Typical Quesitons. I just purchased a pair of Canton Karats M-60's with matching center and 2 subs and lower end sony's for surrounds and surround backs. Now I am looking at picking out the receiver. I was initially looking at the denon 3805 however my sales guy is pointing me to the elite. (and its cheaper!). I have not had the chance to demo either them and Im nowhere near the expert on this stuff. I just want to set it up and go WOW! Any comments?
The Cantons are detailed and forward sounding speakers so sonically the warm Pioneer would be a better match. The Denon has more bells and whistles, but it might make the soundstage a bit too strenuous. You must listen them yourself to make the final decision, you might as well like the Canton + Denon combo.
thanks. I will be bringing them both home on wednesday to plug and play but its always ineteresting to hear other's opinions etc. WHile were here, would I notice any difference by upgrading DVD players? I currently have a 2 year old basic toshiba. Works fine but if it'll make a difference, I would be willing to upgrade.
I depends on your tv. If it's an ordinary crt, dont bother getting a new player, but if you have a plasma/lcd/projector then it might be a good idea to get a new one. An other thing you might want is DVD-A/SACD playback.
I currently have an epson Home 10 plus projecting onto a 92 inch screen. I like your suggestion on the DVD-A/SACD. I think that will be the purchase of the weekend.
below is the copy paste of the video i/o. I am planning on upgrading to the epson cinema 500 as well so I have copied the inputs for that model as well for future planning if it makes a difference.
Home 10 plus
Video I/O
Display performance NTSC: 480 line, PAL: 480 line Input signal Video standard: NTSC/NTSC4.43/PAL/M-PAL/N-PAL/PAL60/SECAM (Composite video / S video) 480i / 575i / 480p / 575p / 720p / 1080i (Component video) Video Input Composite video: RCA (Yellow) x 1 S-Video: Mini DIN Component Video: RCA x 3 (Red, Green, Blue) Video RGB: RCA x 4(in common with Component Video and Composite Video) Control I/O
RGB
Analog RGB I/O Display performance Resize: 1024 x 768 / 800 x 600 / 640 x 480 Video: Mini D-sub 15pin x1 Blue-molding Audio: RCA x 2 (White/Red)
Control I/O
Serial I/O I/O terminal: Mini D-sub 9pin x 1 I/O signal: RS-232c Input terminal Remote Control: Card Type
Epson Cinema 500
Video I/O
Component Input Input signal Video standard: 480i / 575i / 480p / 575p / 720p / 1080i Video signal: Component Video (Analog Y level 0.7V 75 ohm / Cr Cb level ±0.35V 75 ohm / sync.negative 0.3V or 3-state±0.3V on Y) Input RCA x 3 (Red / Green / Blue) D4 video (only for Japan) Composite / S-Input Input signal Video standard: NTSC / NTSC4.43 / PAL / M-PAL / N-PAL / PAL60 / SECAM Video signal: Composite Video (1.0Vpp / sync.negative,75 ohm) / S-Video (Luminous 0.714Vpp, Chrominous 0.286Vpp, 75 ohm) Input S-Video Mini DIN 4pin Video: RCA (Yellow) x 1 RGB
Analog RGB I/O Display performance Native: 720p Resize: 1024 x 768 / 800 x 600 / 640 x 480 / 480i / 480p / 575i / 575p / 1080i Input signal
Signal type: Separate Signal Video signal: Analog (0.7V p-p, 75 ohm / Mac0.714Vp-p, 75ohm) Sync. signal: Separate (positive and negative, bi-polarity2-5Vpp) Composite (positive and negative, bi-polarity 2-5Vpp) / Sync-on-green (negative,0.3Vpp) Input Video: 5 RCA (Red / Green / Blue / H-sync / V-sync) x 2 HDMI
Input signal Video standard: 480i / 575i / 480p / 575p / 720p / 1080i Video signal: TMDS Input Video: HDMI x 1 Control I/O
Serial I/O I/O terminal: Mini D-sub 9 pin x 1, USB-type B I/O signal: RS-232c
Uuh, that's a lot of specs. I recommend you buy the player regarding the new projector. The 500 has a HDMI-input, and you definitely want to use it, the quality is so much better. There's not many HDMI DVD-players available yet, but if you're not in a hurry I recommend you wait until you get a player with the necessary features.
Some HDMI player specs are already out, for ex. the Panasonic DVD-S97 and the successor to Samsung HD931/935 etc. The one great player already available is the Pioneer DV-868AVi-S (seems to be DV-59AVi in US) wich supports HDMI and DVDA/SACD via firewire. It's a bit expensive, and _wants_ to be paired with a receiver with a firewire input like the VSX-55i. So if possible get the Epson 500, DV-59 and VSX55, you'll have a system for many many years to go.
well.. I finally ended up purchasing the Pioneer Elite VSX-53. other than the remote there didnt seem to be much of a difference between the 53 and 55. but after reading this I may return and switch for the 55. So far so good though. easy to use. the cantons are sounding ridiculous which is what I was looking for. Not sure I like the remote for the pioneer 53 but thats easy to replace. dangerous that I live a block away from my a/v dealer. thanks for all the help and quick replies. you know any good books or sites where I can learn what all these specs actually do and understand what I am shopping for in the future? cause I will be shoppin!
I havent tried to biamp the fronts yet. I will next weekend. I ran out of wire and also ran of money after the speakers, centre and receiver... I was just in the store poking around at possible subwoofers as well. He suggested the canton (to match my speakers) ASD-220. He is willing to give me 2 of them for the price of one to clear his last 2 but my concern is that they are only 9inch subs. Will I still get the room to rumble with 2 9 inch subs? Would I be better off to buy one bigger sub? In the canton line the price jumps pretty quick though. Also the asd-220 is a downfire sub. Is this good?