i'm shopping for a new receiver and I'd like one that upscales and has an on-screen menu. At that price range, they usually have everything else I would need/want.

However, I would like a receiver with networking capabilities. Any idea of the lowest price point i can find one at?

I've been looking around, but there are a lot out there to sort through. So I figured maybe someone here would have an idea off the top of their head.

12/2/2008 4:24:04 PM

in addition to ^....

i have a receiver right now that converts a 2 channel signal to 5.1 magically, which is great...i'd like to keep that feature, but i want one that has hdmi in/outputs. the current one is a sony. what is the cheapest one i could get that does this same thing?

12/2/2008 4:33:24 PM

that's probably just pushing the signal to the other speakers, not actually making it 5.1.

Out of curiosity, what do you have in 2.1 that you would want to send through 3 additional speakers (i'm assuming a center, and rears?) and why? Some albums are released in 5.1, but most are meant to be heard in stereo. sending it through additional speakers will just mess up the sound stage/imaging.

you can get a receiver with hdmi for <200.

12/2/2008 5:07:25 PM

it came as a set, the receiver and speakers. i watch tv and movies with it. it doesn't push all sounds through the speakers all the time. like if a helicopter flies by you'll hear it behind you.

i want it to do the magic 2 to 5.1 and HDMI

12/2/2008 5:38:27 PM

^that's called dolby pro logic ii

it's in just about every receiver out there now

12/2/2008 5:53:50 PM

good, well that makes it that much easier to find one (so yeah that makes mine that old b/c it was something special when i got it).

specific recommendations or brands? or just pick one w/ hdmi and go?

12/2/2008 6:01:49 PM

If that's the only feature you're really looking for, just about any major electronics/stereo brand would probably be fine. Denon, Kenwood, Marantz, Sony, Yamaha, Harmon Kardon, Onkyo, Pioneer.

You can get basic Insignia, Sony, and Yamaha all for @$200 at BB, CC, etc. If you want something with a few more features but don't want to spend too much, you can always just wait for them to go on sale, buy used, or a demo model. Or try to find a tweeter that still has stuff in stock. Don't know if there are any around raleigh that still have stuff, but I was in one near my parents' and they had stuff from 20 to about 70% off (not much left, but you never know).


Things to consider:
# and type of inputs/outputs
Do you want one that just has HDMI pass-through, or do you want one that converts to HDMI?
Will you want to use HDMI for Audio?
Anything else you specifically want it to do with audio or video?

12/2/2008 8:28:49 PM

Quote :

"what is the cheapest one i could get that does this same thing?"

Quote :

"If that's the only feature you're really looking for, just about any major electronics/stereo brand would probably be fine. Denon, Kenwood, Marantz..."

does not compute

12/2/2008 8:44:18 PM

yeah, probably shouldn't have included that. but you never know what you may find used or on a serious discount (a lot of companies going out of business lately). And you can get a new marantz in the $300 range, but it probably won't have hdmi.

12/2/2008 9:54:29 PM

denon and H/K are also expensive

12/2/2008 9:59:36 PM

Why exactly is HDMI a requirement? You could go HDMI direct from your player to the TV, and then use the discrete outputs on the player to the receiver (most all receivers have a full set of six analog inputs...5.1...). This assumes, of course that your player is capable of doing its own decoding and had a set of discrete outputs.

Under this arrangement, you'd have full capability (1080p, all audio codecs including TrueHD and DTS-MA), and at a higher fidelity.

As for the networking requirement...why?

12/2/2008 10:22:22 PM

networking isn't really a requirement, but a desire. It'd be nice to store flacs on a hard drive and play them from there as opposed to keeping CDs in reach, it would also prevent getting up to change out CDs. But looking around, it's not worth the jump in cost from the features that would meet my requirements. so, it's out of the question (unless I wait for it to become more standard or try to find a REALLY good deal).

12/2/2008 10:59:07 PM

yeah

a much better option would be to get something like an appleTV

12/2/2008 11:17:05 PM