Help me choose which A/V rec...to rpl my ES

[fat500]

I am looking to replace my A/V receiver. See my sig. for my current set up. I am actually happy with my set-up but a trip to my local sound shop made me drool.
It was an onkyo 602 i think, new model running in 7.1 mode with a nice KEF surround set-up. It had a pirates of the car.... dvd on and the seperation BLEW me away. I do not get this with my current set-up. My rec is dolby surr. with a 5.1 input and the dvd player uses it's onboard decoder to do the decoding. Question. Will upgrading give me that wow factor ?
What to buy in the 400-500 $$ range. My budget is not what it used to be....
I looked at a HK 247 and the onkyo 602 . I do mostly HT and seldom music.
what do you recommend. Thanks, marc

[bobsticks]

My rec is dolby surr. with a 5.1 input and the dvd player uses it's onboard decoder to do the decoding.

Hey marc, welcome to the forum. The above statement is not completely correct. If yer lookin' fer Dolby Dig or DTS you've got to have a digital connection, be it coax or toslink. Until you do that you're simply running matrixed signals which will never give you that "wow" effect. Give that a try and I bet you see some improvement.

If the condition persists you may have some amp issues. A Google search reveals that model to be a bit notorious. Most Sony's don't have the greatest amp sections anyway, so it may benifit you to try something with a bit higher current.

Try the digital connection first though. Might as well see if you can a quick-fix from a ten dollar cable before scrapping the whole enchilada.

[gman086]

Sure it wasn't the 605 paired with a blu-ray player w/ Pirates??? That would sound WAY better because that has true Dolby HD or DTS HD audio. If you noticed that much of a difference I would guess that to be the case; most of the mid to high end shops have those setups now for the Holidays for that exact reason - the WOW factor!

Have FUN!

G MAN

[Mr Peabody]

Bobsticks, if he is using multichannel analog he will get DTS/DD. Only a listen test will tell which would be better if any difference at all. Digital may have an advantage though if using cheap analog cables.

I'm not a big Sony fan but the ES receivers I've seen sounded pretty good. I'm not familiar with your particular model but I wonder if you'd gain much at all in sound. Some of the difference could also be KEF vs AR. And, a good point that you may have seen/heard a Blu-ray set up which is definitely not apples to apples.

[fat500]

I went for a HK avr 347 and a dvd 37 and all i can say is wow what a difference. I was itching to upgrade anyway. Night and day. Like the first time I heard a CD. Question: is it better to use the optical or the coax digital input/output??? Thanks all, Marc
Im floating on a good 02 zinfandal now.........

[Mr Peabody]

HK at one time made some of the best receivers around. They still may, I just haven't had any experience with their HT stuff.

I've heard unless going a longer distance that coax is better for some reason but I personally doubt if there's much difference either way. I do think that coax is probably less likely to incur damage and be more reliable, longer lasting. I've yet to have any problems with a coax digital but I have had an optical go bad, and it was not a cheap optical either. Luckily the store knew me and just exchanged it for me. That's the only problem I've had though but I don't plug and unplug them much.

[buyusa]

I don't understand the cd reference.

[pixelthis]

HK used to be in the pantheon, now they are just another mass market receiver, made in china yet. Had some problems when they first started making them there but lately they seem to be ironed out.One thing, they have an "honesty" policy in rating their amps.
You might have noticed that the ratings are rather modest compared to other receivers,
but this is an "honest" rating, and the amps are high current.
And the CD reference is that he loved the way a CD sounded on his system,
always a good sign.
Welcome to the forum newbie

[pixelthis]

AND there isnt a dimes worth of difference between coax and toslink (optical)
Just another case of the industry not being able to establish a standard, so every manufacturer does something different so you need both, kinda like the remote control codes, which keeps an entire industry of universal remotes thriving.
But dont get me started...

[Mr Peabody]

Pix, dude, your on a distinquished road now, congrads.

[pixelthis]

Pix, dude, your on a distinquished road now, congrads.

That means something coming from you, thanx.
BTW is your Bluray the same samsung Circuit is selling for 377 now?
Dont remember the model number, sorry

[Mr Peabody]

I don't know, I'll have to check. The BD-p1200 is a well built machine and upconverts SD very well but it lacks in features and ability compared to the units coming out now. If there are a lot in the pipe line they better drop it some more to move them. It does have ethernet though which I think is still some what rare for BR. I really like mine and it fits into my system well as I only have 1080i. $377.00 would be good though for a $599.00 unit and to think back in the summer they wouldn't even match Amazon's $472.00

[pixelthis]

Thanks