Current Receiver: 8 Year Old Marantz SR780 (80wpc) DD5.1 only.
Speakers: Atlantic Technology 370THX set, Velodyne FSR-18 Sub with BFD equalization per this site.
Obviously the old SR780 won't do the new audio formats, and my Panasonic BD30 player won't decode and send them via coax to the SR780. So, it's beat on the Mrs. for a new receiver in the next few weeks. I like to start early with the research.
I only feed it with one thing, the Bluray disc player. Nothing else. Mines totally dedicated to showing movies from Bluray disc.
Being an old guy (72), I'm sort of a power freak. The Atlantic Technology speakers are rated at 200 watts, so I'd like to have at least 140wpc, even more if possible. In looking through the threads, the Onkyo stuff seems to show up in a pretty postive way. I'm wondering about others. I'd love separates, but then the meter starts to spin fast. I've looked at Outlaw, which I understand is excellent, but I'm of the opinion that their range of audio decoding is a bit behind and their HDMI is non-existent. I may be wrong, but that's my perception. (Corrections to my thinking are welcome).
Budget: Under $1000 would be nice, $1000-$1200 possible, up to $1500 if I beg enough.
I'm not suggesting someone here should do my research for me. I've surfed all the forums and can certainly read the literature (still). But, I know there are knowledgeable folks here that certainly have some experience and some of their own research they wouldn't mind sharing.
My theater:
http://www.kathiejohnson.com/HomeTheater.html
My site is a bit outdated, the projector is now a Panasonic AE900U
As always, I love the feedback from this forum. Thanks.
Deane