A/V suggestions

[audio amateur]

My best buddy's parent's receiver, a Pioneer:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pioneer-VSX-C550-Slimline-AV-Receiver/dp/B00007GZMO

has been misbehaving for quite sometime. It sometimes acts up during play by making rude noises (sudden white noise sounds at pretty high SPL (which scares you ****less, not to mention the speakers suffer)) every once in a while or making the same noise it does when you turn it on (transistor relay?) and hence cutting the sound for a couple seconds. It also tends to make rude noises when you touch or bang the casing. My buddy had noticed the fan doesn't go on either, which could be part of the problem. They've sent it in and are told everything works as specified.. well, obviously not.
I thought it might be a grounding issue or something. The mains cable doesn't have a ground. Any suggestions from you guys?

Now, I've given him some suggestions for a new A/V. He said his budgets limit is around 300 bucks (converted from euros). I told him he could get something decent (sufficient) for around 200$. My suggestions were the Yammi RX-V363 around the 200 mark. Higher, I said he could get a Denon 1509 (nice unit) or a Onkyo TX-SR576 which is now reduced. Also, the Sony STR-DG820. I know you guys aren't fans of the Sonys but it does come highly recommended by What-Hifi mag (UK). Are the auto-calibrationg features in these units good?

Now, I want them to have something somewhat future-proof, i.e HDMI which they all have only some can't decode the sound from HDMI, I'm guessing you have to use the conventional digital inputs in parallel. Standard-def upscaling is nice although I don't think any of them have it. He looked at an H/K around 300$, are they still having quality issues?
Currently, they have an 8 year old plasma, a Pioneer DVD and 5 crap Pioneer speakers + sub. They'll probably get an up to date screen in the near future, and he'll get a PS3 :)
Feel free to shoot me old threads if they are relevant.

[Mr Peabody]

You should try to find them a deal on Onkyo tx606 or Yamaha 663, there may be other models but I know these have true functioning HDMI. I feel anyone serious about HT will be wasting their money on anything else. If they don't care about sound they may be able to get away with a lesser receiver but may regret it if they ever go Blu. I don't like the 663 because the dual zone is a joke and why pay for something that don't work like one would want or a feature you won't use.

I have yet to find anyone who likes the auto calibration. Even a guy I helped pick his equipment who was just getting into HT moved the settings around after running it. On the other hand if some one doesn't understand the importance and how to set Delay and the like it could be a good tool to get closer to correct sound than no adjustment at all.

If the Plasma is that old I wonder if they just use component or less. I'd bet a set that old could run into HDCP issues.

If they aren't opposed their best bet until they are ready to move forward in technology would be to buy a used HT receiver without HDMI, something similar to what they have now. With economy and people wanting HDMI the old receivers should be cheap. Then again, there's always the risk of buying some one else's faulty quirks.

[audio amateur]

You should try to find them a deal on Onkyo tx606 or Yamaha 663, there may be other models but I know these have true functioning HDMI.
...

Then again, there's always the risk of buying some one else's faulty quirks.
Hi P, Thanks for the reply.
Mentioning their Pioneer speakers was a hint as to the fact that they aren't 'serious' about HT. Now, I'm not sure why you say that anything under the 606 is a waste of money? I believe the main differences are mostly decoding (and other gizmos) and regarding that, I doubt the difference between standard DTS and DTS master will be relevant with a setup such as this. Or am I completely wrong?
What else do you think they will be missing when they go Blu?

I believe they really want something new. They seem to get very rotten deals when they buy second hand so they are very much apprehensive to the idea.

[Mr Peabody]

The entry level receivers limit the function of the HDMI either only passing video and not the audio or other configurations. If they wouldn't care about the HD audio then one of those entry pieces would be fine. My thing is if the HDMI isn't fully functioning then why upgrade except for in your friends situation where the receiver is broke. Do they even have anything with HDMI? You might check www.spearitsound.com for an older unit at a good price under the "used/demo" link.

[L.J.]

I agree with Mr.P suggestions. You can try to hunt down something older that can handle MC PCM via HDMI. The Yamaha 661 doesn't have all the latest decoding but is a great match for the PS3 since it accepts PCM via HDMI and it has preouts.

[audio amateur]

The idea now is that they're looking for a new one so this will be a replacement.
As HD audio is not crucial to their setup I'm guessing an entry line will be sufficient, as long as it has HDMI video switching (which it seems, they all do). They don't currently have anything HDMI.
The 661 is nice but out of their budget.

Coming back to the Sony, it appears it handles several HD audio codecs. Could it be a good choice?
http://whathifi.com/Review/Sony-STR-DG820/

L.J, may I ask what a receiver needs in order to output HD audio from a PS3?

Lastly, what would be nice is if several different video inputs (Component etc..) be outputed through the single HDMI out? I know the Sony can't do this. Can the others do so?

[L.J.]

The idea now is that they're looking for a new one so this will be a replacement.
As HD audio is not crucial to their setup I'm guessing an entry line will be sufficient, as long as it has HDMI video switching (which it seems, they all do). They don't currently have anything HDMI.
The 661 is nice but out of their budget.

Coming back to the Sony, it appears it handles several HD audio codecs. Could it be a good choice?
http://whathifi.com/Review/Sony-STR-DG820/

L.J, may I ask what a receiver needs in order to output HD audio from a PS3?

Lastly, what would be nice is if several different video inputs (Component etc..) be outputed through the single HDMI out? I know the Sony can't do this. Can the others do so?

The PS3 can output standard DD/DTS via optical and decoded HD audio via HDMI (MC PCM).

I believe the 661 can upconvert all signals to HDMI. I don't remember for sure, but I doubt I would have auditioned if it didn't. That's one of my must have features.

The 820 looks OK. Should work fine with the PS3 for HD audio. My friend has the 720 and seems to like it.

The 661 may be slightly out of budget but it has great flexibility and would be my choice if I was going low budget. The 605 may be something to look at as well.

[audio amateur]

Thanks L.J

[blackraven]

For a budget receiver with full HDMI I would consider the Sony STR-DH700. Crutchfield has it on sale for $299. 7.1, 902wpc, auto calibration, A/V HDMI inputs.

[audio amateur]

Thanks Raven.


www.spearitsound.com

crutchfield
You all seem to forget we're not in the US :)

[Mr Peabody]

Do you use 220 volt AC?

[audio amateur]

Do you use 220 volt AC?
As do most European countries (if not all).

[audio amateur]

He went with the newly released Denon AVR-1509. So far so good:)
We've had a couple video conferences so I can guide him a little and watch the process :D:D
He's setting up the speakers using the audyssey calibrating tool as we speak.