HT Guys 2007 Receiver Buying Guide
So far this year we have given you our HTIB and HDTV buying guide. Our series would not be complete without a Home Theater Receiver buying guide. This year our list contains receivers that will support Dolby True HD and DTS HD. We feel recommending a receiver without this capability would be wrong. There are cheaper receivers out there that will produce good sound but without next generation audio to go with your next generation DVD it would be like watching a VHS movie on your new HDTV.
Onkyo TX-SR605 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver - MSRP $499.00 (
$380 HT Guys Store) Great receiver for those on a budget. It's a 7-channel with 90 watts per channel. It has dual HDMI 1.3 inputs with composite/S-Video/component signal up-conversion and DCDi deinterlacing technology from Faroudja. Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD Decoders. From Onkyo: "the TX-SR605 is poised to set new benchmarks in performance-driven home theater."
Yamaha RX-V1700 7.1-Channel Digital Home Theater Receiver - MSRP $1299.95 (
$679.98 HT Guys Store) HDMI 1.2a for next generation audio support, Two HDMI inputs with one output. Great bang-for-the-buck receiver.
Pioneer Elite VSX-91TXH 7.1 Channel A/V Receiver - MSRP $1000 (
$771 HT Guys Store) HDMI 1.3a (2 in/1 out), Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD Decoders. Great price receiver that has support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. THX Select2 certified.
Sony STRDG2100 7.1 Channel Surround Sound A/V Receiver - MSRP $1199 (
$1016 HT Guys Store) HDMI 1.3 (3 in/1 out), Accepts 1080/60p and 24p HD video formats, Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD Decoders. Faroudja DCDI Cinema Technology to up-scale non-HD sources to 1080p, Digital Cinema Auto Calibration with stereo mic, and, of course, it's "optimized for Blu-ray"
Denon AVR-3808CI 7.1 CH Home Theater A/V Receiver with Networking - MSRP $1599.00 (
$1381 HT Guys Store) 130 watts x 7 channels, HDMI 1.3a (4 in/1 out), video upconversion (analog and HDMI) to 1080p, Ethernet network port, Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio, XM ready tuning, DNLA certified, updated GUI menus, auto setup and room EQ
Yamaha RX-V3800 7.1-Channel Network Home Theater Receiver - MSRP $1699.95 (
$1,599.95 HT Guys Store) HDMI 1.3a (4 in/1 out), Analog video (480i or 480p) upscaling to full HD 1080p, HD audio format signals capability: Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio. Ara is extremely pleased with his RX-V2700 but if he had to do it again this would be his receiver of choice. Now that he owns a HD DVD, Blu Ray, Xbox 360, and a Mac Mini, having the four in and one out HDMI connection is a big deal!
Blu Ray