Yamaha RX-V661. It's the receiver I am strongly looking at.

That Yamaha looks pretty nice and if that's the one you want, I don't want to try and talk you out of it . . .
-- but if you're into Blu-Ray or HD DVD take a peek at the 605 before you buy the Yamaha.

With its ability to decode Dolby True HD & DTS-MA and being HDMI 1.3 capable, it just seems to be the most "future proof" of the current crop of mid level receivers available right now.

On the other hand, if you're not into any next gen formats then the Yamaha should do very nicely.

I don't know if these will help, but here's a couple reviews:

Yamaha RX-V661

Onkyo TX-SR605

As long as the players can decode the lossless formats and turn them to PCM, any HDMI receiver capable of separating sound from the picture will be able to take advantage of the lossless tracks.

Aw man . . .

I knew that too! Thanks for pointing that one out!
Sorry for the brain fart!

I have both formats. But as Suprmallet, the players can do the decoding.

What's the word on the Onkyo 605's availability? I've had one on order for a while now but it still isn't in stock. Onecall has been been getting them in stock but selling out in 1 or 2 days. I just checked their web site and the black 605 isn't even listed any more. Weird.

I've been using an Onkyo 875 for about 2 weeks now and I must say it rocks. I've upgraded from a 10 year old HK that still works great but I figured it was time to upgrade. TrueHD and uncompressed PCM never sounded so good. Did I mention it actually makes my Wii look better also?

It's listed again, but as a preorder.

Damn I wish I could make up my mind on a receiver. The 605 is starting to look nice. Anybody think the 705 is worth the extra $250 or so over the 605?

Ok, so looking for a new receiver. I'm looking at one of the onkyo's: 605 vs 705. I have 3 hdmi devices (comcast, ps3, a2).

Assuming I get the 605: As I understand it, the comcast only carries 2-channel audio across hdmi, so I can plug that directly into the TV, and use 1 of the 2 optical inputs on the 605 for the Comcast sound. Then I can use the 2 hdmi inputs for the ps3 & a2, which will be cabled to the other one on the TV. I shouldn't need to use the optical audio inputs on the 605 for the ps3 or a2, is that correct? I'm trying to determine if the 2 hdmi/optical inputs on the 605 is enough, or if I need to go to the 705 for my 3 devices.

Any other major differences between the 605 & 705 (or 805)?

thanks

The Onkyo depth is listed at 14 13/16 inches. Does that include the depth added by the volume knob? I know that the volume knob is usually the largest and adds nearly 1 inch to the depth.

On another note I'd like to ask what exactly makes a receiver sound good? Is THD a big factor? I previously checked out the Sony STR-DG810 which on the surface seems to be feature rich for the price but the THD when playing all 6 channels is 1.0 % THD whereas the Onkyo's is .08 %. That is a big difference. Both the Sony STR-DG810 and Onkyo Onkyo TX-SR705 have similar watts per channels outputs but I've read each manufacturer calculates watts differently.

How can I judge what specs translate into good sound? I can't practically go out and sound test every receiver and online comments/reviews seem a little anecdotal.

Finally, do all the receiver manufacturers release new models once each year or is it a faster cycle time? I ask because I know the newest Onkyos came out in June '07. Will I have to wait until June '08 to see their next line?

Went ahead and ordered the Onkyo 705 last week. It should be here tomorrow. Going to feel sad replacing my awesome Pioneer 1014.

Question on the Onkyo 605. I own one and have no problems so far. It performs great and understand that any True HD & Dts HD reads as PCM. What about the DD+ indicator? All SD Dvd's and anything Digital on Comcast reads DD as it should but any HD-Dvd title that has a DD Plus soundtrack is also displayed with the PCM indicator and NOT the DD+ indicator. Is this another option we will have to wait for on the 3rd Gen. Players? Thanks Guys!!

Greg

One other note on the 605. I guess I am having an audio issue with the subwoofers. I am running 2 AR 12inch subs with no sound issues on the past 2 receivers and now with the 605 I'm getting an audio hum from the woofers. I did NOT change any settings on the subs. I just hooked up the new 605 and now they hum when activated. The subs still work and pound as expected but now with an added hum to them. Is there a setting on the receiver I missed or anything I need to adjust? Thanks Again!!

Greg

Basically the same thing. The players need to be able to pass the data to the receiver to have the receiver do the processing. Right now it all has to be done on the players and be passed on as PCM.

So what about the Yamaha RX- V861?
Does it have True HD capabilities?

No. But it does have HDMI and it will accept PCM audio from the players. Than the players would be doing the decoding. You still get the sound which is what you are after.

Man alive. I am looking at that Denon 3808 (dreaming) and that thing is drool-worthy.

I have played with some of those higher-end Denons, and that thing is completely bad-ass. I would love to set up a 25' - 30' long room with that thing and run two tiers of seating and two sets of side surrounds + rear surrounds. That thing would freaking KILL.

Let me know what you think. I just ordered one of these as well with a whole new set of speakers, but won't have them for a week or so.

Finally... all 3 of my major components (Cable box, HD-DVD player, Xbox 360) will be connected with just 3 HDMI's! I just love the thought of that.

Any advice on the subwoofer problem as mentioned above?

Will do. Just got it this afternoon. Won't have time to play with it until this weekend. But I will keep you posted.

I currently have a 7.1 Onkyo home theater in a box set up, but I need to upgrade to an HDMI receiver. My 3 HDMI devices will be PS3, Xbox 360 w/ HD-DVD, and a DVR box. The Onkyo 705 looks like a good fit for what I'm looking for, any major reasons I should spring for the 805 instead?

Wow, this thread really fell off, no replies in a month?

Anyway, I'm considering picking up the Yamaha RX-V661 at Best Buy this weekend while they have the 10/12% off RZ coupon and no sales tax here in my state....

Can someone here who has this receiver 100% confirm for me that it will accept multi-channel PCM audio output from an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player over HDMI? I have read some conflicting information and want to be definite...I know it doesn't have decoding for the high-res formats built in like the Onkyo, but it seems unnecessary to me when my PS3 and A2 can do the decoding and pass the uncompressed signal...

Also, can anyone would like to comment on how the quality of the converted component video looks? (The Yamaha does not upconvert analog sources and pass them over HDMI video, but it does convert composite and S-video input over to component...)

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

It will do so. It is unnecessary, but it can do it if needed. Any hi-def audio shows up as Multichannel PCM.

The receiver does convert component video -> HDMI. I found it was washing out the video signal and adding a lot of false sharpness. I went into the "secret menu" and tuned the sharpness/brightness/contrast settings using DVE and got rid of most of the effect (especially sharpness which I turned down to 0). It's now very satisfactory. If you aren't happy with it you can always hook up component and hdmi to the display (which is the setup I have).

I did find that the conversion is clipping a tiny bit of the whites at the very end of the spectrum via a DVE test pattern. I haven't had anyone else confirm this at avs but it may be an early firmware issue or something.

The tiny bit of white clipping is not important IMO as the only component video sources I have is the xbox360 and the HD-DVR. I hear new firmware might be available soon so I'm curious to see if there is any update.

Hey all,

I've been getting excellent help from the members here on what to find in terms of my new setup which is slowly building.

Anyway, I'm looking to find an receiver with the following two things: (1) HDMI audio and (B) speaker pre-outs. My reasoning for the speaker pre-outs is that I want to eliminate the need for speaker cables (which are very tedious and I'm quite challenged in fine motor skills ) and if such speakers as what Logitech and Creative Labs makes (which I've seen pics of used for small home theater, which is my goal exactly) will work with the pre-outs, I want to go for that.

Also, would anyone have any subwoofer recommendations? Thanks a bunch.

Does every individual speaker in these sets you mention have its own amp? Because most computer speakers will still use some speaker wire.

What kind of bass do you want from a sub? Compare to the best movie theater in town....do you want better than that or worse?