Best receiver for PS3 et al

[Arwin]

Hi Guys,

Posting this here because I want input from PS3 users in particular. If mods disagree I'm sure they'll move this.

I'm looking to buy a new receiver soon, and am scouting ... currently my eye has fallen on the Sony STRDG820 (7.1, upscaling) and it's lighter cousin the STRDG520 (5.1). I think right now I would be fine with the latter simply because it seems to have exactly what I currently need: two full HDMI inputs, one from the HD cable box and one from the PS3 and one HDMI out for the TV, I have 5 speakers currently and it doesn't seem likely I'll be able to make or need a decent 7 speaker setup given our space in the living room. The only thing I'm wondering about is whether or not I'll regret having less support for the various sound decoding formats that the 820 so generously supports. I don't think I need the (nice) upscaling support built into to the 820, which probably just adds lots to the energy bill. Still, the 820 is attractive to me (except that it's more than twice the price of course) because it offers me a lot of room to grow, which is worth something - my current amp has lasted me since 1992 (Sony with Dolby Surround Pro-Logic support).

And I must say I'm fairly pleased with the fact that for 399 Euro I seem to be able to have something that supports everything I can currently imagine to ever need in the next 15 years - prices have been coming down nicely.

Are there any pitfalls to either? Anyone any experience with these models?

Here's the backs of both of them (always the most important side for me for these products ).

(title should probably be amp/receiver)

 

[Gerry]

How much? You can get the 820 for £229.99 in the UK. That's a lot less than €399.

AFAIK The 820 is a very good match for the PS3.

 

[Asher]

I did a LOT of research on this about 8 months ago when buying a new receiver. While the features on the Sony look good, the general consensus in the expert communities (eg, AVSforum) questioned a lot of the audio quality compared to its competitors. As a whole, Sony A/V receivers are not well received compared to the Pioneers, Onkyos, HK, etc. I specifically looked a lot at the STRDG820.

I ended up getting the Onkyo TX-SR606. It's slightly more expensive, but it's featureset was more impressive and audio quality rated much higher. It has some features I really like such as Audyssey -- it has dual mics built into the receiver itself (independent of the auto-calibrating setup mike on a cable it comes with) that automatically adjust the sound so it's optimal regardless of the volume level: http://www.audyssey.com/technology/index.html

It's very helpful given that I live in an apartment right now. On my old Yamaha I always had to volume up/volume down in certain scenes to hear what's going on...and "Night Mode" isn't nearly as good and is certainly not effortless.

The general consensus is the TX-SR606 is the best deal under $400 for a receiver.

Here's a good thread on the Onkyo vs Sony: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1031517

Note the better audio clarity on the Onkyo:
THD - 0.08% on Onkyo, vs. 0.09% on Sony
Amplifier Frequency Reponse - 5Hz-100kHz on Onkyo, vs.10Hz-70kHz on Sony
S/N Ratio - 106dB on Onkyo, vs. 100dB on Sony

 

[DrJay24]

I read this about the 820:

Cannot send analog video signals (e.g., component) through HDMI output

That's pretty lame. Do they have the Onkyo 606 over there? It upscales all signals for one HDMI out. I guess it cost a bit more.

 

[joker454]

I read this about the 820:

"Cannot send analog video signals (e.g., component) through HDMI output "

That's pretty lame. Do they have the Onkyo 606 over there? It upscales all signals for one HDMI out. I guess it cost a bit more.

I use a Sony STR-DA5300ES which passes all inputs over hdmi. It also has 6 hdmi inputs which is reeeeeally convenient. Sounds good also. It does cost more though, but the Sony ES line seems to be well received by audio reviewers. I believe it has since been replaced with the STR-DA5400ES.

 

[SG79]

Like Asher, I ended up getting a TX-SR606 and I couldn't been happier. It's seen a drop from its $499 MSRP, so you can get one for as low as $399.

Naturally, it supports all the lossless codecs out there (decodes them of course).

 

[user542745831]

Naturally, it supports all the lossless codecs out there (decodes them of course).

PS3 won't bitstream them at the moment though .

 

[DuckThor Evil]

STR-DG520 can't extract sound from a HDMI input, it's just a pass through.

 

[Asher]

Like Asher, I ended up getting a TX-SR606 and I couldn't been happier. It's seen a drop from its $499 MSRP, so you can get one for as low as $399.

Naturally, it supports all the lossless codecs out there (decodes them of course).

I got it the week it came out for $399CDN. The store told me it was flying off the shelves and I got the last one.

Here we are, 8 months later, and the price has actually gone up around here to $499CDN or so. Demand is huge, I think.

 

[Malo]

A friend of mine was trying to get a 606 from Circuit City with their closing sales but they sold out. He ended up buying a 706 for a decent price and I also pointed out to him that the 706 has 1080P upscaling whereas the 606 is 1080i. Overall for the price, features and quality, the 606 is very hard to beat though.

 

[obonicus]

Is there any noticeable added lag from passing the video through a receiver?

 

[Asher]

Nope. In HDMI anyway, both the video and the audio get passed through the receiver.

 

[mrcorbo]

Denon is a brand that I have had very good experiences with. Their model in this price/feature range is the AVR-1909.

I currently own this one and am completely happy with it and my first Denon receiver is now over 10 years old and still completely functional.

 

[mrcorbo]

Is there any noticeable added lag from passing the video through a receiver?

Receivers with video scalars/processors will inevitably introduce some lag. How severe depends on the implementation.

 

[LordNerevar]

Skip the 520.
I have it and i can't hook up my PS3 over HDMI to get audio and video, since it won't receive audio over HDMI, so you would need and additional optical cable to get audio.

 

[Asher]

Denon is a brand that I have had very good experiences with. Their model in this price/feature range is the AVR-1909.

I currently own this one and am completely happy with it and my first Denon receiver is now over 10 years old and still completely functional.

Denon is a very good brand, but there's a price premium for them -- the AVR-1909 is at least a few hundred dollars more than comparable Onkyos.

 

[SG79]

Here we are, 8 months later, and the price has actually gone up around here to $499CDN or so. Demand is huge, I think.

Got mine around Sept for $500; around the time when the sagging CAD started to take its effects.

Curious where you got yours though, since it took me a while to find a retailer in the GTA.

 

[Asher]

I got mine from www.electronicsforless.ca.

Free shipping. It's at $539 CDN there now.

 

[obonicus]

Receivers with video scalars/processors will inevitably introduce some lag. How severe depends on the implementation.

That's my thought, but I wondered if anyone had any first-hand experience with noticeable/non-noticeable lag.

 

[Asher]

Any modern receiver really shouldn't introduce anything close to noticeable.