What kind of receiver should I get? Stereo or 7.1 Channel?

by JK666 16 Replies latest jw friends

  • JK666
    JK666

    I am mostly into music (loud), but I do listen to video over it. My old receiver just bought the farm, and currently I only have two speakers. Do you techno-geeks have any suggestions?

    JK

  • MissingLink
    MissingLink

    More is more.

    I'd say get at least 5.1. 7.1 might be more than you need - only applies to movies.

    Lots of old CDs are being re-issued as SACD in 5.1 or DVD Audio (also 5.1). I don't know if there's any music being distributed using 7.1

    Here's one you might enjoy.

  • JK666
    JK666

    missing,

    Thank you for the tips on music in 5.1! And the Zappa CD looks awesome.

    JK

  • JK666
    JK666

    How many watts per channel?

  • Black Sheep
    Black Sheep

    I'm a bit of a vintage stereo junkie.

    My main amp is a 25 year old Mitsubishi running four speakers. While my wife was on holiday I rearranged the lounge at had it driving eight speakers. It has the power supply from hell and it had no problems with the eight speakers.

    Most of my stuff is stereo anyway so I don't see the point in changing yet. All of my Zappa is on vinyl.

    I am having trouble with the power supply in the amplifier I run in my workshop, (which has more grunt than the Mitsubishi). I can pick up similar amps for a pretty reasonable price on the local auction website, probably cheaper than paying for the repairs on my old amp.

    Cheers

    Chris

  • MissingLink
    MissingLink

    I think it depends on the size of your weiner, and your neighbors. I mean the proximity of your neighbors, not the size of their weiners.

    I'm no expert, but I think wattage comparisons are only valid in the same brand. I think one brands 150w could be louder than another brands 200w.

    More important is s/n (signal to noise) ratio of the equipment. The longer the signal stays digital the better. Digital signals don't pick up noise going from one compnent to another, but analogue signals do.

  • JK666
    JK666

    I think I've narrowed it down to Harmon Kardon, Marantz, and Denon.

  • MissingLink
    MissingLink

    You really can't go far wrong.

  • JosephMalik
    JosephMalik

    jK666,

    Something like a Pioneer VSX-816 should do it. It is only an entry level system but works really well and has on screen displays. Has digital and optical inputs. Switches both video and audio. It is a 7.1 system but you do not have to use all the amps. 100 watts per channel. It is miles ahead of any older stereo system and not expensive for so many features. It also comes with a mic and tone generator that tunes up the whole system automatically. Features multiple decoder formats and Dolby ProLogic II. Got mine on sale at Best Buy.

    Joseph

  • SacrificialLoon
    SacrificialLoon

    I have an older Denon AVR-1100 that I got in '99 or 2000, and it works well. It has 55w per channel, and that's plenty for me. It also has 5.1 inputs, but no DD or DTS decoder, so I got a seperate Technics DD/DTS decoder later.

    Edit: I don't think 7.1 ever really caught on with DVD although that may be different with HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray. IMO unless you're going for a high end home theater set up a 5.1 receiver will be good enough.

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