Planning on purchasing a new receiver in the next month or so and would like assistance in selecting the best one for my needs.

currently have
m60's, Qs4's, vp100.

here's what i'd like in the receiver

- HDMI Inputs
- capability of multi room
- 3 or more optical inputs
- analog inputs (not a must be planning on getting an SACD player eventually)
- i'd LIKE the new HD audio codecs
- doesn't HAVE to be 4ohm capable (i know upgraditis and such but that's not in my near future plans)
- $600ish.

sooo, any thoughts on this?

Maybe look at the denon 2308? MSRP is $849, probably can get it online for $650 or so. JR.com might give you a good price over the phone.

I think it meets all of your needs except I do not think it does any decoding of the HD formats.

http://usa.denon.com/AVR-2308CILit_830.pdf

In fact, the 2308 does NOT decode Dolby TrueHD or dts-HD Master Audio. That capability shows up first in the 2808. Given where we are with DVDs in HD and th eprice of equipment in general, it would sure make sense to be sure you have the capability with whatever you buy.

You might score a 2808 at ecost or Dakmart for the <$650 figure. I have several pieces of Denon refurb from ecost and have been ppleased with them.

i should probably note that i'm from Canada so my options become a little a lot more limited

Ecost ships uphere and refurb 2808s show up there from time to time for less than Dakmart, worth a look. If Sherwood Newcastle ever release there XX2 series I believe they all will do what you are looking for and the low end receiver is about the right price point.

I am sure JohnK will be along to show you some Onkyo's you can order up online that will do the trick as well.

so, after looking around a little i still have no clue what to get. although i have decided i don't REALLY need dts-hd or dolby true HD if the receiver has multi channel PCM in it. so given this. any more thoughts? price point has gone up to. looking around $800ish Canadian $$$ including taxes.
with my m60's is 75w p/channel too little? if i ever want to crank it up? was looking at maybe the onkyo 605 but not sure if it would be enough

Tom Andry from Audioholics/Avrant did a short report on the new line of recievers coming from Pioneer for '08. From what I heard they should be on your short list even if you have to postpone the purchase.

I have seen the Denon 2808 on sale for $800ish around here. Check out your local shops. I am sure for $800 you can get some really nice receivers.

I know around here I can walk in to a couple of stores and haggle with them to get the price down from their current selling price anywhere from $200-400. It's worth a try.

The MSRP on the 2808 is $1319 and one store here usually sells it for $1100 and I almost bought it for $799 before Christmas then I got a better deal on the 3808, more money but more features.

I think the Yamaha RX-V1800 meets all of your requirements.
I'm pretty sure you can get it at your price point.

Yamaha RX-V1800

Zak

Yeah blacky, Canada is great for a lot of things, but deals on receivers isn't one of them. If you could get the Yamaha 1800 at that price it'd be fine. Here's a more informative test report on it. My own preference would be the Onkyo 705 with the full Audyssey MultEQ XT system if you can find it within your budget.

yeah, onkyo 705 is at the top of my list but in Canada i'd be looking at 1099.99..that's right americans, not a typo. if i go U.S i might be able to get it for $650...about half what i'd pay for it in Canada. BUT i loose out on Warranty so really is it worth the risk if it craps out on me, haven't decided.
anyone have opinions on this one

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10088271&catid=

Yamaha 661 for PCM HDMI audio (it is not 1.3). Good little reiver. I had one for a while. They're pretty cheap.

ok. i may have come up with a descent receiver. anyone know anything about the Yamaha HTR6060? anyone know if it can handle multichannel PCM?

I'm not sure if you have a Soundsaround where you live but they had the RX-V1800 on sale for $998 CDN last week at the Calgary location.

I bought my RX-V3800 for $1,598 which was the best price I found in Calgary.

Zak

well i took the leap and bought the yamaha htr6060, should arrive this week, says it's 4ohm capable so if upgradeitis hits me at some point i should be ok. AND it's got a phono input which is a nice plus