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Re: Best Sounding HT Receiver <$1500

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In Reply to: Re: Best Sounding HT Receiver <$1500 posted by williak on April 04, 2003 at 10:18:01:

Great questions. The first objective is surround sound for movies. I really don't want to invest in more than five speakers (four if I can get away with passing on a center channel). So I guess I'm looking at 5.1 format, right? My usage balance remains 60% two-channel music and the rest movies on DVD. The next capability I'd like to add would be multichannel audio (SACD).
From a video perspective, I'm dumping a Sony 40" direct view XBR and moving to a Panny 50" plasma. I will probably use an outboard processor and I'm not sure about video switching in the video processor versus the HT processor. My sources will be DirecTV, DVD, and Xbox. Finally, I'd like to record HiDef but I think it might be a bit premature to take that on...

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Re: Best Sounding HT Receiver <$1500 - williak 14:12:37 04/04/03 (0)
Best advice I can give is to punt on the integrated HT, multichannel hirez, 2-channel dream at the current moment. There is simply NOTHING on the market that makes a reasonable compromise between the conflicting demands of these various sources. That said, there are many things in the works that will have huge effects on A/V setups in the very near future. So, for the immediate future, I would recommend segmenting your system to provide decent performance in the short term with a view to dumping your components in the midterm once the new products come on the market.
Specifically, you're looking at DVI/HDCP morphing into HDMI on the high-def video front. If your Panny doesn't have DVI, DON'T BUY IT! Note that HDMI will be backward compatible with DVI, so you're all set with a DVI/HDCP video connection. The DBS folk are rapidly moving to DVI-enabled HD receivers and PVRs (next generation if they don't go broke ). Next generation A/V receivers will support DVI/HDCP (HDMI) switching thereby obsoleting the present day component video switching. The HD revolution is well underway wrt broadcast, cable and DBS. The upcoming HD-DVD will complete this massive change while remaining backward compatible with existing DVD video formats.
On the multichannel hirez front, standardized digital connections are in the works (the first ones are already on the market). 1394 iLink looks to be the interface of choice for upcoming hirez products. It IS possible, but unlikely IMO that HDMI could also serve this purpose. This interface deals with the jitter, interconnect, bass management and copy protection issues associated with hirez in one simple, elegant and CHEAP solution. $300 carousels for all audio formats with PERFECT bitstreams to the processors is around the corner. Note this includes 2-channel digital sources as well.
So what to do right now? Minimize the waste! Don't spend big bucks on equipment with short legs. Speakers, amps, video displays and software are good bets. Pre/pros, receivers, players and bass managers are bad bets. If you need a certain functionality to support your sources, buy the minimum necessary that implements it. Any more spent above the minimum will be wasted.
To be continued...
Austin

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