moving into HT??

[the11]

I've been thinking of replacing my 2-channel Sony ES with a 5.1 HT receiver. I mostly listen to music and wonder if I'd be sacrificing sound quality by getting something like a Denon 1803, Integra 5.3, or Yamaha in this price range. Any suggestions?

[zapr]

........denon or yamaha......yamaha the better of the two.....can't go wrong.

[poneal]

Both yamaha and denon make good receivers. You might want to try out harman kardon too (circuit city is an authorized seller). Just be aware that harman kardon rates there power low, so dont let the watts be the judge to your decision. Either way you go I think you will be happy.

[Mr Peabody]

When going from a 2 to 5 channel receiver I don't think you will notice a big difference in sound. It's still a receiver. The Integra would be my choice of the 3 with Yamaha being last. The Yamaha stuff I've owned had a definite lack of bass definition, the response was muddy. In my opinion the Onkyo/Integra has one of the best amp sections in that mass market receiver realm. My brother is using a small Denon HT receiver to drive my old Kappa 7's and it does an OK job while sounding pretty good for a receiver. I hooked an Onkyo 48 wpc receiver to the same pair and it slammed them with authority. The Onkyo didn't have the clarity of the Denon but the Onkyo was an entry level 2 channel, I'd assume the bigger Onkyo's would have some improvement on clarity over this entry level piece. But the Onkyo definitely had better driving ability over the higher wpc rated Denon.

Arcam makes an A/V receiver that costs about $1k that does one of the best jobs I know of doing both 2 channel and HT. They did not sacrafice sound quality on this piece and the HT effects are excellent. If you don't have an Arcam dealer in your area you can contact www.redtrumpet.com who carries some of their product.