new receiver advice?

[werldhed]

Sooo...
I'm looking to replace my old Sony receiver for xmas, but I've been out of the A/V market for a long time, so I don't know what to look for these days.

Biggest question: receiver or home theater system?
My house isn't arranged well for surround, and I don't really watch many movies or TV. However, everywhere I look it seems there are good deals on home theater systems. Not caring about them before, I know nothing about them. Are they better or worse than plain old audio receivers?

Is 7.1 worth it?
Again, not set up for surround; don't have great speakers anyway (budget technics), etc. However, in the future, I'm sure I'll have some sort of surround setup, but when that time comes, will I care whether I've got 5.1 vs 7.1?

Any model suggestions?
Remember, I'm coming from an old Sony (STR-series, iirc). Most music is played through a CD changer, low-rent turntable (with preamp, so phono isn't a necessity), or mp3s. No satellite radio necessary.

After these points, I'm at a loss. What else is on the market that I should I be looking for?

[MKJ]

most 'home cinema sets' have stuff like a dvd player built in. avoid these. they might be cheap but thats mostly because they dont have any digital inputs.

i would say, get a receiver and a good set of speakers to go along with them, both front and back.
different receivers require different speakers to get the most out of it, and you;ll get much better bang for your buck if you pick n mix yourself instead of getting a packagedeal.

[obsidian]

I don't know much about home audio setups but ask shaft, he just bought a new receiver.

I've been told that 7.1 isn't worth it and can increase the likelyhood of dead spots caused by phase overlap.

[+JuggerNaut+]

most new rec. that are worth anything are already 7.1 with 5.1 compatibility. what should be important to you are features and the biggest one would be the number of HDMI inputs. you'll want at least 3 to avoid using outboard switchers that cause handshaking delays. also, since you're not into this stuff, just stick with a brand name and you'll be fine. oh, and if you have a small living room you can survive with a home theater in a box, but i wouldn't recommend them.

[FragaGeddon]

Most HTB's have very little input. Maybe 1 input at the least and probbaly not more than 2. And they are like component inputs.

[werldhed]

Thanks for the replies.
You've mostly reinforced my idea that I should avoid the home theater kits. Cool.

HDMI input isn't really a big deal at the moment, since I don't have any HD peripherals.
But I know that it will be an issue in the future. In general, I know what a pain limited connectivity can be.

Here is a noob question that I've never thought about until now: Is wattage per channel always fixed, or does it depend on how many channels you use? I know it's a stupid question, but if I'm interested in something like this
am I always always going to be stuck with 75 watts, even if I don't have a 7.1 setup? I've only ever had 2-channel, so it's never come up.

Also, I should say that I'm aiming for a moderate budget receiver. I don't want cheap shit, but I'm planning to buy a new car in the next couple months, so I don't want to drop too much coin on this. Certainly won't go over $1000. Somewhere between $350 and 600 is most likely.

[+JuggerNaut+]

nah, most if not all rec nowadays are the same two chan as they are 5 or 7. 75w with fairly efficient speakers is not bad at all unless your not running a sub yet. yeah, i understand that you may not have HD sources right now, but you really don't want a new rec in a couple of years because of this.

[werldhed]

Cool. I'm not too worried about 75W, and I am running a powered sub.

Next burning question: Any brands I should steer clear of? From what I've heard, Onkyo, Yamaha, Denon, and Pioneer all make decent stuff. Any truth to that?

I've never had Onkyo components, but newegg is offering some sweet deals that make me interested. Like $350 off this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6882120110

Or, more reasonably, $155 off this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6882120064

[+JuggerNaut+]

Onkyo makes good product as do the ones you suggested. The higher end sony's are good but i'd stay away from your cheap sony's and kenwoods.

that's a good price for the silver onkyo even though - it's silver.

[werldhed]

that's a good price for the silver onkyo even though - it's silver.

That's exactly what I thought to myself when I saw it.

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep sifting through the options and try to make a reasonable decision.

[+JuggerNaut+]

to be honest, for your needs, i'd not spend that much money, i'd go for the cheaper one.

[+JuggerNaut+]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OB ... V39NEJ58EJ