Huge budget expansion!!!

[Gir]

Currently I'm a sophomore engineer at Penn State. Earlier this year I made a deal with my parents that if I could get straight A's that they would pay for my sound system this summer. Well sure enough I got those A's!!! So now I'm looking for some guidance on what equipment to buy. Here's where I'm at.

I've already built a pair of Mark K's RS225/RS28A 2-way's that I'll be using as my mains. I have a pair of Modula MT's currently under construction for the rears, and the Dayton RS 3-way center channel coming up next. For the subwoofer I'm waiting for the Mach5 IXL-18.4 to get shipped in and then I'll be making a sonosub out of that one.

On the video end, my roommate just bought a 42" Sharp Aquos. 2 HDMI in is the important part. Great picture quality IMHO. We also have a Wii getting hooked up to it and possibly an HD-DVD player to come (maybe).

So now I need some help deciding what receiver to buy. Previously I was going to buy the Yamaha RX-V659 for around $310. I heard great reviews on the audio quality (which is what my main concern is) and it seems like a great receiver for that price range. The only down side is that it doesn't have any HDMI. I also had my eyes set on either the Denon 3910 or 2930 for the player. For the player I wanted something that could handle DVD's, SACD's and and DVD audio pretty well. Again, my biggest concern is with audio. The system will be about 80/20 music/ht.

Given that I'm looking at buying a Denon player, I was thinking it wouldn't be such a bad idea to get a Denon receiver as well. I would also like it to handle HDMI as well. The only problem is that I'm still trying to keep costs low, if not mearly to keep my mother from freaking out 8O So overall my goal is to keep the receiver cost under $1200, and I also have no problem buying used equipment, so that can be factored in.

Also, feel free to comment on any other players that are better price performers or just overall better players than the two Denons I'm looking at.

Thanks for all the help in advance!

[Alaric]

I'm so stunned by your ability to get someone else to pay for your audio system I can't possibly come up with a useful recommendation. All I can say is "GO LIONS!!!"

[Hdale85]

Well if you want true Super Audio cd support you need a receiver and player with firewire connection But not sure of any recommendations. Denon gear is expensive. Do you need the receiver and player to be 1200 or less? Or just the receiver?

[Gir]

I ended up settling on the RX-V661. I compared it to some of the higher end models, and I wasn't crazy impressed with the sound, but it definitely held its own. The reason I went for that is the HDMI. There was nothing around that price that could handle HDMI, and the audio was still pretty good. That and I got $100 off : )

As for the player, I still haven't fully decided on one. The Denon 2930 still has my attention. $600 is about the upper limit since my mom might freak if I make them spend more

On another note, I finally got to compare my DIY speakers against some pretty highly priced speakers. The tweeters guys let me hook my speakers up in their listening room and we compared it against a couple of speakers set up there. I can say, hands down, my little two ways beat a pair that cost $3000. I forget the brand/model, but they were a 3-way with 1 woofer, 3 mids and 1 tweet. Needless to say my parents finally understand the value of DIY :T

[augerpro]

So did the salesman also admit your speaker was better? That's awesome :T If i were you I would buy a new HDDVD or BluRay. From what I've read teh Toshiba HDDVD players have better upconverting of regualr dvds than most of the players out there, including the lowerend Denon player you're looking at. Besides if high quality video is important to you, you really need to step up to HD.

[Hdale85]

The HD-A2 is going to drop another 100 bucks next month well 100 dollar in store rebate. So 299. And I think they are still doing 5 free movies.

[Chris D]

Really? Wow...

[Hdale85]

Yeah thinking about getting one just to hook up to my 22" computer LCD lol....

[Gir]

So did the salesman also admit your speaker was better?

Hehe, yeah, three of them did! I loved it too because my speakers still have no veneer, so they look pretty ghetto. It was entertaining to see these ugly looking things blow away those pretty looking speakers.

If i were you I would buy a new HDDVD or BluRay.

Once the format wars are over we're going to invest in a good player. I prefer audio over video, so I'm thinking I might be better off buying something like the pioneer dv-46av, as suggested by a friend and verified with an audition at tweeters. It performs well enough with video to keep me happy and the audio still sounds good. Later on we'll upgrade to an HD player.