We're moving & we're leaving the 15+ yr old Onkyo receiver & 10+ yr old DVD/VHS player behind. We're keeping the Sony Bravia TV & Cambridge Soundworks speaker system. Since it has been a while since I've needed to shop for these items, what should I look for & how can I determine what's good, better, best? We don't watch a lot of tv, but when we do we want a good quality picture & we certainly want HD.
to look for? Enough HDMI switching to satisfy. You'll want to make sure it'll drive the cambridge speakers properly, too. You need to not only look at power, but impedance matching. Try to find out how bad a load the speakers are. If they drop too low or are too insensitive, you'll need to revise your plan upward. IF you no longer need VHS, and I hope you don't, I'd simply tell you without reservation to send away for the OPPO '83. It is simply the #1 choice for a BR / CD / DVD player and will also handle DVD audio and SACD. At 500$ it is considered quite a bargain. The OPPO is also used as the core of several vastly more expensive players and has been favorable compared with up to 4500$ 'worth' of Denon player.
Denon? Who knows? Onkyo and HK are well thought of, too.