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View Full Version : A/V receiver for a new apartment


Target1
04-30-06, 07:25 PM
Howdy all,

This is my first post here, and I would like to say hello. The short questions is that I'm looking for a decent A/V receiver. I am going to be a law student next year in Boston, and will be moving into my first apartment. I am a bit of a headphone junkie, and have a set of Sennheiser HD-580s, and some Grado SR225s, as well as a Gilmore Lite headphone amp. My current 'rig' consists of a cheap A/V switch with 4 imputs, and one output, an old VCR, an old Kenwood audio receiver, all leading into a set of Bose speakers (2.1 system) (please don't flame the Bose speakers, I got them when I was 14 with my summer earnings on my dad's advice that they were the best), and a 20 inch Dell LCD monitor via s-video. This was just background, and I apologize for the long set up. Here is what I envision for next year. For movies I will have an external 320 Gig harddrive wired to my 15inch macbook pro (don't have any of this quite yet, but I've been saving, and will have it). These will hook into my yet unchosen receiver. Further, I'll have a mediocre Kenwood 5-disc changer for CDs, digital cable, and a dual VCR, DVD playey for inputs. For outputs I'll have my speakers and headphone amp (which has a loop out if that helps). I've done some reading on recievers, and have been looking at the outlaw 1050 as a possible candidate. At $300-$350 used, this is probably the absolute top of my price spectrum at this point. Should I go with a separate video, and audio receivers? Is $300 too much to spend given the rest of my system? I'm fairly new to the whole A/V thing, though I know quite a bit about headphone audio. Thanks for any help.

Target

PS I'll be reading through threads and doing research for the next couple of days, so if this questions has been asked countless times I'll find that out soon, and apologize for asking it yet again.

Wildcard26
04-30-06, 08:27 PM
From the little I've read the Denon AVR receivers seem to be a good buy, You could even look into the Pioneer VSX-1015 (I beleive this is the model that is THX certified) or even Pioneer's Elite series. I know my hand couldn't stretch that far and I would love to here your choice. All I could have afforded was a Pioneer VSX-515 (upgraded from a VSX 507S that took some jamming and gave me back some hell as well).

Target1
05-01-06, 11:56 AM
How do the ones listed above compare to the older outlaw 1050? Am I losing much by getting this older receiver used (if I can even find one)? The Pioneers looked intruiging. Whatever I get, it will probably be on the used market. Is this a good idea even?

Target

Wildcard26
05-01-06, 09:10 PM
With the affordable price ranges you have to compare with and the feature sets I think you could give the newer stuff a fair try. Even the Pioneer 816 is making a fair dent in the market (it won CES award for 2005 I believe and it goes for like $299.99 USD). This little budget receiver is a full blown 7.1 receiver. So the other's would be a good upgrade. Especially the Denons. I think you probably should evaluate your needs then make a decision into what you want and your budget, go audition some new stuff. It would make for great shopping. All I have to say is that my VSX515 has impressed for what it is and that receiver fits nicely into the term "budget".

Target1
05-02-06, 07:54 PM
Do you think they Pioneer 816 outstrips the outlaw over all? I won't have anything better than 2.1 for a while, and most concerned with the quality that these two channels will get. On the whole, the Pioneer looks like a good deal in the same price range as a used outlaw.

Target

Wildcard26
05-03-06, 08:05 AM
If there is some way that you could get to audition this recceiver before you buy it give it a go. If you have intentions on going to a full blown HT with separate power amplifiers and all then I think you could stick to the outaw (and still I think that you could get something new that would be better value than an older model). One of the trinkets I like about the 816 is the fact that it re directs the power from the SB speakers to the front when not in use to give 200 watts to the main speakers. Why do you want to stick with an older outlaw model ?
I am curios about this as even apart from the Pioneer there are other great receivers. The factor I think you could also consider is the scalability (how far you are going to upgrade from 2.1 and to what extent)

Antonpd
05-03-06, 12:49 PM
Check out the HK AVR240, it can be found for $350 retail.

Target1
05-03-06, 03:31 PM
I'm not at all set on the Outlaw, I was just told that it is an excellent deal for the money. As to when I'm going to upgrade, for the next three years my budget will be extremely limited (law school), followed by a period in which I should (hopefully) have enough money to upgrade my entire setup. There is a very real possibility that I will have just 2.1 for the next three years, followed by upgrading my entire system including the receiver. This does not mean that I definitely won't obtain new speakers, but my current set, as I said, consists of a bose receiver with two crystal cube (the double ones) that plug into it. Can these even be encorperated into a surround sound setup? If I just need to purchase another set of bookshelp speakers, and a center channel, than I will definately be upgrading in the future. If I cannot, then it will be at least 3 years before I have the cash to replace my current setup.

Hope this wasn't too discombobulated,

Target

ClarkeBar
05-03-06, 04:27 PM
Take an Outlaw to Law School. The symbolism screams off the page.

I ran 2.0, 2.1 and 3.1 for many years. For best enjoyment with HT, the receiver/processor should offer quality virtual speaker modes to enhance the experience when desired. Combined with quality speakers you will be fine for a good long time.

I would dump the cubes when possible (unless space/money is really tight) and focus on some decent bookshelfs.

Wildcard26
05-03-06, 08:10 PM
I catch where you are coming from. Well the outlaw seems to be the obvious choice here since by the time you are really ready to upgrade you may be able to afford yourself something alot better. Still check around though and keep an open mind. Oh and I would have to agree with ClarkeBar, dump the Bose if you have the extra change to spare.