# Newbie to home theaters... have some questions



## bet09 (May 12, 2009)

I want to build my own home theater. I bought a HTiB but i'm not satisfied with it, the sound and features mainly. This time I'm going to save up my money and set up a very great home theater. Though, I'm completely new to home theaters and have almost no idea what I'm doing. I do know a bit, but not a whole lot.

I have a question about receivers. I'm certain it's a dumb question, but I'm looking for the best blu ray receiver out there right now. When I buy it, will I be able to play dvd/blu ray movies off that receiver or do I have to buy a separate blu ray player ALONG with the receiver?

Now I need a suggestion. I'm looking for a receiver, that's not too expensive and not too cheap, that supports blu ray and has a lot of features(a good amount of hdmi 1.3 in/out and a good amount of component connections, ipod compatible). One more important feature I would like, if possible, is for the receiver to have a A/B switch(I think they're called). So I can have my living room speakers connected to the receiver and be able to switch a button and have my outdoor speakers playing through the receiver also.

My current HTiB has wireless rear speakers, that's why I got it. I need the rear surround sound speakers in the living room to be wireless. Would that be possible with receivers? If so, any suggestions on those?

Last question. I'm looking to buy 5.1 speakers along with the receiver. Would a 7.1 or 7.2 channel receiver be compatible and work with a 5.1 speaker set?

If you could suggest products that fit or come close to fitting my needs then that would be awesome because I really want to set up something like this in my house.


----------



## the_rookie (Sep 30, 2008)

bet09 said:


> I want to build my own home theater. I bought a HTiB but i'm not satisfied with it, the sound and features mainly. This time I'm going to save up my money and set up a very great home theater. Though, I'm completely new to home theaters and have almost no idea what I'm doing. I do know a bit, but not a whole lot.


We've all been there, so no worries.



> I have a question about receivers. I'm certain it's a dumb question, but I'm looking for the best blu ray receiver out there right now. When I buy it, will I be able to play dvd/blu ray movies off that receiver or do I have to buy a separate blu ray player ALONG with the receiver?


Basically that is a HTIB, with the exception of speakers. But you usually don't want one combined. Its always nice to have things all in one, but compromises are usually made when creating such things, and its usually performance. So if you want a power lifter of a system, than buy seperates.



> Now I need a suggestion. I'm looking for a receiver, that's not too expensive and not too cheap, that supports blu ray and has a lot of features(a good amount of hdmi 1.3 in/out and a good amount of component connections, ipod compatible). One more important feature I would like, if possible, is for the receiver to have a A/B switch(I think they're called). So I can have my living room speakers connected to the receiver and be able to switch a button and have my outdoor speakers playing through the receiver also.


I and most people here will recommend Onkyo. Best bang for the buck receiver. But to better gauge what reciever to recommend, than I suggest giving us a better cost outline. Too bad you didnt do this sooner, the Onkyo 876 recently went up in price...600$ more. I bought mine off Amazon for around 1100, now its up to 1600+ not including sales tax. Or shipping. But that was the best bang for the buck receiver. Now its a little pricier.



> My current HTiB has wireless rear speakers, that's why I got it. I need the rear surround sound speakers in the living room to be wireless. Would that be possible with receivers? If so, any suggestions on those?


You can probably get wireless adpaters. A signal sender, and compatible speakers. Thats what sounds logical. But i dont know much about it, someone around here will have more information.



> Last question. I'm looking to buy 5.1 speakers along with the receiver. Would a 7.1 or 7.2 channel receiver be compatible and work with a 5.1 speaker set?


Yes AVRs will have settings possible to have a 5.1 set up work just fine, with a 7.1 AVR. They are designed like that. They don't expect everyone to have 7.1 speakers. But it gives you a maximum of 7.1 speakers available. 

If you could suggest products that fit or come close to fitting my needs then that would be awesome because I really want to set up something like this in my house.[/QUOTE]


----------



## bet09 (May 12, 2009)

the_rookie said:


> and most people here will recommend Onkyo. Best bang for the buck receiver. But to better gauge what reciever to recommend, than I suggest giving us a better cost outline. Too bad you didnt do this sooner, the Onkyo 876 recently went up in price...600$ more. I bought mine off Amazon for around 1100, now its up to 1600+ not including sales tax. Or shipping. But that was the best bang for the buck receiver. Now its a little pricier.


Thanks, I've been looking around on amazon and it seems like the Onkyo brand is best. My budget would be around $1,000 if that's what it takes to get all the features I need in one receiver.



> You can probably get wireless adpaters. A signal sender, and compatible speakers. Thats what sounds logical. But i dont know much about it, someone around here will have more information.


Thanks for the info.



> Yes AVRs will have settings possible to have a 5.1 set up work just fine, with a 7.1 AVR. They are designed like that. They don't expect everyone to have 7.1 speakers. But it gives you a maximum of 7.1 speakers available.


Okay cool... I had a feeling it was like that, but wasn't sure.

Thanks again for your help, I appreciate it. I'm gonna keep reading reviews about different receivers.


----------



## hddummy (Mar 9, 2007)

Might I also suggest you look for a zone 2 capable receiver. Just about every receiver in the $1000 price range will be capable. This will allow you to limit the main zone 5.1 channels and use the two extra channels in a second room....in this case your outside speakers. This way, you will have completely independant and simultaneous functionality in both zones.


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Yes, I agree with everything said above the Onkyo 876 would be a great choice. However I wonder if getting the Onkyo 706 would be just as good ($600) that will give you more money to spend on the speakers and subwoofer. Have you given any thought to what you want for speakers and a sub? SVS has complete packages that bang for buck can not be beat.


----------



## salvasol (Oct 31, 2006)

bet09 said:


> I bought a HTiB but i'm not satisfied with it, the sound and features mainly.


Sorry about that....to bad you didn't find us sooner :whistling:




> I have a question about receivers. I'm certain it's a dumb question, but I'm looking for the best blu ray receiver out there right now. When I buy it, will I be able to play dvd/blu ray movies off that receiver or do I have to buy a separate blu ray player ALONG with the receiver?


The only dumb question is the "one you don't ask"...the rest are all valid questions :T.

If is just a receiver that can decode HD audio, yes you'll need a BluRay player...I'm sure you're thinking about the player/receiver that came with the HTIB, that's something different. WHen you get a separate AVR (receiver), you need a separate DVD player.



> My current HTiB has wireless rear speakers, that's why I got it. I need the rear surround sound speakers in the living room to be wireless. Would that be possible with receivers? If so, any suggestions on those?


Let me guess...you don't want to see the wires laying around??? ...there's some option to hide them.


----------



## bonehead848 (Jan 21, 2007)

tonyvdb said:


> Yes, I agree with everything said above the Onkyo 876 would be a great choice. However I wonder if getting the Onkyo 706 would be just as good ($600) that will give you more money to spend on the speakers and subwoofer. Have you given any thought to what you want for speakers and a sub? SVS has complete packages that bang for buck can not be beat.


+1, just because he can spend 1k on a receiver does not mean that needs to be spent. The bigger the budget for speakers/sub the better.

You may want to consider waiting a bit as the new onkyos should be coming out in the next couple months IIRC.
Also consider the Marantz sr7002 and Denon models.


----------



## bet09 (May 12, 2009)

hddummy said:


> Might I also suggest you look for a zone 2 capable receiver. Just about every receiver in the $1000 price range will be capable. This will allow you to limit the main zone 5.1 channels and use the two extra channels in a second room....in this case your outside speakers. This way, you will have completely independant and simultaneous functionality in both zones.


Yeah, just found out yesterday they're called zone 2 now.



tonyvdb said:


> Yes, I agree with everything said above the Onkyo 876 would be a great choice. However I wonder if getting the Onkyo 706 would be just as good ($600) that will give you more money to spend on the speakers and subwoofer. Have you given any thought to what you want for speakers and a sub? SVS has complete packages that bang for buck can not be beat.


I haven't given thought about that yet. I was going to research some speakers and subs next after I finally decide what receiver I'm going to get. I'll check that link out, thanks.



salvasol said:


> Let me guess...you don't want to see the wires laying around??? ...there's some option to hide them.


Yeah, don't want them laying around because I have tile all over the living room and kitchen area. Only option would be to go in the attic and punch holes in the wall. Which I don't want to do. But if having them all wired is what's going to give me best sound, then I might just do that.



bonehead848 said:


> +1, just because he can spend 1k on a receiver does not mean that needs to be spent. The bigger the budget for speakers/sub the better.
> 
> You may want to consider waiting a bit as the new onkyos should be coming out in the next couple months IIRC.
> Also consider the Marantz sr7002 and Denon models.


I've been looking into the Denon models too. I was reading reviews about the Onkyo and people were complaining about heat issues and the receiver smoking and going out on them. Read that on some models listed here in this thread too.

I found what seems to be a very good Denon receiver, one that fits my needs. What do you guys think?

Denon-AVR-2809CI

was gonna post a link but can't due to not have 5 posts, but that's the model number.

Might just wait for those new models coming out that you said, but the one in the link i posted seems like it will last me a long time before I have to upgrade again.


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

All receivers will get warm or even hot to the touch if driven hard. I would not take much out of the complaints about heat as its not really an issue as my 805 (apparently one of the worst for heat) has never gotten hot at all. Denon's and Yamaha's can also get hot. Always allow a receiver to breath and if at all possible do not place in a rack leave it on top.


----------



## the_rookie (Sep 30, 2008)

Yeah i got the 876, and it gets hot too. But thats normal for such electronics. Most electronics have fans. Computers, laptops, game systems, etc. But some, like AVRs dont, so they use heat sinks. My Onkyo even driven at -25db will reach 100-110 degrees. My old AVRs didnt reach that, high usually. But than again they didnt have all the stuff in them. This AVR weighs around 50lbs, and has some massive power supplys.

If ya give the equipment some ample breathing room, than they won't break down. Treat it like any other device you own. With respect.

But for a starter kit, an Onkyo paired with some SVS would be good. Upgrading later to better equipment would be a great path.


----------



## bonehead848 (Jan 21, 2007)

bet09 said:


> I've been looking into the Denon models too. I was reading reviews about the Onkyo and people were complaining about heat issues and the receiver smoking and going out on them. Read that on some models listed here in this thread too.
> 
> I found what seems to be a very good Denon receiver, one that fits my needs. What do you guys think?
> 
> ...


That is a solid receiver, though denon is also releasing new receivers soon. The new models will include "USB iPod connectivity, analog-to-HDMI conversion, and Dolby Pro Logic IIz decoding (which adds front height channels)."
http://gizmodo.com/5249212/denons-latest-receiver-line-starts-at-350-loves-ipods-and-hdmi


----------



## salvasol (Oct 31, 2006)

bet09 said:


> Yeah, don't want them laying around because I have tile all over the living room and kitchen area. Only option would be to go in the attic and punch holes in the wall. Which I don't want to do. But if having them all wired is what's going to give me best sound, then I might just do that...


You can also use some crown moulding or channels to hide the wires...that's what I did before.


----------



## the_rookie (Sep 30, 2008)

You can do the same option along the edge of the room on the floor and use crown molding over it there.

Furthermore, what i used to do was along the floor. I would wire it, run it along the edge of the wall on the floor, and for carpet i would tuck it inbetween the carpet and the crown molding. But on tile you can't fold between, but running along the floor on the edge with a firmer wire will work good. I did it for my dads hard wood floor. Between the beauty of his hard wood floors, Plasma, Cherry tables, and chocolate colored couches it is more than hidden from your attention.


----------

