a/v Receiver suggestions requested

[chrisfinnerty]

Hey Guys,
I'm new to this forum and there seems to be some very knowledgeable people around so I am coming to you for advice.

I just bought four LSi9's and an LSiC...

What A/V receiver would you recommend? I had originally wanted the Yamaha RXV3800 but then started reading about the 4ohm/8ohm difference.

Thanks!
Chris from Oakville.

[sucks2beme]

If it must be an A/V receiver, make it a good one. Rotel, B&K, ETC.
Or buy a cheaper one with pre-outs, and use an extenal amp. I've been in Tweeter stores, and have heard the Denons and Yammies crush under the strain of 4 ohm. They leave the A/v receivers set on 8 ohm, and in small shelves that build up heat. Those things used to go into protection all the time.
Do a search here ,and you will get answers.

[Dennis Gardner]

Welcome!

Any receiver that has the features you want is okay, as long as it has preamp outputs for a separate amplifier. If your room is big enough and you like your movies loud, it will tax your receiver driving the 4 ohm load of the LSi line, and you will need external amps, simply as that. Most receivers will go into thermal shutdown causing the sound to cut out, as a safety/indicator that they are too hot.

Nice choice of speaker going with the LSi line, just power it properly.

[chrisfinnerty]

I appreciate the advice! I'm glad I asked, I had no idea. I;ll check out Rotel and B&K, any others?

[mantis]

Yes NAD . They have a fantastic new receiver. I like it personally and I think it will run your LSI series well.
http://nadelectronics.com/products/av-receivers/T785-A/V-Surround-Sound-Receiver

[MSALLA]

No matter what receiver you get, make sure it has pre-outs. Those 9,s live for power and adding an amp to any receiver will be a big noticable improvement.

[wout]

The Denon 988 is the lowest end receiver in that line that has the pre-outs so you can add an amplifier. Michael just found that out today in my thread "what goes with the LSi15s." Based on what I read here my strategy of phasing into a larger system will not really work. In my opinion you do want to make sure that your receiver will run your video as well as it should. I think (and could be wrong, so please correct me if so) that your would want a receiver that can handle 1080p and HDMI 1.3a if your projector / TV is capable of that as well.

[wout]

More info on the NAD 785 on this thread on another forum though, but you can see it as guest.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30541

Seems like the NAD has the power but not necesarily all the features. Mmm.

[chrisfinnerty]

Yes, you are absolutely right. I've already got the Sony BDP-S300 Blu-Ray player, and several great discs, (Planet Earth is my favorite for showing off HD). Shortly I'll be adding the Sharp LC46D92U (1080p 120Hz). So HDMI 1.3 and 1080p is important to me.

[mantis]

Right now sucks for having difficult load speakers. According to NAD's website, they are 1.3a HDMI which by spec passes all hdmi signals.

There is nothing on the market today that is up to date and runs a 4 ohm load well. Integra does but at the cost of poor sound quality. Yamaha does but your in the same boat.

Buying a Pioneer Elite receiver then adding amps is a really good choice but expensive. But if you have the cash, I suggest going this route.

The NAD receiver should do just fine, check into it locally if you can. I have been meaning to go check it out myself as I really want HDMI switching/processing.

Dan

[chrisfinnerty]

Guys.. How important is HDMI 1.3 if my Blu-Ray player is only 1.1 and I'm not using the built in speakers on the LCD anyway? The Rotel, Arcam don't have 1.3. The B&K doesn't even have HDMI at all (according to their horrible website). But the Pioneer Elite, Yamaha RXV3800, and the NAD have HDMI 1.3.



I've come to the conclusion it's much easier to buy a car than a good home stereo system.

[tcrossma]

If I had it to do over I would skip the receiver and go straight into separates. I bought a Yamaha RX-V2500 receiver first, then added LSi15's and LSiC. The LSi's needed more than my receiver could give, so I added an amp (B&K). I would now like the replace my Yamaha with a separate pre/pro, such as a good B&K or Outlaw.

So my advice would be to just bite the bullet and get a good amp and pre/pro now, because down the road that's where you're going to end up anyway.

I don't know about the importance of HDMI 1.3. I'm still using Component for my video connection and don't have much of a need for more in that regard.

Good luck.

[MSALLA]

+1 TO THAT. I'm in the same boat right now. I have made alot of small changes to get where I'm at now and still looking to go to pre/pro-amp. Trust me it's cheaper to do it right the first time.

[chrisfinnerty]

Thanks Guys, Sound Advice... pardon the pun. (I'm sure I must have stolen that line from somewhere) I've been spending so much time online for this it's all fuzzy.
The people at Master Card will thank you too.
Now, that being said... NAD has a Pre/pro -amp... any others I should consider?

[cfrizz]

Rotel, Sunfire, Parasound, B & K, Outlaw Audio, Adcom.

Welcome to CP Chris. You are putting together a great system.

[MSALLA]

On the budjet side there is emotiva. They have been getting some good press on here recently.

[chrisfinnerty]

I just found a pre/pro that was recently released...the Integra DTC-9.8... Heard anything about it? The three stereo shops I visited this afternoon stopped carrying NAD because of reliability problems.

Thanks again for your continued advice!

[hockeyboy]

Chris if you are running 5 channel you might consider getting a 7 channel amp anyway. That way you can add a pair of passive subs (now or later) and drive them with the same amp.

[chrisfinnerty]

Thanks Hockeyboy.... I'll definitely do that.
The Integra DTC-9.8 MSRP in Canada is $2200. From what I've read in other forums it's $1600 in the US. I might be making the 90 minute drive to Buffalo very soon.

[chrisfinnerty]

Just checking out the Emotiva... VERY good looking!

[engtaz]

Good review of a very nice AVR http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?p=747905#post747905

engtaz

[chrisfinnerty]

Thanks Engtaz... I'm hesitant about the Denon because of the video upscaling issues.