Need help with audio/video receiver

I've been having difficulty getting a good A/V receiver to replace my cheap, Radio Shack Optimus thing. robricc was extremely helpful in selling me his receiver, but thanks to UPS, I am left without once again.

The problems with my receiver:
-no digital decoder
-DVD input assumes a digital decoder and therefore doesn't split the stereo channels, resulting in stereo sound on all dvds. Therefore the input is useless.
-It's an Optimus!

What I am looking for:
-the $200 to $350 range
-digital decoder (shouldn't be a problem, most of them have it now)
-at least enough connectivity for the following components:
--Tivo
--DVD
--VCR
--CD changer
--Turntable
--one more video input for a selector (for video games or other equipment) if I have enough inputs of course, I don't need this, but I doubt it

So that's what I'm looking for. I don't need several high-end features like 6.1 (only 5.1 needed), or compnent video ins or outs.

So that's the short of it. Any recommendations? I've not been able to get anywhere on this.

And please, people, tell me where you got your audio/video cabinets! I've seen them! I know people own them! Where can I find them?!?!?

And please, people, tell me where you got your audio/video cabinets! I've seen them! I know people own them! Where can I find them?!?!?

I got mine from Crutchfield. You can see a couple of crappy pics of it on the Rio Receiver BBS in this thread.

Thanks! I wouldn't have thought that Crutchfield would have the largest selection of those types of cabinets that I've seen. They're nice! Too bad I can't afford them though, not if I want to get this receiver.

So are there any suggestions? Is anyone here using a receiver that fits my description?

I have a Sony STR DE585 and am very happy with it....It is within your price range too ($399 CDN)...

Whatever you get make sure it has Pro-logic II - its a big improvement over the original.

Thanks for the suggestions. ineedcolor, does that receiver perhaps go by a different model number in Canada? I couldn't really find it in many places.

What do you guys think of this baby? I'm thinking of springing a little extra for that. The lowest I can find it for is about $360. I just wish I could find a review of it.

I'm a huge fan of yamaha recivers. I own a yamaha 995a, which is way more power and other junk than most people need. it is also overpowered for my current apartment. the system is 100W for each of the 5 channels. and my current speaker setup (def tech BP-8b's) I can turn it much past 1/3 volume before my ears explode.

if you go with something like the yamaha RX-V396, or similar unit.. you can get all the things you're talking about. crutchfield has the HTR-5540 for $299
tho the HTR-5540 doesn't have component or S-Video switching.. for another $100 you can get the HTR-5550. ack.. i just noticed.. none of the HTR recivers in your price range have phono input.. hrmm.. i wonder if that's a RX-V feature

http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/DsplyModel/?gAVR00010HTR-5540

here's some URL's to chew on:
http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/gAVR00010
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-jGQaFYRwkJV/yamaha/

Hmm, I've liked what I've seen of the Yamaha's (although I've only seen higher-end models), but that 5540 seems to be cutting back in a lot of areas I need. There's suprisingly few inputs, possibly fewer than the one I have now. They seem to be skimping on the stuff I need. And I just spent over $150 on turntables and records, so I'm going to need a phono jack...

Oh man, I think I'm going to be bummed here. Please take a look at this pic of the Sony STR-DE985:

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-iz53Ndidzbz/ProdView.asp?s=0&g=10420&id=morephotos&pi=2&i=158STR985B&display=XL

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but if my DVD player only has an optical digital out, then I'm screwed in that area, aren't I?

I'm seeing 4 optical digital in's in the top left hand corner. There's only one coax digital in... Ok, reading the spec's it doesn't have one listed as an optical for dvd, but it would bet money you can associate one of the optical inputs with the dvd input. Give crutchfield a call and make sure, they're supposed to be very helpfull on the phone.

Matthew

yea.. i'm supprised at how few there are.. but it's supposed to be an entry level reciver.. the RX-V596 is probably more what you want. you can get them at audioking. they sell similar yamaha stuff at best buy, but they sell the cheaper systems.. basicly the features are identical, but it's all lower build/component quality.

the thing i really look at is the final amplifier quality. sony is known for their cheap amps. unless you get into the hugely expensive sony ES line. yamaha has some of cleanest solid state amps available in a mass-market reciver. and since they make all 5 output channels identical, the surround panning is very smooth. none of the old sony 100x2, 50x1 25x2 crap.

the RX-V596 is around $400, has all the inputs you wanted. tho you need to go up to the RX-V796 to get 2 VCR inputs.
http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/backpanels/RXV596/bRXV596.htm

http://www.abtelectronics.com/scripts/site/site_store_product.php3?store=Yamaha&id=529

I can also thoroughly recommend either Kenwood on the bang for buck front ot Onkyo.
Crutchfields do have a great selection, but if you want a great price check out www.brandnamez.com as well.
I got my Onkyo 797 from there and were much cheaper than the others. They are also mega cheap for Polk speakers as well.

Thanks for the Yamaha links. They look good, but there are a few things I don't like about them for my particular situation. Plus, the V596 is too expensive for me. I'm going to be hard-pressed to make it to $360, I just can't go to $400.

I'll look at those Onkyos and Kenwoods a little more though.

I was at Best Buy last night to look at all of these, and amongst 5 salesmen hounding me, I actually got a look at a couple, mainly the DE985, which I wanted to see the back of in person. I mainly wanted to see if I could figure out how to assign the optical inputs. I guess I'd have to read the manual

So yeah, thanks for the links guys.

I know Onkyo manuals are available in PDF format on their website, I think the same applies to Kenwood.
Kenwood to the cheapest THX certified receiver around at the moment (the VR6070) but that may be overkill for you.
Most manufacturers who don't sell a THX version will tell you its not worth it, but the thing to remember about THX is that it is a sound quality standard not a format.
That means if your receiver passes the THX select tests then it has to be pretty good, regardless of the price.
That said I ended up with the Onkyo DS797 because it would connect svideo to composite video and the component video bandwidth was high enough for progressive scan, something that the Kenwood could not accomodate.
Good luck on the hunt

Oh yeah, I've been familiar with the THX stuff for a couple years now. I've had to answer that one tons of times on the Klipsch Promedia message boards.

I'm usually not really concerned with that certificate. I could care less whether Lucas thinks my receiver is peachy keen It's usually a mark of a very high quality product, but there are plenty of high quality products that don't have THX plastered on them. I'm not a Lucas fan.

I'll check out those units though

I would argue that, more than anything else, the THX certification means that the manufacturer was willing to pay George an outrageous sum of money. Of course, George probably isn't going to give one to something that sounds like crap, but I don't have any particular faith that it's going to sound better than another component that isn't THX labelled.

In the end, anyway, is the fact that even the THX people tell you that just because it's THX certified doesn't mean that it's going to sound great in your room. Only in their highly optimized listening environment. The obvious answer would be to get what sounds good in your room, but, then, travelling audio salesmen are hard to come by these days.

Hehe, I think I'd agree with that

Of course, I'm not actually concerned with the most superb quality anyway. I'm still using my crappy Optimus speakers and an 18 year old Mitsubishi big-screen TV, so I'm not on the high end of things. What I'm hoping to get is functionality and good performance along with the right inputs.

Well, I've looked at all these products and product lines, and it's quite interesting to see the different design approaches. I've gotta admit, Yamaha does not impress me with their rear layout. None of the inputs are clearly differentiated from one another, and it's like they just threw them all on there and decided how to mark them later. They also have a quite poor system on their website for viewing the rear panel, which is to divide it up into sections and not let you see a large view of the whole panel at once.

I wouldn't let any of that be a reason to not buy a product, and all the others I looked at had odd design quirks as well.

What I've found is interesting about this whole thing is that the turntable is only now being phased out. I can understand that I guess. They figure not many people have them, and the inputs require amplification and all. Yamaha does not sell a unit with a phono jack. In fact, from what I saw, Onkyo and Kenwood don't either. Since I'm not about to ditch my turntable and records, I'm going to try to go with the Sony.

I also found that comparable products to Sony's STR-DE985 are much more costly, and still lack many features the Sony has. I'm willing to risk the amplification oddities that were mentioned of Sony receivers, as I don't have the most ideal setup anyway. So if I have the money, I'll most likely go with the Sony.

So if you have a turntable, I suppose they're going out of style!

I've called Crutchfield, and supposedly the guy looked in the manual for the DE985 and didn't see if there was a way to assign the optical digital inputs. I just looked it up, and evidently my DVD player does coaxial digital output (I don't have my DVD player with me for the summer).

But I have a question, which is better, optical or coaxial? I would have thought optical, but maybe that's me being attracted to shiny things

But I have a question, which is better, optical or coaxial?

Except in environments so electrically noisy that neither amp nor DVD player would work anyway, there is no difference. Optical cables used to be more fussy about bend radius etc. but even that may be less of a problem these days.

Peter

Optical cables are also usually much more expensive, if that's a factor.

Well, I suppose in my case, it is

Thanks for the help guys, it looks like I'll be fine now.

Now, as always, to find the money to buy this new toy! It'll be even harder because I'm trying to sell my old Tivo to buy a new one.

I'm sure there is a way to select it. I bought my Pioneer reciever open box, and it was missing the manual. I had to call Pioneer's CS Dept, but they helped me switch the input to optical from coaxial. Now remembering how I did it....