newbie here, just bought monitor 60s, receiver help

[h0bbes102]

just to preface, when it comes to audio, i admit i don't know what i'm doing :0

so my roommate moved out, and took his bose speakers with him, and i dunno
why, but my dad agreed to give him the jvc receiver we had hooked up to
them as a going-away present. i tolerated the tv speakers for about two days
before i bought the monitor 60s that went on sale on newegg, as well as a
polk psw10 sub to go with it.

not knowing anything, i went on craigslist and just bought the first receiver
i saw for $50 in my area (see preface). it's a sony str-k6800p, from a 6.1
home theater system (ht-6800dp). published specs say that it is rated at
90 watts per channel. no hdmi, no preamp-out..

in hindsight, i should've done some research before buying any old receiver.
but now that i'm stuck with this thing, i have some questions:

1. is the 90wpc enough for my monitor 60s? are they in danger of getting
damaged from clipping or anything like that? (OR does anyone know for a
fact that this receiver is completely garbage)

2. when i decide to upgrade the receiver (not if, when; its just a matter of
time), AND have the money to spend on it, what should i look out for?

3. some of the receivers i see in my area are
yamaha RX-V590 ($50)
yamaha RX-V661 ($120)
pioneer VSX-9700S (<$180?)
pioneer VSX-518-K ($75)
VSX-516 ($175)
i'm just wondering if i should jump on any of these offers ..like, NOW.
but please don't go and like research them all, i'm not asking you to do that
(i'd feel bad if you did haha), just wondering if any of them really stand out.

please help! thanks! i'm such a noob when it comes to audio.. :[

[Hillbilly61]

I'm surprised that no one has responded. This place is usually quick to give a 'hello/welcome.' So a big fat,

WELCOME!

h0bbes102.

We all have started somewhere in the world of audio and many of us were poor college students watching expenses when we started. And EVERYONE here works within the budget they choose to or must allocate to this hobby.

You also say something very germane:

"but please don't go and like research them all, i'm not asking you to do that"

No one here is going to do research on your behalf. You have to do that alone. We all do our own research, which often leads to opinions being expressed (and boy are there a lot of opinions) within this forum ;). That said.

Some advice:

A. Fix your near term budget. You state you want to upgrade your receiver/HT unit.

B. Be very clear in your mind about the primary use of your unit. Movies, music, that sort of thing. It matters as many do one primary use better than the other (not that we all do not cross over uses ;) ).

C. Be patient. Once you generally know what you want in the used market, sock those funds away and monitor what comes up.

Help us out here with more specifics concerning A and B and I am sure you will get more advice concerning the starter rig that you want to assemble!

Hillbilly

[NewHTguy]

I don't think 90 wpc is unreasonle for the monitor 60s. I doubt youwill damage them as long as you play them at reasonable levels.

I believe you should focus on only the receivers that have pre-outs. Even though you may have no intention of using an amp today, there is a chance that you will in the future.

[dvran]

Onkyo 607 or 707. The 707 has pre-outs and a tad more power. Pre-outs will let you step up to an external amp later in time.

[cnh]

WELCOME TO CLUB POLK!!

That Yamaha 661 probably has pre-outs--120 is not a bad price...but may not have HDMI? I don't know for certain! But it has enough power to run your system.

cnh

[h0bbes102]

thanks for the warm welcome

i'd mostly just use the system for the ps3, and maybe movies/music.
i find myself listening to music a lot more often now that i have these

i actually contacted the guy about the yamaha 661,
he dropped the price to $80 AND offered to drive (~30min)
and yes, it does have preouts AND hdmi
if anyone can give me a reason NOT to buy this, i'm all ears :D

[concealer404]

thanks for the warm welcome

i'd mostly just use the system for the ps3, and maybe movies/music.
i find myself listening to music a lot more often now that i have these

i actually contacted the guy about the yamaha 661,
he dropped the price to $80 AND offered to drive (~30min)
and yes, it does have preouts AND hdmi
if anyone can give me a reason NOT to buy this, i'm all ears :D

For $80? If it works? I don't think anyone will be able to give you that reason. I certainly can't. Wish i could, since i've got a nice little combo for sale, myself. But.... no preouts. Likely more powerful than the Yammie, but man, i HATE buying stuff without preouts.

Welcome to the club! :D

[cnh]

thanks for the warm welcome

i'd mostly just use the system for the ps3, and maybe movies/music.
i find myself listening to music a lot more often now that i have these

i actually contacted the guy about the yamaha 661,
he dropped the price to $80 AND offered to drive (~30min)
and yes, it does have preouts AND hdmi
if anyone can give me a reason NOT to buy this, i'm all ears :D

80 bucks...pre-outs and HDMI....I can't give you a reason not to buy this either if it's in good working condition. Seems like a no brainer.

You'll need a blu-ray that can internally decode HD-sound to go with this since the Yammie probably does not do that but will probably accept LPCM over its HDMI--probably version 1.1 or 1.2?

cnh

[h0bbes102]

thanks! i guess i'll stick to it then.
yes, i believe it's hdmi 1.2a... does the ps3 internally decode hd sound?

[h0bbes102]

finished setting up the yamaha rx-v661! sounds great!
i was worried because the guy who sold it to me actually
got it from someone else, who traded it to him as part of
a package deal for something else. he didn't even know if
it was working haha..
now i just need to buy some more hdmi cables... :0
thanks for the help!