need cheap budget receiver recommendation

i dont know much about home theatre setups and i just bought this for my bedroom..dont really need it cus my logitech speakers work fine but i thought i'd give it a shot since it's on sale for $80 shipped

http://www.thespeakercompany.com/ACH...px?PID=1225267

i'm looking to get a refurbed receiver under 200 hopefully, maybe 300 at most... ive heard onkyo/marantz is the way to go?

is it worth getting a 7.1 receiver if the speakers are only 5.1? i'm guessing i should go for the 7.1 in case i ever upgrade

also, is there a huge difference between hdmi and non-hdmi sound? will i be able to tell the difference using these budget speakers?



thanks

not with those speakers to be honest. Even then, with your budget, you couldn't get a reciever that actually processes the audio from HDMi, it would only pass it through. The Onkyo 606 is the lowest you could get for HDMI audio processing and it goes for about 350 refurbed.

how about this one?

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...r-BLACK/1.html

or maybe this one for a bit more?

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...-SILVER/1.html

i knew in my gut you were going to pull those up. I know, they say HDMI 1.3:blah. But, did you read the fine print about pass-through only on those models. It makes it so that it is a switcher for HDMI only. Furthermore, it doesn't upgrade analog video (like s-video or component) to the HDMI output, which is important if you want to use your t.v. as a monitor only. As I stated previously, the Onkyo 605, Onkyo 606, Denon 789, 888, 889 are what you need to be looking at. Anything else and forget about HDMI all together. And no they cannot be upgraded down the road. You would need to buy a new reciever (if you bought the 506/576) to gain access to upconverting analog video to HDMI and HDMI audio processing, which is what the recveivers that I recommended already do, ergo no need to upgrade down the road.

Ryan
Former Circuit City employee

Originally Posted by ryanwhite74115

i knew in my gut you were going to pull those up. I know, they say HDMI 1.3:blah. But, did you read the fine print about pass-through only on those models. It makes it so that it is a switcher for HDMI only. Furthermore, it doesn't upgrade analog video (like s-video or component) to the HDMI output, which is important if you want to use your t.v. as a monitor only. As I stated previously, the Onkyo 605, Onkyo 606, Denon 789, 888, 889 are what you need to be looking at. Anything else and forget about HDMI all together. And no they cannot be upgraded down the road. You would need to buy a new reciever (if you bought the 506/576) to gain access to upconverting analog video to HDMI and HDMI audio processing, which is what the recveivers that I recommended already do, ergo no need to upgrade down the road.

Ryan
Former Circuit City employee

Don't listen to this guy.

why not, if you are looking for an HDMI processing reciever, the 506 and 576 are not capable

excuse the noob-ness of this question but if i get a receiver that will not process video AND audio through the hdmi cable (such as the onkyo 606), would i still use the hdmi for video then and optical cable for the audio? this stuff hurts my head...

thanks for the help!

Originally Posted by trafford

excuse the noob-ness of this question but if i get a receiver that will not process video AND audio through the hdmi cable (such as the onkyo 606), would i still use the hdmi for video then and optical cable for the audio? this stuff hurts my head...

thanks for the help!

Yes that is correct.

thank you kindly. are there any optical cables you would recommend?

Originally Posted by trafford

excuse the noob-ness of this question but if i get a receiver that will not process video AND audio through the hdmi cable (such as the onkyo 606), would i still use the hdmi for video then and optical cable for the audio? this stuff hurts my head...

thanks for the help!

Yes, I actually find this more practical, if you use your speakers for music purposes as well.

Originally Posted by trafford

thank you kindly. are there any optical cables you would recommend?

Monoprice

and thank you for your help. can you recommend a receiver then that does not need the audio and video through hdmi? i'm not looking to spend a lot...even ebay would work....just need some units that would suit my needs.

Originally Posted by trafford

and thank you for your help. can you recommend a receiver then that does not need the audio and video through hdmi? i'm not looking to spend a lot...even ebay would work....just need some units that would suit my needs.

Do you want a stereo receiver? 5.1? 7.1?

What's your budget. "Not a lot" is relative in this business.

the onkyo 606 does process audio from HDMi and upconvert analogue video (such as s-video or component) to the HDMI output just so you know. The 606 from Onkyo is the baseline reciever with those options. The 706 and above only add more power and scaling for video sources which for some is irrelevant. If I were to get a non-hdmi processing receiver on a budget that was 5.1 surround sound, the Harmon Kardon 147, the Onkyo 506 or the Denon 588 would be my choice.

thanks for the info ryanwhite. i would say around the $300 range (new, used or refubrished) is the budget i'm looking for and 5.1 suits my needs. i've spent much more than that in the past and have also had more "economical" equipment, and i guess my hearing isn't good enough to really justify spending a great deal more for quality that i just don't need, or should i say, truly appreciate.

i do not play video games and mostly will be using the home theater setup for movies, tv and occasionally music. wow...i think i just aged myself in that statement.

thanks again in advance for all the help and input on this matter.

anyone have experience with the Denon AVR-888?

its a great unit, my parents have two of the 887 unit (previous gen). I would def. get it if you have the money./

We are talking about $200-$300 receivers here people.

We had a few Marantz receivers and they all shitted out with-in a couple years. We have a Denon now and it seems to get the job done, although I have a feeling the guy that set it up had no idea what he was doing.

Originally Posted by m3on20z

We had a few Marantz receivers and they all shitted out with-in a couple years. We have a Denon now and it seems to get the job done, although I have a feeling the guy that set it up had no idea what he was doing.

I have a feeling he had no idea either.

Denon and Marantz are the same company. Marantz is better quality while Denon is more features at the same price point. Marantz also has a better warranty. I have had ONE Marantz receiver issue and three Marantz DVD issues in 3 years of being a dealer.

Originally Posted by glockman9c

I have a feeling he had no idea either.

Denon and Marantz are the same company. Marantz is better quality while Denon is more features at the same price point. Marantz also has a better warranty. I have had ONE Marantz receiver issue and three Marantz DVD issues in 3 years of being a dealer.

I tried getting Marantz to repair or replace the unit, but they said the model was discontinued and I was pretty much SOL (they wanted something like $400 to fix it). Wish I did more research, had no idea they were the same company.

Thanks for your input glockman, it's always appreciated!