Looking for HT receiver suggestions that are Full-Range friendly

[chuyler1]

Are there any receivers out there that will play nicely with full range speakers? My only requirement is that it has HDMI switching so I can run one cable to my HD TV...and I'd like the price to be reasonable.

The goal would be to run full-range speakers for front/center/surround but I'm looking to buy a receiver first. The speakers I will start with will be my frugelhorns for the front and uFonkens in the rear. This will be temporary until I build some other speakers (hopefully a matching set as I've seen discussed in other threads).

[steviedon]

I'd look for something with a low-ish damping factor, as it seems to work well with FR drivers. I dont know what you view as affordable but, I myself use an Onkyo tx-sr607 with good results.....this years model is 608. I'd be more helpful if I knew what you view as reasonable price wise.

[chuyler1]

$300-500 is probably a good range.

I was glancing over specs at Crutchfield and saw that some 7 ch models allow 7-ch surround sound or bi-amp front stage. Does the Onkyo have that option? I don't think the wife wants a plethora of speakers strewn about the room so I would only need a 5 ch system if it doesn't have the bi-amp option.

So do you find yourself using the Onkyo receiver when listening to 2-ch music or do you have a dedicated amp for that?

I guess my price range depends on how much use i'll get out of it. If the amp stage of the receiver leaves me wanting to buy something else for music duties I'd rather dish out a few extra bucks on the receiver so i could be happy listening to both music and movies....if such a receiver exists. If not, then I might as well go cheap and save for a nice 2-ch amp for music.

[head_unit]

Get a receiver that can decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio, then you can have the best fidelity (unless you have a disc player that decodes them and want to do the whole umpteen analog connections thing).

I've been very happy with Denon equipment for many years. Marantz also has some new models that look quite nice.

Most receiver lines now "step up" to 7 channels-I think just to have something to talk about.

For fullrange compatibility, a key thing would be the residual noise level. But that is seldom specified, instead signal-to-noise would be a key spec. Thing is, it can depend on the processing mode and so forth. All receivers should have enough power to drive sensitive speakers, but if your impedance is low you want something built very strong: big power supply and capacitance etc. (I'm not aware of any great mid-price Class D receivers yet)

Built-in frequency smoothing could be good for a fullrange. I'm not sure if the Audyssey EQs go up so high in frequency.

[doors666]

Originally Posted by chuyler1

$300-500 is probably a good range.

I was glancing over specs at Crutchfield and saw that some 7 ch models allow 7-ch surround sound or bi-amp front stage. Does the Onkyo have that option? I don't think the wife wants a plethora of speakers strewn about the room so I would only need a 5 ch system if it doesn't have the bi-amp option.

I have a yamaha rxv-663. It allows me to bi-amp my fronts.

I currently use this for music duties also in pure direct mode. Makes a big difference in sound, it basically switches off all the unnecessary electronics. Still leaves me wanting more, so I will get dedicated stuff for music when budget permits.
You might want to get an avr that allows you pre-outs (output from the pre-amp stage of the avr, unamplified signal). so that later if needed, you can use a separate power/integrated amp, without having to buy two sets of speakers.

[el`Ol]

Panasonic full digital receivers are good. No longer available new. Personally I find them better without dual amp activated.

[chuyler1]

Great info guys...this is stuff i wouldn't have thoight of. I'll do a little more shopping and research and check back before i purchase.

[rafjr00]

I have an Onkyo RC-180 pushing a pair of Infinity RS III, the big floorstanding ones. I put it in pure direct mode and listen to music everyday before the wife gets home. It sounds good to me and with you using much more sensitive speakers you should be good.

[willkayakforfood]

Originally Posted by chuyler1

Great info guys...this is stuff i wouldn't have thoight of. I'll do a little more shopping and research and check back before i purchase.

Have you considered looking for a good used AVR? Craigslist, Ebay, and even Freecycle can greatly increase the "bang for the buck" of your budget. I even got a mint condition Denon AVR 3300 via Freecycle! I don't use it for two channel stereo, as I have a dedicated system for that (everything; amp/pre-amp, speakers, source components, etc.), but this older Denon AVR does very well for my 5.1 HT setup (Note: I'm not quite as picky with HT as I am with two channel stereo). And, it was free!

Even if you can't count on getting as lucky as I did with this particular Denon AVR, I see good AVRs on craigslist and Ebay all the time, and if you can find quality used components, you'll nearly always get more for your money--especially in the $300-$500 range.

Good luck!

[chuyler1]

I wouldn't rule out used equipment but it might be hard to find something with HDMI inputs for my digital video sources (HD cable) and HDMI conversion for my analog video sources (Nintendo Wii). These features are relatively new and its unlikely that I could find something cheap.