swt61

So I've made my purchase. I bought a Denon AVR-1910 (same as the 790, but sold the the pro installer channel). A big thanks to Hopstretch for digging around, finding the deal through an authorized Denon dealer and providing me with a name and phone #! I did figure out that the Yamaha will play in surround mode through the digital in with satellite broadcast HD movies. I'm assuming that the Oppo is either too high of a bit rate for the Yamaha, or incompatible in some other way. Anyone interested in the Yamaha can find a slammin' deal in the sale forums.

Denon AVR-1910

Thanks guys! That is the kind of useful info I need. The Oppo also uses Anchor Bay processing. So the Denon stays at the top of the list for now.

So from what I've been able to find it looks as though my two best options are the Denon AVR-790... [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR790-7-1-Channel-Multi-Zone-Connectivity/dp/B002AKKFQW]Amazon.com: Denon AVR790 7.1-Channel Multi-Zone Home Theater Receiver with 1080p HDMI Connectivity: Electronics[/ame] And the Onkyo TX-SR607... FadFusion.com: Onkyo TX-SR607B TXSR607B RECEIVERS-ONKYO TX-SR607 STEREO Both look to be excellent choices for my budget, but I'm leaning a bit towards the Onkyo for it's added features (6 HDMI inputs, 2 subwoofer outputs & Faroudja DCDi Edge). Not to mention that I can get the Onkyo for about $40.00 less than the Denon. It's been mentioned that Denon and Onkyo are both favorites, so any preferences here?

That will be my next cat one day in the near future! I've wanted the Canadian Hairless for quite some time. I just think they're awesome. I won't mention the Red body-tard.

Oh, and he's my Brotha from anotha Motha.

If I decide to use the Oppo as an SACD player (and I might) I will use the Buffalo 32 DAC which supports DSD, and my Beta22. The Denon has the newer Blu-ray codecs like Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Pro Logic IIz decoding. Since about 75% of my veiwing is going to be Blu-ray movies, that's pretty appealing to me. The 1080 upconversion for analog signals also is quite useful. He can answer that better than I, but he's an installer + a lot more. He installs just about everything if memory serves, but his abilities go way beyond that. I'm quite sure he's a major asset to the company, as he's one of those guys that can find solutions where none seem to exist.

So after a bit more research I see that stepping up to the Denon AVR-790 gets me 1080P upconversion from analog signals over HDMI, whereas the 590 upconverts to 480. This will be usefull for non HD satelite channels. Also it adds two more surround channels if I want to add more speakers at some point, and offers a bit more power per speaker. Four HDMI inputs instead of two, which would be really handy if I decide to go with a gaming system like the xbox 360 elite. It's $100.00 more, but seems to be well worth the added cost.

Yeah, as it stands right now that Denon AVR590 that Stretch pointed out looks to have everything I want at a really good price. I just don't wanna jump the gun again, so I'll spend a little more time researching things. I know this is really in your arena Fitz, so I may PM you with questions on dialing in my gear if that's cool?

That Denon is really appealing, especially at that price point! It's definitely different. I kind of like it, but I'd really need to spend a lot more time with it to come to any real conclusions. My headphones are all difficult to drive, and that makes it tough to really evaluate it. But I'd make you a slammin' deal, and you could spend all the time you need with it.

Understood, however Yamaha has left a sour taste in my mouth at this point.

Onkyo TX-SR507 Home theater receiver with HDMI switching and advanced surround decoding at Crutchfield.com This one looks to have exactly what I want, and it definitely is in my budget. I'll not be so hasty this time around however. Any thoughts on this unit anyone? Jay I'm checking out that Denon you recommended too, thanks!

Thanks Kevin. I'll look into all of the above. Anyone want a sucky Yamaha cheap?

It's not the settings in the Oppo, because it will play audio via the HDMI jacks through the TVs speakers. The multi channel input on the receiver will not work with the sound field settings, so again no 5.1 with Blu-ray. And the digital input will only work in "straight" 2 channel mode (at least with the Oppo I own). This is the stupidest design I've ever encountered! I most likely can't return it, because I bought it from an eBay dealer, but I'll check into that. At any rate I want to buy a receiver that will output 5.1 to the receivers speaker outputs via HDMI. I guess I was an asshat for assuming any HDMI receiver would do this. Which Denon would you recommend? I'd like to stay under the $500.00 mark if possible.

So I recently purchased a Yamaha RX-V365 A/V Receiver for use with my new 5.1 system. The receiver has 3 HDMI inputs and one HDMI output. I had intended to hook my Blu-ray player and my satelite receiver into the A/V receiver via the HDMI inputs. As it turns out this receiver will not send audio to the speaker outputs via the HDMI inputs. This seems pretty lame to me, as the whole idea with HDMI is to have one cable carrying evrything. It also seems that this is fairly common. My receivers manual says to use the digit output of my Blu-ray into the digital input of the receiver. That works fine for 2 channel playback, but the manual says that it's only compatible with up to 96 kHz sampling frequency. It also states that "when PCM signals with a sampling frequency higher than 48 kHz are input, this unit is automatically set to the "straight" mode' (2 channel). Additionally the manual states that "Sound field programs cannot be selected when the component connected to the multi channel input jacks is selected as the input source (in other words the multi channel analog inputs cannot be used with the surround features). WTF???!!! Am I missing something here? How the hell are you supposed to make use of the surround features of this receiver? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Yeah, I'm laying in my bed when I'm watching, and I don't really like to sit up. This worked out great with the little CRT TV I had before, and last nights quick viewing proved to be quite comfy as well. It's tilted down as far as the mount will allow (I'd estimate about 5 degrees), and that really seems just about perfect.

Happy Birthday!

The Plasma TV arrived yesterday. By the time I got a friend over to help me set it up on the wall mount it was pretty late. I did watch part of a Blu-ray movie however, and even without any setup on the TV or Blu-ray player, it was pretty awesome. Today will be spent setting up and dialing in the TV, Oppo and receiver. There's a lot to read first.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Justin!

Sounds promising. I'm in no hurry yet though. I still need to decide if I want to build a real surround system again. Last I played around with them was late '80s - early '90s, and video was the weak link then. That's certainly not the case now. Will do. I keep hoping to see a delivery driver pull up. The TV shipping was free, but no tracking.

I have two AV123 UFW-10 500 Watt active subs. I'll use one of them in the 5.1 system. The other will be used with the ERM-1s. If I end up upgrading to the Emotiva setup, I'd most likely buy a 15" sub.

Just an entry level RX-V365. If I get interested in home theater again I plan to upgrade to Emotiva's Pre/Pro, 7.1 Amp and speakers. The little Emotiva ERM-1 speakers I bought for my desk arrived yesterday, and I'm very impressed. Fit, finish and SQ are unbelievable for a speaker costing $149.00 ea. (sale). But as you can see from the pics below, I really don't have room currently to have speakers on stands. Yes, this setup is in my bedroom. That's where I like to watch movies. The Plasma will mount on the wall directly above the Red speaker box, and be tilted downward. I'll be moving one of my powered subs over to this system too.

Uhm, I wouldn't jump to that conclusion just from ASR's judgement. I like them quite well myself.