Which Receiver to Buy with this system?

[BokKafa]

I am currently updating my home entertainment system and have no idea which receiver to purchase. I do not want an overkill since my system is very simple but I would like to use the full potenial of the video and audio. As it stand my system looks like this:

SONY BRAVIA 3LCD VPL-AW15 Projector
PS3 for playing Blu-Ray movies
Bose 901 Series VI Active Equalizer EQ
KRK or Mackie Monitors for my speakers (Not bought yet)
Receiver???

That's it. I do not own a TV so the above compoents will be the only items going into the receiver. I also would like to use the PS3 as my music center since I will be uploading music into it's 40GB internal drive. I would like to spend no more than $500 for this system...even $400 would be good if there is a receiver which does only what I need it to do as stated above. Maybe down the line, I would like to buy a universal remote like the Logitech Harmony 1000 but since the PS3 is Blu-Ray, I can not use it yet. Any advice is appreciated.

[Sonnie]

High Lan and welcome to the Shack!

You can buy this Blu-wave remote for $14 that works with the PS3 and allows you to learn it's commands into any learning remote.

Several of us will often recommend the Onkyo TX-SR605 at about $400 for an inexpensive receiver. It seems to give you a lot of bang for the buck and it's very popular.

The Yamaha RX-V661 and the Pioneer VSX-1017TXV-K are also fairly popular and worth considering.

I think either of those will handle your needs. You might look over the features of each and see which one does the most for you. Shop around for the best prices... we are not always the lowest at the Shack store.

KRK... I've never heard of those speakers. Mackie I know and have heard in the past, but it's been a while. I believe Ethan Winer, staff member, owns some Mackie speakers. What's driving your decision on those?

[BokKafa]

Hi Sonnie,

Thank you for the response. I was looking at the Onkyo TX-SR605 as well as the Denon 1708, and Onkyo TX-SR705. After going through and reading the reviews on the web...I got even more confused. Some say the Onkyo's mess up the HDMI video & audio and seem to crack or pop in the begininng for Movies.

I have also read good and bad reviews about teh Denon 1708 & 1908 models. Another one I have not looked into yet is the Sony STR DG1000, and Sony STR-DA3300E. I thought Maybe since I have a sony projector and PS3...that these componets would work better together?

I work in a studio enviroment was in the master lab when I heard these monitors. They sounded unbeleivable! I have always wanted to make an entertainment system with them.

[Sonnie]

I would not place too much faith in those negative reviews being an indication of what performance you'll get from them. Onkyo and Denon has sold a host of these receivers and you'll hear more negative online about them because it'd generally where people go so they have somewhere to complain.

I suspect Sony would work fine, although we don't seem to hear much about Sony receivers for some reason.

[eugovector]

So will your monitors be passive or powered? If powered, make sure you get a pre/pro, or an AVR with Pre-outs.

[nova]

Components of the same brand will not necessarily work better together. Maybe if there is some sort of proprietary connection such as the Denon Link. In any case, I'd imagine a Sony receiver would do you just fine. Currently I have a Sony, a Denon, and a Kenwood. Denon is by far the best of the lot, then the Kenwood. My Sony works fine, as long as I do not push it very hard. I used to have some 6 ohm 91 db speakers and the Sony would heat up quickly and go into protect mode. I now use it for my computer system with 8 ohm speakers and much lower volumes, it still gets very hot but has not gone into protect mode lately.

I think Sony gets a bad rap because the majority of Sony purchases are from the lower end (like my STR-DE995) and are just average. Sony does make many fine receivers such as the ES line. I just don't think you hear much about them, and most AV nuts don't bother with Sony because of the stigma attached to the lower end models. Of course thats just what I think and may have no bearing on reality

[BokKafa]

eugovector wrote:

So will your monitors be passive or powered? If powered, make sure you get a pre/pro, or an AVR with Pre-outs.

Great information. I am looking at passive monitors. I have narrowed down to the following:

KRK ST6
Behringer TRUTH B2031P

I will be going down to the guitar center today to listen to both of them. So far, the Onkyo TX-SR605 seems to be the receiver for my needs.

[eugovector]

Rumor has it the 2030s, with their smaller woofer, are much tighter in the low-mids, at the expense of low extension, but if you use a subwoofer, it won't matter. Take a listen to them also while you're there.

[BokKafa]

Just an Update. I have purchased the Denon AVR-1708 receiver I hope this is a good choice.

[BokKafa]

Oh, quick question...is it ok to play my PS3 directly on top of my receiver or should I place it above the shelf?

[Jerm357]

If it was me, I would never put any thing on top of my receiver. They need room to breath you know.

[irvin]

onkyo yamaha marantz are all good quality receivers