I'm in the market for a new HT receiver. Here is what I would like:

6.1 capability
At least 100 watts per channel
DVD audio/SACD inputs
At least 7 AV inputs and 3 audio only inputs
At least 6 digital toslink or coax inputs
Digital out for recording to MD
Phono input
Tuner
Component video switching (at least 2 in, 3 would be better)
Try to stay under $1000 (since I have to justify this purchase and a HDTV tuner to my wife!)

Comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

I don't think you'll find that kind of performance for under a couple grand retail atleast.

But check out Denon, Marantz, and Onkyo for probably the best bang for the buck.

Remember, to truly enjoy the DVD-Audio in it's uncompressed quality, you need discrete inputs from your DVD-Audio player to your receiver.

Dan,

I can come close... I have the same limited budget problem, and had to pass over Onkyo (my personal favorite) and Denon. I now have a Kenwood KRF-V7775D THX Select receiver ($429). Although it's a 6.1 with dual rear centers the receiver only has five channels of amplification built in. I added a Kenwood KMF-X9000 THX Ultra stereo amp ($250) for the two rear center speakers.

As far as I can tell, this combo meets almost every specification on your wish list.

6.1 = THX-EX, DTS-ES (Discrete and Matrix)
180w each for five channels and 130w each for the other two.
5.1 channel DVD audio input.
Digital out.
Phono in.
Tuner.
Two component video in.

Additional features: Dolby ProLogicII, MPEG multichannel decoder, dual zones.

Shortfalls:

1) Discrete 5.1 channel input is rated for DVD audio, but not SACD. I may be wrong, but I believe only Sony supports SACD.
2) Ten inputs total, but only five are AV and you wanted seven.
3) Two Digital Coax inputs, one Toslink (CD), and one switchable coax/optical, for a total of four instead of the six you wanted.

Not bad for $680, but may not be sufficient for your needs. Hope this helped. -Bruce

This message was edited by Bruce Burson on 01/01/02 03:52.15.

It's a little more than a grand, but the new sony strda5es meets all of your criteria. This receiver kicks serious booty and comes with a 5 year warranty.

Dan,

The Onkyo 797 and 898 will both do the trick. I know the Onkyo is about $750-$800 from Onecall.com and I think the 898 might be about $1150. The 797 is 6.1 all powered and the 898 is 7.1 all powered. Call Jason at Onecall, they are an Authorized dealer and Jason is extremely intelligent when it comes to Onkyo products.

J-dubb

I have the Denon 4802. It is about twice what you want to spend but it offers among other things: post thx processing, 7 beefy amps, new 94/26 dts spec, 3 component inputs @ 50 Mhz (most less expensive recievers are around 25 MhZ), 5 optical toslink inputs.

The 3802 will provide much of what you are looking for.

I am not an expert but recently was also in the market for a new receiver, I narrowed it down to the onkyo 797 or the denon 3802 and wound up with the denon due to the extra amp channel for dual rear center, also most people I talked to seemed more pleased with denon. I think it will do most of what you are looking for although you should check the specs. PS I tried out 2 different marantz receivers and must say I was NOT impressed with the power output, I don't think they put out nearly what they claim, also I have read of many problems in their new units.

Dan,
Two features my latest receiver has, that have proven
to be very useful:
1) Low level (RCA plug) outputs from each channel, not
just the .1s.
2) Front center channel graphic equalizer.

You should also consider building it up with separates.
Get a low-powered receiver, and add the watts 2-3 channels
at a time. Have you listened to a Rotel amp?

JRS

Hey Old,
I own a Rotel amp (RB 985 MKII THX Ultra), combined with Paradigm Speakers it is awesome. I also have their RTC 965 Preamp, since owning Rotel-I previously had the RSX 965 receiver, they make incredible stuff IMHO.....Tony

The one short fall of the Denon 3802 is that the Component switching bandwith is not large enough to have no loss. The Denon is at about 27Mhz where as the 797 has a bandwidth of 50 Mhz (like the 4802). You could always go to the 898 for about $1100 to get 7.1 surround or 5.1 plus a powered second zone.

J-dubb

I know its not the greatest brand name but it sounds really good and it has all your needs its the JVC RX-DP10V or the DP9V.

So Dan, did you decide yet? What'd you buy, and what made you choose it?

Haven't bought yet. Still trying to convince my wife that I need both the new receiver and a HDTV receiver at the same time.

I'm either going with the Denon or the Onkyo.