Which surround receiver?

[krips]

I'm starting to piece together a HT, and am planning on starting with a pair of mini statements, a subwoofer, and a receiver. Will any of these be able to drive these (I plan on building or getting power amplifiers later)?
- Marantz SR5001 - $550
- Yamaha RX-V2600 - $600
- Harman Kardon AVR 347 - $500

What do you guys think of these receivers, and what others would you suggest? Thanks.

[deke]

Also consider the Onkyo SR-805 or 705. I have the 805 (actually 2 of 'em - one used as a pre to a Rotel amp and another in an upstairs setup) and love it.

[sirbogey]

I'd consider a used Rotel RSX 1055 or RSX 1056 in that price category. I started out with the RSX1055 and it was a great piece of equipment.

[artv4]

i agree with sirbogey!!!! GO ROTEL!!! i am currently using a RSX-1055 and it sounds great!!!!! i would put the rotel against any receiver you could purchase in any big box store.

[deke]

Rotel makes a great product. At the end of the day, you need to set a budget, compare, and decide. I decided that since I already have a 1075 amp, I was going to go as future proof as possible and get a newer (albeit mass market) receiver to use as a pre, rather than a used Rotel for the same money.

[ScottMc]

I recently purchased the Onkyo TX-SR805 from Amazon.

They have the 805 right now for $761 with free shipping and no tax. They have the 705 for $661.

I’ve enjoyed the 805 immensely, and I think the 705 would be very nice as well. I had a little trouble getting the speaker setup just right, which the experts on this forum helped me troubleshoot. I was having trouble getting the stereo image to sound right.

When I was researching / shopping for receivers, I looked for something that would sound good for both music and movies. I’m very happy with the 805 in both of those areas. It has a lot of nice home theater features.

Another aspect that I looked at was the Total Harmonic Distortion. The 805 has THD of 0.05%, which seems pretty good to me, but probably not as good as some of the audiophile systems.

I’m not an expert by any means. This is only my second home theater receiver. My first was a Yamaha that I had for nine years. I liked the Yamaha as well, but I think you pay a little more for the Yamaha name. A Yamaha with the same features as the Onkyo 805 is quite a bit more expensive, and I don’t think that their build quality or sound quality is any better. The Onkyo has Burr Brown DACs, which have a very good reputation.

As I mentioned above, I had trouble with the automatic speaker setup on the Onkyo. Whichever receiver you choose, be wary of automatic speaker setup. I got better results doing it manually with a measuring tape and a sound-level meter.

Let us know how your search is going.

-Scott

[krips]

Well I ended up getting a Pioneer VSX-1017 on boxing day for $400 (I know its not a great price, but there are no good places to shop here in Canada). It's a start anyway. Once I get everything in my system it will probably be time to replace it anyway. It's definitely nice though.