New to HT, need help.

[kgraves]

I just recently bought a house and am looking to build a HT system. I am working on a very tight budget right now. I am looking for an affordable 5.1 channel a/v receiver. I currently have 2 Advent 5002 speakers (not sure on the year) which I would like to use in the system. My fiancee's father is somewhat of an audiophile and could probably build me the remaining speakers. Any suggestions on affordable a/v receivers?

[02audionoob]

Could you define "affordable"?

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/538199368/onkyo-tx-sr304-black

[kgraves]

Affordable would be in the $100-200 range. I'm not looking for any special, just something that is a good entry-level A/V receiver.

[kgraves]

I'm also looking for something that is HDMI compatible.

[Mr Peabody]

You are about to make a grave mistake. Pun some what intended. This is important though. Just because a receiver has a HDMI input don't mean it's fully functional or what you probably mean by "compatible". You can't get what you want for that price. Anything less than $399.00 for the Onkyo 606 or Yamaha RX-v663 you are wasting your money. Some of the cheap receivers will "pass" HDMI but will not decode HD audio, some only pass video and no audio at all, the lower priced receivers limit the HDMI function in some way and don't expect them to be up front about it. It's not until you try hooking it up and go mad trying to figure out why something isn't happening that you realize you've been had.

It's also not the best thing to mix brands of speakers. A good HT system should have voice/timbre matched speakers for optimal performance. Especially along the front. You want seamless panning of sound. Ask yourself if you'd listen to stereo with a different brand left & right speaker, HT is no different.

So your options are:

1. Use your Advent in some type of 2 or 2.1 channel configuration. Upgrade or expand as money allows.

2. Put the HT off until you can afford to do it right.

3. Or, keep down the path you are going and have a jacked up system.

4. You could try buying used and just run the HDMI into your TV and upgrade down the road. Or, stick with component for now.

[02audionoob]

The one I linked is in your price range. No HDMI, though. As Mr. Peabody noted, you need to get up to the Onkyo TX-SR606 for that. I've seen refurbs for around $300.

One thing to keep in mind, 5.1 is old technology. You can get 5.1 receivers on craigslist and ebay for under $100 all the time.