New to home theater .Need advice

[kimmy walls]

I Just bought a new home and want a new home theater. I am looking at the Onkyo .Tx Sr 606 / Marantz Sr 4002, they both have 3 HDMI in puts and are well recomended. Which one is better for music and movies. Thanks Kim

[nightflier]

Kim, they are both decent, but what are you looking for in a receiver, exactly?

[kimmy walls]

Good quality sound . The ability to play loud clean and overall looks . Kim

[bobsticks]

I love Onkyo gear. Granted at this pricepoint there's going to be more similarities than differences in the receivers but I would bet the Onkyo had higher current for hard-to-drive speakers. Also, I prefer the ergonomics of the Onkyo remote to any other brand's offering.

[f0rge]

both are very nice receivers, at this pricepoint i dont think you can go wrong with either.

for someone "new", you made some pretty good choices so far.

[kimmy walls]

Wow there are so many choices out there. Really aren,t they all the same ! My boy freind wants a Harman Kardon ! But I like the sales man at pointcity. They have Yamaha and Onkyo But the Marantz sounded better.There is a sale this weekend and the Polk speakers come wiyh a free sub so were pressed to buy. It,s my money that hes using so the skys the limit as far as hes concerned. I just want this one time onily buy to be the right one. Thanks! Kimmy. w

[Mr Peabody]

If the Marantz sounded better to you, then, that is the one.

[kimmy walls]

Well bought the marantz SR4002. And have been on the phone more with the tech team than on tv . There set up book has fifty pages of how tos and this and that.I almost took it back as I onily wanted to use HDMI cables. But you have to use a yellow anolog cable to see the on screen meniu. After hours of talking me thru this and useing the set up mic it now sounds great.I would not recomend this to anyone who has a short fuse.Sounds great but I think It could have been a lot less work. Please Please give me your best info next time.I will soon be needing a blueray.Any ideas that are easy and cheap Thanks.Kimmy

[Invader3k]

Yeah, initial setup can be a pain, especially if you haven't done it before. I don't know if the Onkyo or other brand would have been any easier for you, honestly. If it sounds good now, that's all that really matters, isn' it?

As far as Blu-Ray, it depends what you're looking for, I suppose. If you like video games, a Sony PS3 is a pretty good route, as it's a great player and not much more expensive than stand alone players.

[Mr Peabody]

That is cheezy for Marantz to still use composite video for the OSD. I hope you are using HDMI for the rest of your viewing though. You can use HDMI normally and just switch to the other when needing to make an adjustment.

The PS3 is a good suggestion. The Sony s550 has a lot of features for the money in a stand alone player.
The Panasonic dmp-35 is a decent player.
If you have Netflix and interested in streaming OnDemand the Samsung BD-P2500 is the way to go and it has a good chip set for upsampling standard DVD. The Marantz are way over priced and the one at $550.00 seriously lacks features for that kind of money.

Unfortunately, none of the home theater stuff is going to be easy. But you'll get the hang of it.

[N. Abstentia]

Well bought the marantz SR4002. And have been on the phone more with the tech team than on tv . There set up book has fifty pages of how tos and this and that.I almost took it back as I onily wanted to use HDMI cables. But you have to use a yellow anolog cable to see the on screen meniu.

That's common in that price range, I doubt you could have done any better without shelling out some bucks.

[f0rge]

Well bought the marantz SR4002. And have been on the phone more with the tech team than on tv . There set up book has fifty pages of how tos and this and that.I almost took it back as I onily wanted to use HDMI cables. But you have to use a yellow anolog cable to see the on screen meniu. After hours of talking me thru this and useing the set up mic it now sounds great.I would not recomend this to anyone who has a short fuse.Sounds great but I think It could have been a lot less work. Please Please give me your best info next time.I will soon be needing a blueray.Any ideas that are easy and cheap Thanks.Kimmy

that sucks you need composite for the OSD, that's really lame and old tech

[This Guy]

who cares? you really need high definition to set up your speaker settings? The OSD of my Marantz is just a black background and white letters. And to the original poster, pretty much every AV receiver in this price range and higher is going to be complicated to someone that has next to zero knowledge with this stuff.

[Mr Peabody]

You may not need HD for OSD but it's pretty inconvenient to have to switch inputs every time you want to make an adjustment and to have two video cables ran when one would suffice.

[BadAssJazz]

You may not need HD for OSD but it's pretty inconvenient to have to switch inputs every time you want to make an adjustment and to have two video cables ran when one would suffice.


I often wondered why some companies (Sony used to be one) provide those cheapie cables with their "state of the art" receivers. Now I know. :mad2: :lol:

[kimmy walls]

Just orderd a sub mordaunt short alumni 9. 8in subwoofer. whats the news on this sub? I live in a small apartment. I got what I think is a deal for 240.oo dollars .free shipping. Anyone????

[This Guy]

It looks ok. I mean you could have gotten the same or better performance for about $100 less. http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=CAT&srchCat=620&CFID=2989261&CFTOKEN=26179258

Any of those Daytons in your price range would suffice. Unless aesthetics and size are very important, I'd say the better deal is what I just listed. What you ordered would be fine for a small apartment though.

[f0rge]

just a thought, but maybe if you want advice on a product you should ask us BEFORE you buy it.

[kimmy walls]

This is true about asking before buying.I always think Iam getting whats sounds like a great deal.Your right.Is a blue ray worth buying right now or will they come down in price????And what should the next move be.?Have a plasma and nice speakers just needed a sub.And maybe a new disc player?

[johnny p]

Blu-ray players WILL come down...... but so will Televisions, cameras, etc..... I think the player prices are very good right now... just scoop one up when a sale comes along.

might-as-well start enjoying it now rather than 5 years from now.....

[Mr Peabody]

I agree, if you have a nice plasma, get the Blu-ray. Not only is it an improvement in picture but sound as well.

Samsung BD-P2500 at $299.00 is good and features Netflix streaming via internet. This unit also has the Reon Silicon Optix video chip which is excellent for both standard and HD video. Down side it has been known to have an occasional disc compatibility problem. This can be an issue with all players at times but Samsung seems to have the rap for it.

Sony's BD-s550 is fully featured at $299.00. Only known downside, and it's debateable is just average standard DVD playback.

Amazon has the Pioneer BD-51 for $289.00 which has high user ratings once the firmware upgrade waas installed, this player originally was at least double that price retail. It's a beefy unit.

From what I've found the Samsung BD-P1500 at $180.00 or so is abou the best under $200.00 if on a budget.

Of course, the Panasonics are well regarded. As such their prices stay up a bit higher than the above.

There's also the benchmark for most aspects of Blu-ray, the Sony PS-3 if you and the boyfriend like the video games.

There's always more expensive units too if you want them.

[This Guy]

Samsung BD-P2500 at $299.00 is good and features Netflix streaming via internet. This unit also has the Reon Silicon Optix video chip which is excellent for both standard and HD video. Down side it has been known to have an occasional disc compatibility problem. This can be an issue with all players at times but Samsung seems to have the rap for it.


The streaming netflix is really cool. I have the standalone unit (Roku) for $100 and there's no reason to go to the video store anymore. Just pick a movie on the website and send it to your unit and watch it instantly on your HT system. The picture and sound isn't awesome, but it's great if your lazy and want to see movies that your video store doesn't have.

[FUDU]

sorry nm