I looked briefly at receivers the other day at Myer Emco and ~$600 seems to be a good price point for a decent receiver with the features I think I need (HDMI, for example). Any suggestions are welcome. I've been very happy with my Yamahas so far.

 

which yamaha do you have?

 

rxv595... it's a few years old.

more like probably at least 6-7 years old, come to think of it...

and after some looking around, i think the pioneer might be a better unit for the price - definitely better features, HDMI and all that for the $600-750 price range...

 

If your receiver doesn't do DTS, that's an old receiver. My Denon does, but I've been researching new receivers. Do not get hung up on HDMI 1.3. AVSforum.com has a thread dedicated to future-proof receivers. It can be a little difficult to follow until you have a full grasp of all the different acronyms and how they work together. That particular thread is a mile long, too. Examples of different "level" receivers are listed on the first post

 

i don't really care about hdmi 1.3... just HDMI, period.

 

AVSforum thread

 

Yeah I was looking at that. The Yamaha HTR-6090 looks like a decent solution at under $700 online.

edit: if Myer-Emco will come down in price a bit on it, I'll get it there, but I have a feeling they're not going to budge much and their price is probably suggested retail ($999)... I'll at least give them a chance

 

I had my first Yamaha system in 1986. It was even remote controlled. I'm holding out for a Denon to replace my Denon. I currently only have a 5.1 speaker setup, but cannot get past the thought that I'll want to add two more speakers at some point.

Currently, HD-DVD's and Blu-ray discs are played as DTS tracks through my receiver. In reality, this is really all I need at the moment.

Btw, the last page of the thread has some "plain English" speak on important aspects of connectivity between tv's, players, and receivers.

 

Yeah, I don't see myself adding a rear center channel (actually I KNOW I won't be) or a second sub or additional rears or anything fancy like that. I'm content with my 5.1 setup, but would really like to use my Boston center channel... The thing is pretty damned big, tho and won't fit in front of the TV while the TV rests on a cart (too tall, blocks TV). Right now I'm using the center that came with the 5-speaker package I bought.

And of course, I can't mount the TV on the wall, because the studs are 24" on center, while the mounts typically require a 16" stud wall...

 

A decent mount will allow you to mount at any distance. I know mine did. Then I hung the panel on the mount and shifted it left/right to center the panel on the wall.

I have no need to add another sub- already have a pretty decent M&K and then the two ButtKicker transducers(one for each row of seating). I would consider adding an additional two rear surrounds to further immerse one in the movie.

Generally speaking, you really want your fronts(LCR) to be the same. Having all speakers timbre matched is ideal. I have a perfectly good Polk center channel that is a monster by today's standards just sitting in the spare bedroom.