Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater New AV Receiever

Greetings! Been away for awhile. I have just replaced my 50" rear projection with a Panasonic G15 series 50" Plasma. I have the Axiom 60 series, upgraded with a v150 center and a Hsu VTF2 sub. My current receiver is a Yamaha RXV 1400. Has been a great setup but the Yami has no HDMI. So, I am looking to replace with the Pioneer Elite VSX 21.

I had a lot of help setting up the previous through this forum back then, so I am seeking opinions and recommendations here again.

So, any advice is greatly appreciated. Different receiver, other considerations, places to shop, whatever.

Thanks!
Jeff

Anything by Denon or Onkyo seems to have great reliability these days, the Pioneer SC series also appears to be quite good. What sort of budget and features are you looking for?

I'm in the same boat as you with a reciever void of HDMI input/outputs. So far I've been thinking about going with the Denon 3808 since so many here have been so happy with it. But the fact that it doesn't have the PL IIz feature, which I'm curious about experimenting with height channels, is sort of making me rethink that decision. I have a while, I'm not in a huge hurry to upgrade, so more thought will go into it before I ultimately decide.

Most of the known brands such as Denon, HK, Sherwood, Pioneer, Onkyo ect...should all be fine with the M60's. Denon seems to be the most popular AVR here, with a sprinkle of Onkyos but that's partly because of the fact that many users here have M80's which dip a little lower to approx 4ohms. Many of the better AVRs have high current capability these days(but not all).

Jeff, it certainly has been a while; welcome back! As to the receiver, I'd suggest that you give first consideration to one of the Denon or Onkyo units with Audyssey room correction. They're equally good with respect to basic amplification, so make your choice on the basis of features and price.

Thanks for the reponses. To tell the truth, I really hate that I am looking at receivers period! It doesn't seem like that long ago that I bought my current receiver. (although the years do pass quickly!, I guess its been about 6!) I am very happy with it still, plenty of power and sounds great, but as I've mentioned the lack of HDMI will irk me knowing that this receiver is holding me back from my best picture.

With that said, I really don't want to spend a lot of money but I also don't want to really go down from what I have in terms of power and quality. This is why I mentioned the receiver that I did (Pioneer Elite 21). I have begun to look at the Yamaha and Denon as well. It apperas I need to see which model I can afford from each manufacturer and pick the one that will give me the best value, eh?

Any other advice/comments is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeff

Jeff,

So you are looking to upgrade your AVR because it lacks HDMI, I understand that, mine does too, but if it is only for video switching purposes that you want to upgrade, you could look to a HDMI switch instead, that is what I'm running while I spend money else where in my theatre.

What components are you looking to switch? Does your current AVR have enough optical/coax inputs for sound? If you have lots of audio inputs I'd consider getting a little more out of your current AVR rather then upgrading.

The only source that I think you would consider HDMI a 'must' from the audio side is a Blu Ray player and if your AVR has analog inputs you could easily pair it with a blu ray player with analog outputs and I think that just about nullifies the need for HDMI for audio... though I do think there is some limitations in regards to hearing secondary audio tracks over for PIP and the like, it will allow you to get to hear the latest audio codecs without the need for HDMI.

I know today's AVR's have the ability to upscale content and switch HDMI sources, but for my use, I'm happy with the upscaling my blu ray player does direct to my display and more then happy with the direct feed from my PVR to my display where I don't feel I need an AVR to do any video procoessing for me.

I decided to get a 4x1 HDMI switch form Monoprice and get a couple of more years out of my AVR. Only thing I'd consider over that is a 4x2 switch. My AVR still does all my audio switching and I'm happy with that.

Jeff, I have been doing a lot of research on this forum and on other sites lately as I am considering a receiver change as well. I currently have a Denon 3806 and certainly can say it seems to be a nice receiver. I am thinking of getting something with more features for my new theater room which will be in process soon. I figure I would like to eventually run more than a 7.1. I also want to try to avoid the Denon this time because I have a lot of trouble with the settings. It is definately hard to navigate for a non technical person like myself. One receiver I have zoned in on is the Yamaha RX Z11. My father has a Yamaha and set up is much easier than the Denon I have. It is an 11.2 with 140watts x7 and 50x4 giving you the ability to upgrade your sound stage a ton if you want to. it has 5 HDMI inputs and 2 outputs. Seems like the kind of receiver that you can keep for several years and survive many levels of upgraditis! I think you can get it in the US for under $2500.

Hi Jeff,

Consider the Onkyo TX-NR807 receiver. 140W X 7 (11.2 support) PLIIZ, 6 HDMI in 1 HDMI out. Ethernet port, Audyssey calibration and tons more features.. paid $1150 Canadian just a few weeks ago. Highly recommend it.

Jeff, since you're considering the VSX 21, it appears that you may be budgeting about $400-$500 for this. If so, I'd suggest thay you consider a factory refurbished unit which will be more full-featured at that price level and in my view is likely to be even a bit more reliable than a brand new unit.

Specifically, in a price range around $420 I'd suggest that you consider the Onkyo 706 , and another excellent candidate would be the Denon 2309 .