I am planning on purchasing an amp and have been checking out Onkyo SR703 and SR674. My source will be a PS3 once it comes out. The price I got for both amps is around the same. Now the question is, should I go for the 703 since it's THX certified, or 674 because of HDMI?
Right now I'm leaning a bit towards 703, because I only have one HDMI source (PS3), which kinda makes it pointless for me to get 674 since I can just plug HDMI into the TV. What do you guys think?
My main use will be for movies and games (95%) music 5%.
For what it is worth, I would shoot for the 703. I don't know how large your room is or what speakers you will be powering, but I own the 702 (predecessor to the 703) in one of my rooms and it is a stellar receiver with just the right amount of power.
It doesn't sound like HDMI switching is going to be needed for you. In a couple of years, when HDMI 1.3 is implemented as a standard connection in receivers, you may want to change receivers to take advantage of the very best audio your PS3 will be capable of. Still, with a standard digital connection, I'm sure it will rock your socks off. We've been very pleased with the surround encoding on Xbox360 games and, of course, the DD and DTS standard tracks on movies still sound great.
Cheers, Caleb Denison Aperion Audio Home Theater Guru
My guru-fication is largely self-proclaimed (it's actually my company title and is printed on my business card). That is, I work for Aperion Audio and provide sound advice (pun intended) to those building Home Theaters and Home Audio systems.
Since I work for a company that sells speakers, I stay away from making specific product reccomendations in the speaker environment. We are not, however, an electronics retailer so I have no qualms with dishing out my thoughts on all things electronic.
As for two-channel, I would never be so bold as to call myself a Guru of two-channel audio. It's just audacious and, besides that, most advice I coud offer in the two-channel world will come down to speakers (covered that) and electronics and- all subjective opinions. Besides, there's always some sort of troll lurking in forums waiting for you to make a statement that is easily debateable. I think claiming some sort of Guru status in the field of 2-channel would be just such an invitation.