New 5.1 AV amp

coolamasta

coolamasta

coolamasta

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Thinking about a new AV amp for my with the possibility of HDMI switching.

My Equipment at the moment is:

Samsung 1080p 46" LCD TV
Virgin Media V+ box (HDMI output)
Xbox 360 Elite (HDMI output)
Antec Fusion HTPC (HDMI output)
Technics (cant remember model) AV 5.1 amp
High end German speakers (4 satellites & 1 centre) plus a 10" acitve subwoofer

Problem is the technics amp only has 2 optical 5.1 input which I have the HTPC & V+ box in but am getting annoyed with changing the TV & amp over to different sources all the time especially on the TV when you want to switch between the HDMI Inputs!

Anyway decided that I would like to go for a new AV amp that is decent-ish quality but also can switch between the HDMI inputs and so the TV can just stay on HDMI 1 :)

Whats out there that is decent enough but silly expensive? I think £200 would be max I would go at the moment unless something is really worth the money??

Cheers for any help :cool:
 
ONKYO TXSR307 - 3hdmi in and one out (£180)

might be worth upping the budget a little and getting a 308 (£220) which is obviously that little bit better.
 
iamtheoneneo said:
ONKYO TXSR307 - 3hdmi in and one out (£180)

might be worth upping the budget a little and getting a 308 (£220) which is obviously that little bit better.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend the 307, it doesn't handle audio over HDMI and has 2 Optical/1 Coaxial Inputs, so he wouldn't be in any better position than he is now.

The 308 however does support audio over HDMI, which would allow the full connection of equipment and should a source be used with HD audio, the amp will decode it.

Another option would be the 507, although no HDMI 1.4 (If you think you'll need it)
 
khrall said:
Another option would be the 507, although no HDMI 1.4 (If you think you'll need it)
Click to expand...

Will anything ever NEED a set HDMI standard? If you have a v1.4 BD player, would it work with the 507 for example, obviously without the 3d etc that has been added.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Version_comparison

Since the first revision of 1.3 there's nothing I'd find useful. I don't think 3D will take off for a good few years, if ever, and have no interest in it at the moment, but wouldn't want to be stuck with a receiver that couldn't be used on new equipment.
 
jellybeard999 said:
Will anything ever NEED a set HDMI standard? If you have a v1.4 BD player, would it work with the 507 for example, obviously without the 3d etc that has been added.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Version_comparison

Since the first revision of 1.3 there's nothing I'd find useful. I don't think 3D will take off for a good few years, if ever, and have no interest in it at the moment, but wouldn't want to be stuck with a receiver that couldn't be used on new equipment.
Click to expand...

If you had a BD player like the Panasonic DMP-BDT350 with dual HDMI outputs it would work with any receiver supporting audio over HDMI. You'd have 1 cable direct to the 3DTV and 1 cable to the AV receiver.

Also HDMI 1.4 is backwards compatible with older versions, so if you had a BD player using HDMI 1.4, it should work fine with a HDMI 1.3 specced TV (although without 3D).

http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_1_4/hdmi_1_4_faq.aspx#6

For the OP's ~£200 the 308 (at £220) and the 507 (at £180) are the only 2 receivers that come to mind supporting Audio over HDMI giving him a solution to his problem.
 
Thanks for the info chaps, are the ONKYO's any good then? I have heard of them but no nothing about their performance & sound quality! the 308 sounds interesting, I will have a look about see what I can find on it...

I'm not worried about HDMI v1.4 for the 3D at the moment so not a biggie there :)
 
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