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Forum: Geek Forum
Topic: Receiver Advice
started by: Observer

Posted by Observer on Apr. 22 2001,20:22

I'm looking for a good receiver that I could use eventually for home theatre stuff. I don't have a whole lot to spend on one, so how does < this one > look?

Here's a small pic for what it looks like:

Is the USB audio thing worth it or should I just stick to hooking my computer up through the component audio connections?

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A good programmer is someone who looks both ways on a one-way street

Posted by Sithiee on Apr. 22 2001,22:27

go sony. when in doubt, always buy a sony.

Posted by Blain on Apr. 22 2001,22:37

Looks like a pretty good receiver; decent feature set, not a bad price. In my opinion the USB thing is useless because if you are going to hook it up to your computer you will want to use optical or digital coaxial (as your soundcard allows). I don’t know what kind of quality the JVC amps are (Jim might be able to tell you more) but I do know that I have had two 跾+ sony receivers and liked them both. Basically it looks like a pretty good deal, but you may want to go over to < http://www.audioreview.com/ > and see what other people thought about it.

Posted by Observer on Apr. 23 2001,00:14

quote:
Originally posted by Blain:
...optical or digital coaxial (as your soundcard allows...

Ah, there's the catch. My current soundcard is quite cheap, so it doesn't have a digital output. However, my DVD decoder card does. I figure that since I don't have such a sound card, letting the amp decode the audio might not be such a bad idea. It's probably getting a digital feed anyway, right?

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A good programmer is someone who looks both ways on a one-way street

Posted by jim on Apr. 23 2001,00:50

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, you've come to the right place my friend.

To bad you don't have an unlimited budget, otherwise I'd know just the reciever for you.

Just make sure you get one with S-Video switching and at least 2 (preferably 3) optical inputs.

Make sure it's Dobly Digital.

My recommendation goes for the Sony DEH-945. Or 845 if you don't need multiple zone outputs for multiple rooms in your house.

You won't regret it. Just remember that HDTV is slowly becomeing the standard, as is component video *note* note composite. Difference is component video is made up of 3 wires and composite only one. So all the money you spend on an A/V reciever may go down the tube once component video dominates.

If that worries you then get a cheap reciever and a bad ass amp. This way you can buy external AUTOMATIC video and audio switchers and not worry about upgrading your reciever every other year.

Seriously, if you have questions, post them here or email me.

I'm a Home Theater guru....

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jim
Beauty is in the eye of the Beer Holder
< Brews and Cues >

Posted by Sithiee on Apr. 23 2001,00:52

ok, if have about 2000 dollars to spend on a home theatre(needs to have tv, speakers, and dvd, maybe vhs), and i want all sony, what do i buy?