A good quality budget reciever?

[digitalvideo]

I've done over my basement finally and went over budget on that project. I'd like to keep my basement HT more conservative with regards to price. I'm looking for a good quality a/v reciever "best bang for the buck" so to speak and polk member 'mrbofus' on another thread mentioned about the HK recievers sounding more "warm" and I'm looking for a more warm neutral pleasant sounding reciever for tv/sports, movies/dvd/bluray to match up well with warm sounding speakers.

My main tv room has a Pioneer SC05 a/v with all Polk surrounds and I'd like to go with different brands for my basement.

[Slinger182]

What is your budget?

[digitalvideo]

$500 tops for a reciever. I was hoping more along the lines of $250 to $400. I was thinking maybe a Denon AVR-2310CI or one that is better that is in that price range or cheaper?

[digitalvideo]

Denon AVR790 http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp...avID=155441524

Denon AVR590 http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp...avID=155441524

Denon AVR1610 http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp...avID=155441524

Those are something I'm looking at, that price range with those features. They have HDMI connectivity, Dolby True HD, DTS-MA.

Does Pioneer make any in that price range with those features that has HDMI video upconversation? I know Pioneer does a "do no harm pass through HDMI" feature on their recievers, but does Pio make a a/v that has HDMI video upconversation in the a/v?

I need a reciever that will operate a monitor display too like the Pioneer Elite Pro-141fd monitor that has no speakers or tv tuner that can pass a HDMI 1080p signal to the monitor. My neighbor might sell his Pioneer monitor for the new Panasonic Premier plasma because he wants something bigger.

[Slinger182]

A Denon in that price range would have to be used and for that model used would probably be a tall order to find. For that price range probably Onkyo or HK.

[digitalvideo]

Or something like this: Pioneer VSX-919AH-K http://www.techdealdigger.com/pr/che...ver-deals/1911

[cnh]

I agree...I'd go with a H/K 254 OR and Onkyo 706/7. Or an old Pioneer 1018 or the New Pioneer 9000 series? None of the new Pios except for the 9000 level series and the entry Elite 21 and 23 and higher models have pre-outs;;;;all of the receivers I list do.

If you want to buy a good Denon go to their site, they list refurb online dealers and you could probably get a Denon AVR 2808 which would have most of what you need and a One year warranty.

Also check out refurb Marantz 5004 on accessories4less.com you can also find Onkyo refurbs on that site? Also with a one year warranty.

cnh

[digitalvideo]

Thanks for the info, I'll look into those now.

Damn, I just found out the Pio VSX-919AH-K has no 1080p Video Up-Scaling.

I'm looking for a reciever that has HDMI 1080p Video Up-Scaling, that can convert 480p, 720p, 1080i up to 1080p.

[digitalvideo]

cnh are you refering to the Pioneer VSX-1018AH-K ? Does that have HDMI video upscaling to 1080p that can convert 480p, 720p, 1080i and convert it to 1080p to the monitor?

[digitalvideo]

It says that the Pio VSX-1018AH-K 7.1 has:

•Analog to HDMI video conversion (480i to 480p) and upscaling from 480p to 1080p via HDMI. HDMI pass-through of 1080p sources.

? "HDMI pass-through of 1080p sources."

I have a Comcast HD cable box and if I were to hook that up to one of those Pioneer monitors like the 141fd that has no tv tuner or speakers will I get HD broadcasting in 1080p from the cable box to the reciever and onto the monitor for watching tv and bluray? A "monitor" needs a reciever that can up-scale and keep a 1080p signal to be displayed on the monitor. I just hope you guys are familiar with monitors and not tv's?

[digitalvideo]

CNET reviewed this reciever and they found out:

"We attempted to test the VSX-1018AH's ability to convert analog 1080i signals over component to 1080p over HDMI, but the VSX-1018AH lacks this capability. The VSX-1018AH also does not scale incoming HDMI video signals, and instead passes them perfectly through to the display. This means that if you only intend to use the HDMI video inputs on the VSX-1018AH, you can ignore the previous comments on video performance, as they only apply to analog signals."

I'll be doing all my viewing through HDMI from the HD Comcast cable box to the reciever to the monitor. So I guess the Pio VSX-1018AH is out of the question.

Again, I need a reciever that can internally upconvert all HDMI signals going into the a/v to 1080p and put that 1080p HD picture quality onto the monitor.

[digitalvideo]

ok I think I found what I'm looking for. The Denon AVR 1910 or Denon AVR 790 which are pretty much the same model.

It has Anchor Bay VRS upscaling and can upconvert all signals to 1080p.

I am just confused on one thing. Does this reciever offer a "pass through" option for letting my Oppo bdp-83 player do the upconverting for DVD. Sometimes I would like the Oppo to handle all upconversation for all DVD and bluray viewing. When watching dvd with the Oppo set to 1080p/60 can the Denon "pass through" the Oppo's scaling of 480i to 1080p/60 to the monitor untouched and when watching bluray with the Oppo set to 1080p/24fps can it "pass through" the reciever untouched or do I need to let the reciever do all the upconverting and video scaling since it will be hooked up to a "monitor" and not a tv?

[Zeros]

I am pretty sure you can turn off the upscaling in the 1910/790. I have the same receiver.

Check out batpigwold.com for just about everything you need to know about Denon receivers.

[Kingface]

http://cgi.ebay.com/DENON-AVR-3806-7...item20aecfa24c

Don't be afraid to go used....... this one is a few years old..has HDMI, burr browns etc..... Nothing new for $500 will touch it. The models already mentioned are at least 3 below it.....

[digitalvideo]

http://cgi.ebay.com/DENON-AVR-3806-7...item20aecfa24c

Don't be afraid to go used....... this one is a few years old..has HDMI, burr browns etc..... Nothing new for $500 will touch it. The models already mentioned are at least 3 below it.....

Looks like something I'm looking for. What does and can the DENON AVR-3806 do that the Denon AVR 1910/790 can't do?

[cnh]

POWER!!!! Musical weight and better detail and imaging! Plus Pre-outs.

The HDMIs on that unit are 1.1 so they don't upscale. And you're right about the Pioneer--I don't mention that because it has 1080p capability--it does not. But to me Upscaling video is a pretty useless thing....your TV probably has a SCALER in it, your BDP and DVD also probably upscale....so why not just worry about AUDIO and leave the video to other devices?

The 3806 is one NICE unit..but it won't even de-interlace 480i but it is a repeater so it will pass through 1080p...the first Denon to do that was the 2807. And the 3806 will not process HD bitstreams from a blu-ray but will play decoded PCM from a Blu-ray player in 7.1 channel. So you can access and play lossless formats that way.

cnh

[digitalvideo]

POWER!!!! Musical weight and better detail and imaging! Plus Pre-outs.

The HDMIs on that unit are 1.1 so they don't upscale. And you're right about the Pioneer--I don't mention that because it has 1080p capability--it does not. But to me Upscaling video is a pretty useless thing....your TV probably has a SCALER in it, your BDP and DVD also probably upscale....so why not just worry about AUDIO and leave the video to other devices?

The 3806 is one NICE unit..but it won't even de-interlace 480i but it is a repeater so it will pass through 1080p...the first Denon to do that was the 2807. And the 3806 will not process HD bitstreams from a blu-ray but will play decoded PCM from a Blu-ray player in 7.1 channel. So you can access and play lossless formats that way.

cnh

I won't be using the reciever to power the speakers, I will get a seperate amp for the audio power. I'm looking for a affordable reciever with excellent upscaling of analog component through HDMI to 1080p. The 3806 looks to have superior audio power but I need the video upscaling of something like the 1910/790 and I can still use as a pre/pro.

cnet.com rated the Denon avr-1910/790 as the best upscaling a/v to date at the beginning of 2009 right before the high end expensive Denon model was released.

[cnh]

You can't use either one of those; no pre-outs...only the Denon 3310 or whatever the current number is has that. The 2809 has pres and I'm pretty sure it has a good scaler!

With Denons you have to pay A LOT for PRE-OUTS!

cnh

[wutadumsn23]

You can't use either one of those; no pre-outs...only the Denon 3310 or whatever the current number is has that. The 2809 has pres and I'm pretty sure it has a good scaler!

With Denons you have to pay A LOT for PRE-OUTS!

cnh

+1 I just told him that in the other thread he has on this.

-Jeff

[digitalvideo]

You can't use either one of those; no pre-outs...only the Denon 3310 or whatever the current number is has that. The 2809 has pres and I'm pretty sure it has a good scaler!

With Denons you have to pay A LOT for PRE-OUTS!

cnh

With no pre-outs I can't use the 1910/790 to power speakers for audio? I Don't understand what you're getting at, I'm not familiar with recievers and how they work with a monitor.

[cnh]

You said you WERE NOT going to use the AVRs internal amps for power. This implies that you need to connect a power amp to the AVR.

How do you plan to do that without Pre-out signals from the AVR? It cannot be done!

You have to connect the amp to the AVR--and that's the ONLY way you can do it.

No pres, no power amp use!

cnh

[anhchungdoan]

I was looking at the Pio VSX 9040 ( Wolfson Dacs and ABT video scaler, 110w 7.1) and a detachable power cord. Amen! These features only can be had with the Elite lines. All can be had for $499.00from the good people at Vann's.

Most of all, the baby is made from Malyasia not China. Okay, here it goes 7.1 pre-out to add a multi-channel amps later.

[tonyb]

I ve been trying to tell him that in 2 threads, he's not getting it.

If you want the Denon 1910, thats cool, you can use that to power your speakers, but if you ever want to add an amp, you will not be able to without having PRE-OUTS on the receiver. That is why having pre outs is way more important than scaling,hdmi, blah blah. It's the number one feature most will look for when buying an avr.

[rcrook317]

Thanks for the info, I'll look into those now.

Damn, I just found out the Pio VSX-919AH-K has no 1080p Video Up-Scaling.

I'm looking for a reciever that has HDMI 1080p Video Up-Scaling, that can convert 480p, 720p, 1080i up to 1080p.

thats why i got my hk 354,watts wise its a lower rating compared to others but as long as ur not trying to shake the walls youll be fine,hks have all new tech,go to their ebay store get a refurb....."bang for the buck"