Receivers

[laxx]

So my parents are looking to upgrade the entertainment room (still using an old 32" tube tv). They've settled on the Samsung 52" A650 model and they asked me to look up what budget receiver to buy. I'm thinking something around $300 (??) would be fine for them.

Do you guys have any suggestions? They don't need all the bells and whistles. They just need something simple that works. I'm sure you guys know what I'm talking about, especially when it comes to parents who have a hard time managing 2-3 remote controls (2 cable boxes and tv).

And yes, I'm going to be buying them a Harmony remote.

[Grahame]

Techbargains.com threw up this

Denon AVR-1908 7.1-Channel A/V Receiver(DENAVR1908) and other affordable Audio Receivers at 6ave.com.

It's last years model (08 vs 09), but at half the price!

[Asr]

Having researched this subject recently myself, there's some criteria that needs to be considered before anything else, like:

1 - Is the DVD source a standard-def player or Blu-Ray player? (If it's Blu-Ray, the receiver should include TrueHD decoding especially if the speakers are hi-fi, which is totally unnecessary for standard-def.) HDMI should also be a consideration here if the DVD source has it - current receivers all have HDMI inputs & outputs, but if the DVD source doesn't have HDMI output, an HDMI-less receiver may be more practical (assuming lack of upgrade motivation for the DVDP).

2 - What are the speaker specs? The receiver should carry more than enough power for the speakers at their nominal impedance, especially important since some A/V vendors overstate the power output spec - Harmon/Kardon and Marantz are notably very conservative.

3 - Do they need video upscaling/processing? This isn't completely necessary since most HDTVs will do it internally (and some DVDPs also), but sometimes the quality will be better when the receiver does it.

4 - And kind of esoteric, but do they really need the functionality of an A/V receiver? An audio-only integrated amp can work just as well (and will probably sound better for the same money) if video functions aren't required.

[laxx]

I think I've settled on a Onkyo TX-SR606. It decodes TrueHD and does video upscaling for everything over HDMI. Those were the two main things I wanted. 3xHDMI in, 1x out.

The only thing is that it upscales to 1080i, the TX-SR706 upscales to 1080p, but I don't think my parents till miss it. With ebay CB, it comes out to $240 + $24 shipping from accessories4less (refurbished from an authorized dealer with 1 year warranty). The 706 would be $400 + $24 shipping, and I don't think my parents care enough for the $160 additional cost.

Also, the entire entertainment center is my christmas gift to them (I bought a pair of AV123 X-SLS Encores during the black friday sale as they aren't looking for surround sound, at least not until they clean the damn room and make some space), so they'll be happy with whatever I want to get them. =T

So as of right now, I've bought the X-SLS', going to buy a Sony 52" W4100 LCD tomorrow, going to order the Onkyo probably tonight. So now I have to decide on a stand/shelf unit for everything to sit on.