Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Which reciever do you suggest for my situation?

I am planning on purchasing the Axiom Epic 60-500 system for my family room (23x19 with 11 foot cathedral ceiling) which does open into combo dining room/kitchen area in corner of room. This system was suggested by Brent at Axiom. Now, the big question....Which receiver would be a good partner with the new speakers. I primarily listen to thrash metal and bluegrass (I know, interesting combo..), and primarily watch action movies with occasional comedies mixed in. I want a receiver that can handle inputs from my HD DVD player and a 50 inch plasma on the wall. I was considering purchasing a Pioneer VSX-84TXSi, due to the variety of connections, auto calibration and being a previous owner of Pioneers and been satisfied with the products. Would this receiver be adequate for the speaker system, or does anyone suggest a receiver/amp combo or another company receiver which might produce better sound from the speakers? Thanks for your input!!

R2, welcome. Your choice of speakers should be excellent, but you're overly concerned if you think that the choice of receiver is the "big question". The Axioms have no unusual requirements and numerous receivers work well with them. If you like the features of the 84 and it fits your budget, go with it. It would be excellent, and no, you won't find another receiver that magically would produce "better sound"; all you want is a unit that amplifies transparently without adding an audible sonic characteristic of its own. The 84 and many others do this.

There are many Yamaha, Denon, and H/K users here. I run a Denon 2805, and am upgrading to a 2807 which has HDMI switching. Why don't you give us a list of components (TV, Cable/Sat receiver, DVD player) and a $$$ figure you are shooting for. That would help narrow the field. HDMI for better or worse is going to be the connection standard for the foreseeable future so a receiver that does HDMI switching is probably a requirement. Most good receivers will have at least 2 HDMI inputs. Some receivers have satellite radio and/or iPod "docking" ports built in. So a list of what you have now or plan to get would be helpful.

To echo John, pretty much all well-designed receivers will do the job fine. From what I've read here all of the middle-of-the-road Denon and H/K and Yammy receivers and higher will power the 4 ohm load of the M80s with no problem. The pertinent question is which features you want. And don't worry about "watts per channel." That's nearly the last spec you need to think about.

Late edit: I haven't heard alot about the Pioneers.

Equipment: Pioneer Pro-1140HD TV, Dish Satellite HD box, Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player....hoping to spend around $1,000-$1,500. Also, any comments on adding an amplifier to the AV receiver would be much appreciated...

Could you clarify the possible need for an additional amplifier?

The Denon 2807 and 3806 are good, solid receivers that do HDMI switching, power 7 channels and can be had at that price range. As a Denon user I can recommend them. I'm sure the others will have good recommendations for other brands. The 3806 has a bit more power than the 2807, otherwise I think they are pretty much the same.