these days without HDMI inputs and conversion capabilities.

I would run all video and audio into your receiver, and then run the least amount of video cable from your receiver to your tv. (if you use HDMI and everything is converted to the hdmi out in the receiver then you only need one cable to go from the tv to the receiver.)

If you connect the video directly to the tv and the audio directly to the receiver then you will have to change the input on the tv, and then change the input on the receiver to the right audio input to match the video you are watching.... kind of a pain.

IF everything goes through the receiver then you can have your tv set on the same input at all times, and just switch the input on the receiver to switch sources... much more conveinent.

Check out this review at audioholics for a $350 denon receiver
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/receivers/denon-avr-588

You can probably get the first one I mentioned from 6ave.com for cheaper than the $499 price shown on denon's website.

I got a denon 3808 which is MSRP $1599+tax for $1098 from 6ave.

Also, if you are using an HDMI connection there is no need for a separate digital audio connection since HDMI includes both audio and video

The latest batch of Onkyo receivers are setting the standard (right now at least) for features at a good price.

Mark, welcome. For about six years now I've been delighted with my M22s and would certainly recommend them to you.

As for a receiver, if you're getting one it's nice in general to get all the latest features that your budget will allow, but no, it isn't essential to have all processing done by the receiver. You might read the explanation that Clint at Audioholics has written up about the various HDMI versions and the importance(or lack of it)in relation to processing.

At this time a very good buy coming in under your budget would be the factory refurb 605 from Shop Onkyo . If you register for "Club Onkyo" they have a special $349 price plus a $10 credit and free shipping, which makes the net price $339 delivered.

The M22 speakers have a min/max amp power of 10/200 watts. If I get a receiver that has an output of 75 watts per channel. How does that relate to the output of the speaker. Does that mean I will only get a max of 75 watts out of the speakers since the receiver can only send 75 per channel?

Thanks

Here is a nice article by Alan on power:
http://www.axiomaudio.com/power.html

No, Mark, it doesn't work that way. Speakers of typical sensitivity, including the Axioms, are about 1% efficient or a bit less in converting electrical power input into acoustical power output. In the 75 watt maximum power example that you mention, the speaker would put out 0.75 acoustic watt or less when fed the maximum 75 watts on a brief peak. An acoustic watt equates to a sound level of about 112dB at the standard 1 meter measuring distance, and 0.75 watt would be about 110-111dB, an unbearably loud level except for a momentary peak.

At a comfortably loud average listening level these speakers use about 1 watt of power input. Brief peaks would take much more, of course, and whether more than 75 watts would be needed for those peaks would depend on how loud of an average listening level is used and how wide the dynamic range of the material being played is. For the vast majority of home uses typical receivers with ratings in the 75-140 watt area should be fine(there's less than a 3dB difference in maximum output between those two numbers).