I am new to this forum and a once "wannabe" audiophile back in the last Ice Age. I am in the process of developing a reasonably nice (affordable) HT system. My objective is to construct a system where I get the most "bang for my buck" which 1)will produce the highest quality picture on my new Samsung 52" LCD television (LS-N5296)and 2)have enough "backbone" to listen to music on those occassions when I want to jam out and "turn it up a notch or two".
My budget for the receiver...approx. $1,000 and for speaker system(front left/right, surroud speakers and sub)...approx. $1,500.
As to receiver brand, I am a little slanted toward Yamaha but only because I used to own Yamaha and had a good experience then. I have looked at RX-V659 up to RX-V2700. I know there are other brands which are capable. Question....is the HDMI feature worth the difference in money or should I wait until that technology is a little more established, i.e. I understand that the new 1.3 version has been adopted but not yet available. Also is the upscaling feature, from 480i to 720i, etc... of significant benefit? I am considering the 659 until HDMI technology, etc... gets established/settled....but I guess technology is always in a state of flux.
On the speakers, I currently own some JBL S-10's that could serve as front left/right speakers, JBL Studio Center Channel and PBS-10 sub, but would prefer something less "obtruse". I am considering in-ceiling speakers for my rear surround speakers.
This system will be used 50/50 for watching movies, dvd's, etc... Any advice/recommendations anyone can give on receiver and speaker system will be appreciated.
You have an excellent line up of units and I believe they will serve you well.Also, take a look at the Outlaw Audio model 1070. Excellent bang for the buck and works well with plenty of speaker. I am not yet too keen on HDMI capabilities for the reason you stated. No standards established as of yet.
The speakers you have are certainly capable, but if you are in the market for a change, check out Ascend Audio and Axiom Audio for your main speakers and an HSU subwoofer.