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Looking to buy a receiver (help!)

post #1 of 10
9/2/07 at 10:04pm
Thread Starter 
So my Dad had a pair of Mission m71 speakers that were sitting in my room at home for a long ass time, so I decided I would ask if I could borrow them. I was thinking about getting a decent speaker setup, and figured those speakers would be a good place to start. Reading up on them, they look to be a decent set of speakers

Now I'm looking for something to drive them. I want to be able to run an optical out from my computer/xbox to the receiver and then play music/games/movies through my headphones or speakers. My price range is $200 - $300, and I've been looking at some of the Denon/Onkyo receivers in that price range, but I really don't know where to start. Things I would like:

-Multiple optical inputs (don't think I would have a problem here with any recent receiver).
-DTS/Dolby Digital.
-Decent headphone out.
-5.1 support (I guess dts/dd imply this anyway). I could likely be all right with a stereo receiver though, since I am only using 2 speakers.
-Must be able to get in Canada.

Things that would be nice, but not necessary:
-Support for DTS-HD Dolby TrueHD, etc... those new formats that are coming out (if I ever got a bluray player or whatever, might be nice). Does this stuff even matter though?
-HDMI inputs (for the same reason above).
-Multiple component inputs would be a plus.
-7.1 support.
-Dolby headphone would be awesome, but I think this only comes on really expensive receivers.

Thanks for any suggestions!
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post #2 of 10
9/2/07 at 10:43pm
Optical (or even coax) digital inputs on stereo only receivers are rare, so you are really going to be looking at home theater receivers in any case.
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post #3 of 10
9/3/07 at 12:11am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sejarzo View Post
Optical (or even coax) digital inputs on stereo only receivers are rare, so you are really going to be looking at home theater receivers in any case.
makes sense, thanks.
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post #4 of 10
9/3/07 at 2:18am
In my experience which is limited to the semi-professional installer arena, at lower price levels, Yamaha makes the best value HT receivers. Their power suppliies are beefier and offer more headroom.

Whatever you do, stay away from Sony at your price point.

Forget Dolby headphone, unless you're willing to sacrifice some other desires and settle for a dedicated unit.

Good luck!
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post #5 of 10
9/3/07 at 7:41am
Yep, Yamaha's value receivers have a huge number of features for the price. They're usually ahead of the pack in terms of technology adoption.
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post #6 of 10
9/3/07 at 9:38am
Thread Starter 
Ok, I checked out some of them, this seems to be the best bet for yamaha in my price range:
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...gon=&langid=EN

Feature set is good, but how is the sound quality? or are all budget receivers pretty much the same in that area?
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post #7 of 10
9/3/07 at 10:11am
My experience is that all of the receivers in that range that claim 100w/ch capability sound wimpier than any good 50 w/ch stereo integrated amp.

Just as virometal noted, the power supplies seem to be the key issue in this range.
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post #8 of 10
9/3/07 at 11:39am
If you're after SQ, I would say stick with stereo and get a used receiver from the 70s or 80s. You can get great stuff from Marantz, Sansui, NAD, etc. for under $100 or superb stuff for a couple hundred.

Just my 2 cents.
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post #9 of 10
9/3/07 at 12:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarinthegourd View Post
If you're after SQ, I would say stick with stereo and get a used receiver from the 70s or 80s. You can get great stuff from Marantz, Sansui, NAD, etc. for under $100 or superb stuff for a couple hundred.

Just my 2 cents.
well I would like to use the optical outputs from my computer/xbox, though I guess I could still use stereo. I just want to be sure it will sound ok, I realize I won't get superb sound for ~$200 bucks. My dad does have an old school pioneer receiver though, but I don't know how good it is.
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post #10 of 10
9/3/07 at 4:18pm
Older gear often has electrolytic caps that have degraded over time, so you do have to be careful about what you buy.
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